Procurement glossary
Plain-English explanations of public procurement and bidding terms.
60 terms
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Bid
A bid is a supplier’s offer to provide goods, works or services under stated requirements. In public procurement, people often use bid and tender interchangeably, but the opportunity documents determine what the response must contain and how it will be assessed.
Bid management
Bid management is the organised planning, coordination and control of a supplier’s response to an opportunity. It covers the decision to bid, compliance, contributors, reviews, approvals, production and submission against the buyer’s instructions.
Bid management software
Bid management software is a system for organising opportunity data, tasks, contributors, content, reviews and submission evidence. It supports a supplier’s internal workflow; it does not replace the contracting authority’s procurement portal or change the buyer’s requirements.
Bid manager
A bid manager coordinates the people, timetable, evidence and approvals needed to submit a compliant bid. The role normally owns the response process, while subject matter experts, commercial staff and leaders remain accountable for their specialist content and decisions.
Bid writer
A bid writer turns technical and operational input into clear answers to a buyer’s questions. The writer must preserve accuracy, evidence and compliance with the tender documents; persuasive wording cannot replace a deliverable solution or mandatory information.
Bid/no-bid decision
A bid/no-bid decision is a deliberate choice about whether to invest in a specific opportunity. Suppliers commonly weigh strategic fit, eligibility, deliverability, evidence, competition, commercial return, available resource and the cost and risk of preparing a response.
Business-to-government (B2G)
Business-to-government (B2G) describes a business supplying a public body, usually through a quotation, tender, framework or other regulated route. It is a commercial description, not a procurement procedure or a guarantee that a buyer will purchase.
C
Call-off contract
A call-off contract is a contract awarded under a framework. It uses the framework’s published scope and core terms, with either a further competition or an objective selection method where the framework permits one.
Capture management
Capture management is the pre-submission work of qualifying an opportunity, understanding the customer and competitors, shaping a deliverable solution and preparing a win strategy. It continues into proposal planning but does not influence a buyer outside the published procurement rules.
Central digital platform
The central digital platform is the UK-wide service used under the Procurement Act 2023 to publish notices and hold core supplier information. It is delivered through the enhanced Find a Tender service, although devolved portals continue to have their own workflows.
Competitive flexible procedure
A competitive flexible procedure is a Procurement Act 2023 competition designed by the contracting authority around the requirement. It can use stages, dialogue, negotiation or other features if the notice explains them and the Act's transparency and fairness rules are met.
Conditions of participation
Conditions of participation are supplier requirements about legal or financial capacity and technical ability to perform a contract. Under the Procurement Act 2023 they must be proportionate, published clearly and kept distinct from award criteria.
Contract award
Contract award is the decision and legal step by which a contracting authority selects a supplier for a contract. The notices and timing differ by regime: under the Act the award notice normally precedes signing, while the details notice confirms entry afterwards.
Contract award notice
A contract award notice publishes the outcome of a procurement and, under the Procurement Act 2023, is normally published before the authority enters the public contract. It is different from the later contract details notice, which records the contract after award.
Contract details notice
A contract details notice records information about a public contract after it has been entered into. Under the Procurement Act 2023 it follows the contract award and supports transparency about the signed contract, later changes and performance.
Contracts Finder
Contracts Finder is the GOV.UK search service for public contracts, especially opportunities and awards in England and records created under earlier procurement rules. It is free to search and can provide alerts, but it is not the same notice system as the current central digital platform.
CPV codes
CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) codes are standard classification numbers for the goods, works and services described in public procurement notices. Buyers use them to describe a requirement and suppliers use them to search for opportunities.
Crown Commercial Service (CCS)
The Crown Commercial Service was the UK central-government commercial organisation that ran frameworks and procurement services. From 1 April 2026 it combined with Cabinet Office central commercial teams to form the Government Commercial Agency (GCA), so current guidance may use the new name while older contracts still say CCS.
D
Direct award
A direct award places a public contract with a supplier without first running a competitive tendering procedure. Under the Procurement Act 2023 it is allowed only under specified statutory grounds and normally requires a transparency notice first.
