--- title: "How efficient are retail services in the water sector compared to other sectors?" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-6dead768-b926-49e7-a62f-b4f530379148" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-6dead768-b926-49e7-a62f-b4f530379148" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6dead768-b926-49e7-a62f-b4f530379148.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6dead768-b926-49e7-a62f-b4f530379148.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Award" buyer: "WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY" published: "2017-08-30" --- # How efficient are retail services in the water sector compared to other sectors? Buyer: WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY Current stage: Award OCID: ocds-b5fd17-6dead768-b926-49e7-a62f-b4f530379148 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-6dead768-b926-49e7-a62f-b4f530379148) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6dead768-b926-49e7-a62f-b4f530379148.json) ## Summary 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. ## Notice 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. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ee55a5b7-70ba-46f5-aa27-c55d7d5ba152 | | Notice type | Award Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Other - | | Tender suitability | SME | | Awardee scale | Large | | All stages | Award | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 30 Aug 2017 | | Submission deadline | 7 Jun 2017 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | 26 Jun 2017 | | Contract period | 3 Jul 2017 - 15 Oct 2017 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | £103,760 | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Complete | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Active | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY | | Locality | BIRMINGHAM | | Post town | Birmingham | | Postcode | B5 4UA | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) | | ITL 2 | TLG3 West Midlands | | ITL 3 | TLG31 Birmingham | | Local authority | Birmingham | | Electoral ward | Ladywood | | Westminster constituency | Birmingham Ladywood | | Delivery location | TLG West Midlands (England), TLI London | ## Supplier | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Number of suppliers | 1 | | Supplier names | PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security ### Codes - 79410000 - Business and management consultancy services ## Release History - 30 Aug 2017 at 13:43 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ee55a5b7-70ba-46f5-aa27-c55d7d5ba152 ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ee55a5b7-70ba-46f5-aa27-c55d7d5ba152 30th August 2017 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/b0e9613c-31cf-47a2-a252-a548337a8d0a Contract ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-6dead768-b926-49e7-a62f-b4f530379148. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6dead768-b926-49e7-a62f-b4f530379148.json.