Category: General Procurement

December Round-up and Observations from 2020

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5,129

3,438

1,691

Total UK & ROI
Tenders		Low-Value
Tenders		OJEU
Tenders

688

277

1,692

Frameworks
or DPS 		Prior Information
Notices		OJEU
Award Notices
Tender notices published in the UK & ROI between 01.12.20 & 31.12.20

December 2020

5,129 notices published in the last month of the year is incredibly positive. With workplaces slowing down for seasonal time off work, the last few weeks of the year normally see significantly less notices getting published. Below we can see the December totals for the last 5 years, and it is clear that December 2020 broke this trend. 

What is interesting about these stats is the high number of low value notices. OJEU notices could have been a result of obligations created by EU funding, but a significant number of low value contracts is unexpected, and means we start 2021 with plenty of opportunities SMEs can bid for.

As of 15 January 2020 there are over 5,300 live tenders across the UK and ROI, a great start to 2021 and a clear sign of the significant effort being made by the public sector to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

Our Specialists’ Observations from 2020

Tenders Direct offers a unique service where all of the tenders on our site have been individually sourced and classified by our team of Specialists. This Peer Review Process allows us to provide you with full coverage of every single UK and ROI tender, as well as applicable high value notices from the OJEU.

With Brexit and Covid-19 causing much speculation around their impact on public procurement, we caught up Carol, our Head Classification Specialist, to gain some insight into any trends she may have observed in 2020.

The amount of tenders published by the OJEU and various other sites slowed down greatly for a couple of months due to COVID and the start of offices working from home which was very worrying for us.
Suddenly this pattern changed and the number of tenders published rapidly increased day by day and the numbers we are sending out to our customers is now greater than pre-Covid which is amazing.

Some observations worth mentioning are:
◆ Some tenders which were published pre-Covid have since been cancelled and republished again to allow the maximum time for everyone to prepare their bids.
◆ There have been a significant number of tenders published that are specifically Covid related e.g. masks, PPE, disinfectants, call centre services, testing services etc.
◆ There has been a significant increase in tenders for business consultants/economists to help companies through the crisis and assist them in the future.

So despite Covid and Brexit, the number of tenders being published continues to be high and the trend is certainly upwards, so hopefully 2021 will be a very positive year.

Carol Davidson, Head Classification Specialist

Find opportunities you can bid for

With so many opportunities for work available right now, you’ll want to know how many of them are relevant to you.

Market Overview

Our Market Overviews are free, and are incredibly useful for anyone considering bidding for public contracts.
We can supply you with the number of tender opportunities published for your industry, the search categories we recommend using, and links to all the contracts published in the last year.
This information can be used to better understand what the public sector is looking for, and help you plan how public contracts fit into your overall business strategy.
Request your free Market Overview by by clicking this link.

Tenders Direct is the UK’s most accurate tender alert service. We are the only service to guarantee that with us – you’ll never miss a tender.

For more information about we can help you find and win more work in the public sector, please visit www.tendersdirect.co.uk or call us on 0800 222 9009.

How do I find government contracts?

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The public sector is made up of numerous organisations run by the government – this includes local councils, emergency services, armed forces and the NHS. Each of these organisations relies on the private sector to supply them with a wide range of goods, works and services, and on average spends over £290 billion on procurement each year.

To ensure there is a competitive marketplace, contracts must be published publicly, and be accessible to any supplier. This means whenever a public body has a procurement need, they have to advertise the contract online using any of the numerous publishing platforms (also known as advertising portals) available to them – details of these can be found at the end of this post.

The Problem with Finding Tenders

You could try and search for notices yourself using the websites above, but due to the sheer number of sources, especially for low-value notices, it would take a significant amount of effort to find suitable notices.

Even if you did find notices this way, they might not actually be as relevant as you had hoped. This is because of CPV codes. There is a CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) code for every product or service, and while buyers should use them to let suppliers know what they are looking for, many notices are coded incorrectly. This means they won’t appear in searches and you could miss out on these opportunities.

