UK Procurement Act: Five Ways SMEs and VCSEs Should Prepare

1. Increased focus on SMEs and VCSEs will bring new business opportunities

‘Work more with SMEs and VCSEs’ is an aspiration we’ve heard from government for many years. However, with a new National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) that will broadly align to the missions in the Labour Party manifesto due imminently, we’re expecting a shift in favour of SMEs and VCSEs.

For example, devolution will see power (and budget) passed down to regional and local decision-makers, who have a vested interest in ensuring SMEs and VCSEs in their areas succeed.

Equally important are changes designed to cut red tape for smaller organisations. These include the removal of the requirement for audited accounts, an aim to pay 90% of undisputed SME invoices within five days, and terms to ensure most subcontractors are paid within 30 days.

What you need to do:

If you’ve previously been excluded from bidding for public sector work, or felt it too much hassle, now’s the time to reconsider. Watch the to understand the changes in more detail, then delve into the extensive Procurement Act guidance from government.

An understandable concern would be around how you resource the preparation of additional bids. To address this, tooling to support those researching, writing, reviewing, and managing your proposals can be genuinely transformational. A key capability to look for is generative AI that can securely access your organisation’s internal knowledgebases, to surface relevant information, align it with ITT requirements, and create high-quality first drafts that your subject matter experts can refine.

2. Extensive support and grants are available to SMEs and VCSEs

As part of the push to support regional and local economies, the government is offering all manner of support to smaller and non-profit organisations. This includes guidance videos, tailored advice, training courses, networking events, and grants.

What you need to do:

Spend some time exploring the available support options, and identifying which will help improve your ability to bid into the public sector.

As a starting point, watch the Procurement Act knowledge drop videos for SMEs and VCSEs, and direct any questions you have to the Crown Commercial Service telephone helpline, which is prominently published on its website. See what events and training are being run by your local Growth Hub.

For financial support, including for innovation projects, the government’s Find a grant service will point you to possible options. There is also a brand new dedicated business hub for VCSEs.

3. A new central digital platform will increase opportunity visibility and streamline bidding

The Procurement Act brings with it a ‘central digital platform’ (CDP), which comprises an enhanced version of the ‘Find a Tender’ service, and a new ‘Supplier Information Service’[1]. The CDP is available via the current Find a Tender URL.

 The CDP is where all high-value public sector contracts that fall under the Act will be advertised, and you can set up alerts for when opportunities arise that meet your criteria.

The CDP’s other big time-saver will be the Supplier Information Service, which introduces a ‘tell us once’ approach to core business information. Rather than fill in things like your company number and insurance details on every bid, you’ll enter these into the platform once, and have them pulled into subsequent proposals automatically.

What you need to do:

Firstly, (re-)register for the CDP, even if you’ve previously signed up to Find a Tender. Fill in your company details, and set a periodic reminder in your calendar to review and update them. Then head to the CDP search function, run a search, apply the necessary filters, and set up your alerts.

The government has published guidance on how to use the CDP, including registration and setting up notifications.

4. Pipeline notices across the public sector will minimise reactive bidding

Government departments and other organisations governed by the Act will need to publish long-term procurement pipelines on the CDP, outlining what contracts they’ll be advertising, and when.

While some have done this historically, there will now be more consistency across the public sector. This will enable you as an SME or VCSE, with limited bidding resources, to minimise reactive bidding, and all the stresses it places on you.

What you need to do:

On the CDP, run a search and set up any filters you’d like to apply. Then under ‘Notice type’, select only ‘UK1: Pipeline notice’, and click ‘Update results’. Save your search to start receiving notifications.

It should then become part of your business-as-usual processes to periodically review forthcoming opportunities, so you can proactively ensure you have the people and tools in place to bid them. Many SMEs and VCSEs are finding that purpose-built generative AI-enabled bid writing software, capable of securely pulling information from in-house knowledgebases as well as publicly available data, is enabling their stretched proposals teams to respond to more tenders, more successfully.

5. Large contractors will be looking for regional SME and VCSE partners

The push to get more SMEs and VCSEs working with government won’t mean the end of large prime contractors bidding for or delivering work. These big organisations will remain strategic suppliers to government – the difference will be that they’ll now need to include more SMEs and VCSEs in their supply chains.

Consequently, many prime contractors will now be on the lookout for regional partners to help them bid successfully under the new regime. In particular, many will be looking to these local organisations to help them score strongly in areas aligned to the government’s missions, such as social value and innovation.

What you need to do:

You want to strike while the iron is hot, by proactively building links with the right prime contractors. Research which businesses you’d like to collaborate with, using tools such as AutogenAI’s research assistant.

Demonstrate to primes how working with you will increase their chances of winning. In particular, show how you can help them align with the government’s published missions and procurement policy.

Empower your bid writers to succeed

AutogenAI’s purpose-built bid writing and management software includes a range of capabilities to support the individuals or teams responsible for writing and managing your bids. And there’s discounted pricing available for VCSEs.

To learn more about AutogenAI, contact us today. 

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/procurement-act-2023-guidance-documents