Introduction

On April 23, 2024, the UK government announced a 6-month notice period for the "planned go-live date" of the 2023 Procurement Act, set for October 28th, 2024. This extensive legislation, spanning over 138 pages, aims to revolutionise the UK’s £300b annual procurement industry by enhancing efficiency, transparency, and flexibility.

With 6 months to go until the Act goes live, we spoke to bid & procurement expert Gemma Waring to outline the top two strategies suppliers should be implementing to win more contracts in this transition period.

1. Collaborate with government buyers to renew and extend public sector contracts

Only procurements that are commenced after the 28th of October will be regulated under the Act. Contracts awarded or renewed before this go-live date will continue to be governed under the current procurement regulations, Public Contract Regulations (PCR) 2015.

With buyers eager to avoid the extra administrative burden of managing contracts under the Act, this presents a unique opportunity for suppliers to accelerate renewal or extensions before the go live date.

Actions for suppliers:

‍Before October, suppliers should conduct a thorough audit of their contract portfolio to identify opportunities for renewing or extending existing contracts. Start by identifying contracts due to expire within the next year to assess if renewals can be accelerated under the current regulations.

After your audit, engage in proactive discussions with your clients to explore potential non-material contract changes allowed under Regulation 72, which could facilitate extensions without re-tendering.

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2. Leverage pre-market engagements with government buyers

The Act introduces enhanced clarity on how preliminary engagements between buyers and suppliers can be structured, ensuring that both parties can collaborate to create optimal procurement procedures.

Section 16 of the Act lists several new areas where buyers can legally converse with suppliers, covering all aspects of procurement processes including the creation of flexible procedures, advising on award criteria, and designing flexible procedures.

Actions for suppliers:

Ahead of the Procurement Act, suppliers should actively participate in official pre-market engagement events with strategic customers and target accounts.

This is a rare opportunity where buyers are looking for suppliers to help guide the way buyers procure contracts entering the new era. By engaging early and helping to shape these new processes, suppliers can better position themselves to capitalise on early contract opportunities released under the new regulations.

Conclusion

To succeed before the new era of procurement, suppliers need a clear line of sight on relevant opportunities to target and actions to take before the Act goes live. To understand the full impact of the Procurement Act on your public sector sales, download our full white paper using the link below.