n/a · Gentex Europe Ltd for Ministry of Defence (Jun 2023)

CPV: Repair and maintenance services of military electronic systems

Procedure method

Negotiated without publication of a contract notice

Legal basis

CELEX · 32009L0081 Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (Directive 2009/81/EC)

Procurement category

Services

Notice status

Awarded

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

Unspecified in notice

First published

2 Jun 2023, 17:14 BST

Last source update

2 Jun 2023, 17:14 BST

FTS notice number

2023/S 000-015766

Classification (CPV)

Repair and maintenance services of military electronic systems

Delivery area

South West (UKK11)

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-03d381 Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development under the conditions stated in the directive; The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons

Published justification

A Single Source Contract with Gentex Europe Ltd for the Gentex Amp Ops Core Headset is justified as competition is absent for the following reasons:

Design Support: Gentex Europe Ltd is the only approved Co-ordinating Design Organisation for the Gentex headset in UK and they are the only contractor with access to the relevant drawings and qualification evidence required to undertake design and manufacture activities of this headset type. The reason for this is that they are the only approved supplier and have access to the product design information to enable them to undertake any design modifications and repairs to the Gentex headsets. (2) Gentex Corporation who own the Intellectual Property Rights of the Gentex Amp Ops Core Headset system have appointed Gentex Europe Ltd as their UK partner and are not prepared to licence other suppliers to support or supply the equipment.

Repair: Due to the complexity of the equipment, Gentex Europe Ltd as the Co-ordinating designer, are the only supplier with the technical ability to undertake repair, maintenance and overhaul activities as they are the only company that supply this equipment. Any other contractor would require a licence from Gentex Corporation to obtain the drawings and list of spare parts required to undertake design and manufacture activities. This would take time for any other supplier to obtain but may not be granted by Gentex Corporation who own the IPR in this headset.

Safety: To compete this requirement would introduce the possibility of contravention of the CNAWR and the Defence Safety Authority (DSA) regulations as it would not be possible to ensure that another contractor would be sufficiently qualified, within the requisite timeframes, to undertake design and manufacture activities without including an associated unacceptable level of risk. This would result in the Authority not being able to fulfil CNAWR safety requirements which must be fulfilled to ensure the safe functioning of the forces. To comply with the CNAWR the principles of As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) must be adhered to. Reasonably practicable involves weighing a risk against the trouble, time and money needed to control it. Thus, ALARP describes the level to which the Authority expect to see workplace risks controlled.

Publisher note: The Authority reserves the right to amend any condition related to security of information to reflect any changes in national law or government policy. If any contract documents are accompanied by instructions on safeguarding classified information (e.g. a Security Aspects Letter), the Authority reserves the right to amend the terms of these instructions to reflect any changes in national law or government policy, whether in respect of the applicable protective marking scheme, specific protective markings given, the aspects to which any protective marking applies, or otherwise. This notice is not a request for expressions of interest so please do not apply to be invited to tender. This notice advises that the Authority has decided to negotiate a contract with the named supplier on a single source basis, and is published for reasons of transparency. If you are interested in becoming a sub-contractor for this requirement, you should apply directly to the supplier named.

• Gentex Europe LtdAwarded supplier Unit 3, Focus 4, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, East of England, SG6 2TU

No document links were published on the notice.