We are often asked if a contracting authority (school or Trust) can ‘appoint’ a winning supplier. As you can imagine, this is not only unrealistic but also likely to run counter to your own internal purchasing policies and Financial Regulations.  And that’s before we introduce the Procurement Act 2023 (PA2023) into the mix (if your tender is above threshold). Below we cover some key questions around this issue: 

• Can we choose which bidders to invite? 

• If we’re running a two stage tender process can we guarantee our incumbent gets through to the second Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage? 

• How can we influence who the winning bidder will be? 

Can I choose which bidders to invite?  

If your tender is below the PA2023 threshold you can run something called a Request for Proposal process (it is also known by other names this is just what we call it at Minerva), and then the answer to this question is a resounding ‘yes’! An RFP is “by invitation only”, so you can choose which suppliers to include. As a general rule of thumb; we usually recommend inviting a minimum of three suppliers and a maximum of five. Naturally this depends on lots of factors including what you’re procuring, where you’re located and much more but that’s a good guide.  

Part of the reason we recommend five is because there is always the possibility that bidders may drop out of the tender process at some stage.  There could be lots of (valid) reasons why this happens – loss of key personnel, winning other tenders, lack of resources to mobilise another new contract etc.  By having five bidders in the competition from the outset if you do get one or two drop out you should, hopefully, still end up with a minimum of three bids submitted.  And that’s a ‘proper’ competition. 

For PA2023 tenders you don’t have this option. The tender is published publicly (on the Find a Tender Service) and is available to any supplier who wishes to bid. However, if there are specific companies that you would like to bid on your tender, you can drop them an email to make sure that they are aware of the opportunity – you can even include a link to the UK4 Tender Notice.  Or if you are tendering with us we will contact them on your behalf, but what you cannot do in this scenario is restrict who can submit a bid. 

Preferred Suppliers 

*Below threshold, framework or DPS tenders only* 

If you are working with an external procurement consultancy, you might want to check whether they use a list of ‘preferred’ or ‘pre-vetted’ suppliers. At Minerva we do not operate on a framework or ‘preferred supplier’ basis. This is a deliberate strategy as it allows you complete freedom when considering which suppliers to include in a procurement project. What this means for you is that we can include any local or known suppliers you wish to consider that are not on frameworks. Whilst we don’t have a preferred supplier list per se, we do, naturally, know which suppliers offer excellent price, service and product quality in their respective sectors (and those that don’t!). Thus, alongside the suppliers that you wish to consider, we may also be able to suggest other suppliers likely to be a good addition to the procurement process. By not accepting commissions from suppliers this allows us to: 

a) recommend the supplier which best suits the needs of your school or Trust and not just one that is paying us and 

b) not limit the suppliers we can recommend and allow local/incumbent suppliers to participate in the tender process. 

Importantly, whether you use an external consultancy or ‘go it alone’ a below threshold tender does give you the chance to be selective on your invites to the competition. 

Why can’t I put my incumbent through to the ITT stage when they scored lowest or did not make the ‘top five’? 

*Above threshold tenders only* 

First and foremost, the evaluation criteria set out in the procurement process must be adhered to strictly. These criteria are designed to assess all suppliers on a fully transparent and level playing field, ensuring that the best options are selected based on merit. If your incumbent has received the lowest score, it indicates they did not meet the minimum standards required for progression. 

The same applies when you set a maximum number of suppliers to be taken through to the second stage (which we recommend).  For example, you may detail in the tender documents that you will be taking the top five highest scoring bidders through to the ITT stage.  If your incumbent supplier comes in at sixth then it is strongly recommended that you do not put them through too.  As tempting as that is it means you’re deviating from what you outlined in your tender process and that’s a real risk. 

Transparency and fairness are core principles of PA2023. Allowing a poorly scoring supplier to move forward could undermine the credibility of the entire process, leading to potential challenges from other bidders who may feel disadvantaged. The goal is to achieve the best outcome for the public sector, and advancing a low-scoring supplier contradicts that aim. 

In summary, while it may be tempting to retain an incumbent supplier, strict adherence to evaluation criteria, transparency, and value for money must guide the decision-making process in any PA2023 compliant procurement. 

Suppliers need to know that, no matter how great a service they’re providing for you, if they don’t meet the scoring threshold to move onto the next stage of the tender they will be out of the competition.  There is absolutely no room for complacency. 

We have seen a noticeable upturn in unsuccessful suppliers willing to ‘put their money where their mouth is’ in this regard so adhering to the law is more important than ever. 

How can we influence who the winning bidder should be? 

Bids must be scored according to the evaluation criteria published in the tender documents. You cannot choose to award the contract to a bidder who doesn’t score highest, but your score moderations and feedback can of course influence the result.  

So the key here is something we talk about a lot at Minerva “time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted”.  In other words, take plenty of time to consider the questions you’re asking of bidders, the evaluation criteria you set and the scoring methodology you’re using.  All of these elements are within your span of control and will (compliantly) enable you to ‘influence’ the successful bidder.