Award

Unit 4 Upgrade

  • UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX(THE)

F15: Voluntary ex ante transparency notice

Notice identifier: 2024/S 000-038237

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-04c047

Published 26 November 2024, 5:37pm



Section one: Contracting authority/entity

one.1) Name and addresses

UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX(THE)

Sussex House

BRIGHTON

BN19RH

Contact

Kasia Thomas

Email

kasia.thomas@sussex.ac.uk

Telephone

+44 1234567890

Country

United Kingdom

Region code

UKJ21 - Brighton and Hove

Companies House

00998560

Internet address(es)

Main address

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/

one.4) Type of the contracting authority

Other type

University

one.5) Main activity

Education


Section two: Object

two.1) Scope of the procurement

two.1.1) Title

Unit 4 Upgrade

Reference number

US 24300

two.1.2) Main CPV code

  • 72260000 - Software-related services

two.1.3) Type of contract

Services

two.1.4) Short description

The U4ERP (Unit4 Enterprise Resource Planning) application is the system used by the entire university for the management and control of its finances and core financial operations. The application is essential IT infrastructure as it provides accounting functionality with end-to-end financial operations capability, which enables budget allocation and management across the whole university. It is also the system that handles all expense claims (staff & students), procurement, accounts receivable (commercial), accounts payable, estates inventory management, fixed assets management, , accounting and financial management, accounting for capital and projects, commitment accounting and reporting.

Included in the contract is also e-invoicing functionality, together with contract management, and an option to migrate to Unit4's new partner for providing a research costing & pricing platform.

The firm also provides support and maintenance under this contract. In addition, U4ERP will also be hosted by Unit4 in the cloud.

two.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)

Value excluding VAT: £864,096

two.2) Description

two.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS codes
  • UKJ21 - Brighton and Hove

two.2.4) Description of the procurement

Finance software system - Unit4

two.2.11) Information about options

Options: No


Section four. Procedure

four.1) Description

four.1.1) Type of procedure

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below

  • The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the regulations

Explanation:

Regulation 32(2)(c) permits the award of a public contract for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority; the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with.

The University considers that its reliance on Regulation 32(2)(c) is justified for the following reasons:

The University has a perpetual license for the The U4ERP (Unit4 Enterprise Resource Planning and receives annual maintenance and support from Unit4 Business Software Limited (Unit4). On 17 October 2023 Unit4 announced that it would no longer provide maintenance and support services for perpetual licences or any on-premises solutions post 31 December 2024, meaning that due to these unforeseen events University have to sign the contract by end of 2024 and migrate the existing solution to Unit4's own cloud services within the 3 year contract period.

The Unit4 system is an essential part of the University infrastructure such that any down time or system failure would have a detrimental effect on the running of the University services. Unit4's announcement that it would cease to provide maintenance and support services for on-premises solutions post 31 December 2024 was not foreseeable by the University and has given rise to a situation of extreme urgency in which the University must ensure that its ERP systems do not become unsupported post 31 December 2024.

It is the University position that the time period provided by Unit4 before the ERP system becomes unsupported is insufficient to undertake the intricate process of compiling detailed business requirements for a new solution, perform an exhaustive market analysis, execute a comprehensive open procurement exercise, and deploy a new system prior to 31 December 2024.

The decision to award a contract pursuant to Unit4 pursuant to Regulation 32(2)(c) is therefore considered to be strictly necessary in a situation of extreme urgency, to ensure business continuity for the University. This approach will also provide the necessary time to conduct wider assessment of its infrastructural IT provision - with respect to Finance, HR and Procurement and ensure that any future procurement decisions align with the University best interests and value for money obligations.

four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No


Section five. Award of contract/concession

A contract/lot is awarded: Yes

five.2) Award of contract/concession

five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract

18 November 2024

five.2.2) Information about tenders

The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No

five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire

Unit4 Business Software Limited

Bristol

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code
  • UKJ21 - Brighton and Hove
Companies House

01737985

The contractor/concessionaire is an SME

No

five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)

Total value of the contract/lot/concession: £864,096


Section six. Complementary information

six.4) Procedures for review

six.4.1) Review body

University of Sussex

Brighton

Country

United Kingdom