Marketing and distribution of nautical charts and maritime cartographic products

Summary

The tender concerns the sale and marketing of official nautical charts, nautical publications and cartographic products issued by the Spanish Navy Hydrographic Institute (IHM). The contractor acts as a non-exclusive sales agent: it receives customer orders, places corresponding orders with the IHM, sells the supplied products at official prices and transfers the amounts due from sales to the Institute. The IHM supplies products according to orders and stock availability; no minimum order volume or sales volume is guaranteed. The contract runs for four years. The tender documents state an estimated contract value and budget of EUR 0 because the contracting authority assumes no payment obligation. The contractor must keep publications sold up to date in line with Notices to Mariners and IHM instructions. For products not classified as fees, the agent receives a 30% discount on the official price excluding VAT; official retail prices must not be changed. The contractor bears the sales and customer-payment risk. The IHM generally pays delivery costs to authorized sales outlets; costs for agreed exceptional deliveries, deliveries to other addresses, or returns caused by the contractor are borne by the contractor. The IHM must be notified of sales outlet addresses and changes at least one month in advance. Evaluation covers the number and location of physical outlets, an operational nationwide online sales platform, experience distributing cartographic products and staff assigned to the contract. Supporting evidence must be provided for each claimed score, and a weighted score of at least 5 points is required for award. Tenderers must be registered for the applicable business activity tax category authorizing the sale of books, periodicals, stationery or relevant publications, and must comply with tax, social security, employment, environmental and gender-equality requirements. Subcontracting is not permitted.