Award

How efficient are retail services in the water sector compared to other sectors?

WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

30 Aug 2017 at 13:43

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY has recently completed a procurement process for a study titled "How efficient are retail services in the water sector compared to other sectors?" This project falls under the industry category of business and management consultancy services, with delivery locations in the West Midlands and London, United Kingdom. The procurement started on 4th July 2017 and lasted until 15th October 2017, following a tendering process that concluded with an award date of 27th June 2017. The total contract value was £103,760, aimed at assessing efficiency in bad debt management and customer service costs within the water sector as part of the preparations for the 2019 price review.

This procurement presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in management consultancy, particularly those with expertise in the water sector and financial assessments. Companies focusing on bad debt management, customer service optimisation, and comparative efficiency analysis would be well-suited to compete. As a call-off contract, this may also allow for additional responsibilities and consulting services related to the water sector, providing a platform for growth and the expansion of service offerings in this regulated industry.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

How efficient are retail services in the water sector compared to other sectors?

Notice Description

Objectives The objective of this work is to inform our PR19 approach to assess the current efficiency of residential retail services- in England and Wales in the water sector through comparison with other sectors, in advance of the 2019 price review. The work will focus on the assessment of bad debt, debt management and customer service costs (bill handling and call centre costs) of water companies. Data on bad debt, doubtful debt, revenue recovery and revenue written off is available at Ofwat database. We expect the contractor to produce a report and provide recommendations that are practical to implement in PR19. Scope and Key Tasks The project consists of two work packages: Work package 1: assessment of bad debt levels and bad debt management practice The Contractor will assess the efficiency of bad debt levels and bad debt management practices in the water sector relative to other sectors. - Assess bad debt levels and trends in the water sector and how they compare to other sectors. - If levels are higher than in other sectors, to what extent is it due to factors within company control or beyond company control? Would better company management practices in the water sector reduce level of bad debts? - Identify efficient level of bad debts in the sector, based on comparison with other sectors and evidence on revenue collection and debt management practices. - Review revenue collection and debt management practices in the water sector and make recommendations on how these can be improved. - Develop an assessment framework for Ofwat that can be used at PR19 to help inform our view of the efficiency of water companies in managing revenue recovery and bad debts. - Identify best practice with respect to debt management and recovery in other sectors. And provide recommendations for Ofwat on whether its guidelines on dealing with customers in debt should be updated. Work package 2: assessment of customer services costs The Contractor will assess the efficiency of customer service costs (bill handling and call centre costs) in the water sector relative to other sectors. The Contractor will recommend whether and to what extent we can use information from other sectors to inform the cost efficiency challenge that we set to water companies in respect to this service. Additional information: Please note that this is a call-off contract so it is difficult to quantify exact spend. Also that the PROC number PROC.01.0543 was incorrectly used and should be PROC.01.0566. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-6dead768-b926-49e7-a62f-b4f530379148
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ee55a5b7-70ba-46f5-aa27-c55d7d5ba152
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Other -
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

79410000 - Business and management consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£103,760 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
30 Aug 20178 years ago
Submission Deadline
7 Jun 2017Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
26 Jun 20178 years ago
Contract Period
3 Jul 2017 - 15 Oct 2017 1-6 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BIRMINGHAM
Postcode
B5 4UA
Post Town
Birmingham
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLG West Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLG3 West Midlands
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLG31 Birmingham
Delivery Location
TLG West Midlands (England), TLI London
Local Authority
Birmingham
Electoral Ward
Ladywood
Westminster Constituency
Birmingham Ladywood

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

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