Scope
Reference
001288
Description
YPO are looking for a supplier to be appointed onto a Contract for the provision of Single and Multi-Parcel Consignment Delivery Service, which will serve YPO internal requirements only.
YPO's product range is more than 11,000 product lines and Providers will be required to handle a wide range of products including, but not limited to, exercise books, paper, educational equipment, general stationery, art and craft material including liquid paint, cleaning products, catering suppliers, sports equipment and electrical goods. The successful Supplier will be required to collect standing trailer(s) provided by the Supplier at the YPO Warehouse 41 in Wakefield or any pre agreed facility, for sortation at the Supplier's regional depot / Hub(s) for final delivery to YPO customers by the Supplier. The majority of the YPO customer base (approximately 80%) is made up of schools and education establishments, delivery window of 07:00 - 16:00 will apply. Addresses will include but not limited to education, local government establishments, business premises, social care homes and residential addresses.
Please note parcel sizes can range from a small single item to a large/bulky item but each parcel will weigh no more than 25kg.
Please note that 4PL solution is not in scope of this tender.
Contract requirements include as a minimum:
• Time definite delivery service
• System integration
• Customer Self-Serve
• Account Management
• Stakeholder Engagement
The Contract has an estimated value of between £7.5 million and £10.5 million inclusive of VAT for the maximum life of the Contract (5 years). These figures are indicative and based on YPO's anticipated business requirements under a sole supplier arrangement; actual volumes may vary.
Total value (estimated)
- £10,500,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 14 April 2026 to 14 April 2028
- Possible extension to 30 April 2031
- 5 years, 17 days
Description of possible extension:
The commencement date of the contract is dependent on the stage at which an award is made. Should an award be made at Stage 1, the contract will begin in January 2026 and run until January 2028. If the procurement progresses to Stages 2 and 3, the contract will commence in April 2026 and conclude April 2028.
In both scenarios, YPO reserves the right to extend the contract by up to three additional 12-month periods. If the contract commences in January 2026 (Stage 1 award), the first extension decision will be made by September 2027. If the contract commences in April 2026 (Stage 3 award), the decision will be made by January 2028. In either case, the decision to extend will be subject to satisfactory performance against all contractual obligations, prevailing market conditions, and YPO's internal contracting requirements.
The maximum contract duration, including extensions, will be five (5) years, ending no later than 30 April 2031, and will be subject to annual review, including price re-establishment and performance against key performance indicators (KPIs).
Options
The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid.
Any resulting Contract shall be deemed to cover any item and service that can be supplied by the successful Tenderer over the life of the Contract within the scope of 3PL Single and Multi-Parcel Consignment Delivery Service.
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
Contract locations
- UKE45 - Wakefield
Participation
Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation
Please refer to the procurement documents
Technical ability conditions of participation
Please refer to the procurement documents
Particular suitability
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
- Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE)
Submission
Enquiry deadline
13 October 2025, 4:00pm
Submission type
Tenders
Tender submission deadline
30 October 2025, 4:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
3 April 2026
Recurring procurement
Publication date of next tender notice (estimated): 1 May 2030
Award criteria
| Name | Description | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | PROPOSED WEIGHTING RANGE FOR FINAL TENDERS: 20% - 60% SUB-CRITERIA FOR 1st STAGE: AC 1 Total Price Offer - 100% AC 2 Fuel Surcharge - Not Evaluated (For Information Only) |
Cost | 40% |
| Quality | PROPOSED WEIGHTING RANGE FOR FINAL TENDERS: 20% - 60% SUB-CRITERIA FOR 1st STAGE: AC 3 Implementation - 10% AC 4 Distribution Network Infrastructure - 20% AC 5 Policies and Procedures - 5% AC 6 Customer... |
Quality | 40% |
| Social Value /Sustainability | PROPOSED WEIGHTING RANGE FOR FINAL TENDERS: 20% SUB-CRITERIA FOR 1st STAGE: AC 10 Theme 3 - 40% AC 11 Theme 5 - 40% AC 12 Modern Slavery - 20% |
Quality | 20% |
Other information
Description of risks to contract performance
YPO has identified the following potential Contract risks affecting this Contract:
IT Integration Considerations
There is a recognised risk of integration challenges between YPO's internal systems and the appointed supplier's platforms, particularly in relation to label generation and manifest processing. Such challenges could impact operational efficiency and service continuity if not addressed effectively.
To mitigate this risk, YPO requires the Successful Provider to work collaboratively with YPO's IT department immediately following contract award. This collaboration will focus on ensuring seamless system integration and operational readiness.
To support this, an implementation period of 8 to 12 weeks will be built into the project timeline between contract award and service commencement. This period is specifically allocated for technical setup, system configuration, integration testing, and staff training. It is a critical phase designed to ensure that all systems are fully functional, aligned with YPO's operational requirements, and capable of supporting a smooth transition into live service.
Pricing Structures
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine, alongside recent escalations in the Middle East, particularly incidents involving the U.S. and Iran, continues to contribute to global geopolitical instability. These developments pose a significant risk to the stability of oil markets, potentially leading to increased volatility in diesel and fuel prices. Consequently, suppliers may find it challenging to commit to fixed pricing over a 12-month period.
