Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence
MoD Abbey Wood, NH1, Yew 2a, #1237
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Contact
DES JES-C1
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.3) Communication
Access to the procurement documents is restricted. Further information can be obtained at
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted to the above-mentioned address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
Defence
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Procurement of Project POYNTING
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 35730000 - Electronic warfare systems and counter measures
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
The Authority has a requirement for a tactical Cyber Electromagnetic Activities (CEMA) capability. POYNTING will deliver a first-in-class tactical CEMA Capability to Land Forces. The project is aligned with the Army Executive Committee endorsed Army Cyber Sub-Strategy and is to be delivered as part of the Land CEMA Programme (LCP). This capability will grow with the pace of change in global technology and adapt to global threats. The selected Prime will establish and manage an ecosystem of suppliers to deliver hardware and software and system integration of the CEMA capability. The Prime will manage the Ecosystem to deliver, through Capability Interventions, a capability that meets the system requirements. Subject to internal approval, the POYNTING Contract will deliver and support equipment sufficient to field a Squadron sized CEMA unit.
The scope of support requirement includes but is not limited to: Equipment design, installation, repair and maintenance, spares provisioning, calibration, test and validation, experimentation and capability evolution, design safety, contractor logistics support, security accreditation, capability resilience, reliability, documentation management, through life updates and upgrades, and ad-hoc tasking. Ad-hoc tasking includes, but is not limited to, repairs, post-design services (PDS) and the procurement of additional systems, components, spares, and support.
A more detailed description of the POYNTING contract requirements is contained in the OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE Contract Notice; guidance on how to access this OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE Contract Notice, along with the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) and associated documentation, can be found below.
The Cyber Risk level for this procurement is HIGH. The Risk Assessment Reference (RAR) is RAR- 266340629. A full description of the Cyber Risk levels is available at DEFSTAN 05-138. Potential Suppliers should make themselves familiar with the requirements against the profile assessment for this risk level.
The anticipated Contract duration is four (4) years from Contract Award, with four (4) one-year Options to extend (8 years incl. Options).
The value of the Contract is estimated to be between £78m and £148m. The lower figure is based on a four (4) year term, excluding Options. The higher figure represents a value inclusive of all four (4) Capability Interventions and all four (4) Option years. The final Contract value may be below the lower figure. The higher figure is an estimate of core activity and tasks placed under the Contract, and the total cumulative value of work placed through the Contract may be above or below this figure. The Authority reserves the right to procure additional systems, components, spares, and support provisioning through this Contract should the requirement arise.
Security:
The requirement for the Prime contractor is limited to UK Potential Suppliers only. As part of the tendering process, Potential Suppliers with non-UK supply chains, subcontractors and/or parent organisations etc. may be expected to demonstrate their policies and procedures for both controlling and handling UK information.
Please note: elements of the ITN will be at SECRET and SECRET UK Eyes Only (SUKEO). Therefore, should a Potential Supplier be successful at PQQ stage, a member of its bid team will not be able to participate in subsequent stages of this Procurement (ITN etc.) unless said member is:
a) a holder of SC clearance as a minimum (with DV required for certain elements depending on the classifications set out in the Security Aspects Letter (SAL)); and
b) where applicable (i.e. if said member is handling SUKEO information), a UK National (not including dual nationality).
Potential Suppliers will be required to hold full Facility Security Clearance (FSC) status and connection to the RLI network (or other MoD-accredited IT network) by Contract Award.
NOTE: Provisional FSC is required in order to receive the ITN.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £148,000,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 35700000 - Military electronic systems
- 35720000 - Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance
- 35721000 - Electronic intelligence system
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
Main site or place of performance
United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
A more detailed description can be found in the OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE Contract Notice and PQQ documents.
This procurement will be exempt from the public procurement regime including, but not limited to, the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (“DSPCR”) pursuant to Regulation 6 (3A)(a) in conjunction with Regulation 7 (1)(a) of the DSPCR, the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (“PCR”), the Concession Contracts Regulations 2015 (“CCR”) and/or any domestic or international rules pertaining to public procurement, by virtue of the fact that the application of the DSPCR, PCR, CCR and/or any such domestic or international rules would oblige the United Kingdom to supply information the disclosure of which it considers contrary to the essential interests of its security.
Therefore, no rights, duties, obligations or liabilities arising from DSCPR 2011 or any other regime will apply. By expressing an interest to participate in this PQQ and any potential future competition, you acknowledge that none of the obligations, rights and remedies deriving from the DSPCR and/or the public procurement regime apply to this opportunity.
It is envisaged that the procurement process will be based on a similar structure to the Negotiated Procedure as described within the DSPCR, including the use of an ITN. Potential Suppliers will need to be successful at the PQQ down-select stage in order to receive the ITN. The Authority reserves the right to negotiate any aspects of a potential future tendering process; however, it does not bind itself to this.
The Authority may, at its sole discretion:
• In any way amend and/or cancel this PQQ/subsequent procurement process;
• Withdraw this Contract Notice at any time for any reason;
• Decide not to Award any contract to any bidder following the PQQ and ITN phases.
