Contract notice – utilities
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
NORTHUMBRIAN WATER GROUP LIMITED
366703
Northumbria House,Abbey Road, Pity Me
DURHAM
DH15FJ
UK
Contact person: Laura McMain
Telephone: +44 7805786518
E-mail: laura.mcmain@nwl.co.uk
NUTS: UKC14
Internet address(es)
Main address: www.nwl.co.uk
I.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge at:
https://s1.ariba.com
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent electronically to:
https://s1.ariba.com
I.6) Main activity
Water
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Postal Services
Reference number: NW2650
II.1.2) Main CPV code
64110000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
NWL are looking to identify a service provider for the provision of postal services primarily for the post mailed by the Customer Department. The services to be provided include;
- Economy Mailmark or Mailmark
- 2 day unsorted
- 3 day unsorted (where a 2 day unsorted service is not available)
NWL require a postal service primarily for business to customer post - bills and letters. We also require it as a means of communication with the company shareholders, and a way of sharing information with employees.
The timeliness of deliveries is critical to NWL as it affects the performance of our Customer Call Centres and impacts on cash flow. The NWL Customer Department currently issues more than 4.5 million postings per year. There is a further small amount of spend through various departments issuing external mail.
The Customer Departments mail is dispatched from the following locations:
- Northumbria House, Pity Me, Durham
- NWL Bill Printers - Warrington (printing services currently under tender so this may change)
The remaining requirements issued via our Facilities Departments are dispatched from the following locations:
- Northumbria House, Pity Me, Durham DH1
- Leat House, Washington NE38
All new potential suppliers must be a downstream access provider (DSA) and have a good track record of service in this service area, gained through service provided since the opening of the market from the 1st January 2006
The Contract start date will be the 1 November 2024
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKC
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Volumes of items mailed - Detailed below are the approximate volumes of mail sent for each service from each of the posting locations. NWL require the collections to be as late as possible in the day.
Customer Department Requirements
Northumbria House
- Daily Volumes 35, Annual Volumes 9,200, 2 day unsorted service, Monday to Friday, Collection times - Approx 4:00pm
NWL Bill Printers
- Daily Volumes 14,538, Annual Volumes 3,780,000, Mailmark/Mailmark Economy, Monday to Friday, Collection times 5:30pm
- Daily Volumes 34,375, Annual Volumes 550,000 (Annual Billing), Mailmark/Mailmark Economy, Monday to Friday 4 days per week from February to March, Collection times 5:30pm
- Daily Volumes 557, Annual Volumes 145,000, 2 day unsorted, Monday to Friday, Collection times 5:30pm
Facilities Department
Northumbria House
- Daily volumes 115, Annual volumes letter 30,000, 2 day unsorted, Monday to Friday, Collection times - Approx 4:00pm
Leat House, Washington
- Daily volumes 12, Annual volumes letter 3,200, 2 day unsorted, Tuesday and Thursday, Collection times - Approx 1:00pm to 3.00pm
The majority of mail collected from the Customer Department are letters and are enclosed in C5 envelopes with a small number of DL envelopes also being used.
Mailsorted (Economy Mailmark) work is presented in trays to obtain the cheapest mailing rates available. We started using Economy Mailmark in November 2023, and this is currently being trialled. We may revert to standard Mailmark if we find the service level is not what we need.
We will require separate account numbers for each of the posting locations and where the Customer Department and Facilities Department mail from the same location we will require two separate accounts.
The volumes for annual billing are in addition to the daily volumes.
From time to time it may be necessary to carry out ad hoc mailings at very short notice.
A small number of items (approximately 100 items per month) are currently mailed abroad we will therefore require an international mail account.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start:
01/11/2024
End:
31/10/2029
This contract is subject to renewal: No
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
No
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
The initial contract term will run from 01/11/2024 for three years to 31/10/2027. The option will be available to extend the Contract from a further two years to 31/10/2029. The total maximum duration of the Contract being five years.
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions for participation
III.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
List and brief description of conditions:
Must be a registered downstream access provider
III.1.2) Economic and financial standing
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
III.1.3) Technical and professional ability
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
III.1.6) Deposits and guarantees required:
If the Dun and Bradstreet credit rating returns a rating of 'above average risk' or 'high risk', the contracting entity will request further financial information for review and a parent company guarantee may be required
III.1.7) Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
Please see the terms and conditions in the Procurement Documents
III.2) Conditions related to the contract
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated with call for competition
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
No
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date:
13/02/2024
Local time: 16:00
IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
EN
IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
Tender must be valid until:
31/10/2024
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement:
No
VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
Electronic ordering will be used
Electronic invoicing will be accepted
Electronic payment will be used
VI.3) Additional information
Applicants are asked to note that this procurement process will be conduced electronically with all documents
and communication being managed through the Northumbrian Water e-Sourcing Spend Management portal called 'Ariba'.
Expressions of interest from this notice must be sent to the e-mail address laura.mcmain@nwl.co.uk before the deadline date
of the 13 February 2024 at 16:00hrs. Once expression of interest has been received that contains the details below, applicants
will be given access to the Ariba portal within 48 hours from request. This portal will contain all the tender
documents associated with this procurement that are available at the time. An email link will also be provided
to the email address you provide to access the portal. The deadline for return of the completed PQQ is the 19th February 2024 at 12noon.
When sending expression of interest, applicants must provide the following information:
1) Full company name
2) Main contact details of the person who will be given access to the Ariba portal - Name, job title, E mail
address and telephone number
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
29/01/2024