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Provision of Print, Mail Fulfilment and Document Consolidation Services for Council Tax, Business Rate and Benefits Communications

CAERPHILLY COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

24 Jul 2026 at 12:32

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Caerphilly County Borough Council is soliciting input from the market for their upcoming procurement regarding the "Provision of Print, Mail Fulfilment and Document Consolidation Services for Council Tax, Business Rate, and Benefits Communications". Situated in Hengoed in the United Kingdom (region UKL16), the Council is currently in the planning stage of this procurement process. Interested suppliers are encouraged to participate in a market engagement process to help shape the Council's approach, with submissions due by 12:00 Noon on Friday, 7 August 2026. The planned procurement seeks to address needs from January 2027 to December 2028, with a potential maximum extension to December 2030. The procurement focuses on services within the printing industry, aimed at delivering consolidated communication packs and ensuring efficiency and compliance with statutory requirements.

This tender presents a significant opportunity for businesses in the printing and document management sectors to grow by supplying comprehensive solutions for the Council's communication needs. Businesses that specialise in printing services, particularly those experienced with document consolidation and capable of handling high-volume printing and mailing, would find this opportunity particularly suitable. The project offers an excellent prospect for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) to expand their public sector portfolios. Key competencies for successful bidding include the ability to provide data receipt, document composition, mail fulfilment, and secure data handling solutions. Innovators who can offer hybrid mail and digital delivery solutions are also encouraged, as the Council is keen to adopt digital communication enhancement where possible.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Print, Mail Fulfilment and Document Consolidation Services for Council Tax, Business Rate and Benefits Communications

Notice Description

Provision of Print, Mail Fulfilment and Document Consolidation Services for Council Tax, Business Rate and Benefits Communications. Caerphilly County Borough Council is seeking to engage with the market to understand the availability of solutions and suppliers capable of delivering document consolidation, print, mail fulfilment and associated services for Council Tax, Business Rate and Benefits communications. The Council currently issues approximately 75,000 annual Council Tax bills, 16,500 Benefits notifications and 5,000 Business Rate bills each year. The existing arrangement for merging annual Council Tax bills and Benefits notifications has expired and the Council is exploring options for a replacement service. As part of this engagement the Council is also looking for an expanded solution to consolidate, print and mail daily/weekly Council Tax and Benefit documents. The daily/weekly volumes are...(excludes annual bills and Benefit Notifications) * Council Tax circa 100,000 documents each year * Benefits circa 47,000 documents each year The aim is to deliver a single, coherent communication pack that improves customer understanding, lowers postage and fulfilment costs and supports operational efficiency. Project Objectives The Council is seeking market input regarding solutions that can: * Merge annual Council Tax bills with Council Tax Reduction and Housing Benefit notifications into a single mail pack. * Print and despatch annual Business Rate bills * Reduce printing, postage and fulfilment costs through document consolidation. * Improve customer experience and reduce avoidable customer contact. * Ensure compliance with statutory requirements relating to Council Tax billing and Benefits notifications. * Support secure handling of personal data and compliance with GDPR requirements. * Explore opportunities to extend services to other Council departments requiring bulk print and mail services. Potential Scope The Council wishes to understand supplier capability in relation to: Core Requirement * Data receipt from Council systems. * Intelligent document composition. * Merging of Council Tax bills and Benefits notifications. * Print production. * Automated enclosing and mail fulfilment. * Postal optimisation. * Reporting and audit trails. * Secure destruction and data handling. Optional Services The Council is also interested in understanding supplier capabilities for: * Outsourced production and dispatch of daily and weekly Council Tax correspondence. * Outsourced production and dispatch of Benefits notifications and correspondence. * Provision of a wider corporate print and mail gateway for additional Council services, including high-volume customer communications. * Hybrid mail and digital delivery solutions. * Support for increased adoption of eBilling and digital communications. Market Engagement Questions The Council welcomes responses from suppliers who can provide information on: 1. Your organisation's experience delivering document consolidation services within local government. 2. Your ability to merge multiple document types into a single statutory communication pack. 3. Typical implementation timescales. 4. Security certifications and compliance standards held (e.g. ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials Plus, GDPR arrangements). 5. Cloud-based or hosted service options available. 6. Reporting, management information and audit capabilities. 7. Approaches to supporting digital-first communications and eBilling. 8. Pricing models typically used for services of this nature. 9. Opportunities for additional efficiency savings through postal optimisation and wider corporate mail solutions. 10. Any innovative solutions or service developments the Council should consider. Indicative Procurement Approach The Council anticipates undertaking a competitive procurement process following completion of this market engagement exercise. The final procurement route, contract structure and scope will be informed by responses received through this engagement. Participation in this engagement exercise will not form part of any future evaluation process and will not confer any advantage in any subsequent procurement procedure. Interested suppliers are invited to provide a written response outlining their capability, relevant experience and any information considered helpful in shaping the Council's procurement approach. All responses must be submitted via the Council etendering portal proactis Plaza as per the link below:- Proactis - Supplier Network You need register to the system, if already registered you then search Opportunities and search PME1000009 - Provision of Print, Mail Fulfilment and Document Consolidation Services for Council Tax, Business You need to submit your response to the ten questions to the requested question in the portal. All submissions must be received no later than 12:00 Noon Friday 07 August 2026 The Council may also invite suppliers to participate in market engagement meetings, demonstrations or workshops following review of responses. This notice is issued solely for the purpose of market engagement and information gathering. It does not constitute a call for competition, commencement of a procurement procedure or commitment by Caerphilly County Borough Council to undertake any procurement exercise.

Planning Information

Interested suppliers are invited to provide a written response outlining their capability, relevant experience and any information considered helpful in shaping the Council's procurement approach. All responses must be submitted via the Council etendering portal proactis Plaza as per the link below:- Proactis - Supplier Network You need register to the system, if already registered you then search Opportunities and search PME1000009 - Provision of Print, Mail Fulfilment and Document Consolidation Services for Council Tax, Business You need to submit your response to the ten questions to the requested question in the portal. All submissions must be received no later than 12:00 Noon Friday 07 August 2026 The Council may also invite suppliers to participate in market engagement meetings, demonstrations or workshops following review of responses. This notice is issued solely for the purpose of market engagement and information gathering. It does not constitute a call for competition, commencement of a procurement procedure or commitment by Caerphilly County Borough Council to undertake any procurement exercise.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06d341
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/070295-2026
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, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79810000 - Printing services

79823000 - Printing and delivery services

79824000 - Printing and distribution services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£280,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
24 Jul 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
14 Sep 20262 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Jan 2027 - 31 Dec 2028 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
CAERPHILLY COUNTY BOROUGH 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
HENGOED
Postcode
CF82 7PG
Post Town
Cardiff
Country
Wales
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLL Wales
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLL5 South East Wales
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLL53 Gwent Valleys
Delivery Location
TLL16 Gwent Valleys
Local Authority
Caerphilly
Electoral Ward
Ystrad Mynach
Westminster Constituency
Caerphilly

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

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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