To mitigate this risk, YPO will require suppliers to provide clear and transparent information detailing the methodology used to calculate fuel surcharges and any additional fees applicable from Year 1 onwards. This information will be critical for effective contract management and financial forecasting. However, to ensure a fair and consistent evaluation of core pricing across all bids, fuel surcharge methodologies will be excluded from the financial scoring process.
Where the relevant, conditions under Schedule 8 of the Act are satisfied, the modification of the Contract to remedy the identified risks would be treated as a permitted Contract modification.
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Competitive flexible procedure
Competitive flexible procedure description
This Competitive Flexible Procedure will be conducted in up to three (3) stages.
Stage 1: Invitation to Tender Stage (ITT)
Stage 1 commences with the issuing of a Tender Notice accompanied by the release of the ITT document and all associated Procurement documentation.
Bidders are required to respond to procurement specific questionnaire (PSQ), Conditions of Participation, Mandatory Requirements, Technical Capability Questions, Social Value Questions and Price Offer Schedule and return in accordance with the timetable and instructions within the ITT document, if they wish to be considered for this opportunity.
YPO reserves the right to conclude the procurement process and proceed directly to contract award following the Stage 1 evaluation, should a single Tenderer emerge as the highest scoring participant. This is subject to their submission meeting all mandatory requirements, being fully compliant and unambiguous, and clearly demonstrating their capability to deliver the full scope of the Contract. In such a case, YPO reserves the right to decide not to progress to any further stages of the procurement process.
YPO also reserves the right to request clarification from any Tenderer at Stage 1, where necessary, without the need to progress to Stage 2, to support a full and accurate evaluation of their submission.
If no single Tenderer emerges as the highest scoring participant in Stage 1, YPO will invite the two highest scoring Tenderers to proceed to Stage 2. This stage will include structured dialogue and supplier site visits to allow YPO to understand each supplier's operational capabilities, systems, and proposed solutions in a live environment.
YPO also reserves the right to invite additional tenderers to Stage 2 where the margin between the second and third (or fourth) ranked suppliers is less than 5%. In such cases, up to two additional suppliers may be invited to ensure a fair and competitive process.
Stage 2: Invitation to Dialogue and Supplier Site Visits
Stage 2 will commence with YPO issuing a Dialogue and Site Visit Document, which will outline the requirements and expectations for the upcoming meetings. This document will also include any new information made available to Tenderers at this stage of the Procurement process. This stage is designed to enhance mutual understanding and will not form part of the formal scoring process. Its purpose is to allow YPO to gain a clearer insight into the suppliers' operational capabilities, systems, and proposed solutions in a live environment.
This stage is not scored and is intended to support mutual understanding and refinement of proposed solutions. Supplier site visits will enable YPO to validate assumptions regarding each Tenderer's proposed solution and ensure alignment with the specification. These visits will also provide an opportunity for YPO to explore the range of potential solutions and, where appropriate, refine or adjust the specification to optimise the scope and terms of the Contract.
This phase of the procedure will continue until YPO determines that the Dialogue and Site Visit stage has been sufficiently completed. At that point, YPO will formally declare the Dialogue and Site Visit phase concluded and will issue an Invitation to Submit Final Tender to all participating Tenderers.
Stage 3: Invitation to Submit Final Tenders Stage
Following completion of Stage 2 engagement activities, including supplier dialogue and site visits, YPO will undertake a review of the specification and requirements. This review will be informed by the insights and feedback gathered during these interactions, allowing YPO to refine and clarify its expectations to ensure they are practical, relevant, and aligned with market capabilities. Where any procurement documents are affected by these refinements, updated versions will be republished to all participating Tenderers to ensure transparency and consistency in the Final Tender stage. Any amendments to procurement documents will be made only if they do not break rules around equal treatment of Tenderers and if they do not artificially narrow competition.
At the Final Tender stage, suppliers are expected to submit their most competitive and comprehensive proposal, aligned with YPO's requirements as refined through the Dialogue and Site Visits. Submissions should include all elements necessary for the effective performance of the Contract and must fully meet YPO's stated requirements. Final Tenders are expected to represent the Tenderer's definitive offer, as there will be limited opportunity for modification after submission. However, YPO reserves the right to request clarification, specification, or optimisation of Final Tenders. Any such requests will not permit changes to the essential aspects of the Tender Response or the Procurement requirements, where such changes could distort competition, have a discriminatory effect or result in unequal treatment of Tenderers.
Final Tender submissions will be evaluated independently of any previous stages of the procurement process. Scores awarded during Stage 1 and insights gathered during Stage 2 dialogue and engagement activities will not be carried forward or considered in the assessment of Final Tenders. Stage 3 represents a fresh and standalone evaluation, based solely on the Final Tender submissions received in response to the refined specification and requirements.
Please note that YPO reserves the right to refine award criteria and sub-criteria prior to Final Tenders, following the further Dialogue and Site Visits stage. The exact details will be issued at the Final Tender stage however, any refinements will only be made if they do not violate fair treatment of all bidders.
Contracting authority
Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PMRV-4748-MNJV
41 Industrial Park
Wakefield
WF2 0XE
United Kingdom
Email: cat.wingrove@ypo.co.uk
Region: UKE45 - Wakefield
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government