Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2022/S 000-026083/EN)
Nature of contract:
Procedure: Not applicable

Contract notice

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name addresses and contact point(s):
Ministry of Defence
DES FCG-Commercial, Future Capabilities Group, Spruce 2B, MOD Abbey Wood
Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
United Kingdom
Contact points(s): Bethany Gold
For the attention of: Gold Bethany
Email: Bethany.Gold100@mod.gov.uk
Internet Address(es):
General address of the contracting authority: www.GOV.UK
Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: The above mentioned contact point(s)
I.2) Type of the contracting authority:
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions
I.3) Main activity:
Defence
I.4) Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities/entities:
The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: No
Section II: Object of the contract:
II.1) Description:
II.1.1) Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority/entity: Project TAMPA – Additive Manufacturing as a Service Challenge
II.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance:
Services
Service category No 14: Building-cleaning services and property management services
Nuts code:
II.1.3) Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)
II.1.4) Information on framework agreement
II.1.5) Short description of the specific contract:
Additive Manufacturing (AdM), also known as 3D printing, is a range of manufacturing technologies that enable the creation of lighter, stronger parts and systems. It has the potential to address significant issues within Defence such as excessive lead times for Defence inventory and manufacture of obsolete/obsolescent parts to improve platform availability. A Prior Information Notice (PIN) was published on 11/04/2022 to inform the market of an upcoming Framework Agreement opportunity under the Reference Number 703280451, titled ‘Metal Additive Manufacturing as a Service Challenge’. This Project will now be known as ‘Project TAMPA –Additive Manufacturing as a Service Challenge’ under the new Reference Number of this Opportunity Listing.
The Authority wishes to enter into a multi-supplier Framework Arrangement for accelerating the maturity of Additive Manufacturing technology to better exploit the technology within the end-to-end support chain, deliver a more agile response to demand for parts, and begin to generate the inherent efficiencies that this technology promises. The Authority intends to seek bids for limited innovation funding to conduct spiral development tasks under the new Framework; spiral tasks will be awarded via mini-competition between Framework participants (the Authority may choose to include the first task with the Framework Invitation to Tender). The Authority currently estimates the Framework value between £3M – 5M, duration of 2 – 7 years (further funding in the later Option years (up to the max 7 yrs) may be considered). It is recognised that the funding available from the Authority needs to be underpinned by a level of investment from suppliers in order to realise the advantages of this technology.
The Authority also requires that suppliers wishing to apply for this Opportunity must already have one or more extant equipment/platform support contracts in place with the Ministry of Defence to provide military spares under NSN; the supply of spare parts must be capable of benefitting from Metal Additive Manufacturing technology. The support contracts already in place with potential suppliers for this Opportunity must be extant for a minimum period of 2 years following the intended award date of the Framework. If these extant support contracts expire without replacement then the supplier may stay on the Framework but may not be invited to take part in any mini-competitions where the existence of the support contract is a pre-requisite: they may however still take part in other Framework activities, eg working groups.
The rationale for restricting award of a Framework place to those Suppliers who already have an equipment/ platform support contract in place is that these Suppliers will:
• understand the challenges associated with part provision for these equipment/platform(s);
• will be familiar with the underlying processes and procedures associated with certification, quality control and inventory management
• will be familiar with the MOD community associated with the equipment/platform(s)
• have access to the design rights with the equipment/platform(s)
• already have channels set up to supply and install spares on military platforms
• either have in-house additive manufacturing facilities, have established relationships with additive manufacturing technology suppliers, or be willing to enter into such collaborative arrangements.
• be security cleared for involvement with the supply of spares for particular equipments/platform(s)
The Cyber Risk Profile for this requirement identified by the Cyber Risk Assessment is NOT APPLICABLE.
Additional Information:
It is intended that the multi-supplier Framework benefits/outcomes will include, but may not be limited to:
• Initially produce certified metallic parts for the Defence Inventory, for which the print files are transmissible over the Defence infrastructure;
• Collect and share learning with the Authority and collaborative MOD/ industry working groups regarding the process to fit the parts onto In-Service platform/equipments (conducted under extant support contracts with the Authority);
• Facilitate collaborative working to generate the underlying processes that will enable rapid scaling across further ranges of inventory and materials;
• Achieve Industry, DE&S and FLC engagement, increased interest and commitment regarding the use of Additive Manufacturing within the UK Defence Supply Chain.
The rationale for focusing initially on metallic parts is two-fold:
• It is the lack of availability of metallic parts of the inventory that is currently affecting equipment/ platform availability;
• It reduces the needs associated with certification.
The Authority anticipates that an initial task (Spiral 1) under the new Framework will produce a non-safety critical metallic NSN. This will be followed by a series of further spirals that will seek to incrementally address increasing degrees of complexity.
The spiral tasks envisaged by the Authority are set out below (these will be subject to individual approvals and are indicative only at this stage):
• Spiral 2 – a safety critical metallic NSN, produced in the Industrial base, certified by the producer (OEM or under licence).
• Spiral 3 – a non-safety critical metallic (or polymer) NSN, produced in a location remote from the Industrial base, certified by the producer
• Spiral 4a – a safety critical metallic (or polymer) NSN, produced in a location remote from the industrial base, certified by the producer
• Spiral 4b – a non-safety critical metallic (or polymer) NSN, produced in a location remote from the Industrial base, certified by the producer and where access to Design Rights is required.
This competition is subject to the DSPCR 2011 Restricted Procedure. To establish a list of suppliers to be taken forward to ITT, it is the Authority’s intention, through this PQQ and Contract Notice, to source interest from and screen the capability of the industrial supply base. Participation at the next stage (Invitation to Tender (ITT)) will be subject to successfully passing the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) released with this Contract Notice. There is no intention to limit by number the suppliers who can be taken forward to the Invitation to Tender stage as this will be for joining a multi-supplier Framework; however potential applicants are advised that their PQQ responses will be evaluated on the basis of their ability to meet all the technical criteria and those not meeting the minimum criteria will not be taken forward to receive an Invitation to Tender.
The Authority intends to re-open the Framework on a maximum twice-yearly basis for additional suppliers to join, via the same competitive process and under the same Framework terms and conditions.

