Procurement of HRM and payroll system

The City of Espoo in Finland from Europe region has released this tender for The City of Espoo (hereinafter also the Client) is requesting offers for an HRM and payroll system. The subject of the procurement is a system as a software service (SaaS), which includes the functionalities of the Human Resources Administration main register (the so-called HRM entity) and payroll functionalities. The solution must support different working time formats for employees of the City of Espoo, such as office, period and general working hours, different ways of organizing work, i.e. fixed and flexible working hours, as well as collective agreements and local agreements used in municipalities. The subject of the procurement is the following service entities: - System as a software service (SaaS) - Implementation and adaptation of the service to Espoo - Application maintenance services - Further development and expert services of the system A more detailed description of the content of the procurement is provided in Appendix 1 of the request for tenders. "Description of the subject of the procurement". One supplier and one alternate supplier will be selected based on the competitive tendering process. The agreement enters into force upon signing and is valid until further notice. The estimated start date of the contract period is December 2026. PREPARATION OF THE PROCUREMENT The procurement unit has prepared the procurement by evaluating the alternatives and competitive conditions on the market, as well as the methods of implementing the procurement. The market survey has consulted extensively with industry players in writing and through market dialogue, utilized expert views, assessed the division of the procurement into parts and different implementation models. PROGRESS OF MARKET DIALOGUES 2025 In 2025, market dialogues were held with three identified potential suppliers. 1) Demo of the systems During weeks 12 - 15 / 2025, suppliers were asked to present the systems they offer. 2) Commenting on the draft request for tender The draft request for tender was sent to suppliers for comment in two parts (A1 and A2). - A1 comment round: included other documents except for key process descriptions, a summary of report needs, the data contents of the teacher information notification and a requirements form for the functional requirements of the system. The comment period was from 5.5.2025 to 14.5.2025 and comments were reviewed with suppliers in supplier meetings in weeks 21 - A2 comment round: included Annexes 1.3, 1.8, 1.9 of the draft request for tender and Annex 5, the Functional Requirements tab of the requirements form. The comment period was from 19.5 to 2.6.2025 and comments were reviewed with suppliers in supplier meetings in weeks 24. 3) Clarifying questions sent Suppliers were also asked for more detailed information regarding the payroll periods of the systems, main user services and external HRM solution, the life cycle of the available system technologies, and estimates of the prices of user rights and licenses and the implementation project to support the definition of the acquisition value and budget. PROGRESS OF MARKET DIALOGUES 2026 In early 2026, a fourth potential supplier was also identified from the market, with whom a supplier meeting was held in week 7 to present the draft request for quotation. The same draft request for quotation was sent to the supplier for comment after the meeting as had been sent to other potential suppliers, and comments were received on this on 5 March 2026. All four suppliers were also asked for written comments on the updated draft request for quotation from 17 March to 1 April 2026. The market survey has been carried out in such a way that no individual supplier has been favoured and the survey has been conducted fairly and transparently. MARKET SURVEY OBSERVATIONS The observations obtained in the survey have been used to define the subject of the procurement, set suitability requirements and define the criteria for comparing offers. Another key finding of the survey was that the market may be limited by the requirements of collective agreements (such as KVTES and OVTES) for the HRM and payroll system used by the City of Espoo. In addition, limiting factors may include Espoo's needs regarding continuous payroll services, the duplicated environment of the system, and integrations. The principles of market mapping pursuant to Section 65 of the Procurement Act have been taken into account in the preparation of the procurement, and the procurement unit believes that the preparation supports the implementation of competition. DIVISION OF THE PROCUREMENT INTO PARTS The procurement unit has assessed the division of the procurement into parts. The procurement has not been divided into parts because the system and the related service form a unified entity that is not appropriate to divide into smaller entities. In addition, dividing the procurement into parts would significantly increase the risks related to integrations, division of responsibilities, implementation, and unified data management. The procurement unit considers that the non-allocation is justified, taking into account the nature of the procurement, the method of implementation and the appropriate implementation. with tender notice no. 664481-2026 published on 28 Sep 2026. The tender is due to expire on 30 Oct 2026. This tender is sourced from TED Europa and is eligible for suppliers interested in Payroll management services, Time accounting or human resources software package. Interested bidders can obtain further information including complete bid documents or ways to participate by registering on Tender Impulse and referencing via Tender Impulse ID 14991132.