---
title: "Core System Solution"
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000516673"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000516673"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000516673.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000516673.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH"
published: "2019-05-27"
---

# Core System Solution

Buyer: UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000516673

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## Summary

The University of Edinburgh is conducting a tender for its "Core System Solution" project, aimed at providing a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for finance and HR systems. This procurement process is classified under the education sector and is located in Edinburgh, UK. The procurement stage is currently at the award stage, having completed on 30 April 2019. The contract value is estimated at approximately £20.52 million, reflecting a need for substantial investment in the university's administrative systems. All queries must be directed through the relevant PCS-T messaging portal and responses to the invitation to tender must have adhered to the specified selection criteria.

This contract is a significant opportunity for businesses, particularly those specialising in software solutions, IT service delivery, and those with experience in integrated system implementation. Organisations that can provide comprehensive solutions encompassing payroll, finance, and potentially other modules such as Estates Management and Customer Relationship Management would be well-suited to compete. Furthermore, this engagement may facilitate partnerships between software suppliers and implementation partners, making it an appealing venture for both large and medium-sized enterprises aiming to expand their presence in the public sector.

## Notice

The University of Edinburgh (the "University") wishes to appoint a supplier to provide a Software as a Service (SaaS) based solution for the University's Finance (including Procurement) and HR (including Payroll) "Core Systems". Please refer to Section II.2.4 of this Notice for further definition around the scope of this procurement. In accordance with Regulation 27(4) of The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, use of this procedure (competitive dialogue) is justified on the basis that the supplies and services cannot be sufficiently defined and require supplier technical design input. The complexity of this project and need to mitigate risk on technical, financial, legal and reputational dimensions, necessitates dialogue. Bidders must self-certify adherence to selection and exclusion criteria via the ESPD on Public Contract Scotland - Tender (PCS-T). When completing the ESPD, bidders must have regard for the selection requirements detailed in Section III of this OJEU Notice.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The University will accept bids from suppliers who provide an end-to-end software and implementation solution as a single entity. The University will also accept bids from consortia (e.g. software suppliers and implementation partners working collaboratively) or any other bid comprising subcontractors or otherwise relying on the capacities of other entities. The University has identified that investment in a solution to deliver a new Finance and HR system is critical. Additional modules such as Estates Management, Customer Relationship Management, Student Lifecycle Management, Research Management Systems, Document Management are currently seen as out of the 'Core Systems' scope. However, the University retains the ability, at its sole discretion, to explore these modules with the Qualified Bidder(s), i.e. those organisations selected (following ESPD stage) and invited by the University to participate in the dialogue stage. This will enable the University to (i) obtain further understanding of the Qualified Bidder(s) pipeline towards future innovation of the solution, and (ii) consider whether or not to incorporate such modules within the solution during the lifespan of the contract. All bidders should therefore be willing to provide the Core System's scope together with the additional modules, if required. Core Enterprise Business Systems, "Core Systems", is defined as the central systems that support the HR, Finance, Payroll, and Procurement requirements of the University. However, the University would like to explore further modules, as outlined above. Such systems provide much of the core IT functionality to run the University's professional services and administrative functions. These systems have received very little investment over the last 20 years, which has in turn resulted in an excessive amount of application proliferation as individual areas of professional services, Colleges or Schools have added, created or purchased their own business system. As a result, we have a number of difficulties, e.g.: - inconsistent data, - widely differing user interfaces, - high cost of maintenance, - weak processes or missing processes - an inability to produce consistent cross functional area management information and - old systems with high and growing maintenance needs. The estimated total order of magnitude of this contract is 14m GBP. This low accuracy estimation is based on: (i) the total 17-year contract term; (ii) annual renewal figures of the University's current Finance and HR systems; and (iii) estimated implementation costs. At this stage, the University does not have sufficient information of all the systems across the estate (including those in addition to the Core Systems) which we are potentially looking to replace. The University has insufficient information of what a solution might entail, what the pricing structure would be and consequently cannot form a meaningful contract value estimate. It is therefore likely that the overall value of the opportunity will be higher than this estimate provided. Under no circumstances will the University or any of its respective advisors be liable for any costs or expenses incurred by bidders and/or its respective advisors arising directly or indirectly from this procurement or termination thereof, including, without limitation, any changes or adjustments made to the procurement documentation, or the exclusion/disqualification of a bidder. Any discussions and correspondence will be deemed strictly subject to contract until a formal contract is entered into. The formal contract shall not be binding until it has been signed and dated by the duly authorised representatives of both parties. This project will NOT be divided in to lots due to its complexity.. Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if there are any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Procurement documents will be held from publication in PCS-T for 48 hours from the time the OJEU Notice is sent to PCS. This will not affect project timescales.

