Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2024/S 000-041246/EN)
Nature of contract: Service contract
Procedure: Not applicable
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Prior information notice without call for competition
Services

This notice is for prior information only
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: Ministry of Defence
Town: London
Country: United Kingdom
Email: oliver.howard101@mod.gov.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address:

Additional information can be obtained from:
the above mentioned address
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions
I.5) Main activity
Defence

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement:
II.1.1) Title: Project BALTO
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 72590000
II.1.3) Type of contract: Services
II.1.4) Short Description:
Project BALTO is an innovation project with the following core objectives: 
Run a pilot trialling inventory management software that is hardware agnostic. 
Integrate hardware that supports inventory management.
Develop Tactics, Techniques and procedures (TTPs) that support the innovative software/hardware.
Inform wider Defence partners of the benefits from the pilot, as proof of concept.
Prove that consumption of frequent use materiel can be collected in real time.
Deliver similar outputs to other defence inventories.
II.1.5) Estimated total value:
Value excluding VAT: 350000 Currency: GBP
II.1.6) Information about lots:
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.2) Description:
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
Main CPV code: 32400000
Main CPV code: 48161000
Main CPV code: 48200000
Main CPV code: 48430000
Main CPV code: 72590000

II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Project BALTO is an innovation project with the following core objectives: 
Run a pilot trialling inventory management software that is hardware agnostic. 
Integrate hardware that supports inventory management.
Develop Tactics, Techniques and procedures (TTPs) that support the innovative software/hardware.
Inform wider Defence partners of the benefits from the pilot, as proof of concept.
Prove that consumption of frequent use materiel can be collected in real time.
Deliver similar outputs to other defence inventories.
II.2.5) Award criteria

II.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice:2024-12-19
II.1.1) Title: Project BALTO – Industry Day
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 72590000
II.1.3) Type of contract: Services
II.1.4) Short Description:
Project BALTO
An industry day shall be held at Scale Space, White City between the end of January and start of February. Exact date to be confirmed within the event invitation.
The purpose of this industry day shall be to:
1. provide background to the project and state its aims
2. talk to the problem statement detailed below
3. walk through the anticipated tender process
4. open discussion to help the authority define and clarify aspects of the tender documentation
Invitation to the event will be by request. To register your interest in attending, you must complete this form no later than 17:00 on 19th January 2025. Due to capacity limitations, this industry day is limited to 1 person from each company.
To facilitate the open discussion, the Authority would like attendees to consider the following background:
Situation:
The MOD | Strategic Command | Defence Medical Services supported by the Medical Innovation Team within jHub currently faces significant challenges in managing its medical supply chain.
Relying primarily on manual processes, including paper-based systems and basic tooling, the department struggles to accurately monitor, track, and supply medical stock, particularly in dynamic operational environments.
Conversely, it has been proven in recent conflicts, resupply and effective logistics remains key to success on the battlefield.
This outdated approach hinders the team’s ability to respond swiftly and confidently to medical needs, and the lack of real-time visibility into stock levels and locations poses a substantial risk to operational effectiveness and personnel safety.
The growing threat of cyberattacks, further exacerbates these challenges.
Problem:
The team are seeking to modernise part of the supply chain through a hybrid approach combining cloud and edge computing.
Recognising procurement higher up the supply chain may be as difficult as it is elsewhere in logistics, delivery to the customer (soldier, sailor, aviator) offers some unique challenges, not least the end-customer is always moving, and positional information is operationally sensitive.
Connectivity may be limited, potentially non-existent. Any solution MUST be able to operate indefinitely with very low latency on Edge devices in disconnected environments, while maintaining the ability to communicate across networks when the situation allows.
To fully realise the benefits of digitalisation, mitigate cyber risks, and improve operational efficiency, a comprehensive market analysis is required to identify and evaluate the most suitable technologies and approaches for optimising the operational end (i.e. the final customer) of the supply chain.
Operational scenario
By investing in advanced tracking, monitoring, and supply chain management solutions, incorporating both cloud and edge computing, the team aims to achieve enhanced visibility, improved decision-making, and optimised resource allocation.
This transformation will ultimately enable the medical team to both anticipate and deliver critical medical supplies with greater speed, accuracy, and confidence, both domestically and in global operations, while safeguarding against cyber threats, improving operational resilience and maintain operational security.
II.1.6) Information about lots:
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.2) Description:
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
Main CPV code: 32400000
Main CPV code: 48100000
Main CPV code: 48430000

II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Project BALTO is an innovation project with the following core objectives: 
Run a pilot trialling inventory management software that is hardware agnostic. 
Integrate hardware that supports inventory management
Develop Tactics, Techniques and procedures (TTPs) that support the innovative software/hardware
Inform wider Defence partners of the benefits from the pilot, as proof of concept
Prove that consumption of frequent use materiel can be collected in real time
Deliver similar outputs to other defence inventories
II.2.5) Award criteria

II.2.14) Additional information: Invitation to the event will be by request. To register your interest in attending, you must complete this form no later than 17:00 on 19th January 2025. Due to capacity limitations, this industry day is limited to 1 person from each company.

II.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice:2024-12-20
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description

IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement(GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: no
IV.2) Administrative information

Section VI: Complementary information
VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:2024-12-20