Awarded to Incremental Group

Start date: Thursday 20 December 2018
Value: £420,000
Company size: SME
Aberdeen City Council

Master Data Managment Solution - Aberdeen City Council

7 Incomplete applications

5 SME, 2 large

12 Completed applications

7 SME, 5 large

Important dates

Published
Wednesday 15 August 2018
Deadline for asking questions
Wednesday 22 August 2018 at 11:59pm GMT
Closing date for applications
Wednesday 29 August 2018 at 11:59pm GMT

Overview

Summary of the work
The MDM solution will create a data hub and a golden customer record, which will enable a single view of a customer across the council. This will enable the council and council partners to understand a customer better and deliver customer services more proactively and effectively.
Latest start date
Tuesday 2 October 2018
Expected contract length
2 years
Location
Scotland
Organisation the work is for
Aberdeen City Council
Budget range
up to £700,000

About the work

Why the work is being done
The Council wishes to develop a Customer Master Data Management (MDM) solution. It is envisaged this will enable the Council to better manage customer data across the Council in order to increase service efficiencies, improve the customer experience and support the ‘Being Digital’ vision.
The MDM solution will create a data hub and a golden customer record which will enable a single view of a customer across the council as a whole, not just for those services that use the CRM system. This will enable the council partners to understand customers better and deliver customer services more proactively and effectively.
Problem to be solved
At present, there is no single source of master customer records at the Council, with numerous customer records stored across different systems with no integration or interaction between these records. Lack of effective customer data management impacts the extent to which the Council can understand its customers and impacts efficiency by limiting the degree to which the council can resolve customer queries at the first point of contact.
The council wishes to adopt as a first phase an approach to MDM that unifies the records with five key systems around the identity of the council tenant.
Who the users are and what they need to do
The focus of the initial implementation will be around the the tenant and those members of staff servicing the tenanats needs. The initial systems considered to be in scope are:

• FirmStep – the council’s customer engagement platform of choice
• iWorld – a housing management solution
• Academy -
• NEC – National Entitlement Card
• CAG - Specify

The aim is to provide customers with a one stop shop where they can access and update all relevant information relating to their tenancy and services. This is a first phase and other services will be added through time.
Early market engagement
No early market engagement or soft market testing has been carried out
Any work that’s already been done
Previous work on this initiative has produced a set of high-level requirements that are listed here. The solution should:

Offer a comprehensive and flexible approach to data modelling
Offer support for hierarchy management.
Offer a solution which improves data quality across the organisation
Include a user interface for data stewardship and maintenance which is logical and easy to use
Include a solution which simplifies data loading, integration, and synchronisation.
Offer a product which integrates with business services and can initiative workflow.
Offer a clear MDM architecture which can be used to initiate systems architecture planning
Existing team
A locally based project team would be set-up to work with a preferred supplier to deliver a solution
Current phase
Discovery

Work setup

Address where the work will take place
The City of Aberdeen, although work locations are flexible.
Working arrangements
This is a comprehensive programme, so it is likely to be a mixture of face to face, teleconference and other.
Security clearance
n/a

Additional information

Additional terms and conditions

Skills and experience

Buyers will use the essential and nice-to-have skills and experience to help them evaluate suppliers’ technical competence.

Essential skills and experience
  • ACCs ‘Being Digital’ strategy aims to “provide a digital platform focussing on our customers and staff, driven by data,” Please give an example of when your solution has facilitated this.
  • ACC’s Emergent Plan describes a list of emerging technologies that ACC wish to pursue in the future. Please give an example of when your solution has worked with emerging technologies.
  • The solution will need to adjust to future technological advances whilst enabling regulatory and process changes within ACC. Give an example of how your solution has operated in similar circumstances
  • A key facet of the Target Operating Model is an improved customer experience. Please give an example of where a similar clients residents have benefited from your solution.
  • A key facet of the Target Operating Model is an improved staff experience for ACC employees.Give an example of where a similar clients staff have benefited from your solution.
  • A key aim of the TOM is enabling the Council to better focus their resources. Give an example of where your solution has allowed a similar client to do this.
  • A reason for the Implementation of ‘Being Digital’ is to ensure that ACC meets savings targets. Give an example of where large financial benefits have been driven by your solution.
  • ‘Being Digital’ requires the rapid release of financial benefits. Give an example of where a similar client has been able to rapidly deploy your solution in order to drive benefits
Nice-to-have skills and experience
  • Demonstrate how your proposed approach will support the Council's agreed new target operating model.
  • Provide evidence and experience of delivering within a wider business change programme that addresses communications, skills and culture.
  • Understanding of working within political environments
  • Good knowledge of the challenges faced within the public sector

How suppliers will be evaluated

How many suppliers to evaluate
4
Proposal criteria
  • Digital Solution
  • Approach and Methodology
  • How the approach or solution meets user need
  • How the approach or solution meets the Council’s objectives
  • How risks and dependencies are identified and offered approaches to manage them
  • Team structure
  • Value for Money
Cultural fit criteria
  • Challenge the status quo
  • Be focussed on the wider place outcomes
  • Share knowledge and experience with other team members
  • Be flexible and agile in their approach
  • Be transparent and collaborative when making decisions
Payment approach
Fixed price
Assessment methods
  • Written proposal
  • Presentation
Evaluation weighting