Dynamic market
A dynamic market is an open supplier arrangement under the Procurement Act 2023. Suppliers can apply for membership during its life, and contracts are awarded through a competitive flexible procedure by reference to an appropriate market.
Dynamic purchasing system (DPS)
A dynamic purchasing system (DPS) is a fully electronic, open purchasing system created under the previous procurement rules. Suppliers can apply to join during its life, and specific purchases are competed among admitted suppliers.
E
eTenders Ireland
eTenders is Ireland’s national tendering website, connecting public-sector buyers with suppliers. It is an Irish procurement portal and should not be confused with UK services such as Find a Tender, Contracts Finder or eTendersNI.
eTendersNI
eTendersNI is the Northern Ireland public procurement portal for opportunities from government departments, agencies and arms-length bodies. Suppliers register as an organisation to respond online and receive notifications; its notices sit within Northern Ireland’s procurement arrangements.
Expression of interest (EOI)
An expression of interest (EOI) is a buyer’s request for suppliers to indicate interest and provide initial information. It may support market research or shortlisting, but it is not automatically a tender, a bid invitation or a commitment that the procurement will proceed.
F
Find a Tender
Find a Tender is the UK service for publishing and searching public procurement notices under the current Procurement Act regime. It also provides the supplier registration and core-information functions of the central digital platform.
Framework agreement
A framework is an arrangement setting the terms for future contracts between a contracting authority and one or more suppliers. Being appointed can create access to later competitions, but normally does not promise any call-off work or spend.
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M
Most advantageous tender (MAT)
The most advantageous tender (MAT) is the tender a contracting authority considers best meets the published award criteria under the Procurement Act 2023. It can balance price or cost with quality, risk, social value and other stated factors.
Most economically advantageous tender (MEAT)
The most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) is the award concept used by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. It normally combines price or cost with quality against published criteria; the Procurement Act 2023 uses MAT for new procurements instead.
N
NHS frameworks
NHS frameworks are agreements that pre-approve suppliers, terms and purchasing routes for defined products or services. Being awarded a place creates a route to compete for or receive call-offs; it does not promise a contract, volume or NHS-wide sales.
NHS procurement
NHS procurement is the way NHS organisations buy goods, works and services, using a mix of direct purchasing, frameworks, procurement hubs and advertised tenders. The applicable route depends on the NHS organisation, the purchase and the relevant UK or devolved regime.
NHS Supply Chain
NHS Supply Chain sources and distributes many clinical and non-clinical products for NHS organisations, using category contracts and frameworks. Suppliers normally enter through a compliant tender and use the specified e-procurement portal and contract route.
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P
PCS-Tender
PCS-Tender is Scotland’s secure e-tendering system for managing many tender exercises online. It supports buyer and supplier tasks such as document exchange, questions, tender submission and evaluation; Public Contracts Scotland remains the separate advertising portal.
Pipeline notice
A pipeline notice gives advance visibility of certain future public contracts and dynamic markets. Under the Procurement Act 2023 it is a formal notice with specified information, and it helps suppliers plan capacity without being an invitation to submit a tender.
Planned procurement notice
A planned procurement notice announces a contracting authority’s intention to run a procurement and gives suppliers advance information about the subject, timetable and how to express interest. It may affect the procedure timetable, but it is not itself a tender response form.
Pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ)
A pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) is an older term for a form used to screen suppliers before tendering. For PCR 2015 procurements, the standard SQ replaced the PQQ; current Act procurements use their published conditions of participation instead.
Preliminary market engagement
Preliminary market engagement is a buyer’s early discussion or testing with suppliers before a procurement. It can shape the requirement and help identify risks, but participation does not guarantee an invitation, award or advantage.
Prior information notice (PIN)
A prior information notice (PIN) is an advance notice about a possible procurement, traditionally used under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and related regimes. It can announce market activity or provide early information; its effect depends on the legislation and notice sequence.
