How to become a supplier for Crown Commercial Service in 5 essential steps

NB: All information was correct at the time of writing, but may not be fully applicable following the introduction of the Procurement Act 2023.

Why supply through Crown Commercial Service?

CCS is the UK’s largest central purchasing body. Our main role is to manage and simplify the procurement process for the government departments and public sector organisations we represent. Here is why you should consider becoming a CCS supplier:

• access to 20,000 UK public sector buyers spending over £30 billion a year
• opportunities to supply across 83 categories of common goods and services including construction, office and print solutions, energy, fleet, research and travel
• a simplified tender process for public procurement
• prompt payment policy implementation

Can you become a public sector supplier?

The public sector spends £385 billion each year procuring goods and services from the private sector. Winning a contract to provide services or supplies to public sector buyers is a great way to increase your revenues, enhance your reputation, be reliably paid – with our prompt payment policies, and grow your organisation.

Contrary to popular belief, public sector procurement isn’t only for large organisations. In fact many suppliers are:

• small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
• voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSEs)
• micro-businesses

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) wants to encourage organisations of all sizes to become suppliers. This article will guide you through the process of becoming a public sector supplier.

Simplifying the tendering process for all suppliers

CCS is committed to making it easier for businesses of all sizes to bid for government and public sector contracts. We do this by:

1. Ensuring transparency in public procurement: we publish all details of upcoming procurements on our website.
2. Using data-lead category strategies: we understand what our customers need and what the supply market can offer which enables us to write clear bid packs.
3. Implementing prompt payment policy: companies failing to pay 95% of invoices within 60 days are excluded from bidding to support smaller businesses in their supply chain.

Types of Crown Commercial Service agreements

*CCS offers 2 main types of commercial agreements:

1. Frameworks.
2. Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS).

Additionally, there is a Low Value Purchase System (LVPS) agreement for buying uncomplicated goods and services. All suppliers, including SMEs and VCSEs, can apply to join and supply through this commercial agreement at any time.

5 steps to becoming a Crown Commercial Service supplier

Follow these 5 steps to supply goods and services to the government and public sector.

1. Learn how the tendering process works for UK public sector procurement

When appointing new suppliers, Crown Commercial Service (CCS) must follow a formal tendering process to ensure procurement regulations are met. This includes publicly listing all opportunities for potential suppliers.

The tendering process will depend on the type of commercial agreement suppliers wish to join:

• become a framework supplier: respond to a contract notice in the Find a Tender service
• become a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) supplier: register for a place on one of our Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) and complete a standard Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ)
  

2. Find public sector tender opportunities

Search for opportunities to sell goods and services to the public sector through:

• Find a Tender service: search for high value opportunities (agreements with an estimated total lifetime value of over £138,760)
• Contracts Finder: search for public sector contracts worth over £12,000 (or £30,000 outside central government) including VAT in England and with non-devolved bodies
• Dynamic Purchasing Marketplace: find more information on what the DPS is about and register as a supplier
• upcoming agreements: see what opportunities are coming up in our procurement pipeline

There are also many regional and sector specific procurement organisations including, in local government, the NHS and universities. Many public sector bodies also have their own procurement teams.

3. Respond to a tender opportunity and submit your bid

When you have found an opportunity, read the invitation to tender carefully. This is your opportunity to ask us any clarification questions about the bid.

CCS procurements are conducted using our eSourcing portal. You will need to be registered on the eSourcing portal to take part in CCS tender opportunities. To register you will need to provide information including:

• full legal name of your organisation
• your DUNS number: a unique 9 digit number provided to organisations free of charge
• profile information describing your organisation and the size of your business

We will respond to clarification questions in our eSourcing portal and share them with all bidders for transparency purposes. You should submit your tender bid before the tender deadline.

4. Check our eSourcing portal for updates on the tendering process

At this stage we will evaluate all the tenders. This includes:

• the selection questionnaire
• answers to each quality question
• the pricing submission

Suppliers should regularly check our eSouring portal to stay up to date on their tender. We will use the portal to ask you any clarification questions and list the outcome of the evaluation.

5. Sign and return your agreement to supply

If you are successful you will sign and return your agreement. You will then be onboarded as a supplier to the relevant framework or DPS. Public sector buyers may then invite you to bid on their call-off competitions.

Standard template for framework contracts

We have a standard template for framework contracts for common goods and services. You can see our standard core terms and conditions, along with schedule templates.

Different agreements may change the terms depending on the category subject. You should be mindful of checking the terms and raising questions during clarification.

Selling goods or services to the public sector

To win government and public sector contracts you must make your strengths and capabilities clear by writing a tender bid.