The Student Loans Company Limited: Core System Replacement Service Provider

UK-Glasgow: Industry specific software package.

Section I: Contracting Authority
   I.1)Name, Addresses and Contact Point(s):
      The Student Loans Company
      100 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JD, United Kingdom
      Tel. +44 1412433585, Email: CSR_Procurement@SLC.co.uk, URL: http://www.slc.co.uk/
      Contact: Sheila McCole

      Further information can be obtained at: ANNEX A.I
            
      Specifications and additional documents: ANNEX A.II
            
      Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: ANNEX A.III
            
   
   I.2)Type of the contracting authority:
      Body governed by public law

   I.3) Main activity:
      Education

   I.4) Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities:
      The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: No

Section II: Object Of The Contract: SERVICES
   II.1)Description
      II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority: Core System Replacement Service Provider
      II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance: SERVICES         
         Service Category: 7

         Region Codes: UK - UNITED KINGDOM         
      II.1.3) Information about a public contract, a framework or a dynamic purchasing system:The notice involves a public contract                                                       
      
      II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase:
      Industry specific software package. Software package and information systems. Security software package. IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support. Software programming and consultancy services. Industry specific software development services. Software integration consultancy services. Data services. The Contracting Authority, as part of a wider Business Transformation Programme is seeking to replace its Core Business Systems.

The Core Business Systems comprises of a number of functional software components covering as a minimum, but not limited to: Customer and Loans Account Management; Business Process Management; a Business Rules Engine; Security and Access Management; and an Application Component Integration Layer; to be implemented as an interoperable set.

The Contracting Authority intends to award a contract initially, to a provider who can supply, implement and maintain a Customer and Loans Account Management solution, as a minimum.
      
The other functional software components may be supplied by the provider at a later stage, or be selected by the Contracting Authority.

Providers will be invited to submit proposals for both the Customer and Loans Account Management component, plus the other functional software components, but the Contracting Authority reserves the option to only award a contract for the Customer and Loans Account Management Solution at this time

Details of how these components will integrate within the Contracting Authority’s future applications architecture will be provided as part of the additional information available with the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.

Additional information to be provided with the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire includes:
-   Overview for Bidders
-   Target Architecture Overview
-   Enterprise Conceptual Data Model

During the lifetime of the contract, and as the future requirements of the Contracting Authority mature, the Contracting Authority requires the option to obtain additional and related services, in categories such as, but not limited to:
-   Applications infrastructure
-   Hosting services
-   Data Cleansing and Migration
         
      II.1.6)Common Procurement Vocabulary:
         48100000 - Industry specific software package.
            SA01-0 - For banking
            SA03-6 - For loan
            SA02-3 - For foreign exchange
         
         48000000 - Software package and information systems.
         
         48730000 - Security software package.
         
         72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support.
         
         72200000 - Software programming and consultancy services.
         
         72212100 - Industry specific software development services.
         
         72227000 - Software integration consultancy services.
         
         72300000 - Data services.
         

      II.1.7) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
         The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): Yes       
      II.1.8)Lots:
         This contract is divided into lots: No
      II.1.9)Information about variants:
         Variants will be accepted: Yes    
   
   II.2)Quantity Or Scope Of The Contract
      II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:
      Although variant bids will be accepted, bidders will be required to submit a compliant bid.
A variant bid will not be evaluated if there is no compliant bid also submitted.
If a bidder chooses to submit a variant bid in addition to their compliant bid, this will be accepted for evaluation at Invitation to Participate in Dialogue stage only.

The contract is expected to be for a maximum duration of 11 years and 3 months, to cover both implementation and service delivery, as explained below:-
- 1yr 3 months implementation initial contract award (see additional comments)
- 5yr Service Delivery Contract Award
- 3yr Service Delivery, Option to extend Service Delivery Contract
- 2yr Service Delivery, Option to extend Service Delivery Contract

The implementation phase of the contract is expected to be completed within a 15 month period between contract award in September 2013, and end December 2014
The exact implementation period will be clarified with short-listed bidders during the Dialogue stage of the procurement.
It is anticipated that Delivery will commence on a phased basis from January 2015

The value of the Contract is estimated and is expected to be at, or below, the lower end of the value range for the supply, implementation and maintenance of the Customer and Loans Account Management component.
The lifetime value of the contract will build up over time as loan accounts are added to the Customer & Loans Account Management component.
The total contract value will depend on factors such as the number of customer loan accounts, the components provided by the service provider, enhancements made during the contract term and the extent of any additional and related services (such as but not limited to:- applications infrastructure, hosting services, data cleansing and data migration) that the Contracting Authority may require during the lifetime of the contract.                  
         Estimated value excluding VAT:
         Range between: 20,000,000 and 100,000,000
         Currency: GBP
               