The Authority does not bind itself to enter into any contract(s) arising out of the proceedings envisaged by this Contract Notice and no contractual rights express or implied arise out of this notice or the procedures envisaged by it. No compensation will be paid if the pre-qualification process or any resultant Tender are withdrawn for any reason. Potential Suppliers should take part in this process only on the basis that they fully understand and accept this position.
Prospective contractors are required to hold Quality Management System certification to ISO 9001 or suitable alternative, with the appropriate scope to deliver contract requirements, issued by a Nationally Accredited Certification Body. You will be required to provide a copy of the certificate(s) as directed by any Dynamic Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (DPQQ) or Invitation to Tender/Negotiate (ITT/N) associated with this Notice, and in any event, the winning supplier will be required to provide it for review prior to contract award.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
two.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT: £148,000,000
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months
96
This contract is subject to renewal
No
two.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
Envisaged minimum number: 3
Maximum number: 3
Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates:
Mixture of scored, weighted and PASS / FAIL questions and selection criteria, as per the PQQ and PQQ Guidance, Instructions and Conditions document. Potential Suppliers will be required to complete the PQQ to provide the Authority with information to evaluate their capacity and capability against the selection criteria.
Supplier selection criteria and methodology for choosing the tenderers are contained within the OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE PQQ documents.
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of options
The anticipated Contract duration is four (4) years from Contract Award, with four (4) one-year Options to extend (8 years incl. Options).
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
two.2.14) Additional information
ITN Award Criteria: Most Economically Advantageous Tender, in terms of technical quality, cost, commercial compliance and social values. Full details of the evaluation process, contract award criteria and weightings against each criterion will be provided in the tender documentation to those Potential Suppliers who are successful at PQQ stage.
Section three. Legal, economic, financial and technical information
three.1) Conditions for participation
three.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
List and brief description of conditions
As per Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Guidance, Instructions and Conditions
three.1.2) Economic and financial standing
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
three.1.3) Technical and professional ability
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Competitive procedure with negotiation
four.1.5) Information about negotiation
The contracting authority reserves the right to award the contract on the basis of the initial tenders without conducting negotiations
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date
10 October 2023
Local time
12:00pm
four.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
15 February 2024
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: No
six.2) Information about electronic workflows
Electronic ordering will be used
Electronic invoicing will be accepted
Electronic payment will be used
six.3) Additional information
Process:
The Authority requests that Potential Suppliers wishing to take part in the POYNTING competitive procurement process and receive the POYNTING PQQ, PQQ Guidance Document, and OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE Contract Notice should express an interest to the Authority point of contact above. The PQQ and associated documents will be provided to your organisation via the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) following receipt of your interest and confirmation of your organisation’s details. Therefore, if you are interested in participating you must follow the below instructions and create a DSP account before expressing an interest.
1. Browse to the eSourcing portal: https://www.contracts.mod.uk/web/login.html
2. Click the “Supplier Registration” link
3. Read and agree to the terms and conditions, and click “Next”
4. Follow the on-screen registration instructions, entering your correct business and user details
5. Note the username you choose
6. You will receive an email with your unique password (please keep this secure)
The PQQ and associated documents are at OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE classification, and therefore it is a requirement that Potential Suppliers’ personnel intending to access these documents hold at least Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance. The Authority reserves the right to refuse access where confirmation of at least BPSS is not provided.
To register an interest in the POYNTING PQQ, please email the Authority point of contact listed in this Notice. Please include the following details on your email:
• Potential Supplier name
• Lead point of contact (full name)
• DSP account email address / username
• Your Security Clearance details (e.g. confirmation of SC or DV), including NSVS reference number. Please note: where you cannot confirm that applicable personnel hold at least SC, you must attach to your Expression of Interest email a signed BPSS Verification Record, and confirm that your organisation has conducted BPSS employment checks, in line with government procedure, on all applicable staff.
• Date of birth
The closing date and time for submission of your organisation’s Expression of Interest is 10 October 2023 (one week prior to the PQQ response deadline).
After registering an interest in the procurement, the Authority will issue you with OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE Security Conditions, which you must confirm acceptance of by return email in order to access the OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE Contract Notice, PQQ and associated documents. When handling and storing any OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE material provided by the Authority, said material thereby becomes the user’s responsibility to safeguard appropriately and in accordance with these Conditions.
Procurement process indicative time frames (subject to confirmation / change by the Authority):
• Expression of Interest to this Contract Notice to gain access to the PQQ by: 10 October 2023
• PQQ and OS Contract Notice release to interested companies: 05 Sept 2023
• PQQ response submission deadline: 17 October 2023
• Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) issued: Feb 2024
• Contract Award: March 2025
Suppliers interested in working with the MOD should register on its Supplier Information Database (SID), available at www.contracts.mod.uk. The SID is a catalogue of potential suppliers available to all MOD procurement staff and is the main supplier database used by MOD. Please note that the registration and publication of a company profile on the SID does not mean or imply that the supplier has in any way been vetted or approved by the MOD. Suppliers wishing to compete for a contract opportunity must respond to any specific call for competition by submitting a separate expression of interest in accordance with the instructions in the contract notice.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
JES DT
MoD Abbey Wood, #1237
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Country
United Kingdom