M365 Expertise

✓For selection, economic and financial capacity must be proven by an average yearly turnover of at least 1,000,000 EUR (excluding VAT) and proof of professional liability insurance.

✓Technical and professional capacity requires, such as: evidence of at least 6 FTE staff (via a statement of average staff and management over the last three years), a list of main similar services in up to the last three years (with amounts, dates, clients), a description of any parts to be subcontracted, and four references (2 at company level, 2 in public sector) described using the provided template (project content, relevance, sector, budget, contact person).

✓Additionally, for the SPOC profile specifically, at least three references (one public sector) about that consultant are mandatory, along with CVs for the SPOC and all proposed profiles.

✓On the scope of the contract, the text describes a four‑year raamovereenkomst with one service provider for “inhuren van M365 Expertise”, with a maximum estimated value of 1,200,000 EUR (excl. VAT).

✓District09 will not guarantee any minimum volume; the inventory items serve as reference for evaluation but the authority may order any listed services in needed quantities, and even other related services.

✓The SPOC is initially requested at 70% regime; other profiles are on call/after agreement.

✓Bidders must explain how hours are called off (for example via credit packs, ticketing‑based mandays, specific orders for defined mandays) and must support parallel orders (e.g. daily support plus separate project work).

✓The place of performance is to be agreed with District09 and may not generate extra costs, and the framework can be used by multiple entities in “Groep Gent” (Stad Gent, OCMW, etc.).

✓The contract start date follows award and “sluiting”; duration is four years.

✓Award criteria and weighting are set out in detail.

✓The economically most advantageous tender is determined using four criteria with weights: (i) Prijs SPOC & andere profielen – 40%; (ii) Ervaring SPOC – 25%; (iii) Ervaring overige voorgestelde profielen – 20%; (iv) Aanpak van ondersteuning en bestelling/facturatie – 15%.

✓There are also minimum requirements: missing required CVs or fewer than three SPOC references (with at least one public sector) leads to exclusion; moreover, for all criteria except price, a minimum score of 50% is required.

⚠The price score is computed using a formula: score = weight for price × (lowest “verrekende dagprijs” / bidder’s “verrekende dagprijs”), where the “verrekende dagprijs” is a weighted mix of the submitted day rates (SPOC 40%, Functional Analyst 15%, M365 Expert 20%, Applicatiebeheerder 10%, Architect 15%).

✓Experience and approach are scored on a 0–10 scale (such as: 10 = uitstekend, 8 = goed, 6 = voldoende, etc.), with narrative justification in the award report for scores above or below “voldoende”.

❓On risks and special conditions, the text touches several issues.

✓It clarifies subcontracting and “beroep op draagkracht”: such as, the bidder may rely on other entities’ capacity but must submit a written commitment using the “Verbintenis terbeschikkingstelling middelen” template (Bijlage 4), UEA for each such entity, and ensure no exclusion grounds apply to them; where economic/financial capacity is borrowed, bidder and supporting entities are jointly and severally liable.

✓The validity period (“verbintenistermijn”) of the offer is 90 calendar days from the deadline for submission.

✓Price revision of mandag tariffs is allowed once per year via a specific index‑based formula (Pher = Poff × (0.2 + 0.8 × Sagg/Soff)), but only if District09 is notified at least two months in advance.

✓Liability is capped at the total contract value (except in cases of intent, fraud or gross negligence); the contractor remains directly liable even when using subcontractors.

✓Overmacht is defined and suspends obligations and payments for services not rendered.

✓The documents mention termination grounds (wanprestatie, bankruptcy, unilateral termination by District09) and detailed rules on confidentiality, personal data processing, a separate geheimhoudingsovereenkomst and a deontologische code.

❓Guarantees or penalties (in the sense of performance bonds or liquidated damages) are not explicitly described in the extracted passages, but the deviations from KB Uitvoering on “Verbreking” and “Aansprakelijkheid” imply specific, stricter contractual regimes in the full text.

✓Submission must be via e‑Procurement with a qualified electronic signature on the “indieningsrapport”; scanned signatures are invalid, and signatories’ authority must be evidenced.

✓As to contradictions or corrections within the documents, the offertedocument (Bijlage 1) explicitly states that in case of any conflict between the bestek and the offer, the provisions of the bestek prevail.

✓This means that, such as where a bidder’s own general conditions or pricing structure would be inconsistent with the tender specifications, the bestek overrules them; bidders must also confirm that their own general sales/contract terms are not applicable.

✓The text also clarifies that only the Dutch version is binding, and that any non‑Dutch documents may need translation upon request.

Answers on the required criteria

Must securities be provided (bid bond, performance or warranty guarantee)? If so: which, in what amount and by when?

