Published notice: International open invitation to tender no. 2011/0482/Tp (NL - The Hague)

 Off-site storage of paper patent documents and performance of related services

  1. Awarding Authority:

    The European Patent Organisation (EPO) through the European Patent Office: Headquarters, Erhardtstrasse 27, D-80469 Munich, Postal address: EPO, D-80298 Munich.
    The European Patent Organisation is an intergovernmental organisation set up pursuant to the European Patent Convention which entered into force in 1977. At present it has 38 Member States (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Republic of Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom). The executive body of the EPO is the European Patent Office which is charged with the searching and examination of European patent applications and the granting of European patents. It employs approximately 6700 staff at EPO headquarters in Munich, a branch at The Hague/Rijswijk (NL) and sub-offices in Berlin and Vienna (the number of Member States and staff members indicated may change).

  2. Award procedure:

    International open invitation to tender with discretionary award of contract.

  3. Description of the contract:

    1. Purpose of the contract:

      Off-site storage of paper patent documents and performance of related services as specified under the descriptions of Lot 1 and Lot 2 hereunder.

    2. Division into Lots:

      Bidders may bid for one Lot or for both Lots, but pricing must done for each Lot separately.

      • Lot 1 – Storage of patent documents which upon contract signature are in long term storage at a warehouse in Ribatejada, near Madrid in Spain.
      • Lot 2 – Storage of patent documents which upon contract signature are not in long term storage and will be send to the Contractor by the EPO.

    3. Volume of work

      • The volume involved in Lot 1 is 90.000 boxes of around 43x39x28 cm.
      • Last year Lot 2 involved the intake for long-term storage of around 4.000 boxes.
      • Requests from the EPO for related services are expected to amount to 80 times for Lot 1 and some 20 times for Lot 2 in the first contractual year; both figures are expected to decline slowly the coming years. More information can be obtained from the Procurement Documents.

    4. Any deposits and guarantees required:

      Not applicable.

    5. Main terms concerning payment:

      Invoicing shall be done monthly following full acceptance of the deliverables. Invoices are to be paid by the EPO within 30 days of acceptance.

    6. Qualifications required by law:

      Not applicable.

  4. Place and period of performance:

    1. Place at which the contract is to be performed:

      1. The work shall be performed at the contractor's site provided that he meets the security and other EPO requirements specified in the Procurement Documents.
      2. The Contractor may only subcontract obligations under this Agreement in whole or in part, if the EPO has expressly approved hereof in writing prior to the subcontracting.

    2. Duration of contract or time limit for delivery or completion of services/work:

      The contract will be concluded for an initial term of 3 (three) years and may be extended by further periods up to a maximum duration not exceeding 8 (eight) years.

  5. Variants:

    Proposals for variants which fail to meet any minimum requirements laid down in the Procurement Documents and/or the effect of which would be to reduce significantly the rights and/or safeguards of the EPO, are not allowed.

  6. 6. Requests for the Procurement Documents and receipt of bids:

    1. Name and address of department from which the Procurement Documents and clarification of the Procurement Documents may be requested:

      European Patent Office
      Central Procurement The Hague 4.8 (2011/0482/Tp)
      Patentlaan 2,
      2288 EE Rijswijk,
      The Netherlands -

      P.O. Box 5818, 2280 HV Rijswijk, the Netherlands;
      Fax No. (+31) 70 340 3977
      email address: dhtenderclarifications@epo.org
      Procurement Documents will be forwarded upon written or faxed request.

    2. Final date for receipt by the EPO of requests for the Procurement Documents:

      3.2.2012, 12.00 hrs (CET)

    3. Final date for receipt by the EPO of requests for clarification:

      10.2.2012, 12.00 hrs (CET)
      Questions must be submitted by letter or fax.

    4. Final date for receipt of bids/number of copies to be sent:

      24.2.2012, 12.00 hrs (CET)
      two paper copies and one electronic copy, in addition to the original bid, which is to be marked as such.

    5. Address to which the requests for clarification and bids must be sent:

      As in point 6(a).

    6. Language or languages in which requests for clarification and bids must be drawn up:

      English. The Procurement Documents will be available in English only.

  7. Legal form of the grouping in the event of a joint bid:

    Each bidder (natural or legal person) may submit only one bid, either independently or jointly with others. If several bidders submit a joint bid, one must be designated as prime contractor responsible for performance of all the obligations under the contract.

  8. Information and evidence concerning the bidder's financial and economic standing and technical and professional competence:

    • Customer references showing the bidder's experience with contracts of a similar size and nature
    • Evidence of the bidder's experience with a Quality Management System (QMS) in place and operational for at least one year
    • Information about the bidder's security plan concerning both data security and physical conditions of the bidder's premises
    • Information about the bidder's annual turnover in warehouse storage services during the last year
    • Bank references.

  9. Period during which the bidder is bound by his bid:

    Six months following the final date for receipt of bids indicated in point 6(d).

  10. Criteria for the award of Contract:

    The contract shall be awarded to the Bidder whose bid is to be preferred having regard to the Bidder's ability to meet the EPO's needs and requirements and to economic advantage.
    This means the following main aspects will be taken into account:

    • Bidders price offers contained in the Offer Form(s)
    • Quality of the warehouse facilities considering climate-, safety-, security- and vermin control
    • Bidders' ability to perform in conformity with a quality management system
    • Bidders' compliance with the provisions of the Procurement Documents relating to insurance
    • Bidders' compliance with the provisions of the Procurement Documents relating to personnel
    • Quality of the requested samples (empty box, scanned pages)

  11. Other information:

    • The contractor, including his personnel, shall provide the Services in strict confidentiality. More information can be obtained from the Procurement Documents.
    • The EPO reserves the right to award the contract to more than one bidder..
    • Contract award is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2012.
    • A site visit by EPO staff to inspect Bidder's storage premises and facilities can be part of the assessment procedure; such visit will be at no cost to the Bidder.
    • More general information on the EPO can be found on the website www.european-patent-office.org

Quick Navigation