Understanding the Central Digital Platform in the Procurement Act 2023
The Central Digital Platform is the UK government's single online system for public procurement, created by the Procurement Act 2023 and integrated into the Find a Tender Service. It went live on 24 February 2025, replacing the fragmented landscape of multiple portals with one place where contracting authorities publish notices and suppliers discover opportunities.
For suppliers selling to the public sector, the CDP represents both a simplification and a strategic shift. This guide covers how the platform works, what it means for your registration and opportunity tracking, and how to turn the new transparency requirements into a qualified pipeline.
What is the Central Digital Platform?
The Central Digital Platform, or CDP, is the UK's online system for public procurement. It launched on 24 February 2025 as part of the Procurement Act 2023, and it lives within the Find a Tender Service. In practical terms, the CDP is where contracting authorities publish procurement notices and where you, as a supplier, go to find opportunities and register your business.
Before the CDP existed, procurement notices were scattered across dozens of different portals. You might check one site for NHS contracts, another for local council work, and yet another for central government opportunities. The CDP changes that by bringing everything into one place.
Here is what the platform actually does:
- Publishing notices: Contracting authorities post contract opportunities, award announcements, and updates here
- Supplier registration: You create a profile once and use it across all procurements
- Transparency records: All procurement data is stored publicly, so you can see how public money gets spent
The CDP is not a bidding portal. You will still submit your actual bid responses through each contracting authority's own e-sourcing system. But for finding opportunities and understanding the market, the CDP is now your starting point.
How the Procurement Act created the Central Digital Platform
The Procurement Act 2023 is the legislation that made the CDP a legal requirement. Parliament passed the Act to bring consistency to how public bodies buy goods and services. One of its key provisions was mandating a single digital platform for all procurement notices.
Why did this matter? Under the old rules, contracting authorities could choose where to publish their notices. Some used Contracts Finder, others used sector-specific portals, and many used a mix. This made it genuinely difficult to get a complete view of the market.
The Act came into force on 24 February 2025, and the CDP went live on the same day. From that point forward, all contracting authorities covered by the Act have a legal obligation to publish their notices through Find a Tender. This is not optional guidance. It is the law.
What the Central Digital Platform means for suppliers
Simplified registration and reduced admin
You register once on Find a Tender, and your details carry across to every procurement you pursue. Your profile includes your company information, exclusion ground declarations, and any relevant certifications.
Exclusion grounds are the legal reasons that might prevent you from bidding, such as certain criminal convictions or tax compliance issues. Previously, you often had to declare these separately for each procurement. Now, the CDP handles this centrally.
The practical benefit is less repetitive paperwork. You fill in your details once, keep them updated, and move on to actually finding and winning work.
Greater visibility into contract opportunities
All public sector notices now appear in one location. You can set up alerts based on your sector, region, or the type of buyer you want to work with. When a relevant tender gets published, you hear about it.
This is a genuine time-saver if you have been manually checking multiple portals. The CDP consolidates everything, though you will still want to think carefully about which opportunities are actually worth pursuing. Not every tender that matches your keywords is a good fit for your business.
Access to buyer information and procurement history
The CDP publishes award data alongside tender notices. This means you can see who won previous contracts, what the contract value was, and which buyers are active in your market.
This kind of information helps you understand the competitive landscape before you decide whether to bid. If a buyer has worked with the same supplier for years and seems happy, that tells you something. If a buyer regularly switches suppliers, that tells you something different.
Platforms like Stotles take this CDP data and enrich it with buyer contact details, strategic documents, and AI-powered qualification tools. The raw data is useful, but turning it into actionable intelligence is where the real value lies.
What the Central Digital Platform means for contracting authorities
Publishing obligations for notices and awards
Contracting authorities have specific legal obligations about what they publish and when. The Procurement Act sets out several notice types:
Each notice type serves a different purpose. Pipeline notices, in particular, are new under the Procurement Act and give you early warning of upcoming opportunities.
Transparency requirements throughout the procurement lifecycle
Buyers publish at multiple stages, not just when a tender launches. This creates a continuous record of procurement activity that you can track over time.
The transparency requirements mean more data is available than ever before. You can see patterns in how buyers behave, what they spend, and who they work with. However, making sense of all this data takes time and the right tools.
How to register on Find a Tender as a supplier
1. Create your supplier account
Go to the Find a Tender service and set up your account. You will provide basic organisation details like your company name, registration number, and contact information. The process is straightforward and takes about 15 minutes.
2. Complete your organisation profile
Once your account exists, fill in your full profile. This includes your company details, exclusion ground declarations, and any certifications relevant to your work. Take the time to complete this thoroughly because contracting authorities will see this information when you express interest in their opportunities.
