Royal Mail picks print manager shortlist for GBP 400m contract

Royal Mail Group has decided on shortlists for the various lots in the massive GBP 400m print management tender it launched at the end of December.
Almost 40 companies have been informed that they are on the shortlists of bidders invited to submit detailed tenders for four lots worth up to GBP 100m per year (see below).

Bidders are now working on submitting full price tenders for the work either individually or as part of consortia before a deadline understood to be around 25 April. The tender process is expected to be completed in the summer.
Royal Mail declined to reveal the names of companies involved, although it said that more than 100 companies submitted expressions of interest in the initial stages.

Top print management firms who are understood to have bid for major parts of the contract include Communisis, Adare, HH Associates, Xerox, RR Donnelley Global Document Services (formerly Astron), AccessPlus and TPF Group. It is so far uncertain which of these have been invited to submit detailed tenders.

One notable exception from the bidders is Williams Lea, which is understood not to be involved in the process, due to the potential conflict of interest between its owner, German postal operator Deutsche Post World Net, and Royal Mail.
Ray Huntzinger, Royal Mail’s director of strategy programmes, is leading the tender process and set up a unit of 25 staff, under the name Royal Mail Document Management Services.

He said: “Royal Mail Group is delighted to have received such strong interest in providing the materials we need to help us serve our customers through the UK with mail, parcel and retailing, and financial services.”

Xerox is seen by some as a front-runner after it won a GBP 400m contract for the Department of Work and Pensions in February.