Bid Writing to
Win Frameworks

Procurement Body:

Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation

Framework Values:

£50,000 to £25,000,000

Scope:

YPO (Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation) is a framework body with approximately 100 frameworks - covering buildings & construction, emergency services, energy, catering, furniture, fleet supply and FM.

Procurement Body:

KCS Procurement Services

Framework Values:

£5m - £15m annually

Scope:

KCS Procurement Services has been established for over 90 years and is owned by Kent County Council. They set up compliant tenders and framework agreements, which bring together suppliers and their public sector members, who are largely from the education sector.

Procurement Body:

EEM (Efficiency East Midlands)

Framework Values:

£145m annually

Scope:

EEM (Efficiency East Midlands) is a non-for-profit organisation, which now works across the UK and the public sector as a whole; from councils and housing associations, from NHS Trusts to schools and academies. They develop and manage a range of tenders, frameworks and the associated ‘call-offs’ for their members.

If you are a supplier looking to grow your company and gain new public sector clients, EEM could a great solution for your business.

Procurement Body:

TUCO (The University Caterers Organisation)

Framework Values:

£150m annually 

Scope:

These members, plus affiliate members, represent higher education buyers who utilise TUCO for their catering requirements. In total this includes 120 universities, 200 colleges, 40 local authorities and 20 NHS Trusts.

Catering, and associated food, drink and supplies, spend through the frameworks which they create and manage nearly exceeds £150m each year. If you are a catering business, supplier of food, drinks or catering supplies and interesting in the higher education market or the public sector generally, TUCO is the place to be!

Procurement Body:

PfH (Procurement for Housing)

Framework Values:

£245m across 3000+ contracts

Scope:

PfH (Procurement for Housing) is a specialist procurement and framework consultancy for the housing sector. They manage tendering opportunities, and develop frameworks and DPS (Dynamic Purchasing Systems) agreements for their members, which are housing association or Registered Providers (RPs) across the UK. If you are or want to be a supplier to the housing sector, PfH is likely to present many opportunities for your business to grow.

Procurement Body:

Advanced Procurement for Universities & Colleges

Framework Values:

£175m to date

Scope:

APUC (Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges) manage a wealth of tenders, frameworks and mini-competitions for their Scottish University and College customers.

Their members include Scottish Universities and Colleges, as well as broader Scottish public sector bodies such as the Police, research centres and charities. While a lot of their members aren’t strictly classed as the ‘public sector’, but as they receive public funds, APUC runs their procurement in line public sector procurement rules for Scotland.

Established in 2007, APUC, offers procurement expertise, compliance and advice for all the Universities and Colleges in Scotland. Helping them achieve value for money, social value and community benefits.

Procurement Body:

Over 700 public sector buyers

Framework Values:

Dependent on Individual Frameworks

Scope:

Working with over 700 public sector organisations, the Fusion21 network encompasses national frameworks across a huge variety of sectors, from housing to health, education to blue light. With a focus on cost savings for buyers, environmental impact and building meaningful, lasting relationships, this social enterprise empowers public sector buyers to seek innovative, transformative procurement solutions. 

Investing in community-based projects and working with strategic partners such as The Princes’ Trust is at the forefront of their Foundation, allowing members to see the real-time impact of their involvement. Frameworks on this platform range massively in value and specifications and buyers can procure goods and services from both SMEs and Multinationals.

Procurement Body:

Higher Education Sector Organisations across London

Framework Values:

£208million spent by members in 2020/21

Scope:

One of six regional higher education purchasing consortia across the UK, LUPC works collaboratively alongside other specialist public sector purchasing organisations to achieve value for money for their members in way that also benefits wider society, the environment and the economy. Established in 1968, LUPC’s members are primarily universities and colleges of higher and further education, but also include other not-for-profit organisations in the education, arts, science, charity, and wider public sectors. A total member spend of £208million was recorded in 2020/21, with the consortium’s 700+ registered suppliers working on over 100 frameworks.

(See also UK Universities Purchasing Consortia)

Procurement Body:

Various Public Sector Bodies

Framework Values:

Over £2.2billion spend to date

Scope:

Established in 2009 as a response to the Government’s drive to improve efficiency within the public sector, the North West Construction Hub (NWCH) services clients from a wide range of groups, including Local Authorities, Local Government, Blue Light Authorities, Universities and Colleges, NHS Foundation Trusts, Housing Trusts, Transport Boards, Free Schools and Academies. The frameworks hosted within the NWCH are divided into 3: High Value (£8m+), Medium Value (£2m-£10m) and Low Value (£500k-£3m). The NWCH has a proven track record of facilitating over 436 projects to 113 clients at a combined estimated value of £2.2 billion.

Procurement Body:

NHS

Framework Values:

Over £3billion spent using NHS SBS frameworks to date

Scope:

Established in 2005 as an innovative partnership between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and digital experts Sopra Steria, the NHS Shared Business Services platform aims to increase efficiency and quality and provide savings across public sector healthcare procurement in England. The services advertised across the various contracts and frameworks hosted by NHS SBS utilise both SMEs and national providers.

Currently, two thirds of all NHS Trusts and commissioners use NHS SBS to procure goods and services, with a £3billion spend and over £726million worth of savings successfully delivered to the NHS. 54 active framework agreements give NHS sector buyers access to over 2300 suppliers and are organised across four main categories: Business Services, Construction and Estates, Digital and IT and Health.