      
      II.2.2)Options: Yes
         If yes, description of these options: During the lifetime of the contract, and as the future requirements of the Contracting Authority mature, the Contracting Authority may require the Provider to supply additional and related services, such as but not limited to:- applications infrastructure, hosting services, data cleansing and data migration                   
         II.2.3)Information about renewals:
            This contract is subject to renewal: No          
   II.3)Duration Of The Contract Or Time-Limit For Completion      
         Starting: 30/09/2013
         Completion: 31/12/2024

   Information About Lots
               
Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial And Technical Information
   III.1)Conditions relating to the contract
      III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:
      The contracting authority may require a Parent Company or other guarantee.
Bidders will be requested to confirm their willingness to provide such a guarantee in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire
Further details regarding the form of a Parent Company guarantee (if required) will be provided in the information to be provided to bidders in the Invitation to Participate in Dialogue.
      
      III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
      Details will be provided in the additional information to be provided to short-listed bidders in the Invitation to Participate in Dialogue
      
      III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
      Where a consortium of other grouping of suppliers submits a bid, such consortium or grouping must nominate a lead organisation to represent the consortium during communications and dialogue with the contracting authority. All consortium or grouping members will be required to be jointly and severally liable in respect to the obligations and liabilities relating to the contract.

If a bidder is a consortium, the following information must be provided:-
- Full details of the consortium; and
- The information sought in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire in respect of each of the consortium’s constituent members, as part of a single composite response.

Bidders should provide details of the actual or proposed percentage shareholding of the constituent members within the consortium as a separate Annex. If a consortium is not proposing to form a corporate entity, full details of alternative proposed arrangements should be provided in the Annex. Please note that the Contracting Authority reserves the right to require a successful consortium to form a single legal entity in accordance with regulation 28 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006.
It is recognised that arrangements in relation to consortia may (within limits) be subject to future change. Bidders should, therefore, respond in light of arrangements as currently envisaged. Bidders are reminded that any future proposed change in relation to consortia must be notified to the Contracting Authority so that it can make a further assessment by applying the selection criteria to the new information provided.

Where a sub-contracting approach is proposed, a prime contractor must be identified.
Where sub-contractors will play a significant role in the delivery of the services or products under any ensuing contract, bidders will be required to indicate the composition of the supply chain, indicating which member of the supply chain will be responsible for the elements of the requirement, noting that ultimate responsibility will reside with the prime contractor.
It is recognised that arrangements in relation to sub-contracting may be subject to future change, However, bidders should be aware that where sub-contractors are to play a significant role, any changes to those sub-contracting arrangements may constitute a material change and therefore may affect the ability of a bidder to proceed with the procurement process or to provide the Services.
      
      III.1.4)Other particular conditions:
         The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions:Yes       
      If Yes, description of particular conditions:
      A full contract, terms & conditions and contract schedules will be provided with the Invitation to Participate in Dialogue      
   III.2)Conditions For Participation
      III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers:

      The Contracting Authority will apply all the offences listed in Article 45(1) of Directive 2004/18/EC (implemented as Regulation 23(1) of the Public Contract Regulations (PCR) 2006 in the UK) and all of the professional misconducts listed at Article 45(2) of Directive 2004/18/EC (see also Regulation 23(2) in the PCR 2006) to the decision of whether a Bidder is eligible to be invited to tender.

Details of criteria are explained in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire
Bidders will be required to answer these questions as part of the pre-qualification stage. For bidders who are registered overseas, there is a requirement to declare if there are any offences/misconducts under their domestic laws, where these laws are equivalent to the Regulation 23 lists.
Bidders who have been convicted of any of the offences under Article 45(1) are ineligible and will not be selected to bid, unless there are overriding requirements in the general interest for doing so. Bidders who are guilty of any of the offences, circumstances or misconduct under Article 45(2) may be excluded from being selected to bid at the discretion of the Contracting Authority.      
      III.2.2)Economic and financial capacity
         Economic and financial capacity - means of proof required:         
         
         Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met:
         Full details for information on means of proof required will be described in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire

The Student Loans Company is looking to seek assurance that the bidder, and where applicable each consortia member, is not a significant risk in relation to the specific requirements of the procurement. Where financial viability presents a clear risk to SLC the bidder may be excluded on this basis, irrespective of scores in other non-financial areas. As a minimum, analysis will be undertaken on factors regarding turnover and liquidity to assess the bidder’s economic and financial standing.
SLC reserves the right to pass bidders through a credit reference check and disqualify bidders whose credit references do not meet minimum requirements

