Procurement Process
The points4life procurement will be carried out in line with EU Regulations. Further details relating to the procurement are provided in the Memorandum of Information and the official OJEU notice attached below.
Click to download the Memorandum of Information as an Acrobat PDF
Click to download the official OJEU notice as an Acrobat PDF
Bidders’ Conference Documentation
Click to download the Summary presentation as an Acrobat PDF
Click to download the Procurement presentation as an Acrobat PDF
Click to download the Partnership Working presentation as an Acrobat PDF
Click to download the Delegates List as an Acrobat PDF
In this section you can listen to or download audio extracts from the recent Bidders' Conference. Click the Play Button in each case to stream the audio or Right-Click the adjacent link and select 'Save Target As...' from the menu to download the MP3 Audio File.
Question and Answer Session 1:
Part 1: QA1_1.mp3 (9.9MB - 27mins)
Part 2: QA1_2.mp3 (8.7MB - 24mins)
Question and Answer Session 2:
Part 1: QA2_1.mp3 (15.9MB - 44mins)
Answers given by the panel are provided in good faith based upon their best knowledge at the time, and may be subject to change. The views expressed are not necessarily those of Manchester PCT, Manchester City Council or Commissioning Business Service. Please contact Jonathan Christian should you wish to comment upon any of the content in the audio files.
Q&A
Please find below additional questions and answers from the procurement process so far.
We can only provide PR services. Can we still attend the Bidders’ Conference?
Yes.
We are already part of one consortium. Can we also be part of another consortium?
Yes. Potential Bidders will need to manage confidentiality and conflict of interest issues in such circumstances.
Do we need to register on BravoSolution in order to attend the Bidders’ Conference?
No. Suppliers only need to complete the Bidders’ Conference Registration Form and return to janice.newcombe@manchester.nhs.uk. Places are limited to one per supplier and will be allocated on a first come first served basis (there are 120 spaces available for the event).
In the Contact Centre Statement of Needs, does “translation services” mean written translations and face to face interpretation or actually telephone interpretation?
It means being able to respond to enquires that come in by phone to the Contact Centre (real time) as well as any written or email enquiries that may come in (response within SLA agreed timeframes).
We are a public relations agency and it would therefore only be relevant for us to apply for the PR element of this. Are we able to do this or do we have to apply for all areas referred to in the tender notice – applying for all areas would realistically not be a viable option for a PR agency even if part of a consortium.
You could apply for just the PR segment, but in order for this to be considered you would need to find partners covering the other 11 segments, so that between you there is total coverage of our requirements.
We are already forming an integrated consortium with partners. As part of the PQQ, it reads as though it is company specific, should each partner company of the consortium complete the various parts independently?
Each member of the consortium should complete a PQQ.
In PQQ56, we need to confirm which work segments we are interested in responding to. There is also, after the confirmation for each work segment, a capability statement to complete. Please could you confirm whether the capability statement is to be completed regardless of whether or not we are looking for partners through the website to collaborate with, or whether this statement is purely to inform other organisations of our capacity to respond to certain segments so they can match needs and form a consortium. We are intending to respond to all of the twelve work segments, so if it is purely to help people to form a consortium, we will not need to complete it.
Given the circumstances outlined in your question, you do not need to complete the capability statements.
Is it possible to refer to case studies that are over 3 years old?
Case study examples should be drawn from the last three years.
Can we partner with more than 1 sub contractor per segment i.e. 2 PR agencies?
Yes, this is permissible. Please identify both sub-contractors in your response to section 4 of the PQQ - Potential Bidder Structure.
In Question 10 it asks for a copy of our Governance Policy. Could you confirm what this is and/or your expectations for it?
Governance refers to the processes of governing or the framework of authority and control within an organisation. Our expectations are that if you have such a policy then this is confirmed and attached as part of your PQQ response.
For contact centre you ask for support for a number of languages – can you confirm if your expectation is for those languages to be staffed directly (i.e. separate numbers for each language with agents sitting there Mon-Fri able to converse in that language) or are you happy with support in terms of a language line service where on the occasion someone calls, a third party service is utilised to provide translation between the caller and the agent.