II.1.6) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV): 73410000, 35422000, 35611400, 35612300, 35612400, 35631100, 35631200, 35631300, 35641100, 35642000, 35811300, 35813100, 50111110, 50610000, 50620000, 50630000, 50640000, 50650000, 50660000, 73421000, 73422000, 73423000, 73425000, 73426000, 73431000, 73432000, 73433000, 73434000, 73435000, 73436000, 75221000, 98362100,
II.1.7) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
II.1.8) Lots:
The contract is divided into lots: No
II.1.9) Information about variants:
Variants will be accepted: YES
II.2) Quantity or scope of the contract:
II.2.1) Total quantity or scope:
The Framework will last for initially 2 years and will be subject to further Options for years 3 up to 7. The Framework is intended to be re-opened on a maximum twice-yearly basis for other suppliers to join, via the same competitive process and under the same Framework terms and conditions..
Estimated value excluding VAT:
Range: between 3000000.00 and 5000000.00 GBP
II.2.2) Information about options:
Options: yes
Years 3 to 7 of the Framework will be subject to Options.
Provisional timetable for recourse to these options: in months: (from the award of the contract): 12
II.2.3) Information about renewals:
This contract is subject to renewal: yes
Number of possible renewals:
II.3) Duration of the contract or time limit for completion
Duration in months: 84 (from the award of the contract)

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1) Deposits and guarantees required:
III.1.2) Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
III.1.3) Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
III.1.4) Other particular conditions
The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: yes
Description of particular conditions: See PQQ
III.2) Conditions for participation
III.2.1) Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Suppliers Instructions How to Express Interest in this Tender:
1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once)
– Browse to the eSourcing Portal
– Click the “Click here to register” link
– Accept the terms and conditions and click “continue”
– Enter your correct business and user details
– Note the username you chose and click “Save” when complete
– You will shortly receive an email with your unique password (please keep this secure)
2. Express an Interest in the tender
– Login to the portal with the username/password
– Click the “PQQs Open to All Suppliers” link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires open to any registered supplier)
– Click on the relevant PQQ to access the content.
– Click the “Express Interest” button in the “Actions” box on the left-hand side of the page.
– This will move the PQQ into your “My PQQs” page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only)
– Click on the PQQ code, you can now access any attachments by clicking the “Settings and Buyer Attachments” in the “Actions” box
3. Responding to the tender
– You can now choose to “Reply” or “Reject” (please give a reason if rejecting)
– You can now use the ‘Messages’ function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification
– Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ
– There may be a mixture of online & offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available)
If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk.

III.2.2) Economic and financial ability

Suppliers must already have an existing MOD equipment/platform support contract in place.
See also PQQ

Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:

Suppliers must already have an existing MOD equipment/platform support contract in place.
See also PQQ

Suppliers must already have an existing MOD equipment/platform support contract in place.
See also PQQ.

III.2.3) Technical capacity
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As stated in the PQQ
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: As stated in the PQQ
III.2.4) Information about reserved contracts
III.3) Conditions specific to services contracts
III.3.1) Information about a particular profession
Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession:
III.3.2) Staff responsible for the execution of the service
Legal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service:
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Type of procedure
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Restricted
IV.1.2) Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate
Envisaged minimum number: 3 and maximum number
IV.1.3) Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue
IV.2) Award criteria
The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document
IV.2.2) Information about electronic auction

IV.3) Administrative information
IV.3.1) File reference number attributed by the contracting authority/entity
704935450
IV.3.2) Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract
Prior information notice
Notice number in the OJEU:2022/S 000-009600of11.4.2022
IV.3.3) Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document
Payable documents: Yes
IV.3.4) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
17.10.2022 – 23:59
IV.3.5) Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
IV.3.6) Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up
EN
IV.3.7) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
In days:
IV.3.8) Conditions for opening of tenders

Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) Information about recurrence
VI.2) Information about European Union funds
The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
VI.3) Additional information
The Contracting Authority intends to use an e-Tendering system in this procurement exercise, please visit www.contracts.mod.uk for full details and to register your interest in this procurement.
VI.4) Procedures for appeal
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
16.9.2022