However, Tenders Direct allows you to avoid these issues by sourcing and reviewing every UK and ROI notice, then making them available to you in one accurate and easy to search database.

Tenders Direct – How does it work? 

We are able to provide full coverage of every tender published in the UK and ROI thanks to our team of Sourcing Specialists, who scour every source to find every tender published. Our Classification Specialists then review each of these notices for accuracy, and re-classify them according to product, service and industry. This Peer Review Process not only ensures you have access to every tender published; it also eliminates irrelevance so you only ever see notices that match your search criteria.

To help you stay ahead of the competition and have more time to prepare your bids, our tender alert service eliminates the need for manual searches by notifying you as soon as relevant opportunities are published. Our Client Experience Managers work with you to learn about your business, identify your needs, and develop your unique alert profile – ensuring you receive notifications tailored specifically to your requirements.

With a Tenders Direct subscription, we guarantee you will never miss a tender. Visit our website for more information about our services, or call our New Business Executives on 0800 222 9009 to discuss your needs.

How Tenders Direct works
Discover how Tenders Direct can help you find and win public contracts.

See for yourself
Request a free sample tender alert direct to your inbox.

Tender Publishing Platforms UK 

Contracts Finder - for English contracts worth over £10,000 with the government and its agencies. 

Public Contracts Scotland – for all Scottish public procurement. 

Sell2Wales – for all Welsh public procurement.

eSourcing NI – for all public procurement in Northern Ireland.

Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) – for high-value tenders published in European Union countries.

Find a Tender – for all high-value notices published across the UK.

Public Buyer Specific – low-value tenders, which make up the majority of all public contracts, can be published on the buyer’s own website or through a third party service such as myTenders – meaning there are hundreds of sites used to publish notices. 

These posts may also be of interest

Why work with
the public sector? 
Our article looks at 6 reasons why you should do business with the Public Sector.

Differences between
the private and public sector 
This infographic looks at the different procurement processes.

What is
a public sector tender? 
An explanation of how tenders work and the different procedures they can use.  

Request a tailored
Market Overview
Discover what types of opportunities are available for your industry with a free Market Overview report.

Tenders Direct is the UK’s most accurate tender alert service. We are the only service to guarantee that with us – you’ll never miss a tender.

For more information about we can help you find and win more work in the public sector, please visit tendersdirect.co.uk or call us on 0800 222 9009.

Low value tenders post Brexit – improved opportunities for SMEs

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With no requirements to comply with EU directives for public procurement, the UK Government is able introduce changes to how they procure below threshold goods, works and services.  
 
On 10 December 2020, the Cabinet Office published the Procurement Policy Note (PPN): Reserving Below Threshold Procurements – which outlines how central government buyers are encouraged to reserve low value tenders for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), and suppliers in specific geographical regions from 1 January 2021. 

What does this mean for SMEs?

The introduction of this PPN is aimed at supporting SMEs by making more opportunities available to them, and increasing their chances of securing work with the public sector.

As part of its drive to level up the UK economy, the government is committed to tackling inequality and giving everyone across the country the opportunity to fulfil their potential. An economy with diverse, resilient and innovative supply markets provides the best environment to start and grow a business.

Point 16. Procurement Policy Note – Reserving Below Threshold Procurements

There are two ways that buyers are advised to create tenders which favour SMEs:

Reserving them by supplier location – buyers are able to open tenders which can only be bid on by suppliers located in a specified geographical area. The scope of these tenders can be UK wide or narrowed down by county. Buyers will not be able specify individual nations of the UK.  

Restricting the types of organisations that can bid for the work – buyers are able to specify that only SMEs and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs) are eligible to bid for the work. 

While the PPN applies to central government buyers, the wider public sector is “encouraged to apply the principles” outlined within – meaning as familiarity with these practices grows, so too will UK-led and SME specific opportunities. 

The PPN does not apply to low value tenders involving any provision of goods into Northern Ireland – which remains subject to EU regulations under Northern Ireland Protocol, avoiding a hard border with the Republic of Ireland. 

What are low value tenders?

