Prior information notice

This notice is for prior information only

Section I: Contracting authority

I.1) Name and addresses

I.2) Joint procurement

The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body

I.3) Communication

Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address

I.4) Type of the contracting authority

Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions

I.5) Main activity

Other: Public procurement

Section II: Object

II.1) Scope of the procurement

II.2) Description

II.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice:

24/01/2025

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.3) Additional information

This Prior Information Notice is to signal an intention to commence market engagement with those within the courier, logistics, and warehousing market.

Crown Commercial Service intends to hold market engagement sessions during February and March 2024 with suppliers interested in potentially bidding for the resulting framework agreement. If you are interested in attending a market engagement session please express your interest by emailing ccscourierteam@crowncommercial.gov.uk by no later than midday on Tuesday 30th January 2024. Further details will be provided to you.

Your email must clearly state: the name of your organisation, and contact details for the individual(s) who will participate in the market engagement. Crown Commercial Service (CCS) will use an eSourcing system for this competition and reserves the right to use an electronic auction. The eSourcing system we will use is https://crowncommercialservice.bravosolution.co.uk.

Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so.

The value in II.1.5 is an indicative value over 4 years.

The date in II.3) is the estimated date of publication, please refer to the CCS website page https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/upcoming for updates and monitor Find A Tender Service for the publication of the contract notice.

The Cyber Essentials scheme is mandatory for Central Government Contracts which involve handling personal information and providing certain ICT products and services. The Government is taking steps to further reduce the levels of cyber security risk in its supply chain through the Cyber Essentials scheme. The scheme defines a set of controls which, when properly implemented, will provide organisations with basic protection from the most prevalent forms of threat coming from the internet.

To participate in this procurement, bidders will be required to demonstrate that they are Cyber Essentials Plus certified for the services under and in connection with the procurement

Please note to demonstrate to the satisfaction of CCS that you meet the Cyber Essentials requirement you will need to provide independent verified evidence of the equivalent and identify where the Cyber Essentials requirements have been met and verification must be by a technically competent and independent third party. This technically competent and independent third party must be an IASME registered Certification Body.

If you are successful, and the evidence you provide does not meet the requirements of the Contracting Authority, you shall be prohibited from commencing the provision of Deliverables under any Contract until such time as you have evidenced to the satisfaction of CCS that you meet the Cyber Essentials requirement.

Bidders tendering for the storage will be required to hold ISO9001 for services under and in connection with the procurement.

Bidders tendering for the kitting and co packing may be required to hold ISO13485 for services under and in connection with the procurement. This requirement will be determined following further scoping.

The bidder may be awarded a contract but shall not enter into any call off contracts with buyers until they are able to demonstrate to CCS that they have the required certifications in place.

The services that arise from this framework will involve the supplier holding material that has been assigned a protective marking under the Government Security Classifications Scheme (April 2014) of OFFICIAL/SENSITIVE. Bidders will be required to implement their solution in accordance with the Framework Agreement Schedule, “Security Requirement and Plan”, to meet Framework Agreement requirements. This will be released at the ITT stage.

A Future Opportunity on contract finder can be found here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/cff245e1-2f9f-4617-9723

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice

19/01/2024