Decision details

Authority to Directly Procure a replacement system.

Having noted the confidential appendix it was

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          MS Dynamics be procured as Harrow Council’s cloud based ERP system via a compliant direct contract award to Microsoft under the Kent Commercial Services 4 Professional Services Framework;

(2)          the associated HR system required for the MS Dynamics ERP system be procured from Loki Systems via a compliant direct award under the Kent Commercial Services 4 Professional Services Framework; 

(3)          PwC, an experienced and expert ERP implementation partner, be procured to support the implementation and successful transition from our current SAP system to the new ERP system via a compliant direct contract award under the Management Consultancy Framework 2 or Crown Commercial Services G-Cloud Digital Marketplace Framework;

(4)          the Corporate Director of Resources be authorised, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources, to award the contracts detailed in Resolutions (1), (2) and (3) above;

(5)          a capital budget of £1.65m be added into the 2020/21 Capital Programme for the ERP Replacement project as set out in the financial implications section and detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.

Reason for Decision:  SAP, the current supplier of our ERP system, was withdrawing commercial and technical support for the version in use by the Council.  A major functional update was required for HMRC compliance in March 2021 which would require a costly upgrade to the current system.  The benefits of doing this upgrade were not seen as adding value for money so last year Cabinet agreed to procure a new system and a market analysis of possible solutions was carried out.  This included reviewing a proposal by Microsoft and PwC that the Council become the first local authority to introduce Microsoft (MS) Dynamics. 

The market analysis showed that there were at least two software suppliers who could meet most of our high level requirements.  However, only MS Dynamics would meet our longer term strategic needs. 

Its introduction would allow us to develop a single IT platform, based in the cloud that formed the core of all our operations.  This would deliver significant benefits including allowing us to join up our IT systems and greatly improve our data, and how we could use it to plan and continuously improve.  We would also be able to consolidate and extend the use of all our Microsoft products (including Windows 10/365) to reduce costs, improve technical support and develop better business resilience.

There are therefore major benefits in procuring MS Dynamics as our SAP replacement system which would provide much greater economic and organisational value than introducing other systems. 

To reduce risk and deliver value for money, based on current Gartner research, the Council wished to implement a Microsoft ERP replacement using PwC – the only global gold partner with relevant solution experience.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.

[Call-in did not apply to the Resolution as a waiver of Call-in has been obtained from the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in that the decision was urgent as any delay would seriously prejudice the Council’s interests].