Low value tenders are those which fall below specific thresholds, which have been identified to prevent discriminatory procurement practices. If buyers wish to reserve low value tenders, the current thresholds which tender values must fall below are:

Supplies & Services
< £122,976 ex VAT

Works
< £4,733,252 ex VAT

The EU thresholds introduced on 1 January 2020 will remain in place until 1 January 2022. Future thresholds will be determined by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) – which the UK has been a member of since 1 January 2021. 

How do I find low value tenders?

There are thousands of portals through which public bodies can publish their notices, and it would take a lot of time and effort to try and locate every opportunity relevant to your business.   
 
Thankfully, Tenders Direct eliminates your need to search for tenders by collating every UK and ROI notice in one place, and alerts you to the tenders relevant to you. Our unique service ensures we are aware of every tender published, and allows us to guarantee that with Tenders Direct – you will never miss a tender again.  

Top 5 bid writing mistakes  
You’ll want to avoid these mistakes to take full advantage of these SME specific opportunities. 

Request a free demo 
See how our system works, and discover the opportunities available for business like yours.

Brexit and Public Procurement 
Read about the other changes introduced with Brexit’s conclusion on 1 January 2021.

Reserving Below Threshold Procurements 
View the full policy procurement note on GOV.UK 

November was an extraordinary month for tenders!

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6,469

4,685

1,784

Total UK & ROI
Tenders		Low-Value
Tenders		OJEU
Tenders

967

324

6,305

Frameworks
or DPS 		Prior Information
Notices		Live Notices
on 01.12.20
Tender notices published in the UK & ROI between 01.11.20 & 30.11.20

Last month an incredible 6,469 tender notices were published across the UK & ROI.
This level of activity means that we move into December with plenty of opportunities to secure work for 2021.
On 1 December 2020, there were 6,305 live notices in the UK and ROI, across a wide range of industries.

Find opportunities you can bid for

With so many opportunities for work available right now, you’ll want to know how many of them are relevant to you.
We can give you an idea of how much work is available in the public sector, as well as ensuring you never miss a relevant opportunity.

Market Overview
We can supply you with the number of tender opportunities published for your industry, the search categories we recommend using, and links to all the contracts published in the last year. Our Market Overviews are free, and can be requested by clicking this link.

Tender Alerts
Rather than put a lot of effort into scouring the internet for public contracts, you could instead spend your time on other tasks and let our tender alerts keep you informed of all relevant opportunities. Tenders Direct is the UK’s most accurate tender alert service, and we guarantee you will never miss a tender. Visit our website or call us on 0800 222 9009 for more information.

What is a public tender?

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Whenever the public sector has a need for goods, works, or services (which are over a certain contract value), they are required to publicly advertise this need, and encourage businesses to compete for the work.

This process is referred to as publishing an ‘Invitation to Tender’ or ‘ITT’, and the associated documents have become more commonly known as tenders.

Why are public tenders needed? 

As the public sector relies on public funding to make decisions, all procurement must be made respectfully, encourage free and open competition, achieve best value for money and ultimately benefit the public.   

These requirements prevent unethical procurement practices, while also allowing businesses, regardless of size, to enter the market. For more information about this, please read our article ‘6 reasons to do business with the Public Sector?’

What types of tender are there? 

 
Low and High Value Tenders

The value of a tender determines the rules in place for how the notice must be advertised.

High-Value Tenders, also known as Above Threshold Tenders, are those which have a value above the EU public procurement threshold, and must be advertised in the OJEU to encourage competition from other EU countries. From 1 January 2021, the rule will be changing and these notices will instead be posted to the new government portal ‘Find a Tender’. More information is still to be announced, but you can find out more in our article Brexit and Public Procurement. 

Low-Value Tenders, also known as Below Threshold Tenders, have a value which is below the EU threshold and are advertised within the UK. These contracts are much smaller than High-value tenders, making them a great starting point for businesses entering the market for the first time. The procedures for low-value notices are simpler, and bidding for these provides suppliers with valuable experience to help them go after high-value tenders in the future. For more information, read our article ‘Why we love low-value tenders’.  

