Official UK procurement notice
Business Travel Management Services 2025
Authority: University of Southampton (Charity / VCSE)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe University requires a Travel Management Company (TMC) that is able to facilitate the travel booking needs for a large and diverse range of stakeholders, including but not limited to Air Travel, Rail Travel and Accommodation Booking, for Domestic and International travel requirements.
The University requires a TMC with the provision to provide these services both online through a booking platform and smartphone based app, and offline through a UK based call-centre type model.
The University has used the services of a TMC since October 2017. As the current TMC contract is ending in October 2025, the University is now seeking to re-contract for this service for up to a further 7 years.
CPV: Travel agency and similar services · Travel management services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Published value£42,000,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (9)
- Highly Desirable IT Non-Functional Requirements: 2.5%
- Desirable Service Requirements: 47.5%
- Usability Testing Requirements - Complex: 10%
- Usability Testing Requirements - Non-Complex: 10%
- Usability Testing Requirements - Accessibility: 5%
- Transaction Fees: 20%
- Account Management Fees: 2.5%
- Reporting and MI Fees: 1.25%
- Implementation Fees: 1.25%
Published award criteria (11)
- Mandatory Service Requirements: Pass/Fail
- Mandatory IT Non-Functional Requirements: Pass/Fail
- Highly Desirable IT Non-Functional Requirements: 2.50%
- Desirable Service Requirements: 47.50%
- Usability Testing Requirements - Complex: 10.00%
- Usability Testing Requirements - Non-Complex: 10.00%
- Usability Testing Requirements - Accessibility: 5.00%
- Transaction Fees: 20.00%
- Account Management Fees: 2.50%
- Reporting and MI Fees: 1.25%
- Implementation Fees: 1.25%
- Suitability
To support the financial assessment, the University will obtain a Business Risk Report for all Tenderers and every organisation that is being relied on to meet this procurement, using an independent company called Creditsafe.
The University reserves the right to exclude a Tenderer or request provision of further assurances such as parent company/bank guarantee or performance bonds where a Tenderer's Business Risk Score is: "Moderate Risk"; "High Risk"; "Very High Risk"; or "Not Rated", based on the rating provided by Creditsafe.
Where a Business Risk Score from our external system is not available, then an alternative method of assessing financial standing will be used.
This method is detailed within the Invitation to Tender document set.
- Condition of participationno text publishedMinimum: Tenderers are advised that a requirement of this procurement is to have in place, or commit to obtain prior to the commencement of the contract, the following minimum insurance levels: Employers (Compulsory) Liability: £10 Million GBP. Public Liability: £5 Million GBP. Profession…
- Technical & professional ability
Tenderers attention is drawn to the MANDATORY requirements of the award criteria:
Grounds for mandatory exclusion
- Mandatory qualitative requirements 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1.1, 6.1.2, 6.1.3, 6.1.4, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 7.1.3, 7.1.4, 7.1.5, 8.1.1, 8.1.2, 9.1, 10.1.1, 10.1.2, 10.1.3, 10.1.4, 11.1.1, 11.1.2, 12.1.1 to 12.1.9, 12.1.12, 13.1, 14.1, 15.1, 16.1.1, 16.1.2, 17.1, 18.1, 19.1, 20.1, 21.1, 22.1, 23.1, 24.1.1 + 24.1.2, 24.1.3, 24.1.4, 24.1.5, 24.1.6 + 24.1.7, 25.1, 26.1.1, 26.1.2, 27.1, 28.1, 29.1, 30.1, 31.1, 32.1, 33.1, 24.1, 25.1, 36.1, 37.1, 38.1.1 to 38.1.9, and M-NFR-1 to M-NFR-19.
- Failure to meet the minimum required score for Highly Desirable IT Non-Functional requirements H-NFR-1 to H-NFR-22
- Failure to provide access to the proposed booking system for usability testing
Ground for discretionary exclusion
- Economic & Financial Standing
- Insurance
- Compliance with equality legislation
- Legal requirements
- Price carries 25 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 13 Jan 2025, 13:15 GMT
- Last source update
- 13 Jan 2025, 13:15 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- 24 Feb 2025 – …
- Authority reference
2023UoS-1138- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-001017- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04cf83Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Publisher note: E-Tendering Portal: The University is utilising an electronic tendering tool, In-Tend(https://in-tendhost.co.uk/universityofsouthampton) to manage this procurement and to communicate with potential suppliers and/or tenderers (as appropriate). All documentation in relation to this tender can be downloaded from In-Tend. Tenderers are advised that there will be no hardcopy documents issued and all communications with the University, including the submission of Selection Stage and/or Invitation to Tender responses will be conducted via In-Tend. Regular monitoring of the portal is the responsibility of the tenderer. If you are not already registered as a supplier with the University of Southampton, you will need to register in In-Tend in order to access the procurement documentation. Once you have logged in as a supplier: click on 'Tenders'; locate the relevant project; and click 'View Details'. Once you are in the project screen, you will be able to register your organisation against the project and access all documentation by clicking 'Express Interest'. Potential suppliers/tenderers are advised that formal expressions of interest in the project must be by way of completion and return of the relevant documents via In-Tend. Further instructions for the submission of responses are below: To submit your return: 1. Log in 2. Click 'Tenders' 3. Locate the relevant project 4. View details 5. Click on the tab relating to the relevant project stage (e.g. 'Invitation to Tender') 6. Click on the 'Attach Documents' button and upload your return. 7. Check ALL your response documents are uploaded and displayed in the 'My Tender Return' panel. The system will only permit your organisation to make one return. 8. Click the red 'Submit Return' button. Please note, to preserve the integrity of the procurement, all communications with the University must be made via the correspondence function within In-Tend. Costs and Expenses: Tenderers are solely responsible for their costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation and submission of responses and participation in this and all future stages of this procurement. Under no circumstances will the University be liable for any costs or expenses borne by tenderers or any of their supply chain, partners or advisers in this procurement process. The University is not liable for any costs in the event of the cancellation of this procurement process.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 24 Feb 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 180 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 24 Feb 2025, 12:01 GMT
Timeline
13 Jan 2025 → 24 Feb 2025 · 3 dates- Notice published13 Jan 2025, 13:15 GMT
- Submission deadline24 Feb 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Bids opened24 Feb 2025, 12:01 GMT
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.