Planning

Provision of Contact Centre Technologies for Flintshire County Council

FLINTSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

03 Mar 2026 at 14:42

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Flintshire County Council is in the planning stage of a procurement process for the provision of contact centre technologies aimed at enhancing customer experience and operational efficiency. The tender, titled "Provision of Contact Centre Technologies for Flintshire County Council," falls under the industry category of software packages and information systems as well as IT services, and is aligned with Welsh devolved regulations. Although initially focused on improving the Council's corporate contact centre, the technology will benefit other Council services as well. Suppliers are invited to express interest by 31st March 2026, and the Council plans to progress to further engagement by 30th June 2026. The procurement seeks solutions that are bilingual (Welsh and English) and can operate both on-premise and through hosted telephony systems, enhancing resilience and efficiency. The process is poised to leverage existing investments in Microsoft technologies and aims for service commencement in April 2027.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specializing in telephony services, IT consulting, and software development. Companies well-versed in bilingual communication solutions, AI-driven contact centre technologies, and flexible licensing options will be particularly appealing to Flintshire County Council. With the potential contract period extending to 2038, businesses that are capable of supplying scalable and robust solutions aligning with Welsh Language Standards will find substantial growth prospects. Furthermore, small and medium-sized enterprises are encouraged to compete, given the future scale and duration of the project, offering the chance to contribute to modernizing public sector service delivery for the Council.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Contact Centre Technologies for Flintshire County Council

Notice Description

Flintshire County Council is looking to engage with the market for a bilingual (Welsh and English)* Contact Centre solution to the improve customer experience when contacting the Council, increase agent productivity, reduce operational costs, and enable smarter decision-making through enhanced data and insights. The Council's corporate Contact Centre is under increasing pressure due to rising customer demand, higher service expectations, seasonal peaks, recruitment and retention and the need to manage multiple communication channels, including voice, email, video and administrative processing. To improve service quality, resilience, and workflow efficiency, the Council is exploring how technology, particularly the introduction of Artificial Intelligence can support and transform Contact Centre operations. Whilst the Council is initially focusing on modernising its corporate Contact Centre, which receives the highest level of demand (e.g. circa 182,000 calls annually), the same technology is also used across other Council services. As such, the Council is seeking to work with a supplier that can demonstrate flexibility in its licensing options, recognising that different services may have varying business needs and requirements. The Council has a contract with a third-party supplier until 31 March 2027. The intention is to upgrade the existing technology and underlying infrastructure to support this transformation. In doing so, the Council is keen to explore and consider both on-premise and hosted telephony solutions, while maximising its existing investment in Microsoft technologies. *Note - the Council is required to comply with the Welsh Language Standards and is therefore seeking a solution that will support it in meeting the requirements of those Standards. As a result, the Council wishes to engage with suppliers who have solutions readily available to deliver services equally in both Welsh and English.

Planning Information

The Council are intent on providing high quality, modern telephony services and as such will be contacting several suppliers and Contracting Authorities for overviews / demonstrations of potential solutions to assist in developing a specification and procurement documentation. In addition to this, we are seeking expressions of interest from the open market. If you can deliver a solution(s) that meets the requirements of this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice, please email a brief summary of your organisation and the solution you can provide to procurement@denbighshire.gov.uk by 31st March 2026. Following the receipt of expressions of interest and summaries of solutions, the Council may invite suppliers to engage at a later date. Note – the Council is not looking to establish a development relationship with suppliers.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06611b
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/019034-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
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

48 - Software package and information systems

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

CPV Codes

48000000 - Software package and information systems

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
3 Mar 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
1 Sep 20265 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 Mar 2027 - 31 Mar 2032 Over 5 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
FLINTSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
FLINTSHIRE
Postcode
CH7 6NA
Post Town
Chester
Country
Wales
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLL Wales
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLL3 North Wales
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLL34 Flintshire and Wrexham
Delivery Location
TLL23 Flintshire and Wrexham
Local Authority
Flintshire
Electoral Ward
Mold East
Westminster Constituency
Clwyd East

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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