Analysis will be undertaken on factors regarding turnover and liquidity to assess bidders’ economic and financial standing. It is expected that the contract should represent no more than 35% of the annual turnover of any economic entity; that the liquidity ratio of a bidder will be no lower than 1:0.8; and that the credit reference score is above 60%.
The following definitions will be used for the ratings in respect of the areas of assessment stated in Form D of the PQQ
• Unsatisfactory – Where the economic and financial standing of the bidder poses a risk to delivery of the project.
• Satisfactory – Where the bidder’s economic and financial standing does not pose an apparent risk to the delivery of the project

In order to be eligible for pre-qualification, bidders must receive a satisfactory rating in respect of their demonstrated Economic and Financial Standing.         
         Minimum Level(s) of standards possibly required:
         The Government’s Guidance on Financial Appraisal of Suppliers will form the basis of the Evaluation approach for Economic & Financial Standings
      
      III.2.3)Technical capacity
         Technical capacity - means of proof required         
         
         Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met:
         Full details for information on means of proof required will be described in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire

Under Directive 2004/18/EC and the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 ("Regulations"), contracting authorities are entitled to establish minimum standards of technical or professional ability (including minimum standards for reliability based on past performance) which must be met by potential bidders for public contracts

Bidders will be required to provide details of three contracts from either, or both, the public or private sector, that are relevant to the SLC’s requirement. Contracts for the supply of goods or services should have been performed during the past three years. The customer contact should be prepared to speak to the SLC to confirm the accuracy of the information provided by bidders and answer questions if we wish to contact them.

The Pre-Qualification Questionnaire contains a section on technical and professional ability, including a requirement to provide relevant references         
         Minimum Level(s) of standards possibly required:
         • Bidders must be able to demonstrate compliance, or the ability to comply with, the Government’s Standards on Protective Security

Guidance covering Government Protective Security can be found at:-
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Legal-Guidance-v7-Oct-11.pdf


• Bidders may be required to provide evidence of accreditation in areas such as:
- IT Service Management, such as ITIL or equivalent
- Structured Project Control Framework, such as Prince 2 or equivalent
- International Management Standards, such as BSI and/or ISO or equivalent

• Bidders must meet the minimum standard in relation to reliability based on past performance.
The minimum standard for reliability having regard to past performance is that the Contracting Authority is satisfied that the contracts references to be provided in the Pre-Qualification response have been satisfactorily performed in accordance with their terms or, where that has not occurred, the reason or reasons why that has not occurred in relation to any such contract, will not recur in the performance of the contract to be awarded
The Contracting Authority will assess whether or not this minimum standard is met at the Pre-Qualification stage. In addition the Contracting Authority will also re-assess whether this minimum standard is met prior to the granting of preferred bidder status, and/or the conclusion of the procurement process.      
      III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts: Not Provided   
   III.3)Conditions Specific To Service Contracts
      III.3.1)Information about a particular profession:
         Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: No       
      III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the service:
         Legal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service: No
Section IV: Procedure
   IV.1)Type Of Procedure
      IV.1.1)Type of procedure: Competitive Dialogue
      
      IV.1.2)Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate:
                        Envisaged minimum number: 3 and maximum number: 5         
         Objective Criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates:
         The Contracting Authority intends to Invite to Participate in Dialogue a minimum of three (3) bidders, with an envisaged maximum of five (5) bidders, on the basis of order of ranking of bidders at the Pre-Qualification stage
During the Pre-Qualification stage, the criteria referred to in part 4 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 as amended will be used to mark and assess submissions following which, and based on the order of ranking, the Contracting Authority will exercise its sole and absolute discretion to determine the number of candidates to be Invited to Participate in Dialogue.
During, or at the end of, the Dialogue stage, there may a further reduction to the number of bidders Invited to Submit Final Tenders.

Criteria for selecting bidders to be Invited to Participate in Dialogue will be described in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire
Evaluation Criteria for the Dialogue stage and the Final Tender Evaluation will be described in the Invitation to Participate in Dialogue, and the subsequent Invitation to Submit Final Tender
During the Dialogue stage of the procurement bidder solutions will be evaluated against pre-determined criteria that may include evaluation through demonstration, either through use of a prototype, or other demonstration tools, that may be provided by the SLC.      
      IV.1.3)Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue: Yes    
   IV.2)Award Criteria
      IV.2.1)Award criteria:      
         The most economically advantageous tender in terms of
            The criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document

      IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction:
         An electronic auction will be used: No       

   IV.3)Administrative Information
      IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority: 2012/SLC/093      
      IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract: No

      IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document:

      Date: 22/02/2013
      Time-limit for receipt of requests for documents or for accessing documents: 09:00
         Payable documents: No       
      
      IV.3.4)Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
         Date: 22/02/2013
         Time: 12:00      
      IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates: 25/03/2013      
      IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up:         English
         


Section VI: Complementary Information

   VI.1)This Is A Recurrent Procurement: No
   VI.2)Information about European Union funds:
      The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No       
   VI.3)Additional Information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement, and the contract will be awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender.

