Guidance

Contracting, Purchasing and Finance (CP&F) tool

Updated 12 December 2018

© Crown copyright 2018

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-contracting-purchasing-and-finance-e-procurement-system/contracting-purchasing-and-finance-cpf-tool

Introduction to CP&F

The CP&F programme is about the provision of an end to end eProcurement system and associated business processes which span the commercial, purchasing and financial accounting functions for the department. As an extension to this it includes the provision of more complete, reliable and accurate management information.

The programme is being rolled out in phases starting with Release 2 which was the finance functionality, this happened in December 2016. Then Release 3, which is demand capture and contract management, this is being implemented to different teams from May 2018 and is due to complete December 2018.

Release 4 which will cover sourcing is due to start in the second half of 2019.

Latest news

CP&F Release 3 has been live since May 2018 with no major reported problems. Release 3 was rolled out successfully with the last Operating Centre (OC), Ships, going live in November. User Engagement ‘Ways of Working’ presentations have also been held in various MOD locations across the UK and Germany. As well as Skype and face to face sessions to all OCs, demonstrating different areas of the system, therefore ensuring staff are suitably trained to use the system.

CP&F Release 3 functionality

CP&F functionality at R3 allows for contract deliverables to be set up against the contract. These are used to define obligations and commitments that need to be fulfilled by parties entering into the contract, and are typically referred to as ‘Obligations’. This functionality will be used to set out, track and monitor performance obligations for the supplier, as well as internally to contribute towards the management of the contract.

The deliverable type can be Contractual:

Contractual deliverables become part of the signed contract and represent a binding commitment from one party to the other. Examples include reporting obligations, sub-contractor updates, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) reporting (Supplier to MOD), provision of government furnished assets (GFA), availability of access to sites, and timely review of documentation (MOD to Supplier).

Each deliverable will require a MOD internal contact and requestor to be assigned to it. The internal contact will be, in most cases, the Commercial Officer, with the requestor normally being the Project Manager. By assigning a deliverable to individuals they can then access and update these in CP&F. This is where the management of deliverables will take place, allowing the requestor of deliverables to update the status of the deliverable and escalate performance if required. External contacts can also be added to contractual deliverables where the supplier is the responsible party.

Where obligations are setup with completion dates, Notifications can be used to inform the contacts about the progress of deliverables. Supplier contacts who have been setup in CP&F as the external responsible party will receive notifications when the following occurs:

  • prior to the deliverable been due (This is an optional notification set up by the Commercial team and they can choose the number days prior to the deliverable been due they wish to use to generate the notification reminder)
  • the deliverable is overdue

The notification is for information only and the supplier will be responsible for Contacting the Commercial officer to report progress or to request further information. The notification will continue to be received until either the MOD Commercial officer of Project Officer takes the necessary action on CP&F to update the status.

Note: The receipt/non receipt of a CP&F deliverable email does not change the obligation for the Contractor to manage all obligations under the contract.

Please see Annex A: supplier notification diagram attached for more detail of the items explained above

Contract Numbering

The new online functionality for drafting ITTs will mean that a system generated contract number will be generated when the Commercial Officer begins the tendering process. This means that ‘traditional’ MOD contract numbers, typically beginning with an abbreviation of the commercial team managing the contract followed by 4-5 digits, for example AMBU/1234, will be phased out as teams transition to Release 3 functionality, bringing a uniformed approach to contract numbering.

The new format will be nine digits long, commencing with 7, for example 700000673. As per current processes, the automatically generated will be used when tendering and will ultimately become the contract number. If the contract is awarded in Lots, the resultant contract number will be denoted by a hyphen after the contract number, for example 700000673-1, 700000673-2, etc.

CP&F from a supplier’s perspective at Release 3

Below is a summary of the main points for suppliers to be aware of once CP&F has been fully implemented:

  • notices and adverts will continue to be issued through Defence Contracts Online (DCO). Pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQ’s) will continue to be processed using the dynamic PQQ via the DCO website
  • all new contracts will be developed and managed electronically
  • suppliers will have a single point of contact for CP&F system support from Defence Business Services (DBS) by email at dbscs-ecfinanceteam@mod.uk or via the CP&F helpdesk on +44 (0)151 242 2000, option 2
  • suppliers shouldn’t notice a difference with the tender documentation, it is created slightly differently internally, but the output should be similar to before. Please see example ITT (Invitation To Tender) output
  • supplier on-boarding will only have a minor change, which is the addition of a process called ‘Light On-Boarding’ which involves the Commercial Officer registering any potential suppliers who are being invited to tender

The supplier will now receive email notifications to warn them when a deliverable is due, so it is important that the Commercial Officer has the most up to date contact details for the supplier. The supplier cannot update the status of the deliverable this must be done by MOD.

The next stage: Release 4

Release 4 will introduce the sourcing element of the CP&F programme. The working assumption is to procure a Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) application provided as Software as a service (SAAS), with any customisation to focus on ease of use / data transfer from CP&F R3.

User requirements are still under review with some teams within the MOD, when these are finalised, they will be used to contract against.

Further Information

A new ‘CP&F End to End Guide Including Exostar’ has been produced.

If you are experiencing any issues relating to your contracts in the first instance please contact your commercial manager. The Defence Business Services (DBS) enquiry centre can be contacted from 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday, on +44 (0)151 242 2000 or via email on dbscs-ecfinanceteam@mod.uk.

The programme team is also providing direct support to suppliers and can be contacted on defcomrclcpf-btt@mod.gov.uk.

Should you have any questions about managing your contract please engage with your MOD commercial officer directly.

Defence Business Services (DBS) enquiry centre for CP&F system support can be contacted between 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday on +44 (0)151 242 2000 option 2, or via email on dbscs-ecfinanceteam@mod.uk.

Useful contacts / links

Contents