Technical competence

70%

Cultural fit

10%

Price

20%

Questions asked by suppliers

1. Could you please state what MDM solution is preferred. I am sure this would have been decided looking at your current infrastructure as to what is suitable.
There is currently no preferred MDM solution and the Council wishes tenderers to bid with the solution that they believe would best meet the Council's requirements
2. Can you confirm the steps the procurement process for the Master Data Management solution will take after the closing date on 29th August?
Responses received will be evaluated and the 4 bidders with the highest score shall be forwarded additional detailed information and will be invited to provide a detailed proposal for our requirements.
3. As part of delivered MDM solution, is the provider expected to develop new interface for Aberdeen citizens (tenants) to update their data (non-employees/ outside ACC domain), i.e. external facing web interface?
o If the answer to above question is yes, will this be part of an existing web-portal (one of those 5 source systems? – please provide details/requirements around technologies/ platforms used) or a new web portal (included in scope of solution)?.
The suppliers solution is expected to present an interface that will integrate with the councils web site to allow queries to be raised , and present the collected results
4. Can you please provide more details regarding the 5 systems in scope here (DB platforms, integration capabilities)?
Academy – Council Tax and Benefits – Ingres System – Limited Access Only via intermediary application – on prem.
Corporate Address Gazetteer (IDOX) – Reference Quality City Addresses - Oracle – full ODBC access and admin privileges – on prem
i-World Housing - (Tenancy) system – Housing System – Oracle – full ODBC access and admin privileges – on prem.
FirmStep – Customer Service Platform – SQL Server – Access via LIM (Local Integration Module) – hosted.
NEC – National Entitlement Card (Scottish System) – extract only – hosted.
5. update on answer to question 3
"As part of delivered MDM solution, is the provider expected to developer new interface for Aberdeen citizens (tenants) to update their data (non-employees/ outside ACC domain), i.e. external facing web interface?"
There will be no direct feed between the MDM solution and any external web site. Feed back to queries would be through the five systems identified in the opportunity posted
6. Based on the importance of the project to Aberdeen City Council it is important (even at this early stage) that suppliers can align the right resource to this exercise. A 2 week extension to the deadline would make a significant difference in being able to do that. Can Aberdeen City Council advise if this is possible?
No extension to the deadline is available at this time
7. Can you confirm the context of the word 'political' in the "Understanding of working within political environments" point in the 'Nice to Haves'?
As a local government authority the policies and direction of the council are determined through a democratic process, influenced by the political make-up of the administration, and so may be periodically subject to change
8. Given that the current phase is Discovery, can you please share the outputs thus far regarding user needs, in particular tenants’ needs, to complement the stated high-level requirements
Examples: As an ACC tenant, I want to be able to log into the ACC self-service platform and go through only one authentication process, I want to know what my data is being used for so that my personal information is protected and not misused, I want to be able to check- and discover immediately if I am eligible for a service, I want to ensure that my personal details are fully correct .
ACC officer, to be able to generate reports which will increase my understanding of Aberdeen as an area to make decisions based on this data
9. Can you please share the full Target Operating Model referred to in the opportunity
Please see the following link to the Council’s Target Operating Model https://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/documents/s73075/Council%20Target%20Operating%20Model.pdf
10. Can you please quantify and share the known efficiencies you are seeking in the short and medium term?
ACC expects a potential MDM supplier to have a good knowledge of previous examples of efficiencies that their solutions have helped to drive at similar organisations. These efficiencies can come from across the organisation and the successful supplier will be able to demonstrate significant financial benefits driven by their product.
11. Given that Alpha is where one would typically test the viability of various candidate technical solutions, how do you intend for suppliers to respond to the experience questions that call for a “solution"?
ACC expect suppliers to put forward the technical solution which in their view, best meets the requirements set out in this procurement document. This should be based on their previous experience of implementing MDM solutions at similar organisations with a similar focus on quickly deriving benefits.
12. Our Alpha approach would be to take the outputs of Discovery to identify and test various technical solutions to best meet user needs – staff and tenants. Is this approach an appropriate basis for a response to the experience questions?
ACC are looking for a supplier to put forward a specific solution based on the requirements presented and experience of working alongside similar organisations. This offer can be refined during the proposal section.
13. Our understanding is the Aberdeen City Council has contracted a Business Digital Partner to support the Council's digital transformation, could you clarify the status of this Business Partner as a potential provider to the council for Master Data Management services (i.e. preferred bidder, precluded from bidding, open opportunity etc.?)
PwC were appointed as Aberdeen City Council's Digital Partner in November 2017 and are offering continued support to the 'Being Digital' programme. For this tender, Aberdeen City Council require suppliers to put forward their best service/ product to meet the Council's requirements as defined in this procurement document. As Digital Partner, PwC will be precluded from putting forward a product/ service for this tender.
14. The stated payment approach is Fixed Price. Would you be open to considering other commercial models?
A Fixed Price Model is the Council's preferred approach
15. Do you have an indicative timeline in mind for the proposal and presentation stages?
Indicative dates will be the end of September for the proposal and week commencing 1st October for presentations.