About the MOD
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is the single largest customer for UK industry, with an annual procurement spend of £14 billion and a diverse range of requirements – everything from military assets such as armoured vehicles and munitions to facilities management. The MOD was formed as a single government department in 1964 and currently has around 80,000 staff and an annual expenditure of £35 billion.
The MOD is one of the largest landowners in the UK, with an estate of over 2400 hectares and rights of access to a further 130,000 hectares. Its property portfolio extends from its HQ at Whitehall to facilities and offices across the UK, including Bath, Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow. The defence estate is managed primarily by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, formed in April 2011.
The current Secretary of State for Defence is Philip Hammond MP, who was appointed to this position in October 2011. Peter Luff MP is the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology. Bernard Gray was appointed as Chief of Defence Materiel in January 2011.
The Top Level Budget (TLB) holder organisations within the MOD are:
Air Command
Central TLB
Chief of Joint Operations
Defence Equipment and Support
Defence Infrastructure Organisation
Land Forces
Navy Command
For further information on the MOD, go to www.mod.uk
About DE&S
Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S)
Launched on 1 April 1999, the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) was an executive arm of the MOD, responsible for buying weapons systems and platforms and for managing major upgrades.
The Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) was launched on 1 April 2000 and was responsible for supporting and maintaining equipment procured by the DPA and its predecessor organisation, carrying out upgrades to that equipment and disposing of it at the end of its life. The DLO was also responsible for managing much of the defence supply chain, which is how equipment and supplies move back and forth between factory, storage, the front line and maintenance facilities. Other responsibilities included the procurement of clothing and personal issue equipment, the military post system and feeding troops on operations.
Over the next five years both organisations sought to find common ways of working and better ways of sharing resources. However, the Enabling Acquisition Change (EAC) review, carried out under the Defence Industrial Strategy in the first part of 2006, recommended that the natural next step would be to merge the two organisations in 2007.
The merger was taken forward by a small team drawn from both the DPA and the DLO, led by a 2* Senior Civil Servant. The team was tasked to form an integrated procurement and support organisation in order to exploit best practice for the DPA and the DLO. The new organisation was to be fit for purpose from 2 April 2007.
The new organisation, called Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), is led by Bernard Gray, as the Chief of Defence Materiel. DE&S operates as a single, coherent equipment and support organisation. Its mission is: “To equip and support our Armed Forces for operations now and in the future.” DE&S headquarters are based at Abbey Wood, Bristol and the organisation currently employs approximately 21,000 staff at locations across the UK. With an operational budget of £14 billion, DE&S equips and supports the UK’s Armed Forces for current and future operations. It acquires and supports through life, including disposal, equipment and services ranging from ships, aircraft, vehicles and weapons to electronic systems and information systems.
http://www.contracts.mod.uk/introduction/about_dss.shtml
About DSS and DIO
Defence Suppliers Service
The role of the Defence Suppliers Service
The Defence Suppliers Service (DSS), which is part of the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Supplier Relations Team, is the MOD focal point for the provision of advice and guidance to companies interested in becoming defence suppliers. Its staff can explain how to become a UK defence supplier and some of the processes and procedures that the MOD uses to buy a wide variety of goods and services. The DSS advises companies of all sizes, from both the UK and overseas, and the vast majority of the 2000 or so enquiries it receives each year are from SMEs. These companies are able to provide a wide and diverse range of goods and services (for example, general engineering and hardware capabilities, consultancy and IT services, medical equipment and supplies, electrical items, furniture, clothing and training services, to name but a few).
How the DSS is able to help companies of all sizes, including SMEs
The DSS acts purely in an advisory capacity by:
- operating a Defence Suppliers Help Desk facility
- providing an overview of how MOD acquisition is undertaken and the various procedures that are used
- providing information packs about becoming a defence supplier, which include the Selling to the MOD brochure and copies of MOD DCB providing appropriate points of contact for the various MOD acquisition staff who may have an interest in the goods or services that a company is able to provide, so that the company can contact the buyer directly to discuss any possible future business opportunities
- acting as the UK's European focal point to provide advice and a point of contact for European companies interested in becoming UK defence suppliers
Events attended by the DSS
DSS staff work closely with Trade Associations, local Chambers of Commerce, Business Links, Regional Development Agencies and the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) and attend various exhibitions, seminars and 'Meet the Buyer' events across the UK and occasionally overseas, where they are able to meet company representatives, most of whom are from SMEs, and provide advice and assistance to those wishing to become UK defence suppliers. DSS staff will also deliver 'Selling to the MOD' presentations to industry delegates at these events, where appropriate. Since 1997 DSS staff have attended over 370 such events and delivered more than 200 Selling to the MOD presentations.
Enquiries
Further information about the DSS and how to become a defence supplier can be obtained by contacting:
Defence Suppliers Service
Supplier Relations Team (SRT)
Abbey Wood North
Oak Level 2
#6225
BRISTOL
BS34 8QJ
Tel: 030 679 32843
Fax: 0117 913 1911
Email: dessrt-dsshelpdesk@mod.uk
About DIO
Defence Infrastructure Organisation
Who we are
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) was formed on 1 April 2011 when the former Defence Estates (DE) organisation was brought together with other property and infrastructure functions being carried out within the other six MOD Top Level Budgets (TLBs) to form a single organisation.
We manage the MOD’s property infrastructure and ensure strategic management of the defence estate as a whole, optimising investment and, critically, supporting military capability to best effect. We have responsibility for most MOD expenditure on infrastructure management and delivery activities.