This will be the subject of discussion at the Competitive Dialogue stage of the procurement should you be successful in reaching this stage.
Are bidders able to amend the subcontractor choice once PQQ has been submitted?
Bidders are able to amend their choice of sub-contractors up until the PQQ closing deadline of midday 26th March 2009. If your organisation is subsequently invited to the Competitive Dialogue, any changes in sub-contractor should be declared to the Authority, who would then consider what impact this has on the procurement exercise.
Please clarify the sentence "The loyalty platform will need to have the capabilities for different partners to purchase points at difference rates." Are retail partners required to purchase points? If so, what is the intention of this?
Retail partners may wish to purchase points for specific in store promotions or campaigns i.e. 200 points4life points on the first purchase in store, in addition to points awarded for the healthy goods and services purchased.
What is the intention for after the 3 (7) year program duration?
This will partly depend upon the success of the initial contract and it is not possible to accurately predict at this point in time. The Authority intend that the contract will be successful and will lead to renewed contracts, for the Manchester geography and beyond.
For segments that will require outsourcing, are case studies and testimonials required to be based on historic outsourcing arrangements?
Bidders will need to determine for themselves what case studies they choose to submit, in line with the guidelines provided by the Authority in the PQQ documentation.
For "mixed" retailers, is mystery shopping foreseen as the only way of ensuring that only the "healthy" purchases are entered?
Mystery shopping is seen as a potential tool for measuring cardholder experience including validating that points are being awarded on healthy goods and services.
The requirement is for "certain activities to be redeemed at different points values than other". Could the same effect not be achieved simply by altering the number of points required for a given item, rather than introducing two levels of variability?
We are looking for bidders to recommend the best approach using their experience and expertise of running similar services.
How set in stone is the 7% retailers' contribution? This seems very high to us. Boots' scheme runs at 4% and Tesco at 1%. To slice off 7% off, say, 20% margin (albeit only for healthy foods) would necessitate a significant increase in footfall to replace the lost revenues and to make the scheme attractive to retailers. This is in contrast to the typical effect of schemes on footfall - over significant periods, a 5% uplift is very much top end, with 2% more usual -which may not be particularly attractive.
The Loyalty Platform segment details discounts/contributions expected of between 1 - 20% with an average 5 - 10% dependent on margin enjoyed by the sector. We expect bidders to use their expertise and knowledge in this area to develop a compelling proposition for retailer/partner recruitment and sign up at maximum possible discount/contribution i.e. If the basket value is £10 but only £2 will generate loyal “healthy” transactions, then the commission paid is 7% but on the basket it is actually 1.4%. Our conversations to date with some potential partners indicate that the points4life programme is seen as an excellent fit in supporting and advancing their retail vision and strategies.
To what extent do you expect the scheme to drive a sustained change in shoppers' preferred stores? This will be a significant factor in persuading retailers to sign up, especially if there is high redemption of points for healthy products.
Further details can be found at http://www.points4lifeojeu.co.uk/research_findings.php
Outside of those people already committed to healthy lifestyles, to what extent do you expect the scheme to appeal to those who have not yet embarked on a healthier lifestyle?
Further details can be found at http://www.points4lifeojeu.co.uk/research_findings.php
In terms of the card reading technology located in-store, do you plan to install a new system in all participating retailers? If not, how will you ensure that the Points 4 Life card can be read by a range of existing legacy systems?
We expect bidders to advise us as to how best to achieve card reading capability in-store and in partner locations.
Are you in a position to name the retailer you mentioned at the Bidder's Conference, who had expressed a willingness to support the scheme? Have they bought into to the 7% retailers' contribution?
We are not in a position yet to name the retailer. The discussions we have had to date with the retailer indicate they are happy with this contribution.
Are all subcontractors required to be declared upfront? Or would only the contracts of material nature need to be declared?
Please refer to note 4a of PQQ 57. Bidders should declare all relevant partners.