Procurement Body:

Crescent Purchasing Consortium

Framework Values:

£115m during 2021/22

Scope:

CPC (Crescent Purchasing Consortium) is owned and run by the further education sector and specialises in developing compliant frameworks for the education sector. They advertise tenders for everything from catering to cleaning, from ICT to travel and create approved suppliers who can work with schools, academies, MATS, free schools, adult and private colleges and Universities.

Procurement Body:

Network Rail

Framework Values:

£3.5bn annually

Scope:

Network Rail owns, manages and develops our railways across England, Scotland and Wales. As well as all the tracks, bridges and tunnels, this also includes 20 of the largest stations. They employ 6,000 people and in 2020 they were responsible for 25% of all construction spend in the UK. To give you an idea of scale, in 2021, their spend across all suppliers equated to nearly £3.5bn.

They operate over 60 services and require everything from recruitment services, to HR and training, from vegetation management to consultancy services, as well as their core requirements to build and maintain the rail infrastructure.

Procurement Body:

STAR (Stockport, Trafford and Rochdale) Procurement 

Framework Values:

£1.2bn annually

Scope:

As a Greater Manchester-based professional bid writing business, we help a lot of our local clients get awarded onto frameworks and win tenders managed by STAR Procurement. We work on over 500 tenders and frameworks each across a wide range of public sector buyers, and we have to say, STAR Procurement opportunities are our favourite!

Procurement Body:

UKUPC (UK Universities Purchasing Consortium)

Framework Values:

£1.3bn annually 

Scope:

As a group these organisations had £1.3bn spend through their frameworks in the last 12 months. They have a combined 112 frameworks, with 30 new or retendered frameworks each year. These frameworks include 180 SME suppliers, so if you are a supplier to the higher education sector or have aspirations to work in the sector they really are a critical path to success and business growth.

While you need to refer to the specific purchasing consortiums above in order to source their frameworks and opportunities, UKUPC provides procurement strategy, guidance and training to both public sector buyers and suppliers.

Procurement Body:

SUPC (Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium)

Framework Values:

£50,000 to £15,000,000

Scope:

SUPC (Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium) is a non-for-profit organisation focused on helping Universities in the South of England, buy smarter. They manage a range of tendering opportunities, frameworks and further competitions for their members, which are largely higher education establishments. If you are a supplier to the education sector and either based in the south or have national coverage SUPC may present many opportunities for your business to grow.

Procurement Body:

NWUPC (North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium)

Framework Values:

£50,000 to £15,000,000

Scope:

NWUPC North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium) is owned by 24 universities in the North West of England. They manage a wealth of tenders, frameworks and mini-competitions for these Universities. If you are a North West-based or national supplier to the education sector this is a key stakeholder in the industry.

Procurement Body:

Various Public Sector Bodies

Framework Values:

Over £2.2billion spend to date

Scope:

Established in 2009 as a response to the Government’s drive to improve efficiency within the public sector, the North West Construction Hub (NWCH) services clients from a wide range of groups, including Local Authorities, Local Government, Blue Light Authorities, Universities and Colleges, NHS Foundation Trusts, Housing Trusts, Transport Boards, Free Schools and Academies. The frameworks hosted within the NWCH are divided into 3: High Value (£8m+), Medium Value (£2m-£10m) and Low Value (£500k-£3m). The NWCH has a proven track record of facilitating over 436 projects to 113 clients at a combined estimated value of £2.2 billion.

Procurement Body:

Over 700 publicly funded organisations throughout the UK

Framework Values:

Projects valued around £350million each year

Scope:

Offering national coverage combined with local expertise and delivery, the LHC is committed to working sustainably with local communities, sharing benefits and providing extensive support to both members and suppliers.

Frameworks for the LHC cover areas such as Professional Services, Energy Efficiency, Property Protection & Maintenance, Construction & Refurbishment and Roofing, Windows & Doors. To date, they have operated 19 Frameworks, worked alongside suppliers on over 1000 projects with a value of £463million and counting.

Procurement Body:

Thousands of public/third-sector buyers annually

Framework Values:

£22.7billion in the year 20/21

Scope:

The largest public procurement organisation in the UK, CCS uses its commercial expertise to help buyers in central government and across the public and third sectors to purchase a huge range of goods and services, from locum doctors to laptops. Due to the size and scale of CCS, buyers can expect competitive prices and a large number of suppliers, from multinational companies to small and medium businesses (SMEs), vying for places on their many framework agreements.

Frameworks hosted on CCS encompass a huge range of services and values and are divided into various categories.

Procurement Body:

20,000 Public Sector Customers across the UK Annually

Framework Values:

Dependent on Individual Frameworks

Scope:

Originally conceived in 1981, ESPO has grown to become one of the UK’s biggest professional buying organisations, providing a vast catalogue of goods and services to over 200,000 public sector customers annually. All areas of the public sector are catered for, from schools and colleges to NHS and emergency services to the wider public sector reach such as charities and housing associations.

At present, ESPO works with around 1300 suppliers, some providing items for their catalogue whilst others provide goods and services for their national and regional frameworks. ESPO’s framework offering is extensive, covering many different services and organised into 10 main categories. Each individual framework opportunity for suppliers is advertised via East Mids Tenders and is awarded as a result of fair, transparent and compliant public procurement processes.