--- title: "New Ways of Working - Voice - Soft Market Test" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-878da889-81d2-484c-a359-449769379128" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-878da889-81d2-484c-a359-449769379128" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-878da889-81d2-484c-a359-449769379128.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-878da889-81d2-484c-a359-449769379128.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL" published: "2021-08-23" --- # New Ways of Working - Voice - Soft Market Test Buyer: BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-b5fd17-878da889-81d2-484c-a359-449769379128 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-878da889-81d2-484c-a359-449769379128) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-878da889-81d2-484c-a359-449769379128.json) ## Summary Birmingham City Council is currently in the planning stage for a soft market test titled "New Ways of Working - Voice." This initiative is aimed at engaging with suppliers in the telecommunications industry, particularly concerning contact centre, corporate, and legacy telephony solutions. The engagement end date for suppliers to submit their interest is set for 5 PM on 3rd September 2021. Interested parties can access relevant documents and further details through the In-Tend portal. The location associated with this procurement is Birmingham, in the West Midlands region of England. This soft market test presents a significant opportunity for businesses specialising in telecommunications equipment and IT services to engage with Birmingham City Council and contribute their insights on service delivery and product offerings. Suppliers of contact centre and telephony solutions, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), will find this an advantageous exercise to inform the council of their capabilities and potentially shape future procurement decisions. Engaging in this process allows companies to establish connections with the council, understand its requirements, and align their proposals with the council's objectives. ## Notice Birmingham City Council (BCC) are exploring the market for Contact Centre, Corporate and Legacy Telephony Solutions. This soft market sounding may be of interest to suppliers of relevant products and services. For those potential suppliers of products and services, this soft market sounding is an opportunity to: * Inform the council of relevant products and services in a way that can be easily consumed by them. * Help shape how the council considers the market when taking decisions on procurement scope and approach. * Learn more about BCC prior to engagement through a potential future procurement process. For Birmingham City Council, the purpose of this soft market sounding is to: * Give the market an understanding of Birmingham City Council's needs for Contact Centre, Corporate and Legacy Telephony. * Share the council's current thinking on trade-offs between scope, capability, and affordability that need to be made before decisions on the next steps are made. * Find out current market interest in providing relevant products and services to the council. * Find out delivery and market options, including potential cost and cost structures. * Find out the experience the market has in delivering similar services at similar-sized organisations. * Gain insight from the market when considering how best to deliver the service. The council would very much like to hear from a range of different suppliers to the market. Both service and product options are of interest. Please read the document and if you feel that your organisation is able to contribute to this soft market sounding exercise and submit it via the In-Tend portal https://in-tendhost.co.uk/birminghamcc Registration on In-Tend is free. The system is secure and access to the clarifications will only be made available to those employees of the Council, and/or their authorised advisers in respect of this soft market sounding request. If you are unable to register with In-Tend please either email us at cps@birmingham.gov.uk. If you are interested in responding please click on the following link to access the Council's portal: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/birminghamcc/ and submit your details to register your interest. We will send you a username and password so you can download the documentation. Interested suppliers may download the soft market test documents by registering their interest on In-Tend. The return date for submissions is 5pm on the 3rd September 2021. Please note that this is not a call for competition. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/31c0c6fa-cc0b-444f-b509-3e5f7d730a29 | | Notice type | Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Not specified | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 23 Aug 2021 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 3 Sep 2021 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL | | Locality | BIRMINGHAM | | Post town | Birmingham | | Postcode | B4 7WB | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) | | ITL 2 | TLG3 West Midlands | | ITL 3 | TLG31 Birmingham | | Local authority | Birmingham | | Electoral ward | Newtown | | Westminster constituency | Birmingham Ladywood | | Delivery location | TLG West Midlands (England) | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 32 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment - 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support ### Codes - 32500000 - Telecommunications equipment and supplies - 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support ## Release History - 23 Aug 2021 at 00:03 - Planning - Market Engagement Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/31c0c6fa-cc0b-444f-b509-3e5f7d730a29 ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/31c0c6fa-cc0b-444f-b509-3e5f7d730a29 23rd August 2021 - Early engagement notice on Contracts Finder ## Notice URLs - http://www.in-tendhost.co.uk/birminghamcc - https://in-tendhost.co.uk/birminghamcc - https://in-tendhost.co.uk/birminghamcc/ ## 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-b5fd17-878da889-81d2-484c-a359-449769379128. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-878da889-81d2-484c-a359-449769379128.json.