Contract notice
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Link Group
2c New Mart Road
Edinburgh
EH14 1RL
UK
Telephone: +44 3303030124
E-mail: linkprocurement@linkgroup.org.uk
NUTS: UK
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://linkhousing.org.uk
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA12842
I.2) Joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
I.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge at:
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent electronically to:
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
Electronic communication requires the use of tools and devices that are not generally available. Unrestricted and full direct access to these tools and devices is possible, free of charge, at:
www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Housing and community amenities
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Replacement of Corporate Telephony and Contact Centre Environment
II.1.2) Main CPV code
64210000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Link Group is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified supplier to provide, implement and support a modern, secure and resilient corporate telephony and Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) solution. The contract will include cloud telephony, omnichannel contact handling, intelligent routing, workforce management, call recording, quality management, reporting and analytics, PCI-compliant payment handling, integration capabilities, migration, implementation, training and ongoing support. The solution will support customer-facing and colleague-facing services across Link Group and will be delivered through a phased approach.
II.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT:
1 500 000.00
GBP
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
64210000
32500000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKM75
Main site or place of performance:
Link House, 2C New Mart Road, Edinburgh, EH14 1RL
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Link Group is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced supplier to provide, implement, migrate, configure and support a modern, secure, resilient and scalable corporate telephony and Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) solution.
The procurement will deliver a group-wide, cloud-based platform supporting customer-facing and colleague-facing services. The future solution must provide an integrated, journey-led and omnichannel contact management capability, incorporating artificial intelligence (AI), automation and advanced analytics as fundamental components of the target platform.
The scope includes corporate telephony; voice, email, webchat and digital contact channels; intelligent, intent-led and skills-based routing; IVR, queues, callbacks and voicemail; workforce management; interaction recording; quality management; PCI-compliant payment handling; operational reporting and analytics; integrations; migration; implementation; training; service management and ongoing support.
The solution must provide advanced AI and interaction analytics capabilities including speech-to-text transcription, conversational and speech analytics, automated interaction categorisation and summarisation, customer intent and topic identification, sentiment analysis and the ability to identify changes in sentiment throughout an interaction. Link Group also requires the ability to identify trends, emerging issues, repeat contact, customer effort, vulnerability indicators, service quality concerns and potential compliance issues across interactions and customer journeys.
AI capabilities should support colleagues through real-time or context-sensitive guidance, knowledge recommendations, automated summaries, suggested actions and other appropriate forms of advisor assistance. The platform must also support automated quality management and analytics across interactions, reducing reliance on small manually selected samples and enabling supervisors to identify opportunities for coaching, improvement and intervention.
The solution should support conversational AI and appropriate customer self-service while enabling effective transfer to a human adviser, with relevant customer context and interaction history retained.
AI and automated capabilities must be subject to appropriate governance, security, auditability and human oversight. Suppliers will be expected to explain how AI services operate, how customer information is processed and protected, and how accuracy, privacy, bias, transparency, data residency and regulatory requirements are addressed.
The platform must integrate with Link Group's existing and evolving technology landscape, including Microsoft 365, business applications, customer and housing systems, knowledge services, payment services and data/reporting platforms, using appropriate APIs and integration services.
Delivery will be phased, allowing Link Group to establish core telephony and CCaaS capabilities while progressively developing its omnichannel, automation, AI and analytics capabilities. The successful supplier will provide implementation, configuration, integration, migration, testing, training and transition services and ongoing operational and technical support.
Bidders must clearly identify where functionality is native to the proposed platform, provided through third parties, separately licensed or consumption-based, or dependent upon future product development or roadmap delivery.
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
Duration in months: 36
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
The contract has an initial 36-month term. Link Group may, at its sole discretion, extend the contract by up to five further 12-month periods, giving a maximum duration of eight years. Extensions are subject to satisfactory performance, business need and affordability. Tender pricing will be evaluated over the full eight-year period.
II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
No
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
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.1.2) Economic and financial standing
List and brief description of selection criteria:
Bidders must demonstrate that they have sufficient economic and financial standing to undertake the contract and to continue to provide the required services throughout the contract term.
Link Group reserves the right to undertake appropriate financial viability and credit checks on bidders, including consideration of annual accounts, turnover, profitability, liquidity, credit standing and other relevant financial information.
Bidders must hold, or commit to obtain prior to contract commencement, appropriate levels of insurance relevant to the services being provided, including Employers' Liability, Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance.
Where a bidder relies upon the financial standing of a parent company, consortium member or other entity, Link Group may require appropriate evidence of that entity's commitment and, where appropriate, a parent company guarantee or equivalent security.
