Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) and Catering Equipment and Ware (CEW) for On-Board Catering

TfW proposes to award the contract directly to ECR Solutions under Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 and the relevant Schedule 5 direct award justification relating to technical and interoperability

requirements, where only a particular supplier can reasonably deliver the requirement. The justification is based on the highly specialised and

integrated nature of the ECR EPOS, stock management and At Seat Ordering solution. The system has been specifically developed to support

TfW's railway catering operations and is fully integrated with existing handheld devices, payment systems, reporting infrastructure and customer ordering platforms. Replacing the solution would require significant redevelopment, reconfiguration and migration activity, resulting in substantial operational disruption, implementation costs and

risks to service continuity, data integrity and financial reporting. TfW therefore considers that the requirement can only reasonably be met by the supplier and that a direct award represents the most proportionate and value-for-money approach. A direct award will ensure uninterrupted service delivery, protect existing investments and maintain the stability and functionality of a business-critical, rail-specific system.