Content

Salford City Council – Record of
Decision
 
I Paul Dennett, City
Mayor, in exercise of the powers contained within the Council
Constitution do hereby:
 
·     
approve to Award the Contract for new
Finance and Procurement system, as detailed in the table
below:

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted
Service/Supply/Project

Project
Genesis: the procurement of a new Finance and Procurement system to
TechnologyOne’s OneCouncil solution.  

Procurement Reference numbers (DN and CR
number supplied by Procurement)

S1764

Name of Successful
Contractor

Technology One UK Limited

Supplier Registration Number

(to be supplied by Procurement

05234413

Proclass
Classification No.

(to be completed by
procurement)

271430
 

Type of organisation

(to be supplied by
Procurement)

Private Limited Company

Status of Organisation

(to be supplied by
Procurement)

Non-SME

Contract Value (£)

£255,890 per annum
Year 1 £313,865
Year 2 £255,890 + CPI
Year 3 = Year 2 + CPI
Year 4 = Year 3 + CPI

Total contract value £ (including
extensions)

£1,081,535   
total project value (+ added CPI in years 2, 3 &
4)

Contract Duration

48 months

Contract Start Date

31/03/2025

Contract End Date

30/03/2029

Optional Extension Period 1

12 months

Optional Extension Period 2

N/A months

Who will approve each Extension
Period?

Procurement Board (extension >
£150k)

Contact Officer (Name &
number)

Paul Hutchings, Mark Barrett,
Steve Fry

 
 
 

 

 

Lead Service
Group

Resources &
Transformation

How the
contract was procured?
(to be supplied by
procurement)

Direct Award/ Call
off

Framework Details (where
applicable)
(procurement body, framework
reference & title, start/ end date

Crown Commercial
Services 
G-Cloud 14 
RM1557.14 
29/10/24 –
28/04/26
 

Funding
Source

Revenue Budget

Ethical Contractor (EC):
Mayor’s Employment Charter

No
 

EC: Committed to sign The
Mayor’s Employment Charter

No
 
 

EC: Committed to the principles
outlined in the Mayor’s Employment
charter

Yes
 

EC: Accredited Living Wage
Employer

No
 

EC: Committed to becoming
Accredited Living wage Employer

Yes
?

 
The
Reasons are:
Salford City Council must replace its legacy SAP HR,
payroll, and finance system, which has been in use since 2000 and
will no longer be supported after 2027.  Due to extensive
customisation and outdated functionality, Salford City Council is
procuring a modern, cloud-based system to enhance efficiency and
support its digital transformation. This report seeks approval from
the Procurement Board to award the contract for a new Finance and
Procurement system to TechnologyOne UK Limited, which
offers a secure, scalable, and integrated Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS) solution.
 
Following extensive market engagement and evaluation,
TechnologyOne’s
OneCouncil software was
identified as the best-fit solution for Finance and Procurement.
This decision follows a robust procurement process, including soft
market testing, product demonstrations, and in-depth assessments of
system functionality, interoperability, and user experience. The
chosen solution will streamline financial operations, automate
procurement processes, and improve management reporting and
compliance, supporting the Council’s goal of greater
efficiency, resilience, and sustainability. The adoption of a
cloud-first approach ensures enhanced security, scalability, and
seamless integration with other corporate systems.
 
The implementation of the new system will be a key
component of Project Genesis, the Council’s strategic
transformation programme. By reducing reliance on manual processes
and legacy technology, the new platform will drive operational
efficiencies, free up staff for higher-value activities, and
support a more agile, digital-first workforce. Additionally, the
transition to cloud-based infrastructure aligns with the
Council’s commitment to sustainability by reducing energy
consumption and paper-based processes. This investment will
future-proof financial and procurement operations, ensuring they
are fit for purpose and capable of supporting the Council’s
evolving needs. Approval of this contract award will enable a
smooth transition and ensure that the Council is well-prepared
ahead of the 2027 deadline.
 
Options considered and rejected were:
In January 2024, an open advert was placed on the
Chest inviting interested and suitably qualified companies to
express an interest in a Soft Market Testing exercise. The
intention of this exercise focused on replacing the current ERP SAP
system with either a new full ERP system, or separate best of
breeds HR/OD & Payroll system and Finance & Procurement
system. It was made clear in the documentation provided to
prospective suppliers that the Council was looking at various
options for the future procurement of the system(s), including the
use of frameworks as a possible route to market.
 