Details of additional reference documents providing context and/or background information will be included in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire, or by following the links below

- SLC 2012 Annual Report; The 2012 Annual Report of the Student Loans Company gives details of what SLC does, how its measured, and how it performed during the period; http://www.slc.co.uk/media/374529/slc_annual_report_1112_final.pdf

- SLC Official Statistics; The Student Loans Company (SLC) publishes Official Statistics on behalf of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the devolved administrations; http://www.slc.co.uk/statistics.aspx

- SLC Practitioners Website; Online tools, downloadable presentations and factsheets about student finance England; http://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/

- Major Projects Authority; The MPA is a collaboration between the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and Departments with the fundamental aim of significantly improving the delivery success rate of Major Projects across central government; http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/major-projects-authority

- BIS Project management guidance; Projectcentre is a service designed to improve programme and project management within the Department, its Agencies and NDPBs; http://www.bis.gov.uk/about/who-we-are/projectcentre

- Public Services Network; PSN provides an assured network over which Government can safely share services; http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/public-services-network

- Browne Review; Independent Review Of Higher Education Funding & Student Finance; http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/corporate/docs/s/10-1208-securing-sustainable-higher-education-browne-report.pdf

- BIS Response to Browne Review; The Government’s response to Lord Browne’s Review; http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/higher-education/docs/g/11-1046-government-response-to-browne-review

- Competitive Dialogue Procedure Guidance; Guidance on use of the Competitive Dialogue Procurement procedure; www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/competitive_dialogue_procedure.pdf

The Contracting Authority approach to the procurement is aligned with the Government’s ICT Strategy and the Government’s Digital Strategy.
Information on how to access these Strategies will be included in the documentation to
be provided with the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire and from the links below:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/uk-government
government-ict-strategy_0.pdf
http://publications.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/digital/strategy/government-digital-strategy.pdf

Short-listed bidders proceeding the Competitive Dialogue stage and Final Tender stage
should expect that their proposals will be subject to an assessment of how they align
with the Government’s ICT Strategy and the Government’s Digital Strategy

Details of the evaluation criteria will be provided to short-listed bidders in the Invitation
to Participate in Dialogue

Although II.1.9 indicates that variant bids will be expected, bidders will be required to submit a compliant bid.
A variant bid will not be evaluated if there is no compliant bid submitted.
If a bidder chooses to submit a variant bid in addition to, or as an alternative to, their compliant bid, this will be accepted for evaluation at Invitation to Participate in Dialogue stage only.
The Contracting Authority reserves the right not to accept variant bids at the Invitation to Submit Final Tender stage

The Contracting Authority expressly reserves the right:
- not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice;
- to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the tendering competition; and
- to award one or more public contract(s) in relation to part only of the requirements covered by this notice; and
- to award a contract(s) in stages.

In no circumstances will the Contracting Authority be liable to any bidder for any costs incurred
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Glasgow:-Industry-specific-software-package./D42Z7ESMA2

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/D42Z7ESMA2
GO-2013116-PRO-4518835 TKR-2013116-PRO-4518834
   
   VI.4)Procedures For Appeal
      VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures:
      Not Provided

      VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals: The Contracting Authority will incorporate a minimum 10 calendar day standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers.
Applicants who are unsuccessful shall be informed by the Contracting Authority as soon as possible after the decision has been made as to the reasons why the Applicant was unsuccessful.
If an appeal regarding the award of the contract has not been successfully resolved, The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No. 5) provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland).
Any such action must generally be brought within 30 days. If a declaration of ineffectiveness is sought, any such action must be brought within 30 days where the Contracting Authority has communicated the award of the contract and a summary of reasons to tenderers, or otherwise within 6 months of the contract being entered into.
Where a contract has not been entered into, the Court may order the setting aside of the award decision or order the Contracting Authority to amend any document and may award damages.
If the contract has been entered into the Court may, depending on the circumstances, award damages, make a declaration of ineffectiveness, order the Contracting Authority to pay a fine, and/or order that the duration of the contract be shortened.
The purpose of the standstill period referred to above is to allow the parties to apply to the Courts to set aside the award decision before the contract is entered into.   
   
      VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained:
            Not Provided

   VI.5) Date Of Dispatch Of This Notice: 16/01/2013

ANNEX A
   I) Addresses and contact points from which further information can be obtained:
      The Student Loans Company
      100 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JD, United Kingdom
      Email: csr_procurement@slc.co.uk   
   
   II) Addresses and contact points from which specifications and additional documents can be obtained:
      The Student Loans Company
      100 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JD, United Kingdom
      Email: csr_procurement@slc.co.uk   
   
   III) Addresses and contact points to which tenders/requests to participate must be sent:
      The Student Loans Company
      100 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7JD, United Kingdom
      Email: csr_procurement@slc.co.uk