Our services
We provide a ‘one-stop shop’ infrastructure service to defence, managing the majority of the MOD’s technical infrastructure, accommodation, training estate and volunteer estate worldwide. Our services include hard and soft facilities management to support the maintenance of existing infrastructure, as well as services to enable the development of new infrastructure where it is needed.
We have teams delivering specific activities including estate management, projects, lands, catering, retail and leisure, cleaning, utility management, estate sustainability, Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF) for the estate, waste management and accommodation stores.
We also have staff working on supporting activities including infrastructure strategy, policy and planning, data and reporting, financial management and procurement.
How we are structured
The DIO is structured into three key areas; Corporate Services, Operations, and Strategic Asset-management and Programming.
The Strategic Asset-management and Programming Team (SAPT) is responsible for developing a Strategic Asset Management Plan. As part of that plan, the SAPT takes requirements from infrastructure users and prioritises them.
The Operations area manages the delivery of Hard FM, Soft FM, infrastructure projects, utility management and property management (disposals, leases, planning etc).
Corporate Services represents the DIO to the MOD, external organisations and other government departments. It supports the organisation with a range of services such as IT, communications, parliamentary business and FOI, performance reporting, security and business continuity.
Who we work with
Each MOD TLB has retained a small infrastructure team to define and coordinate the users’ infrastructure requirements. Their primary interface with the DIO is with the SAPT, which is responsible for addressing key issues such as prioritisation of investment. The user community is also represented at senior level on the Defence Infrastructure Board. But in practice, constructive day-to-day engagement between users and DIO staff at all levels is key to making the DIO a success.
The DIO also works with the Government Property Unit (GPU), which has representation on the Defence Infrastructure Board. The GPU was created to improve the efficiency of the government estate, working across departmental boundaries. The DIO works with a range of other partners, some of which are other government departments, on a variety of projects.
Where can I find out more?
If you are an external user please visit the DIO website: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/Microsite/dio/
Correspondence may be sent to:
DIO Headquarters
Kingston Road
SUTTON COLDFIELD
West Midlands
B75 7RL
Professional Services
The following list of engineering disciplines (including design) is indicative of those required to fulfil Establishment Works Consultancy and Works Services Management duties on the UK MOD estate:
A. Electrical Engineering
High Voltage
Low Voltage
Domestic
Industrial
Heavy Engineering
Aviation Ground Lighting
Grading & Protection
Lighting
Power Generation
B. Mechanical Engineering
Heating & Ventilation
Air Conditioning
Lifts
Building Management Systems
Doors – Industrial
Fuel, Storage & Supplies
Alarms & Security
Building Services
Energy Conservation
Pipelines
C. Civil Engineering
Buildings – Construction & Maintenance
Airfields – Hangars & Pavements
Dams & Reservoirs & Bridges
Roads & Railways
Drains & Sewers
Dredging
Hardened Structures
Geotechnical Engineering
D. Structural Engineering
Masts & Towers
Steelwork
E. Quantity Surveying
Contract Measurement & Evaluation
Project Management
Audit & Review
Financial Appraisals
F. Building Surveying
Property Surveying
Historical Buildings
G. Environmental Engineering
Public Health Engineering
Water Supply
Contamination & Pollution
Asbestos Removal
Environmental Management (including Environmental Impact Assessment)
H. Architecture
Architecture
Landscape Architecture
For advice on the DIO, please contact:
DIO Headquarters
Kingston Road
SUTTON COLDFIELD
West Midlands
B75 7RL
General Enquiries
Tel: 0121 311 2140
Email: secretariat@de.mod.uk
Website: http://www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/microsite/dio/
About NATO
Installations set up at the request of NATO Commanders for the operation, maintenance and training of NATO international forces in time of peace and for their effective operation in time of war are called ‘common infrastructure’ and are normally eligible for collective funding by member governments of the Alliance.
International Competitive Bidding (ICB) is the normal method of procurement, although it may be waived where appropriate. Only firms of the NATO nations which have undertaken to share the cost of the infrastructure project involved can take part in an ICB, and all equipment and services, including those supplied by sub-contractors, must come from NATO nations financing the project.
Under NATO ICB procedures a host nation or NATO agency which has undertaken to procure an infrastructure-funded project will invite bids only from firms which have been declared eligible by their nations of origin. For UK firms, declarations of eligibility are provided by the Ministry of Defence, via the Defence Export Services Organisation, Regional Marketing Directorate 4c. Eligibility covers the technical, financial and professional capacity of the firm and other appropriate clearances; the declaration states that the capabilities of the firm are such that the MOD would admit the firm as a competitor if responsible for awarding a contract for work of a similar nature. Only existing defence contractors are, therefore, generally eligible to bid for infrastructure projects.
NATO Maintenance and Supply Projects
The main role of the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) concerns the centralisation, coordination and consolidation of logistics activities for various weapon systems and equipment of the forces of NATO nations to achieve greater economy and efficiency from both procurement and operational perspectives. It is essentially a management agency with responsibility in the areas of maintenance, calibration and supply.
Procurement activity derives from orders placed by individual NATO nations. NAMSA also occasionally acts as a procurement agency for NATO common-funded infrastructure projects.
More information on NAMSA’s procurement regulations can be found here
NATO contracts are published within the DCI Europe and DCI Global services, available via upgrade here.