We are a potential consortium of X members. As Page 10 of the Procurement Presentation suggests, please can you confirm that we need to set up different accounts on the Bravo Solution tender, and upload our documents separately?
Yes you should set up an account for each member of your consortium, each complete a PQQ and each upload documents. In section 4 of PQQ 57 (Potential Bidder Structure), you should make clear the names of the organisations in the consortium.
If we are part of a consortium, could you confirm that each consortium member only completes the segments that they will be supplying as part of the consortium?
If your question relates to the PQQ Attachment then the answer is yes.
Are we correct in thinking that we can only be a part of one consortium?
No, you can be a member of more than one consortium.
Can we include diagrams/pictures in our response and, if so, do words in 'creative' bits count against the 3,000 max?
You may include diagrams or pictures. All words used count towards the 3,000 limit.
The PQQ states that "potential bidders should provide a testimonial relating to at least one aspect of their case studies...". Can we include more than one testimonial (provided the total response is a maximum of 1000 words)?
A single referee is required to provide a testimonial. This testimonial can relate to as many case studies or aspects of a single case study as the Bidder sees fit, however the testimonial should be limited to a single referee.
Will the billing process for Public sector payment for points be only at the level of automated invoice generation OR will it require integration into any specific finance software or application?
This will be the subject of discussion at the Competitive Dialogue stage of the procurement should you be successful in reaching this stage.
How will mis-issuance of points be prevented – When will the fraud parameters be determined? Does the requirement also need them to be capable of amendment on a regular basis?
This will be the subject of discussion at the Competitive Dialogue stage of the procurement should you be successful in reaching this stage.
It is clear that a % of the ‘points earned’ and offered by retailers etc will be used to provide sustainable funding for the scheme. Is there a requirement for a scheme % as part of the ‘points burned redemption’ via the catalogue of goods? Is there any requirement for a scheme % on the burn side?
This will be the subject of discussion at the Competitive Dialogue stage of the procurement should you be successful in reaching this stage.
Healthy Goods & Services – as the Catalogue will be a fundamental part of persuading people of the value of joining the scheme, will it be acceptable to have goods so long as they are clearly not unhealthy?
This will be the subject of discussion at the Competitive Dialogue stage of the procurement should you be successful in reaching this stage.
Points balance – re: ‘further requirement to identify optimum frequency’ – is this essentially to determine the most cost effective time / channel (network) to send the text?
This will be the subject of discussion at the Competitive Dialogue stage of the procurement should you be successful in reaching this stage.
We believe that using a real time marketing program such as ours, would attract the necessary and required retailers as presently asking retailers/service providers to join the scheme is a little one way. How do they aim to attract them? (We know of a number of companies one being one of the largest gymnasium chains in the UK have already said “what in it for us? The document gives no clear advantage to the retailer/service provider”)
This will be the subject of discussion at the Competitive Dialogue stage of the procurement should you be successful in reaching this stage.
In the FAQ it just mentions transport with a question mark?. Would P4L be interested into looking at the ITSO scheme as the NHS has to integrate its transport network towards it anyway by 2011? (This can be done on a number of simple levels).
• Using ITSO to monitor and cost the existing internal transport
• Costing the utilisation of public transport via their own ITSO card?
• A MasterCard card with payment mechanism and the ITSO environment at no cost to the cardholder or the NHS (this is currently our cards physiology)
This will be the subject of discussion at the Competitive Dialogue stage of the procurement should you be successful in reaching this stage.
Would P4L consider that if the card ownership also contained a free to use and own MasterCard payment method be of benefit as it can be used as;
• Stored value
• Payments
• DWP, Local Authority, private medical insurance and Charity entitlement loadings
• MCC monitoring with retail exclusions
• Prescription payments
• Co-Branding for larger retailers and NHS
• Contactless Access and payment (car-parks, area) Touch-in Touch-out (MasterCard touch and go)
This will be the subject of discussion at the Competitive Dialogue stage of the procurement should you be successful in reaching this stage.
