Planning

Contract Management and Supplier Relationship Software

LONDON BOROUGH OF MERTON

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

04 Dec 2025 at 10:40

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

03 Dec 2025 at 12:55

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The London Borough of Merton is currently in the planning stage of a procurement process for a Contract Management and Supplier Relationship System, intending to enhance its contract management across the council. As part of this process, the Authority is conducting a soft market testing exercise to collect market intelligence and assess supplier capabilities, specifically aimed at supporting the full contract lifecycle in compliance with the Procurement Act 2023. This initiative is not a call for competition but rather a preliminary market engagement with responses due electronically by 14 January 2026. The procurement's industry category includes software-related services and contract systems analysis, with an emphasis on integrating with existing systems such as SharePoint and Nitro eSign. The procurement exercise is managed virtually through the London Tenders Portal, with anticipated contract commencement in May 2026.

This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses that specialise in digital solutions for contract management systems, particularly those that can demonstrate capability in compliance, integration, performance monitoring, and workflow automation. Companies that offer scalable, future-proofed platforms with robust integration capabilities and support for existing council systems will be well-placed to compete. Small and medium enterprises are encouraged to respond, especially if they have prior experience with public authorities and can offer comprehensive solutions catered to the needs of the London Borough of Merton. Businesses with certified compliance standards such as ISO/IEC 27001 and those providing innovative, cost-effective solutions that ensure value for money will have a competitive edge in this market engagement process.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Contract Management and Supplier Relationship Software

Notice Description

Re: Soft Market Testing Questionnaire for Contract Management & Supplier Relationship System The London Borough of Merton ("the Authority") is seeking to undertake a procurement exercise to procure a contract management and supplier relationship system/software to help manage contracts across the council. The system is intended to help support contract managers to performance manage contracts/services throughout the lifecycle of the contract. The system will need to enhance the contract management capabilities, and help the council to meet it legal obligations, specifically relating to Procurement Act 23. The Authority would like to discuss the provision of Contract Management & Supplier Relationship System. There are a set of questions at the end that we request responses to. Please note that this is NOT a call for competition. Your duly completed questionnaire must be received by 14 January 2026 via the London Tenders Portal (https://procontract.due-north.com/register/). Further information is available in Section 2. Any questionnaires received after this deadline will not be accepted. Should you have any queries regarding the process or questionnaire contents, please direct your queries to the nominated contact via the London Tenders Portal (https://procontract.due-north.com/register/). About the Contract: The London Borough of Merton currently has no dedicated contract management system in place. Officers rely on spreadsheets, Word documents, and siloed approaches, which creates inconsistency, duplication of effort, and limited visibility of contract performance. This leads to risks around compliance with the Procurement Act 2023, reduced assurance on value for money, and inefficient processes. The Council is seeking a contract and supplier management solution to: Ideally integrate with Merton's existing tools such as SharePoint, Nitro (eSign), E5 finance system, and Proactis. The Authority is particularly interested in digital solutions that can futureproof contract management, enhance performance monitoring, and provide assurance to senior leadership on delivery and savings. The service objective are as follows: 1. Enhance governance and compliance * Ensure compliance with the Procurement Act 23 and the National Procurement Policy Statement * Provide clear audit trails, approvals and transparency across the full contract lifecycle * Standardise contract management practices across Merton. 2. Improve contract performance management * Enable real-time monitoring of supplier performance against KPIs, SLAs and social value commitments * Dashboards and alerts to highlight risks, underperformance and opportunities * Support proactive issue resolution and continuous improvement in supplier relationships 3. Enable strategic oversight and assurance * Provide senior leaders with visibility of contract pipeline, spend, savings and performance * Support data-driven decision making through integrated reporting and analysis * Enhance assurance for the council, i.e. SROs, Audit and Scrutiny Committees 4. Streamline workflows and reduce manual processes * Automate tasks such as contract renewal, variations and approval workflows * Minimise duplication of effort and resilience on spreadsheets and siloed systems/practices * Provide structured templates and processes for consistency 5. Support integration and collaboration * Seamlessly integrate with existing systems (SharePoint, Proactis, Nitro eSign, E5 finance system, and other systems where necessary) * Provide collaborative tolls for Procurement, Finance, Legal and service departments * Facilitate information sharing and joined-up working across the council 6. Build Long-term capability and futureproofing * Provide a scalable, flexible platform that can adapt to future contract management needs * Include training, onboarding and change management support for officers * Reduce reliance on manual interventions and build internal confidence in digital tools 7. Deliver value for money * Ensure the system represents a cost-effective investment through saving, efficiency gains and risk reduction * Enable improved contract outcomes, stronger supplier management and better use of resources Questions Responses a. Please describe how your system supports end-to-end contract lifecycle management, including procurement pipeline planning, contract award, performance monitoring, and contract closure b. How does your system support compliance with the Procurement Act 2023 and the National Procurement Policy Statement, i.e. publication of notices onto the Central Digital Platform (CDP) c. Please outline the dashboards, KPIs, alerts, and reporting tools available in your system to support contract managers and provide assurance to senior leadership (please provide screenshots where possible) d. How does your solution support integration with third-party systems, such as SharePoint, Nitro (eSign), E5 finance system, Active Directory, and Proactis? e. What functionality does your system offer for workflow automation, approvals, and document management (e.g., variation tracking, savings reports, risk logs, templates)? f. Please explain your approach to implementation, configuration, and user training, including indicative timelines and how you support change management and adoption across council departments g. What is your pricing model (subscription/licence, implementation, support, training h. What experience do you have of working with other local authorities or similar public sector organisations? Please provide examples, lessons learned, and how these could be applied at Merton i. How does your system enable supplier relationship management, such as supplier portals, performance scorecards, collaboration tools, and innovation tracking? j. Are you currently on a framework agreement? If so, please can you name which one(s) k. Can you confirm whether your system is hosted, and if so, please specify the hosting model and the geographic location(s) of the hosting infrastructure? l. Please confirm whether your organisation is ISO/IEC 27001 certified? m. Does your system support Single Sign On(SSO) or Multi Factor Authentication? n. Please explain your support model including but not limited to Availability Support channels Response and resolution SLAs Upgrades & maintenance Change requests o. What accessibility standards does your system comply with (e.g., WCAG 2.2)?