Further details of the minimum requirements and evidence required are set out in the procurement documents.
Minimum level(s) of standards required:
The bidder's average annual turnover for the most recent three financial years must be at least twice the estimated average annual value of the contract.
Employers Liability GBP 10 million
Public and Product Liability GBP 5 million
Professional Indemnity GBP 5 million
Cyber Liability Insurance = GBP 1 million
III.1.3) Technical and professional ability
List and brief description of selection criteria:
Bidders must demonstrate that they have the technical and professional capability, capacity and experience necessary to successfully implement, transition and support the services required under this contract.
As a minimum, bidders will be expected to demonstrate:
relevant and recent experience of successfully implementing and supporting cloud-based corporate telephony and Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) solutions of comparable scale, scope and complexity;
experience of implementing omnichannel contact centre capabilities incorporating voice and digital channels, intelligent routing, workforce management, interaction recording, quality management, reporting and analytics;
experience and capability in the implementation and support of artificial intelligence, automation and advanced interaction analytics, including capabilities such as speech-to-text transcription, sentiment and topic analysis, automated summarisation, conversational analytics, advisor assistance, automated quality management and conversational AI;
appropriate technical resources, skills, implementation methodologies, project management and service management capabilities to design, configure, integrate, migrate, test, transition and support the proposed solution;
experience of integrating CCaaS solutions with enterprise applications, Microsoft technologies, CRM and line-of-business systems, data and reporting platforms, knowledge services and payment services using appropriate APIs and integration technologies;
appropriate information security, cyber security, data protection, business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements applicable to the delivery of the services;
capability to securely process and manage customer interactions, recordings, transcripts and other personal or sensitive information, including appropriate controls relating to AI-enabled processing;
appropriate arrangements for the management of subcontractors and third-party technology providers forming part of the proposed solution; and
sufficient suitably qualified and experienced personnel and resources to deliver the implementation and provide ongoing support throughout the contract term.
Bidders may be required to provide details of relevant contracts delivered during the previous three years, including client references, together with evidence of appropriate technical capability, certifications, accreditations and resources.
Where a bidder relies upon the technical or professional capacity of another organisation, the bidder must demonstrate that the necessary resources will be available for the delivery of the contract.
Further details of the minimum selection requirements, evidence requirements and any mandatory technical criteria are set out in the procurement documents.
III.2) Conditions related to the contract
III.2.2) Contract performance conditions
The successful supplier will be required to comply with all contract terms and conditions and requirements set out in the procurement documents throughout the contract term. These will include requirements relating to implementation and transition, service levels and performance, information and cyber security, data protection and UK GDPR, business continuity and disaster recovery, accessibility, regulatory compliance, responsible use of AI, service and incident management, subcontractor management, support, continuous improvement and exit/transition. The supplier must maintain all applicable insurance, certifications and security controls throughout the relevant period of the contract. Performance will be managed through agreed SLAs, KPIs, reporting and service reviews.
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Open procedure
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:
2026/S 000-072318
IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date:
23/11/2026
Local time: 12:00
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
Duration in months: 4 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
IV.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date:
23/11/2026
Local time: 12:30
Place:
Electronically via Public Contracts Scotland.
Information about authorised persons and opening procedure:
Tenders will be opened electronically following expiry of the submission deadline. The opening will be undertaken by authorised representatives of Link Group. Tenderers will not be permitted to attend the opening.
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
Tenderers should note that all communication relating to this procurement, including clarification questions and tender submissions, must be undertaken through Public Contracts Scotland/PCS-Tender in accordance with the procurement documents.
Link Group reserves the right not to award a contract as a result of this procurement process and will not be liable for any costs incurred by tenderers in participating in the process.
Tenderers should ensure they review all procurement documents and any subsequent clarifications or amendments issued during the procurement process.
The contract will be subject to Scots law.
Link Group reserves the right to require the successful tenderer to provide the supporting evidence necessary to verify statements and declarations made during the procurement process.
NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Public Contracts Scotland Web Site at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=846722.
The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx.
Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems.
(SC Ref:846722)
Download the ESPD document here: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/ESPD/ESPD_Download.aspx?id=846722
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Edinburgh Sheriff Court
27 Chambers Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1LB
UK
VI.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:
An economic operator that suffers, or risks suffering, loss or damage as a consequence of a breach of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 may bring proceedings in accordance with the provisions of those Regulations. Tenderers should seek independent legal advice regarding applicable review procedures and time limits.
VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
Link Group Ltd
2c New Mart Rd
Edinburgh
EH14 1RL
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
06/11/2026