Options: As part of the dialogue, additional purchase options e.g. (Estates Management, Customer Relationship Management, Student Lifecycle Management, Research Management Systems, Document Management) will be subject to dialogue. These options shall either be incorporated into the contract agreed between the University and the successful supplier, or the ability to add such purchase options shall be reflected in clear review clauses in such contract.

Renewal: Initial 5-year contract with possible 3-year extensions (maximum of 4 extensions). Extension options will act as breakpoints for contract review and allow for any refresh of the HR and Finance system, including incorporation/refresh of further modules as stated in II.2.4 and II.2.11 of this Notice, should this be required.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY355380 |
| Notice type | OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Competitive dialogue |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 27 May 2019 |
| Submission deadline | 28 Nov 2017 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 30 Apr 2019 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Estimated timing for further notices to be published: Should the maximum number of extensions be exercised (5+3+3+3+3) this contract will be due for renewal in 2036. |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £14,000,000 |
| Lots value | £14,000,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £20,524,086 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH |
| Locality | EDINBURGH |
| Post town | Edinburgh |
| Postcode | EH1 1HT |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM1 East Central Scotland |
| ITL 3 | TLM13 City of Edinburgh |
| Local authority | City of Edinburgh |
| Electoral ward | City Centre |
| Westminster constituency | Edinburgh East and Musselburgh |
| Delivery location | TLM75 City of Edinburgh |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | INOAPPS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 48 - Software package and information systems
- 64 - Postal and telecommunications services
- 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

### Codes

- 48000000 - Software package and information systems
- 48810000 - Information systems
- 64216200 - Electronic information services
- 72222300 - Information technology services

## Release History

- 27 May 2019 at 00:00 - Award - OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY355380
- 26 Oct 2017 at 00:00 - Tender - OJEU - F2 - Contract Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=OCT299424

## Documents

- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=OCT299424
  Core System Solution - The University of Edinburgh (the "University") wishes to appoint a supplier to provide a Software as a Service (SaaS) based solution for the University's Finance (including Procurement) and HR (including Payroll) "Core Systems". Please refer to Section II.2.4 of this Notice for further definition around the scope of this procurement. In accordance with Regulation 27(4) of The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, use of this procedure (competitive dialogue) is justified on the basis that the supplies and services cannot be sufficiently defined and require supplier technical design input. The complexity of this project and need to mitigate risk on technical, financial, legal and reputational dimensions, necessitates dialogue. Bidders must self-certify adherence to selection and exclusion criteria via the ESPD on Public Contract Scotland - Tender (PCS-T). When completing the ESPD, bidders must have regard for the selection requirements detailed in Section III of this OJEU Notice.
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY355380
  Core System Solution - The University of Edinburgh (the "University") wishes to appoint a supplier to provide a Software as a Service (SaaS) based solution for the University's Finance (including Procurement) and HR (including Payroll) "Core Systems". Please refer to Section II.2.4 of this Notice for further definition around the scope of this procurement. In accordance with Regulation 27(4) of The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, use of this procedure (competitive dialogue) is justified on the basis that the supplies and services cannot be sufficiently defined and require supplier technical design input. The complexity of this project and need to mitigate risk on technical, financial, legal and reputational dimensions, necessitates dialogue. Bidders must self-certify adherence to selection and exclusion criteria via the ESPD on Public Contract Scotland - Tender (PCS-T). When completing the ESPD, bidders must have regard for the selection requirements detailed in Section III of this OJEU Notice.

## Notice URLs

- http://
- http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32014L0024&from=EN
- http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/procurement/supplying
- http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse40.pdf
- http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/30/contents/enacted
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000516673
- https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/esop/pts-host/public/pts/web/login.html

## 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-r6ebe6-0000516673. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000516673.json.