Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) - Implementation Update 3

8 Dec 2020 02:59 PM

This update follows on from the update Andrew Forzani issued on 16November.

A letter from Andrew Forzani, Chief Commercial Officer at MOD Main Building as been reposted in full below.  

Dear Industry Partner, 

Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) - Implementation Update# 3

This update follows on from the update I issued on 16th November. You can find the previous updates here.

In the last communication I promised you an update on the implementation and a brief on key changes to the current ways of working.

In line with the key milestones set out below, I am pleased to inform you that the DSP successfully concluded acceptance testing at the end of November. This means we are on track for go-live of the new DSP landing page in the first week of January 2021 and full go-live of the e-Sourcing capability in February/March 2021.

The launch of DSP doesn’t change the policies or principles of how we work with industry today, however, it will modernise and improve the way we interact with you. Some key points to note:

• Advertising of our market opportunities (Replacing Defence Contracts Online)
  • Market opportunities will appear on the DSP (replacing DCO) and will also be issued on Contracts Finder and Find a Tender Service (OJEU replacement)
• Pre-Qualification for opportunities (Replacing Defence Contracts Online)
  • PQQ will all be managed on the DSP in a very similar way to how it is done in DCO today. The information captured will be exactly the same as will the overall process
• Tendering
  • This will be a significant improvement to the way we currently work. All tender documentation and bids will now be exchanged electronically through the DSP as well as the handling of all clarification questions and responses. This will remove inefficient processes and paper-based practices
• Evaluation
  • Another area of significant process improvement – all evaluation activities will be carried out in the DSP
• E-Auction events (where applicable)
  • Our current standalone e-Auction capability will be integrated into the DSP
• News and information on doing business with MOD
  • Official reference point for MOD procurement news and information

What happens next:

From week commencing 4th January 2021, we will need you to register on the new DSP platform in readiness for full go-live in February/March 2021. You don’t need to register to view opportunities, only to express interest and participate in tendering.

The Defence Sourcing Portal will be easy to find, it will use the existing DCO web address www.contracts.mod.uk. You will experience the new home page welcoming you to the DSP. All information on registering and how to continue to view opportunities will be set out on the DSP home page. 

We will also give you full details on this in our next communication week commencing 14th December.

Below is a recap on our key milestones:

Week commencing 4th January 2021- The current DCO web address (www.contracts.mod.uk) will now direct you to the new DSP home page. All information on supplier registration and viewing opportunities will be on the home page.

From January 2021- Suppliers to register on new DSP platform in readiness for February/ March Go-live.

February/ March 2021- Platform live for users and new advertisements and tenders to be published on the DSP.

Q3 2021- Closedown of DCO after all ongoing advertisements and prequalification activities are completed. 

We’ve had good engagement from our industry partners so far in response to these communications. Set out below are some of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) which we will continue to update and provide to you as part of future communications. Please feel free to contact DefComrclCPFPMO@mod.gov.uk if there are any further questions you would like to ask.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

• Are there any charges for using the new system? 

There are no charges or licences required to use the DSP.

• What support do I have if I have a problem?   

You will be supported by a 24hr Helpdesk, the details of which will be provided in our next communication also available on the DSP. 

• Have any policies changed from the previous platform? 

No, there are no policy changes to current practices, Suppliers are accountable for the proper use of the platform and ensuring only duly authorised staff submit tenders (as they are now).

• What is the process for registration on the DSP?

Suppliers should register using the ‘Register now’ button on the DSP Homepage. There’s an online form which is quick and easy to complete.

• Do companies simply register in their entirety or do they have to describe the services and capabilities they supply?

As part of the registration process, the Supplier will need to complete the Basic User Profile which asks for:  

• Industry Sector
• No. of Employees
• Turnover
• SME status
• NCAGE
• Confirmation of whether you have previously contracted with MOD

The Extended user profile can be completed for use against PQQ responses ahead of time, but this is not mandated as part of the registration process.

• Do all registered companies go onto the portal under the same material category?

Suppliers can associate categories against their profile, this will enable alerts if the MOD publish opportunities under that category. 

• What parts of MOD (DE&S, Dstl etc) will use the E-Sourcing Platform?

All parts of MOD, including DE&S and DSTL.

• Is the DSP mandated for all pan-MOD opportunities?

It is mandated for all procurements up to Official Sensitive over the value of 10k. 

• Some MOD procurements are run through Crown Commercial Services (CCS). Will this continue to be the case or will these procurements be run through the E-Sourcing platform in future?

We will still continue to run procurements through CCS where this forms part of the commercial strategy. If the framework allows us to use a platform of our choice it will be the DSP, otherwise we will use CCS mandated platforms.

• Will all industry users have access to the same functions or will there be different types of industry user (e.g. commercial, sales, finance, bids etc)?

Suppliers can set up their own users, role profiles and divisions. Associated rights and responsibilities can be set against each of these.

• Are Suppliers able to tune filters on the DSP to ensure they are only receiving tenders against which they are able to supply?

Suppliers will receive alerts for opportunities raised using their selected categories. Suppliers can filter opportunity listings by type of work / keyword etc. on the DSP, otherwise you can still filter on Contracts Finder as you do now.

• Is it possible - i.e. technically - for two different parts of the same Supplier organisation to submit a response for the same tender opportunity?

No, a Supplier response creates a single response on behalf of the organisation. Suppliers could assign multiple users to work on the response, it’s up to the supplier to decide how they want to manage this.

• How will user access to the E-Sourcing portal be controlled? Will each individual users have their own account and login credentials or will it be role-based (i.e. the same account/login credentials be used by a number of people)?

Suppliers can create users who will have their own individual accounts. Permissions/ responsibilities can be set up and managed for each user.

• With information on the DSP going up to and including OFFICIAL SENSITIVE, how is the vetting of End Users controlled? Is this a Supplier responsibility and - if so - how is this to be managed before End Users are issued with access permissions?

It is a supplier responsibility to ensure that only duly authorised personnel access and submit information to the DSP. This is the same principle that is in operation with the DCO and current tendering processes.

• Will the E-Sourcing tool use Two Factor Authentication (2FA)? How will this be implemented? When a user is created, a one-time Password is generated and issued via email for first time login. This password must be changed upon log in.
• What Management Information will be available to industry via the portal? We will provide a list of the DSP MI reports to be available to suppliers in due course.