For details on the current public procurement thresholds, please see ‘New Public Procurement thresholds 2020/2021’. 

Public Procurement Procedures

Open procedure 
Is the standard procedure and for public procurement within the UK. This type of procedure allows any business to respond to a tender, access associated documents and bid for the tender.  

Restricted Procedure 
Is a two-stage procedure which involves creating a shortlist of the most suitable suppliers, by having them first complete a selection questionnaire. Those shortlisted will receive an invitation to tender, and are allowed to bid for the contract. This type of procedure is generally used if a high volume of bidders is expected. 

Competitive Dialogue Procedure 
Is a multi-stage procedure which allows discussion with suppliers before issuing an invitation to tender. It is used where procurement needs are complex, and as with Restricted Procedures, bidders will first be shortlisted. After the selection stage, the requirements and solutions will be discussed with shortlisted suppliers. From these discussions, the requirements will be finalised and an invitation to tender will be issued. 
 
Competitive procedure with negotiation   
Is a multi-stage procedure which allows negotiation with suppliers after they have submitted their bids. This procedure includes a selection stage questionnaire, and the final negotiation stage is optional – as along as this has been stated within the tender. Much like the Competitive Dialogue Procedure, it is used where procurement needs are complex. 

Innovation partnership 
Is a unique procedure which is used when no goods, services or works exist to meet the procurement need. Selection stage questionnaires are used to identify the most suitable suppliers before invitations to tender are issued. The products produced as a result of this partnership may be purchased by the public body, but only if they meet the minimum requirements identified within the tender. 

Framework Agreement
Is an umbrella agreement that sets out the terms – particularly relating to price, quality and quantity – under which individual contracts (call-offs) can be awarded at any point during the lifespan of the framework. Frameworks are typically used when the buyer has identified a need for specific products or services but is unsure of the scope or time-frame. The agreements created give buyers access to a range of qualified suppliers, allowing them to avoid the need to continuously re-tender. Being an a framework does not guarantee work, as there may be multiple suppliers offering the same goods, works or services – in such instances, mini competitions or best value will determine who wins the work. Full details of these agreements can be found in ‘Framework Agreements: What you need to know’.

Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS)
Is similar to a framework, however new suppliers can join at any time, and is used for goods, works and services commonly available on the market. A DPS must be set-up using the restricted procedure, and the process is required to be entirely electronic. Unlike a framework, there is no limit on the number of suppliers that may join a DPS, and any supplier may join during the tender’s lifespan. DPS are used to streamline procurement for both buyers and suppliers, as suppliers only need to demonstrate suitability once, and buyers can award contracts quicker than other methods allow.

How do I find public tenders?

There are thousands of portals through which public bodies can publish their notices, and it would take a significant amount of time and effort to try and locate every opportunity relevant to your business.  

Thankfully, Tenders Direct eliminates your need to search for tenders by collating every UK and ROI notice in one place, and alerting you to the tenders you want to bid for. Our unique service ensures we are aware of every tender published, and allows us to guarantee that with Tenders Direct – you will never miss a public sector notice.   
   
Request a demo today and discover all the opportunities you could be bidding for.  

Brexit and Public Procurement

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The Brexit transition period concluded on 1 January 2021. This means the UK is no longer a member of the EU, and is now a member of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).

Key public procurement developments to be aware of: 

  • For any procurement started, and not completed before 31 December 2020, procurement regulations that were in place under the EU will still apply until the contract has been awarded. 
  • From 1 January 2021, the new e-tender service ‘Find a Tender’ will replace the Official Journal of the European Union in the UK for above threshold tenders. 
  • The existing UK government portals – Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI – will remain in operation and will be unchanged.   
  • While there will be no immediate changes to procurement policies, from 1 January 2021 the government will have the power to introduce new or temporary legislation.

How does Brexit affect finding new tenders?

Tenders Direct customers are unaffected by the introduction of Find a Tender Service. Our team of Sourcing Specialists upload high value notices published through the Find a Tender service, directly to Tenders Direct. Low value tenders will also be available as normal.