Planning Information

The London Borough of Merton ("the Authority") is conducting a soft market testing exercise to explore options for a Contract Management and Supplier Relationship System. This engagement aims to gather market intelligence, assess supplier capabilities, and inform the future procurement strategy. Please note this is not a call for competition. Scope of Engagement: The Authority seeks responses from suppliers with solutions that support end-to-end contract lifecycle management, compliance with the Procurement Act 2023, integration with existing systems (SharePoint, Nitro eSign, E5 finance, Proactis), and enhanced performance monitoring and reporting. Locations and Events: This is a virtual engagement process managed through the London Tenders Portal. No physical events are planned at this stage. All communication and submissions will be handled electronically.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05edf3
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079624-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

CPV Codes

72245000 - Contract systems analysis and programming services

72260000 - Software-related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
4 Dec 2025Today
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
14 Jan 20262 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
30 Apr 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
LONDON BOROUGH OF MERTON
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
commercial.services@merton.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
MORDEN
Postcode
SM4 5DX
Post Town
Sutton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI6 Outer London - South
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI63 Merton, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton
Delivery Location
TLI6 Outer London - South
Local Authority
Merton
Electoral Ward
Merton Park
Westminster Constituency
Wimbledon

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

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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Improve contract performance management * Enable real-time monitoring of supplier performance against KPIs, SLAs and social value commitments * Dashboards and alerts to highlight risks, underperformance and opportunities * Support proactive issue resolution and continuous improvement in supplier relationships 3. Enable strategic oversight and assurance * Provide senior leaders with visibility of contract pipeline, spend, savings and performance * Support data-driven decision making through integrated reporting and analysis * Enhance assurance for the council, i.e. SROs, Audit and Scrutiny Committees 4. Streamline workflows and reduce manual processes * Automate tasks such as contract renewal, variations and approval workflows * Minimise duplication of effort and resilience on spreadsheets and siloed systems/practices * Provide structured templates and processes for consistency 5. 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