ICT - Supply of Multi-Functional Devices and Document Solutions, Digital Duplicators, and Print Room Equipment ref. HSY17035

Location

Newport

Description

Supply of Multi-Functional Devices and Document Solutions, Digital Duplicators, and Print Room Equipment ref. HSY17035. Please note the contract is a mixture of both 'Supplies' and 'Services' although 'Supplies' was selected in point (II.1.3).

Total Quantity or Scope

Supply of Multi-Functional Devices and Document Solutions, Digital Duplicators, and Print Room Equipment ref. HSY17035 Period 01 February 2026 - 31 July 2027

Award Detail

Renewal Options

Extensions as agreed by the Framework Owner (HCC)

CPV Codes

• 30120000 - Photocopying and offset printing equipment
• 48000000 - Software package and information systems
• 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Indicators

• Options are available.

Legal Justification

The original call off contract was awarded following a further competition under the Hampshire County Supplies Framework (Ref HSY17035) from July 2017 - 2020. A further 12 month extension was taken, to July 2021 and until July 2022 the Council continued to lease the machines on a month by month basis. In July 2022 - 30 April 2024, the Council extended the contract under the framework for a further two years noting there were no new devices. This was with approval by the Framework Owner. The original contract award notice and subsequent award notice were not published, and so a VEAT notice was published on 30 April 2024 to address this (ref 2024/S 000-013904). A further continuation of the call off contract is intended to be put in place from 01 February 2026 - 31 July 2027. This is for a number of reasons: The public contract concerns the supply of goods, services, or works by the existing supplier which are intended as an extension to, or partial replacement of, existing goods, services, or works in circumstances where— (a) A change in supplier would result in the contracting authority receiving goods, services, or works that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing goods, services, or works. Specifically, moving to another provider would incur huge additional costs and require significant resources. The retention of the existing fleet of machines means that the service to Council employees is retained without gap, and there will be no additional costs to the fleet, nor any onboarding costs or disruption of new machines, training requirements etc. If we were to re-tender at this point, all machines would need to be replaced with an implementation process to consider, additional licensing and configuration costs, re-training and a short timeframe in which to do it. There is a very real risk that there are not enough resources to re-tender at this stage. Additionally, retention of island-based 3rd party support and maintenance from Sandham Office Services. Retaining Ricoh as our supplier means that the Council will continue to have local support and maintenance as required with no gap in service. If this wasn’t in place there would be risks associated with this element of service provision. (b) The difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance. Staying with the current provider ensures continuity and compatibility, allowing us the necessary time to make a decision on the future of the MFD contract longer term. This is especially key given the uncertainty around the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) which won’t be known until the end February 2026 at the earliest. The Council is therefore not keen to be tied into a long term contract whilst this is uncertain, which consequently means we know we wouldn’t be receiving value for money with a shorter term period. The Council has invested in the ‘Follow Me Print’ solution which is bespoke to Ricoh. This means that staff can print in any Council location. If we had an alternative provider, this would need to be replaced which would have cost implications but also implications on the training of staff. This approach also supports the strategy to reduce printing which has an impact on the environment and supports the Council’s wider Corporate Plan regarding Climate Change (“every decision we take will not only need to have regard to our climate change strategy but must also have regard to supporting, sustaining, and enhancing our biosphere status. based on existing usage and reports” p6, Corporate Plan). This further applies to not wishing to be in contract for any longer than 18 months so that the Council can review its requirements in view of the LGR, and with a view to reduce the fleet further if we re-tender in 2027.

Other Information

Please note that this relates to the previous VEAT notice ref 2024/S 000-013904 published on 30 April 2024. The intention is to set out clearly what our position has been and will be until 31 July 2027. The whole life cost set out here includes the values set out in the previous VEAT notice (which was a total of £1,089,915.95)