If you do not currently use a tender alert service, the introduction of the Find a Tender Service means you have another portal to check for opportunities – taking you more time to find contracts that are suitable for you. 
 
Thanks to our unique Peer Review Process, our team are able to source, review and classify all notices from Find a Tender. This process allows us to categorise notices based on the keywords you search for, creating an easy to search database. With full coverage of all UK and ROI tenders, as well as applicable EU notices, Tenders Direct offers the UK’s most accurate tender alert service.  

Your Questions

  • Are thresholds going to change?
    The EU thresholds introduced on 1 January 2020 will remain in place until 1 January 2022. Future thresholds will be determined by the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) – which the UK has been a member of since 1 January 2021.
  • How will it be regulated to ensure all notices that are meant to be published on FTS are published on there?​ 
    No regulations have been introduced that we are currently aware of. This will work very much in the same way as Contracts Finder – notices ‘should’ be published to it. We will continue to use our Peer Review Process to ensure no tenders are missed, no matter where they are published.
  • Will the Find a Tender service display contracts published prior to 1 January 2021? 
    Find a Tender had a blank slate on the 1 January, meaning only notices published from that date forward will be visible. Tenders Direct will however still have details of all existing notices originally published on the OJEU.  
  • Will Tenders Direct still publish tenders from all sources?  
    Yes, Tenders Direct Will continue to provide full coverage. This means tenders from all official UK and ROI portals (this includes Contracts Finder and Find a Tender), all low-value notices from other sources, as well as high-value opportunities from the OJEU.
  • Will UK suppliers still be able to bid for OJEU tenders?​ 
    Yes, UK suppliers will be able to continue bidding for applicable OJEU contracts. 
  • Will we still be able to receive OJEU tenders notifications through Tenders Direct? 
    Yes, we will keep you informed of OJEU notices through both our alerts and tender search tool. 
  • Will there be an option to opt out of OJEU tenders?​ 
    Yes, you will be able to opt out by selecting ‘UK only’ in your profile. ​ 

Is there anything I should be aware of?

For the time being, procurement policies will remain closely aligned with the rules in place before Brexit. However, with no requirements to comply with EU directives for public procurement, the UK Government has scope to introduce changes.

Changes introduced post Brexit:

Listen to our Brexit and Find a Tender discussion

In our free on demand webinar, we take a closer look at what Brexit and the introduction of Find a Tender mean for you as a supplier.
The topics covered in our free on demand webinar are:
• Procurement after Brexit and Find a Tender Service
• What it means for public sector organisations and private companies
• What will happen with above-threshold procurement (OJEU)
• How to best prepare for the year ahead
• Useful tips, tools, and best practice learned from working in the public sector and tendering

To view this content, please follow the link and complete the form to request access to our Tendering after Brexit – What is Find a Tender? webinar

Further reading

The Policy Procurement Note: Introduction of Find a Tender explains the introduction of Find a Tender in greater detail. 

For details about other changes introduced as a result of Brexit, please view the UK Transition page on Gov.uk 

6 reasons why you should do business with the Public Sector

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On average the UK Government spends £292 billion a year, more than a third of all public spending, on procuring goods, works and services from external suppliers. This money generates over 50,000 new business opportunities a year for many different industries.  

What is the Public Sector? 


The Public Sector is typically made up of not-for-profit organisations owned by central, national and local governments, for the benefit of their citizens. They cover areas such as defence, education, fire services, healthcare, police and refuse collection. 
 
As the public sector relies on public funding to make decisions, they are required to ensure their financial decisions are made respectfully, encourage free and open competition, achieve best value for money, and ultimately benefit the public. 