Sixty-four expressions of interest were received, and
thirty on-time responses were submitted. This included a range of
companies which offered either a full ERP or a best of breed
solution.
 
The project evaluation team consisting of officers
from the Procurement, HR, OD, Payroll, Finance, Accounts Payable/
Receivable & DDaT (Digital, Data
and Technology) teams, who evaluated the responses.
 
Due to the high number of responses received the
decision was made to focus on demonstrations from the software
vendors, either individually or as part of a partnership led
delivery model. This was to ensure no repetition or duplication of
demonstrations, and that the evaluation team were able to focus on
the core systems.
 
Eight companies were invited to attend half-day
demonstration sessions. Several officers from across the wider HR
and Organisational Development, Payroll, Finance, Procurement and
DDaT teams attended the
sessions.
 
Feedback was captured from each of the sessions from
all attendees. Five companies were then invited to attend
individual deep dive full day workshops to further explore their
systems and capabilities.
 
It was evident from the demonstrations and the
feedback from the attendees, that for HR, Payroll and OD, the
system from MHR, iTrent, was deemed
best in class in comparison to other system demonstrations, when
comparing the breadth of functionality and end user interface and
experience.
 
A report was taken to Procurement Board on
14th October 2024 recommending an award to MHR
iTrent for the provision of an HR,
Payroll and OD system, which was subsequently approved.
 
Following the decision to award to MHR, the Project
Team were then tasked with revisiting some of the soft market
engagement information and a decision was made to reinvite four
companies to demonstrate their systems with purely a focus on this
being a Finance & Procurement system and not full
ERP.
 
The further engagement sessions with the four
companies were followed up with meetings with reference sites from
their existing customer base who had gone through recent similar
transformations and implementations, to understand their own
experiences with the providers and to discuss any lessons
learned.
 
Taking into account
all factors including user experience,
costs, implementation programmes, interoperability, security, cloud
state, market maturity, and feedback from the deeper dive sessions,
the Project and Steering Groups are recommending an award to
Technology One as the preferred solution for the Finance and
Procurement System.
 
An initial meeting has been held with Technology One
to understand their approach to project management and
implementation. Technology One has a tried and tested
implementation methodology and timeline with regular gateway check
points for sign off and assurance before progressing to the next
stage. A detailed project and activity plan is being developed to
inform the resource requirements at each stage to ensure successful
and smooth implementation.
 
Assessment of Risk:
This is high risk programme, with significant risks
to the financial stewardship of the council. This risk is mitigated
by the resourcing of a dedicated project team, with a robust
governance process in place and internal audit involved from the
beginning.
 
The
source of funding is:
The Finance
and Procurement Project Genesis implementation cost of
£57,975 will be funded from the Transformation Reserve. The
annual cost of licensing of the system, £255,890 has been
built into the Medium-Term Financial Plan.
 
Legal Advice obtained
– Yes.
 
Financial Advice
obtained – Yes.
 
Procurement Advice
obtained – Yes.
 
HR Advice obtained
– Yes.
 
Climate Change
Implications obtained – Yes.
 
The following documents have
been used to assist the decision process:

·     
Approval to initiate a competitive
process for a replacement ERP system was granted at the Procurement
Board meeting on 26th June 2024, following a Lead Member
pre-briefing on 11th June 2024.

·     
Prior to presentation at the Procurement
Board (28th April 2025), this report has been approved
by CMT (2nd April 2025) and LMB (25th March
2025).
 
Contact Officer:
Steve Fry, Director
of Digital & Customer Services Steven.Fry@salford.gov.uk  
Paul Hutchings,
Deputy Chief Finance Officer Paul.Hutchings@salford.gov.uk  
 
·     
This matter is also subject to consideration by the
Lead Member for Finance, Support Services and Regeneration. The
Lead Member has been consulted and is supportive of the proposed
contract.
·     
This matter is not subject to consideration by
another Lead Member.
 
 

Signed:    Paul
Dennett       Dated:    28 April 2025.
           
       City
Mayor
 

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE
ONLY:
 
*          
This decision was published on 28 April 2025
*          
This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 6 May 2025
unless it is called-in in
accordance with the Decision Making
Process Rules.