Soft Market Testing Exercise for the Provision of an Accounting and Finance Cloud Based Software Solution

CDS currently operates its legacy finance and accounting system using SunSystems (version 6.4), alongside Sharperlight, representing the latest on‑premise version of the platform. This solution has been delivered and supported by a service provider for over 10 years.

While this arrangement has provided a stable and familiar platform, the continued reliance on a legacy, on‑premise system may present increasing challenges in terms of cost, efficiency, and resilience over the long term. As off‑the‑shelf finance solutions, technology standards, and user expectations continue to evolve, CDS must evaluate whether SunSystems continues to offer value for money when compared to modern, cloud‑based alternatives. These alternatives may provide enhanced automation, scalability, collaboration, and control, potentially at a lower whole‑life cost.

With the current contract approaching expiry, CDS has an opportunity to explore the market for a potential single, integrated software solution. At this stage, CDS is seeking to gain a high‑level understanding of cloud‑based products available in the market, including comparative functionality and indicative costs for an organisation of a similar size and remit.

This soft market engagement will help CDS assess market capacity, supplier capability, and overall interest, and will inform the development of a potential future procurement process.

Integration with Microsoft technologies, including Power BI (or equivalent tools), is expected to be a standard feature of any proposed solution.

NEXT STEPS:

Interested suppliers are invited to participate by considering the outline requirements set out in the previous section. These requirements are not intended to be exhaustive or restrictive; rather, this preliminary market engagement exercise is designed to help us better understand the scope of services identified, as well as the market's capacity and capability.

An initial online supplier briefing session will be held in early July via Microsoft Teams.

Following this, a questionnaire will be issued to interested suppliers to gather further information and insights regarding the proposed scope and the broader supply market.

To participate, suppliers are required to register their interest by submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) to procurement@cds.coop. All EOIs must be submitted via this mailbox, as we are committed to ensuring a fair, transparent, and competitive process in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.

This notice does not constitute a commitment to procure. Its purpose is to inform the development of our procurement strategy and to help shape any future procurement process.

There is no commercial advantage or disadvantage to any organisation as a result of participating in this market engagement exercise. This process is intended to focus on gathering insights from the market as a whole, rather than assessing the merits of individual suppliers.

EOIs should include the following information:

• Reference: Procurement - CDSPME_FN001
• Full name and role of key participant(s)
• Company name and Companies House registration number
• Contact details (email address and telephone number)

•Outline of proposed solution

This soft market engagement is not a formal tender exercise. Participation will not prejudice or affect suppliers' eligibility to take part in any future procurement process.

We anticipate holding 60-minute online system demonstration sessions with suppliers throughout July 2026. Please note that the schedule may be subject to change depending on the volume of responses received. Invitations to participate in these sessions will be issued only to suppliers who have submitted a response.

The purpose of these sessions is to provide suppliers with the flexibility to guide the discussion and focus on the aspects of their response that they consider to be the most valuable and impactful for CDS. Suppliers should be prepared either to demonstrate the key capabilities of their system or to deliver a comprehensive overview of their solution.

CDS representatives will also use these sessions to ask questions, seek clarification on submitted responses, and provide feedback where appropriate.