Reasons to tender for public sector work

  1. All contracts must be open and accessible – meaning no matter what size your business is, if you meet the criteria and can deliver the tender requirements, you have a fair chance of winning the work. This is different to private procurement where the buyer can choose who to inform of their procurement needs, and who to do business with.    
  1. The public sector wants to award work to SMEs – by 2022 the UK Government wants 33% of all public contracts to awarded to SMEs. SMEs make up 99% of all UK businesses and are vital for the economy.  
  1. 30 day payment period – all invoices for contracted work must be processed by public bodies within 30 days of receiving them, ensuring businesses get paid promptly. Lengthy payment periods can be an issue within the private sector, where larger businesses can dictate when they issue payment. 
  1. Transparent Tendering process – nothing is hidden in public procurement, decisions made are transparent, and suppliers will receive feedback if they did not win a contract. Private buyers do not have to make their processes public, and have no obligations to provide feedback to suppliers.  
  1. Most Economically Advantageous Tenders (MEAT) – is the chosen method of proposal assessment, meaning contract awards are not just based on price, and consider the wider aspects of tender submissions. Social Value is a major consideration in contract awards, and with the Procurement Policy Note – Taking Account of Social Value in the Award of Central Government Contracts, five key themes have been highlighted for central government contracts: COVID-19 recovery, tackling economic inequality, fighting climate change, equal opportunity, and wellbeing. 
  1. Continuously improving processes – to make bidding for work easier and less time consuming, the public sector continually work to improve their processes. Single Procurement Documents are a great example – where these are used, only the winning bidder needs to provide the required documents, saving you significant time and effort. 

Finding public Sector Work 

The public sector offers a reliable source of new business.   
 
From stationary to infrastructure and everything in between, the public sector needs suppliers like you. All notices must be publicly accessible online no matter the size, for any supplier to view and bid for.   
  
There are thousands of portals through which public bodies can publish their notices and you can spend a significant amount of time and effort trying to locate opportunities relevant to your business. Thankfully, Tenders Direct eliminates your need to search for tenders by collating every UK and ROI notice in one place, and alerting you to those relevant to your business.   
  
Tender Direct guarantees you will never miss a public sector notice.  
  
Request a demo today and discover all the opportunities you could be bidding for.  

Public Sector Round-Up 30.10.20

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UK tender publishing update

1,045

714

331

Total UK NoticesLow-Value NoticesOJEU Notices
Tender notices published in the UK between 23.10.20 & 29.10.20

If you would like more information about the types of opportunities available for your business, we would be happy to provide you with a free Market Overview.

In the news this week

COP26: Former world leaders urge UK for ambitious 2030 climate goal
While the UK has taken a leading role by committing to reducing emissions to net zero by 2050, there is increasing pressure for more ambitious plans and policies to be introduced. MPs, Lords and wold leaders have joined in the conversation, through which businesses, investors and other organisations have been expressing their concerns.

New blueprint for better hospital food
From an independent review of NHS meals, a panel is reviewing the suggestions to improve the food served in hospitals. The review includes actions, some of which can be implemented immediately, to provide both patients and staff with more nutritious and satisfying food. Could this create opportunities for your business?
To search for existing food related opportunities, please see results from our category search.


Bids should not just be a list of your capabilities, they need to be a compelling documents that tell a story of why your business is the best to partner with.
With the help of expert bid writer, Jamie Edwards, our ‘Writing Compelling Bids’ online training course will teach you how to write more engaging proposals.
We have availability on the following course dates:
◆ 10-11th November 2020, 1.00pm – 4.30pm
◆ 8-9th December 2020, 1.00pm – 4.30pm

Top OJEU contract award notices

Title: United Kingdom-Stratford: Building installation work
Short description: The mechanical, electrical and public health works for the Victoria and Albert Museum East building at the Stratford Waterfront Culture and Education Development at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Published By: London Legacy Development Corporation
Date Published: 23 October 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £800,00,00.00
Number of tenders received: 4
Contractors: Imtech Engineering London and South Ltd
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Title: United Kingdom-Telford: Fire extinguishers
Short description: The supply of hand fire extinguisher and bracket.
Published by: Ministry of Defence, DSG, Defence Support Group (DSG)
Date Published: 23 October 2020
Framework/DPS: Yes
Value excluding VAT: £900,000.00
Number of tenders received: 1 (of which were SMEs: 1)
Contractors: Firemark Ltd
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Title: United Kingdom-Bristol: Telemetry equipment
Short description: The supply of multi-parameter water quality instruments in order to equip the Environment Agency with the best evidence gathering instruments available. 
Published By: Environment Agency
Date Published: 23 October 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £4,500,000.00
Number of tenders received: 3
Contractors: Xylem Analytics
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Tenders Direct is the UK’s most accurate tender alert service. We are the only service to guarantee that with us – you’ll never miss a tender.
Visit www.tendersdirect.co.uk to find out more.

