Express Freight Service

The purpose of this Early Engagement Notice is to inform the market about a forthcoming market engagement event related to a potential re-procurement for an express freight service.

The Department of Health and Social Care(DHSC) is looking to engage an express freight service with global reach and capability for heath care products. This service will replace the current Express Freight Solutions which are due to expire on the 31 October 2021.

The EFS forms part of the DHSC's National Supply Disruption Response, which is part of the multi-layered approach to help mitigate the impact of disruption to supply of medicines and medical products. It was originally designed to help mitigate disruption in the event of a no deal exit from the EU and has since been used as part of COVID 19 response arrangements when all other options have been exhausted.

The DHSC will be undertaking an online event at 12.30pm on 14 June for interested parties. The event is anticipated to last 1.5 hours, and will give interested parties an understanding of the aims of the procurement and an opportunity to input into the development of proposals. To participate in this market engagement event please register your interest via the DHSC e-procurement tool - Atamis by selecting this link to access https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome.

Once your organisation has expressed interest in the opportunity, event details and joining instructions will be issued.

The procurement is expected to commence at the beginning of July, with a contract awarded by October 2021. More information on the procurement process will be provided following market engagement activity.

This notice is for information only and is not a call for competition. DHSC reserves the right not to enter a formal procurement process and not award a contract. Accordingly, the Authority will not be liable for any bid cost, expenditure, work, or effort incurred by a provider in acting on the basis of this PIN. Attendance at the market engagement event is not a pre-requisite for being able to submit a tender against this opportunity.

All future engagement regarding this opportunity will take place via Atamis and be advertised on Contracts Finder and Find a Tender Service.