Decision Maker: Procurement Board

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: April 28, 2025

Purpose:

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  Due to extensive customisation and outdated functionality, Salford City Council is procuring a modern, cloud-based system to enhance efficiency and support its digital transformation.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.