Public Sector Round Up 28.08.20

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In the news this week, £32.5 million investment confirmed for Moray, SME’s encouraged to engage with Highways England for £1bn Tech Contract, and £1.5bn Navy contract could open up to EU suppliers.
Our top OJEU notices for the week include a £3.6m construction at Farnham Depot, £72m wastewater treatment plant construction, and £75m in financial consultancy services.
Two complimentary prior information notices of around £1bn each for Highways England were announced this week, with the potential to create significant work for tech companies.

UK tenders update

1,247

670

434

Total UK Public
Sector Tenders		Low-Value noticesOJEU notices
Tenders published in the UK between 21.08.20 & 27.08.20

Top OJEU contract award notices

Title: United Kingdom-London: Railway depot construction work
Short description: Additional sidings to be provided at Farnham Depot. The works also includes providing a DC power supply upgrade, power and lighting, ground level and raised walkways and car parking enhancements.
Published By: First MTR South Western Trains Ltd
Date Published: 21 August 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £3,588,917.34
Number of tenders received: 3
Contractors: Walker Construction (UJK) Ltd
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Title: United Kingdom-Mansfield: Wastewater treatment plant construction work
Short description: Contract for design and construction services for new water treatment schemes, along with refurbishment of existing schemes along with associated minor works.
Published By: The Coal Authority
Date Published: 25 August 2020
Framework/DPS: Yes
Value excluding VAT: £72,000,000.00
Number of tenders received, lot 1: 5
Number of tenders received, lot 2: 14 (of which were SMEs: 11)
Contractors: JBA Bentley Ltd | Kier Integrated Services Ltd | AVRS Systems Ltd | Clayton Project Engineering Ltd | ECS Engineering Services Ltd | Integrated Water Services Ltd | JN Bentley Ltd | nmcn PLC | Seymour Civil Engineering Contractors Ltd
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Title: United Kingdom-London: Financial consultancy services
Short description: Framework agreement for the supply of financial advisory services which covers a wide range of financial advisory services including general finance, tax advisory, treasury management, financial analysis and real estate and strategic asset advisory.
Published by: Hyde Housing Association
Date Published: 26 August 2020
Framework/DPS: Yes
Value excluding VAT: £75,000,000.00
Number of tenders received, lot 1: 5
Number of tenders received, lot 2: 5
Number of tenders received, lot 3: 11
Number of tenders received, lot 4: 12
Number of tenders received, lot 5: 10
Contractors: Deloitte LLP | Ernst and Young LLP | Grant Thornton UK LLP | Mazars LLP | KPMG LLP | Crowe U.K. LLP | Savills UK Ltd | TradeRisks Ltd | CBRE Ltd | Newbridge Advisors LLP | Chatham Financial | N.M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd | Resolute Asset Management LLP | QMPF LLP | Faithorn Farrell Timms LLP | Jones Lang LaSalle Ltd | Cambridge Finance Ltd
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

In the news this week

UK Government confirms £32.5 million investment in Moray Growth Deal
The projects supported by the deal include:
◆ £21 million for a Moray Aerospace, Advanced Technology and Innovation Campus.
◆ £5 million for an innovative Digital Health project that will support the increasing demands and service capacity challenges on public health services.
◆ £3 million for a Manufacturing Innovation base for Moray to support the development of process and production efficiencies for businesses.
◆ £3.5 million to support the development of Grant Lodge, a visitor attraction in Elgin that will be part of a culture and tourism-led regeneration of the city centre.

