Notice Information
Notice Title
Unit 4 Upgrade
Notice Description
The U4ERP (Unit4 Enterprise Resource Planning) application is the system used by the entire university for the management and control of its finances and core financial operations. The application is essential IT infrastructure as it provides accounting functionality with end-to-end financial operations capability, which enables budget allocation and management across the whole university. It is also the system that handles all expense claims (staff & students), procurement, accounts receivable (commercial), accounts payable, estates inventory management, fixed assets management, , accounting and financial management, accounting for capital and projects, commitment accounting and reporting. Included in the contract is also e-invoicing functionality, together with contract management, and an option to migrate to Unit4's new partner for providing a research costing & pricing platform. The firm also provides support and maintenance under this contract. In addition, U4ERP will also be hosted by Unit4 in the cloud.
Procurement Information
Regulation 32(2)(c) permits the award of a public contract for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority; the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with. The University considers that its reliance on Regulation 32(2)(c) is justified for the following reasons: The University has a perpetual license for the The U4ERP (Unit4 Enterprise Resource Planning and receives annual maintenance and support from Unit4 Business Software Limited (Unit4). On 17 October 2023 Unit4 announced that it would no longer provide maintenance and support services for perpetual licences or any on-premises solutions post 31 December 2024, meaning that due to these unforeseen events University have to sign the contract by end of 2024 and migrate the existing solution to Unit4's own cloud services within the 3 year contract period. The Unit4 system is an essential part of the University infrastructure such that any down time or system failure would have a detrimental effect on the running of the University services. Unit4's announcement that it would cease to provide maintenance and support services for on-premises solutions post 31 December 2024 was not foreseeable by the University and has given rise to a situation of extreme urgency in which the University must ensure that its ERP systems do not become unsupported post 31 December 2024. It is the University position that the time period provided by Unit4 before the ERP system becomes unsupported is insufficient to undertake the intricate process of compiling detailed business requirements for a new solution, perform an exhaustive market analysis, execute a comprehensive open procurement exercise, and deploy a new system prior to 31 December 2024. The decision to award a contract pursuant to Unit4 pursuant to Regulation 32(2)(c) is therefore considered to be strictly necessary in a situation of extreme urgency, to ensure business continuity for the University. This approach will also provide the necessary time to conduct wider assessment of its infrastructural IT provision - with respect to Finance, HR and Procurement and ensure that any future procurement decisions align with the University best interests and value for money obligations.
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-04c047
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038237-2024
- Current Stage
- Award
- All Stages
- Award
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- Award Notice
- Procurement Type
- Standard
- Procurement Category
- Services
- Procurement Method
- Limited
- Procurement Method Details
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Tender Suitability
- Not specified
- Awardee Scale
- Large
Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
- CPV Divisions
72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
-
- CPV Codes
72260000 - Software-related services
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- Not specified
- Lots Value
- Not specified
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- £864,096 £500K-£1M
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 26 Nov 20241 years ago
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- Not specified
- Award Date
- 18 Nov 20241 years ago
- Contract Period
- Not specified - Not specified
- Recurrence
- Not specified
Notice Status
- Tender Status
- Complete
- Lots Status
- Not Specified
- Awards Status
- Active
- Contracts Status
- Active
Buyer & Supplier
Contracting Authority (Buyer)
- Main Buyer
- UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX(THE)
- Contact Name
- Kasia Thomas
- Contact Email
- kasia.thomas@sussex.ac.uk
- Contact Phone
- +44 1234567890
Buyer Location
- Locality
- BRIGHTON
- Postcode
- BN1 9RH
- Post Town
- Brighton
- Country
- England
-
- Major Region (ITL 1)
- TLJ South East (England)
- Basic Region (ITL 2)
- TLJ2 Surrey, East and West Sussex
- Small Region (ITL 3)
- TLJ21 Brighton and Hove
- Delivery Location
- TLJ21 Brighton and Hove
-
- Local Authority
- Brighton and Hove
- Electoral Ward
- Coldean & Stanmer
- Westminster Constituency
- Brighton Pavilion
Further Information
Notice URLs
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
View full OCDS Record for this contracting process
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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