Your profile is reusable. Update it when things change, but you will not have to re-enter everything for each new procurement.
3. Set up opportunity alerts
Configure alerts by category, region, or buyer type. When a tender matching your criteria gets published, you receive an email. This saves you from logging in every day to check manually.
Find a Tender alerts are useful, though they can be broad. Tools like Stotles add AI-powered signal matching and relevance scoring on top of the raw CDP data. Instead of a generic list of everything that matches your keywords, you get opportunities ranked by how well they fit your business.
What information is published on the Central Digital Platform
Contract notices and award data
Contract notices tell you about new tender opportunities. They include specifications, deadlines, and buyer requirements. Award notices tell you who won, what they won, and the contract value.
Award data is particularly valuable for competitive intelligence. You can see which suppliers are winning in your market, what buyers are paying, and where incumbents might be vulnerable to competition.
Pipeline and planning notices
Pipeline notices are a new feature under the Procurement Act. They give you advance warning of upcoming opportunities before the formal tender gets published.
This is a meaningful change. Previously, you often only learned about opportunities when the tender went live, leaving limited time to prepare. Pipeline notices give you a head start to research the buyer, understand their priorities, and position yourself before the competition heats up.
Tip: Pipeline notices are your signal to start engaging buyers early. The earlier you understand their priorities, the better positioned you are when the formal tender drops.
How the Central Digital Platform supports SME procurement
The Procurement Act was designed with smaller businesses in mind. The CDP makes it easier for SMEs to participate in public procurement through several specific mechanisms:
- Single registration: You enter your details once and reuse them across procurements
- Earlier visibility: Pipeline notices help you plan bids ahead of time rather than scrambling at the last minute
- Level playing field: Published award data helps you understand who wins and why
- Reduced barriers: Standardised processes mean less complexity to navigate
Greater data transparency helps SMEs identify opportunities they might have missed before. You can now see the full picture of public sector spending in your market, not just the contracts that happened to cross your desk.
Using CDP data to build your public sector pipeline
Track expiring contracts for early engagement
Award data includes contract end dates. You can use this information to identify renewals and engage buyers before re-procurement begins.
Getting ahead of procurement is the most effective way to influence outcomes. If you wait until the tender is published, you are competing on a level playing field with everyone else. If you engage earlier, you can shape how the buyer thinks about their requirements.
Stotles surfaces expiring contract signals automatically, so you can build a forward-looking pipeline rather than reacting to tenders at the last minute.
Monitor buyer activity and procurement patterns
Historical award and notice data reveals which buyers are active in your market. You can see their spending patterns, preferred suppliers, and how often they go to market.
Stotles enriches this data with buyer contact details and strategic documents like budgets and meeting minutes. This gives you the context to approach buyers with relevant, timely outreach rather than generic sales messages.
Qualify opportunities with historical award data
Understanding past awards, incumbents, and contract values helps you decide whether to pursue an opportunity. If a buyer has worked with the same supplier for a decade and the contract value is small, that might not be your best use of time. If a buyer regularly switches suppliers and the contract value is significant, that is a different story.
Stotles AI helps you qualify faster with enriched opportunity profiles that bring together procurement history, buyer priorities, and competitive intelligence in one view.
What comes next for public procurement transparency
The CDP is still evolving. As more data flows through the system and contracting authorities adapt to the new requirements, the quality and depth of available intelligence will improve.
The suppliers who turn CDP data into qualified pipeline will have a significant advantage over those who simply react to published tenders. Raw data is useful, but actionable intelligence is what drives results.
FAQs about the Central Digital Platform
Does the Central Digital Platform replace Contracts Finder?
The CDP, branded as Find a Tender, is now the primary platform for publishing procurement notices under the Procurement Act 2023. Contracts Finder remains available for historical records, but new notices get published on Find a Tender.
Can suppliers submit bids directly through Find a Tender?
No. Find a Tender is for publishing and discovering opportunities, not for submitting bids. You will still submit your bid response through the contracting authority's designated e-sourcing portal.
How often is procurement data updated on the Central Digital Platform?
Contracting authorities publish notices within specified timeframes set by the Procurement Act. New notices typically appear on Find a Tender within days of the procurement milestone.
Do suppliers need to re-register if they had a previous Find a Tender account?
Yes. The updated Find a Tender service requires a new registration under the Procurement Act 2023 framework. Your previous account details will not transfer automatically.
What happens if a contracting authority fails to publish required notices?
The Procurement Act 2023 sets legal obligations for notice publication, and non-compliance can be challenged. Suppliers can raise concerns through the appropriate review mechanisms.
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