LNER Mobile 2020

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done "LNER are on a journey to revolutionise the customer experience for rail travellers in Great Britain. A key part of our transformational roadmap is our new mobile app. Earlier in 2020 we introduced the first phases of our app to customers. We have plenty left to do and road-map takes us beyond our original call-off contract. We are re-procuring to provide a renewed basis for continued investment over the next 2 years. We hope to have a new arrangement in place before the end of 2020, with development work commencing to deliver our first app update under our new contract early in the new year." Problem to Be Solved "As this is a continuation of a live project, there is no single problem to be solved as such. Full details of our road-map will be shared with shortlisted applicants as part of the proposal stage. Work activities will include: exploration & innovation in solution design, scoping requirements, UX & design, user research, development, testing, delivery, support and continuous improvement of the LNER mobile solution. Key features include: purchasing and ticketing of rail journeys, account management and loyalty functionality, customer service initiatives and personalisation." Who Are the Users "Our typical users travel with LNER up to 3 times per year. Their travel is largely long-distance and discretionary. Our focus is on the domestic market, and with singles, couples, small groups (3 to 9) and business travellers. Our customers need to be able to plan & book their journeys, receive their tickets and manage their journey changes. They expect a personalised journey which automatically responds to their needs and keeps them informed. In today's climate they also want to ensure their own and other passengers' safety, minimising personal contact, whilst not compromising on the service they have paid for. At a minimum, users have an iOS or Android phone" Early Market Engagement None Work Already Done "We have already released the first phases of the app into the app stores, so they are available to review. In summary, the work done to date includes: - New app home screen with features for urgent messaging - New personalised journey search form - New booking flow (not including season tickets) - Journeys listed chronologically, with external (Apple wallet/Google Pay/PDF) ticket access - Integrations with key LNER systems - Scoping and design for future roadmap (shared under next stage)" Existing Team "Product manager (full time) Project manager (full time) Solution architect (part-time) Various other internal team members covering off content, analytics, personalisation etc." Current Phase Live Work Location Releasing our largest app releases during the pandemic has shown that work can be done remotely and we aim for that to continue, but preferred locations would be those along the LNER route to allow for in-person working whenever that becomes safe, practical and preferable. So key locations would be London, York, Newcastle or Edinburgh. Working Arrangments "We work almost exclusively via Microsoft Teams currently, with regular daily sessions to check in on the various work-streams. In future, work may be carried out from multiple locations including the Supplier’s offices. Attendance at LNER Offices in London, York and other locations around England or Scotland will be required for meetings. Supplier staff are expected to be available remote or on-site at LNER locations sufficient to manage relationships with senior stakeholders, the project team, and users; so that the outcomes of the project may be met." Security Clearance Not required Additional T&Cs The awarded supplier will be expected to undergo Social Value Evaluation at the Social Value Portal. The awarded supplier is expected to comply with LNER SLA schedule which will be shared with successful suppliers. The awarded supplier will also need to pass the LNER Info Sec assessment. Skills & Experience Demonstrable experience within the last 3 years of building market leading apps, please include project size and adoption metrics Demonstrable experience within the last 3 years of building apps with a range of sources of content and configuration. Demonstrable experience within the last 3 years of designing industry-leading and innovative mobile user interfaces or features Demonstrable experience within the last 3 years of facilitating insightful and data-driven user research to inform an iterative prototyping phase Demonstrable experience within the last 3 years of payments integration, including but not limited to card not present payments, PayPal, Google Pay and Apple Pay Demonstrable experience within the last 3 years of development and maintenance of secure mobile application ecosystems Demonstrable experience within the last 3 years of developing solutions that securely integrate to other systems through a variety of techniques including but not limited to tagging, SOAP and REST. Demonstrable experience within the last 3 years of regularly releasing fully tested, robust, quality app builds. Please include frequency of releases. Demonstrable expertise of innovations, products, trends and standards in the mobile user experience domain Demonstrable expertise of innovations, trends and standards in the multi-channel and eCommerce domain Demonstrable data expertise on how the mobile proposition can gather and rationalise data to inform future product development (across mobile & the wider business). Demonstrable expertise of delivering products to relevant industry regulations including but not limited to PCI DSS, DPA, GDPR, ISO27001 and PSD2. Please provide a list of all you believe relevant. Provable inhouse mobile development capability in terms of revenue, staff numbers, skills, competencies and availability Provable inhouse account and project management capability in terms of revenue, staff numbers, skills, competencies and availability Provable capability to ramp up account resource internally or through an associate/partner model in response to changes in industry requirements. Demonstrable experience within the last 3 years of developing solutions compliant with accessibility standards. Include any accreditations gained. Demonstrable experience within the last 3 years of working successfully and collaboratively as part of a multi-supplier team Demonstrable capability to deliver a fully managed and resilient solution with defined service availability of 99.999% or greater. Demonstrable ability to deliver all aspects of the service, bound to contractual service level agreements and key performance indicators. Demonstrable ability to provide a 24/7/365, value focused, service support function aligned with industry best practices (ITIL / DevOps) Nice to Haves Demonstrable expertise in promoting successful app take-up and use Demonstrable data expertise in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data and Automation to improve customer experience Demonstrable expertise in the transportation industry Demonstrable expertise in the future direction and associated challenges facing the rail industry Demonstrable expertise or understanding of the potential for mobile in revolutionising customer experience within Britain's railway Demonstrable expertise in delivering a continual service improvement throughout the product lifecycle aligned with industry best practices (ITIL / DevOps / Agile Service Management ) No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 4 Proposal Criteria Proposed delivery roadmap, with indicative times and costs, based on requirements document Approach and methodology for the delivery Proposed approach to being a proactive partner in helping define the role of mobile within the customer experience Proposed team structure and account management Confidence that the supplier can deliver projects to time and budget Confidence the supplier can deliver an engaging, rewarding and brand-enhancing product Confidence that the supplier shares a passion for improving the customer experience for rail users Confidence the supplier can build a solution to ensure a smooth and accessible user experience for all customers Confidence that supplier will deliver ongoing value for money Confidence the supplier can deliver appropriate support to the mobile solution Cultural Fit Criteria Confidence that supplier understands what is important to LNER customers Confidence that supplier can contribute to, and not just deliver, a market leading product Confidence that the supplier understands and adheres to the LNER company vision and values Confidence that the supplier can deliver an engaging, rewarding and brand-enhancing product Confidence that the supplier shares a passion for improving the customer experience for rail users Confidence that supplier can manage the account to ensure ongoing value for money Confidence that the supplier can manage the account to ensure maximum buyer confidence Confidence that the supplier will aid in LNER's goal to increase the social value of this contract Confidence that the supplier can become an active part of a collaborative multi-supplier team delivering for LNER Confidence that the supplier can help LNER push boundaries and use mobile to redefine the customer experience Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Case study Work history Reference Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 50% Cultural fit 20% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers No questions have been answered yet Budget range to allow sufficient flexibility on this contract, and to meet the roadmap goals we have planned, we intent to spend up to £3million on this contract within the 2 year contract term.