---
title: "HCC - 10/25 - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) for the Hybrid Mail Procurement Project"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05d1a3"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05d1a3"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d1a3.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d1a3.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL"
published: "2025-10-22"
---

# HCC - 10/25 - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) for the Hybrid Mail Procurement Project

Buyer: HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05d1a3

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## Summary

Hertfordshire County Council is currently in the planning stage of a procurement process aimed at modernising its Hybrid Mail system. This process, titled "HCC - 10/25 - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) for the Hybrid Mail Procurement Project," is of interest to businesses specialising in electronic mail services and mailing services. The engagement process invites input from potential suppliers to inform the procurement approach, although it is not a formal procurement process. Located in Stevenage, within the UK region UKH23, Hertfordshire County Council, a sub-central government authority, has set a deadline for interested organisations to submit their Supplier Questionnaire by 19 November 2025. The Council plans for the contract period to commence on 1 March 2026, with a possibility of renewal extending up to 30 April 2033.

This opportunity presents a valuable avenue for businesses specialising in flexible and secure electronic and hybrid mailing solutions. Organisations that offer scalable and compliant systems, which align with GDPR and other legal standards, will find this tender particularly suitable. The procurement is open to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), broadening the spectrum of eligible competitors. Engaging in this initial market engagement phase can enable businesses to align their offerings with Hertfordshire County Council’s evolving communication needs, providing a strategic opportunity to expand their presence and capabilities within the public sector.

## Notice

Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) is a large user of postal services. It uses printed communications and physical letters to communicate with residents / individuals / businesses within the county and produced approximately 545,000 mail items in 2024/25 necessitating the need for a flexible and forward-thinking approach with the HCC postal system. The current Hybrid Mail system used by HCC enables the electronic submission of documents for remote printing, enveloping, and posting. In the current year approximately 50% of our outbound mail has been sent via our Hybrid Mail system. The current system was adopted in 2020 and is widely utilised across HCC Services and teams, supporting essential communications such as general mailings, invoices, legal notices, and reminders, and aligns with GDPR and legal compliance standards. The current contract has reached the end of its initial 5-year term, and we have extended the maintenance contract. Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) seeks to procure a modern, flexible, and scalable Hybrid Mail solution to support its evolving communication needs. The system must enable secure, efficient, and compliant electronic submission of documents for remote printing, enveloping, and posting. Please refer to the PME document for full details. The Council is carrying out PME in relation to this project. The Council will consider the feedback received to help inform the Council's options, requirements and further decision making. For the avoidance of doubt, this stage of the project is not part of a formal procurement process and the Council is not committing, at this stage, to carrying out such a process. Participation or non-participation in the PME shall not prevent any supplier participating in a potential future procurement, nor is it intended that any information supplied as part of the PME shall place any supplier at an advantage in a potential procurement process. Please make sure that you have submitted your Supplier Questionnaire following the instructions within the PME documentation and e-tendering system. The Council will not be held accountable for any errors made by an organisation in submitting their Supplier Questionnaire. Please note: The below contract start and end dates may be subject to change

### Planning Information

To access the PME documentation please visit the Council's e-tendering system Supply Hertfordshire, run by Intend at https://in-tendhost.co.uk/supplyhertfordshire and follow the on-screen guidance. 
To participate in this PME, organisations must return their completed Supplier Questionnaire (Appendix A of the PME Document), together with any supporting documents, through the Correspondence area of the project on Supply Hertfordshire by the return deadline of 12.00 Noon on 19 November 2025, as per the PME documentation and e-tendering system. 
Supplier Questionnaires received after the deadline may not be reviewed at the Council's sole discretion. 
Please make sure that you have submitted your Supplier Questionnaire following the instructions within the PME documentation and e-tendering system. 
The Council will not be held accountable for any errors made by an organisation in submitting their Supplier Questionnaire. 
If you are experiencing problems with the Supply Hertfordshire website, In-Tend offer a help section which includes a dedicated UK support desk which can be contacted via email: support@in-tend.co.uk or Telephone: +44 1144070065 for any website/technical questions, Monday to Friday, 8:30-17:00. Participation in the PME will be at each organisation's own cost. No expense in responding to this PME will be reimbursed by the Council.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067512-2025 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 22 Oct 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 19 Nov 2025 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Mar 2026 - 30 Apr 2031 |
| 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 | Planning |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL |
| Locality | STEVENAGE |
| Post town | Stevenage |
| Postcode | SG1 2FQ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLH26 North and East Hertfordshire |
| Local authority | Stevenage |
| Electoral ward | Symonds Green |
| Westminster constituency | Stevenage |
| Delivery location | TLH23 Hertfordshire CC |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 48 - Software package and information systems
- 64 - Postal and telecommunications services
- 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 48223000 - Electronic mail software package
- 64216120 - Electronic mail services
- 72412000 - Electronic mail service provider
- 79571000 - Mailing services

## Release History

- 22 Oct 2025 at 13:22 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067512-2025
- 22 Oct 2025 at 12:58 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067496-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067512-2025
  22nd October 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067496-2025
  22nd October 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk
- https://in-tendhost.co.uk/supplyhertfordshire
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-h6vhtk-05d1a3. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d1a3.json.