Frameworks, Tenders & DPSs

In government procurement, the route to market chosen can be the difference between an accessible opportunity and a closed door.

Here's a concise guide:

• Tenders: These are open competitions where any supplier can submit a bid for specific contracts. It's a direct shot for new suppliers to secure a central government contract.
• Frameworks: These are agreements with a list of pre-approved suppliers. If you're not on it, your best bet is to either aim to join in its next iteration or partner with a current supplier.
• Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS): A more adaptable version of frameworks. If a bid within a DPS catches your eye, you can join the system and position yourself for the opportunity.
• N/A or TBD: These are contracts with yet undecided procurement routes. It's crucial to keep them on your radar, as their final categorisation can open or close doors.

Central Government Analysis

To help you understand the competitive landscape in government procurement, we recently analysed the routes to market for reported pipeline contracts across central government, and visualised our findings in a pie chart below.

This study was based off 777 contracts across 16 buyers, valued at a combined £30b.

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From this analysis, we found the following insights:

🕸️ Frameworks: These commercial agreements are the main route for winning lucrative government contracts. Worth a combined £16.5bn, understanding preferred framework agreements is crucial to win contracts within your target accounts.

🏆 Tenders: Accounting for 17% of pipeline contracts, open tenders offer a competitive opportunity worth a combined £7.7bn. Staying on top of these tender alerts is crucial for new suppliers looking to make their mark in 2024.

📉 Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS): With just 2% of pipeline contracts expected to be procured through DPS’s, this procurement route is falling out of fashion with central government buyers. Unless you are already on a central DPS, focus elsewhere.

🕵️ Undecided Pathway: 24% of contracts are yet to reveal a committed procurement route. For these contracts, being proactive and engaging with buyers could help position yourself favourably for the procurement process.✨

This snapshot is your starting point to identifying routes to working with central government in 2024.

Download our full study into Central Government procurement pipelines to find out who the top 10 buyers are and identify their preferred routes to market in 2024.