Procurement Act 2023
The Procurement Act 2023 is the main public procurement statute for procurements in its scope that commenced on or after 24 February 2025. It sets rules for competition, transparency, supplier participation and contract management.
Procurement cycle
The procurement cycle is the sequence of planning a need, engaging the market, choosing a route, inviting and evaluating offers, awarding and mobilising a contract, managing delivery and closing or re-procuring it. The detail varies by buyer, jurisdiction and contract.
Procurement Policy Note (PPN)
A Procurement Policy Note (PPN) is a government policy document explaining a procurement policy or implementation requirement. Its scope depends on the individual note, so a PPN is not automatically a rule for every authority or contract.
Procurement thresholds
Procurement thresholds are value points that determine which statutory procurement provisions apply. Authorities estimate the total contract value, including relevant options and extensions, and apply the threshold for the contract type and regime.
Public Contracts Regulations 2015
The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 are the former main English public procurement rules. They still govern procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 and the resulting contracts, subject to the transitional rules.
Public Contracts Scotland
Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) is the Scottish Government’s national advertising portal for public-sector contract opportunities. It is separate from the English central digital platform and from PCS-Tender, the system used to run many Scottish tender exercises.
R
Red team review
A red team review is an independent, late-stage assessment of a near-final bid from the evaluator’s perspective. Reviewers test compliance, clarity, evidence, scoring potential and competitive messages so the team can fix material weaknesses before submission.
Request for information (RFI)
A request for information (RFI) asks suppliers for information that helps a buyer understand the market, available solutions or delivery constraints. It normally happens before a formal tender and does not, by itself, request a priced offer or award a contract.
Request for proposal (RFP)
A request for proposal (RFP) invites suppliers to describe a solution and submit an offer, often including price, method and evidence. UK organisations may use RFP and ITT differently, so the issued documents and stated evaluation method matter more than the label.
Request for quotation (RFQ)
A request for quotation (RFQ) asks suppliers to price a defined requirement, usually against a concise specification and stated terms. It may include quality questions, and its procedure varies by buyer, value, framework and jurisdiction.
S
Selection questionnaire (SQ)
A selection questionnaire (SQ) gathers a supplier’s exclusion declarations and selection information under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. It helps an authority decide whether a supplier is suitable to progress, rather than how its final tender scores.
Sell2Wales
Sell2Wales is the Welsh Government’s procurement portal for advertising and managing many Welsh public-sector opportunities. Suppliers use it to search, register interest, receive alerts and follow the buyer’s response instructions, alongside the central digital platform where the current regime requires publication.
Shipley method
The Shipley method is a commercial business development and proposal framework built around defined phases, activities, outputs and decision milestones. Suppliers use it to structure capture and bid work; it is a professional method, not a mandatory UK procurement standard.
Social value
Social value is the wider economic, social and environmental benefit a public contract can create alongside its immediate deliverables. Authorities should define relevant, proportionate outcomes and assess them only through the published procurement documents.
Standstill period
A standstill period is the pause between announcing an intended contract award and entering into the contract. Its length, trigger and exceptions depend on the procurement regime; under the Act the contract award notice normally starts at least eight working days.
Statement of work (SOW)
A statement of work (SOW) describes the specific work, deliverables, people, timing, assumptions and payment basis for a project or call-off. It may sit under a framework or master agreement, so its relationship with the main contract must be checked carefully.
T
Tender documents
Tender documents are the notices, instructions, specification, response forms, pricing schedules, draft contract and other material that defines a procurement and tells suppliers how to respond. Suppliers should read the pack together and track formal clarifications or amendments.
Tender notice
A tender notice is the formal public notice that starts or announces a procurement route and tells suppliers how to compete. Under the Procurement Act 2023 it gives core information about the buyer, requirement, procedure, timetable and submission route.
Tenderer
A tenderer is a supplier that submits, or is invited to submit, a tender in a procurement. Some documents use tenderer for a participant at the tender stage and bidder more broadly; the defined terms in the specific notice or contract take priority.