Preliminary Market Engagement - Corporate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

North East Lincolnshire Council (The Authority) is undertaking this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) to test the market's ability to deliver a single, integrated corporate enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform and to inform the options appraisal, procurement strategy and business case. PME allows local authorities and other contracting authorities in the public sector to engage with a market. PME is designed to encourage the commercial and voluntary sectors to engage with the development process before a procurement is released. This is the market’s opportunity to express its views, outline market developments and generally influence how solutions to the Authority’s needs might be met. There is nothing for the Authority to evaluate or select in this activity. PME is not a call for competition. Following PME, the Authority may conclude that procurement is not the best solution to meet a particular strategy outcome. The Authority may conclude that it would be better to do something entirely different to the intent within this PME. It is essential that any organisation participating in the PME understands that a procurement opportunity is not guaranteed. It is therefore essential that organisations understand that this activity is not part of a procurement exercise and involvement in the PME does not affect an organisation’s positioning either positively or negatively should a procurement opportunity arise subsequently. The Authority may release a PME to:

• Share information to inform the market of an impending procurement, such that they might make preparations for the tender when it is released; and
• Gather information to develop the Authority’s strategy.

We therefore recommend that if there is no intent to engage in the PME, it is better to sustain interest in activity on YORtender to ensure that any interested party remains informed.