If your organisation is looking to grow business in the public sector procurement market, understanding what a contract notice is and what it exists to do is a great place to start. A fundamental requirement to ensure healthy competition for contracts is to advertise them – this is done with a contract notice.
Procurement in the public sector is all about being fair and providing goods, works or services that offer the best value for money. Although other factors such as quality and sustainability are becoming increasingly important to effective procurement, giving all suppliers a fair opportunity to win a contract and grow their business is at the heart of how procurement drives the economy. This is where the contract notice comes in.
Contract notices explained
A contract notice is a mandatory requirement in the procurement process, but it is also a hugely important one. In a nutshell, a contract notice is an advertisement which summarises a new contract (or tender) opportunity in the market. Occurring at the very beginning of the procurement process, the contract formally notifies suppliers of a new opportunity so that they can determine whether they want to bid for it.
Publishing a contract notice is a legal requirement, but it is more than that. A contract notice allows buyers to spread the word about their contract as widely as possible, meaning they will receive more offers and obtain better quality and value for money for everyone involved.
What information does the contract notice include?
The contract notice must contain a description of the buyer’s minimum requirements that will provide enough information to allow a supplier to decide if they will bid. It states the object and the scope of the opportunity, as well as the basic tendering conditions such as the submission deadline.
Supply2Gov’s parent company, BiP Solutions, hosts an Ultimate Guide to public sector procurement. This is a rich resource for information on contract notices and the wider procurement process – a must read for organisations of all sizes and valuable regardless of your previous procurement experience.
Where can I find contract notices?
Procurement opportunities above a certain value threshold issued by buyers in the European Union are published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), which is accessible for free online. However, small to medium-sized businesses may not necessarily read the OJEU, given that they are likely to be new to the procurement market and perhaps looking for lower value opportunities to get started in public procurement.
Supply2Gov is a powerful service which draws on BiP Solutions’ database of contract opportunities of all values researched from the whole UK and beyond. Supply2Gov sends tender alerts straight to inboxes every day. These tender alerts are relevant to your business interests, can even be tailored to a geographical area of your choice and save organisations like yours valuable time and resource searching through databases.