Highways England Wants to Tap SMEs, New Suppliers for £1 Billion Tech Framework
Small businesses are being ‘urged’ to engage with Highways England for its major new £1 billion IT Commercial Framework (ITCF), which offers potential work with software, hardware and services. 

£1.5bn Royal Navy fleet support vessels contracts should stay in Britain, says Portsmouth MP
Stephen Morgan, Labour Portsmouth South MP, reacts to reports that the £1.5bn Fleet Solid Support Ship programme could be put out to tender to foreign firms.

Stand out prior information notices

£1bn Information technology commercial framework (ITCF)
The purpose of this PIN is to inform the market of Highways England’s plans to launch a technology framework that will be called the information technology commercial framework (ITCF). Launched alongside the operational technology commercial framework (OTCF), the ITCF and OTCF will be vehicles to support the delivery of Highways England’s RIS2 technology pipeline and to meet the strategic aims of Highways England.
View full prior information notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

£950m Operational technology commercial framework (OTCF)
The purpose of this PIN is to inform the market of Highways England’s plans to launch a technology framework that will be called the operational technology commercial framework (OTCF). Launched alongside the information technology commercial framework (ITCF), the OTCF and ITCF will be vehicles to support the delivery of Highways England’s RIS2 technology pipeline and to meet the strategic aims of Highways England.
View full prior information notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE


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Top 5 bid writing mistakes: Too little, too late

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In this series of posts, I am addressing the common errors that occur time and time again when writing bids. Below is our 4th post and will address the following mistake:

Too little, too late

Leaving work to the last minute. We’ve all done it. It is something that both large and small businesses alike struggle with and with bids it can be critical to your chances of success.

With no guarantee of winning, it is more challenging for businesses to assign the necessary resources needed to give it a strong chance of success. The difficulties in writing a submission, and the time it takes to do so, are often underestimated. These factors often combine which results in an 11th hour panic and sub-par outcomes.

You’ll need a sound project management approach in order to tackle the resourcing requirements of submitting a bid, which could mean temporarily pulling resource from other projects, something that senior management is often reticent in doing.

This is an area we see companies consistently struggle with. It might not always be apparent that there is an issue and its only if and when an unsuccessful tender is picked through that is becomes apparent there was an issue.

Some tips to avoid this:

Plan it out – by addressing our first mistake of the series, failing to prepare, you will have already identified your order of work and the dates these need to be completed  Think about how best to sequence your tasks and which ones can be done in parallel.

Learn from your mistakes – from previous submissions can you identify problem areas that required more time than expected? Can you put in safeguards to prevent this from happening again?

Set your own cut-off date – setting a date that falls before submission deadline will encourage you and your team to complete tasks sooner than needed. Slippage is common and by creating a buffer, you can give yourself time to recover should things not go as planned. If you are still writing first draft answers up to the day of submission (rather than doing final checks on revised versions) something has gone very wrong.

Ask yourself, is it worth it – if the deadline is fast approaching, is it worth putting in so much effort into a short period or would it be best to dedicate time to other tenders and creating more compelling bids. If you are finding that too little too late is a common mistake, try breaking the cycle and developing a more sustainable workflow. In a competitive sector it could be better to submit two high quality bids rather than three mediocre ones.

Ask for help – is there someone within your organisation who could help you with planning and managing your bids? If not, as the Bid Consultancy Manager at Tenders Direct, I have plenty of experience in identifying mistakes and helping bid managers achieve greater levels of efficiency. I’m always happy to discuss what actions you could take to quickly make improvements to your bid process, and help you get back on track.

For my final post, we’ll look at the the mistake of overlooking key details.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for specific help with your bid, please get in touch. Every week I help clients with their tendering, from bid writing to leading on bid responses. Use the details below to view the range of services we offer or to contact me directly. 

Tel: 07384 818 704
E-mail: andrew.watson@proactis.com  
Web: View our training and consultancy services 

Other posts in the Top 5 Bid Writing mistakes series:
1 – Failing to prepare and preparing to fail
2 – Biting off more than you can chew
3 – Not knowing how your pricing fits into your strategy
5 – Overlooking key details

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