PHOENIX TECHNICAL REFRESH PHASE 3

The contract is being awarded in reliance on Schedule 5, paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023, on the basis that competition is absent for technical reasons and there are no reasonable alternatives. The requirement relates to Phase 3 of the Phoenix Technical Refresh Programme, which is the final stage of an existing three-phase programme to modernise the Phoenix Staff Travel Management and Administration System. Phases 1 and 2 have already been delivered by the incumbent supplier, Tracsis, and have established the modernised architecture, software components, integration approach and migration framework upon which Phase 3 is dependent. Completion of Phase 3 requires detailed technical knowledge of the architecture, configuration, business rules and implementation established through the earlier phases. Appointment of an alternative supplier would require substantial rediscovery, reverse engineering, technical assurance and reconstruction of knowledge already developed during the programme before delivery could safely proceed. This would result in significant duplication of effort, increased cost, programme delay and additional operational risk to a live business-critical system supporting rail staff travel services. Accordingly, only the incumbent supplier can reasonably complete the required services and there are no reasonable alternatives that would enable delivery of the programme without substantial technical rework and unacceptable operational risk