Local Price Data Collection Services for Consumer Price Inflation Statistics

Local Price Collection is vital to the production of the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH), Household Costs Indices (HCIs) and Retail Prices Index (RPI). These measures are important indicators of how prices are changing within the UK economy.

ONS currently collects approximately 100,000 prices each month from retail outlets across 141 locations, using a field workforce of fewer than 300 collectors.

Local Price Collection involves the collection of price, product and associated information from retail outlets across specified locations. ONS identifies the products and locations from which information needs to be collected, with field collectors undertaking collection activity using mobile technology. Collected information is subsequently validated, quality checked and transferred into ONS systems.

Under the current operating model, Local Price Collection is provided through an outsourced service. ONS is developing the future operating model and is considering an approach in which elements of collection may be undertaken in-house alongside outsourced field data collection.

The future operating model is also being developed to provide flexibility in the balance of collection undertaken by ONS and an external provider. ONS therefore wishes to understand suppliers' ability to support a delivery model capable of responding to changes in the level of externally provided collection within agreed parameters.

Previous preliminary market engagement

ONS previously undertook preliminary market engagement covering both the field data collection and enabling technology elements of the future Local Price Collection service.

This further engagement builds on that exercise and is intended to provide ONS with a clearer understanding of market capability and supplier appetite for field data collection as a standalone requirement, as well as where suppliers may have capability and interest in providing both field data collection and technology.

Suppliers did not need to have participated in the previous market engagement to respond to this exercise.

Field Data Collection Requirement

ONS wishes to understand market capability to provide a managed field data collection service.

At a high level, this may involve:

• recruiting, onboarding, training and managing a geographically dispersed field workforce;
• deploying and managing field collectors across specified UK locations;
• undertaking monthly collection of specified price, product and associated information from retail outlets;
• delivering collection activity in accordance with ONS requirements and timescales;
• monitoring and managing field collection activity and performance;
• supporting the quality and completeness of collected information;
• providing appropriate service continuity and resilience; and
• supporting mobilisation, transition and parallel running ahead of commencement of the future service.

ONS is interested in understanding different approaches available within the market and does not wish, through this preliminary market engagement exercise, to unnecessarily prescribe suppliers' proposed operating models.

Relationship with the Technology requirement

Technology is required to support Local Price Collection, including the allocation and undertaking of collection activity and the recording, validation and transfer of collected information.

The future Local Price Collection service will require new technology to be implemented. Suppliers should therefore not assume that participation in a future procurement for field data collection would require access to, or replication of, the technology currently used to deliver the existing service.

ONS is undertaking a separate preliminary market engagement exercise specifically for the future technology capability.

ONS has not yet determined whether field data collection and technology should ultimately be procured together or separately. The parallel market engagement exercises are intended to improve ONS's understanding of market capability and supplier appetite for the requirements individually and, where relevant, in combination.

ONS is therefore particularly interested in hearing from:

• organisations capable of providing field data collection as a standalone service, using technology provided separately;
• organisations capable of providing both field data collection and the supporting technology capability; and
• organisations that could operate under either delivery model.

Organisations interested in field data collection are encouraged to respond whether or not they currently provide or develop data collection technology.

Where field data collection and technology are provided separately, the future providers would be expected to work collaboratively with ONS to support implementation, testing, user training, mobilisation and operation of the service.

Feedback from this exercise and the separate technology market engagement will help ONS determine the most appropriate future delivery model, commercial structure and procurement approach.