❓The document does not mention any requirement to provide bid securities or performance/warranty guarantees.

❓There is no reference to a “borgtocht”, “bid bond”, “performance bond”, bank guarantee or similar security, nor any amounts, forms or deadlines for such securities.

❓Thus, based on the text provided, no securities need to be provided beyond the normal contractual and legal liability regime.

Is subcontracting allowed? If so: with which limits and which disclosure duties?

✓Subcontracting is explicitly allowed but regulated.

✓The technical and professional capacity section requires an “omschrijving van het gedeelte van de opdracht dat de ondernemer eventueel in onderaanneming wil geven”, so bidders must disclose in their offer which parts they intend to subcontract.

✓Moreover, the bestek makes a distinction between (a) ordinary subcontracting during performance (which remains possible) and (b) recourse to the “draagkracht” (capacities) of other entities to meet selection criteria; such recourse triggers extra duties, such as submitting a specific written “Verbintenis beroep op draagkracht” (Annex 4) in which the subcontractor or supporting entity commits to provide the necessary resources, and submitting a separate UEA and exclusion documents (criminal record, fiscal/social certificates, non‑bankruptcy) for each such entity.

✓The text also states that “Het inzetten van andere onderaannemers is onderworpen aan de voorafgaande toestemming van de aanbestedende overheid,” so using additional or different subcontractors than those announced requires prior approval.

✓In case of economic/financial capacity being supported by another entity, the bidder and that entity are jointly and severally liable for performance, and that joint liability must be accepted in writing.

Is there a site visit, and is attendance mandatory? If so: when?

❓The input text does not mention any site visit, any inspection of premises, or any “plaatsbezoek”; therefore no site visit appears to be foreseen and no mandatory attendance date is given.

❓The nature of the assignment (consultancy and expertise services in a Microsoft 365 environment) and the flexibility regarding the place of service provision (“waar de opdracht uitgevoerd wordt zal in overleg met District09 afgesproken worden”) also point away from a formal mandatory site visit requirement.

❓Consequently, based strictly on the provided text, there is no site visit and no related obligation.

In which language must the tender and the supporting documents be submitted, and are documents in other languages accepted?

✓Regarding language, the bestek is very explicit.

✓The procedure language is Dutch (“De taal waarin deze plaatsingsprocedure wordt gevoerd is het Nederlands.

✓De tekst van het bestek in de Nederlandse taal is bindend.”).

✓The bidder must draw up the tender in Dutch and use only Dutch in all oral and written communication with the contracting authority.

✓However, it is accepted that official documents or technical annexes that are not available in Dutch may be submitted in their original language.

✓The contracting authority reserves the right to request translations of such non‑Dutch documents, and the costs of such translations are always borne by the bidder.

✓Thus, the core tender (forms, narrative responses, pricing) must be in Dutch, while supporting certificates or technical material may be in other languages subject to possible translation requests.

How long is the bidder bound by the tender (validity period), and is there a deadline for bidder questions? If so: until when?

✓The document clearly specifies the validity period of the tender (“Verbintenistermijn”).

✓The bidder is bound by its offer for 90 calendar days, starting from the deadline for receipt of tenders (limietdatum 19/11/2026, 9:00).

✓If, within a negotiation procedure phase, the bidder submits a new offer, the commitment period is renewed from that new submission.

❓As for a deadline for bidder questions, the text supplied does not state any date or mechanism for asking questions (no “vragenronde”, “voorafgaande inlichtingen” or Q&A schedule is visible).

❓It does reference an information annex (Bijlage 8: INFO) relating to e‑Procurement submission, but nothing in the excerpt sets a formal deadline for questions to the contracting authority.

✓Based on the input alone, there is therefore a clearly defined tender validity period (90 days) but no specified deadline for bidder questions.

Further details

✓Public procurement for M365 expertise for District09 (Belgium)

✓The input text is a Belgian public procurement specification (“bestek”) for a services contract: a 4‑year framework agreement with one service provider for Microsoft 365 expertise for District09 (an autonomous municipal company of the City of Ghent).

✓It is clearly drafted from the point of view of Belgian law and practice, referring extensively to the Belgian Wet Overheidsopdrachten, KB Plaatsing, KB Uitvoering, Belgian courts, Belgian social and tax law, and Belgian e‑procurement tools.

✓No other countries are treated as the legal or territorial point of view, although provisions for foreign bidders are included.

✓The binding commitment is instead created by submitting the electronically signed offer and by the general liability rules: the contractor is liable (except in cases of overmacht/force majeure) up to the total value of the assignment, including recurrent costs, and remains personally liable even if subcontractors are used.