A Supplier Registration platform was launched by The Cabinet Office in March 2013. The aim was to simplify the tendering process for public sector contracts
Previously, to bid for public sector and government contracts, suppliers had to register on many different systems to view, access and tender for business opportunities. This makes tendering more difficult – increasing time and costs.
The new centralised system aims make bidding for government and public sector opportunities easier and cheaper. The Single Supplier Registration enables suppliers to register just once to gain access to a range of contracts.
Full details at the Cabinet Office.
The new Single Supplier Registration platform was available from April 2013 for the health sector (replacing the existing SID4health system) and was extended across other sectors in the following months.
Cabinet Office Minister, Francis Maude, said:
“We’ve always said we want to simplify the procurement process, and it won’t make it easier for new suppliers to bid for government business if we’re asking them to register on several systems in order to access these opportunities.
“That’s why we asked GPS to bring together the current myriad systems and tools into one single place of registration, holding accurate and up-to-date information on suppliers. It’s simple and innovative; it will reduce the time and cost spent tendering for government business – especially important for SMEs – and will improve how we share analysis of supplier financial information across government.”
It is interesting to see how this develops. There are just too many different portals and systems to keep track of. Thankfully, Contracts Finder has developed into a good central UK opportunities database. Some charge to register (e.g. Achilles and ConstructionLine) but appear to be just another filter. We have noted that not many clients seem to have participated to date.
The subsequent introduction of the Supplier Questionnaire (SQ) has made bidding easier. Unless the contact is higher threshold, suppliers no longer need to complete comprehensive PQQs to get to tender. The simple SQ forms part of the tender documents.
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Also see the current thresholds for UK public procurement.
If anyone has dealt with the Supplier Registration Service platform? Please do comment to share your experience.
I agree. I work for a contractor and we are registered with about 10 different bodies. Its a lot of money for a small company and quite hard work too.