Selling to the council

The Commissioning Framework has been developed to reflect the council's objectives for commissioning. 

It is designed to create a consistent approach across the organisation and provide an understanding to external stakeholders of our commissioning approach. This has been developed taking into account discussions with internal and external stakeholders, and reflects our corporate priorities.

Our contracts are awarded in line with the Commissioning Framework using a formal procurement process. 

Download our Commissioning Framework

We commit to being:

• fair
• open
• transparent
• non-discriminatory

We expect our suppliers to act in the same way.  

We try to ensure we do not impose unnecessary requirements on bidders. 

We provide opportunities for suppliers of all sizes.

When we re-tender contracts, existing suppliers must tender in the same way as other suppliers to make sure it's fair.

The procurement process is regulated by the Procurement Regulations 2024 and our Contract Procedure Rules. These ensure that we spend public money properly.  

The contract value determines the process we follow:

• £5,000 total contract value and below - we buy using a council purchasing card (P-Card)
• between £5,001 and £49,999 total contract value - we ask potential suppliers directly for quotations
• between £50,000 and £99,999 - we ask multiple suppliers for quotes via East Mids Tenders
• above £100,000 total contract value - we advertise tenders on East Mids Tenders

We do not operate an approved supplier list.

You can register on the procurement portals to find tender opportunities. You can specify the types of contracts that you are interested in and receive alerts relevant to your business.

The Contracts Register is a list of contracts the council currently has in place, including values and dates. It can be found on our Transparency Code page which also contains instructions on how to download the Contract Register.

Help articles

Instructions to register on the East Midlands Tenders Portal

How to search for opportunities via the portal

We ask for at least one written quotation for contracts valued between £5,001 and £49,999 total contract value. We do not usually advertise these - we approach potential supplier(s) direct.

Quotations for this value must be returned by email, and we'll tell you the closing date and time.

We ask for at least three written quotations for contracts valued between £50,000 and £99,999 total contract value.  We'll give you all the information you will need to submit an accurate quote. We'll tell you how to return your quotations, and the closing date and time.

We have to follow the Procurement Act 2023 so it is a good idea to familiarise yourself with these.

We tender all contracts valued over £100,000 total value using East Mids Tenders portal. You must register on East Mids Tenders to be able to bid.  You can register your interest in specific business areas using the supplier registration form, and you'll receive notifications about tender opportunities as they arise.

When you register, the East Mids Tenders portal has a helpdesk service if you have any issues: ProContractSuppliers@proactis.com.  Please do not contact us.

If you want to bid for a contract, you must register an expression of interest to access the tender documents.  You can express an interest if you meet the stated evaluation criteria for the procurement.  We give you details of how to register your interest in a tender in the Contract Notice.

When the tender opens, you must submit the required documentation and supporting information to the East Mids Tenders portal before the closing date and time.

We evaluate all bids against the award criteria set out in the tender documents. All tenderers will be notified of the tender outcome at the same time.

We publish contracts with a total value over the UK procurement thresholds on Find a tender.

UK procurement thresholds can be viewed on Guidance: Thresholds (GOV.UK)

It's your responsibility to make sure you bid is fully uploaded on the East Mids Tenders portal before the closing date and time.

We must reject any bids that are not correctly uploaded or uploaded after the closing date and time.

You'll be issued with various tender documents - it's really important to read them thoroughly, taking special notice of the:

• specification - this describes what we want to buy - we give you enough information so you know if you can supply what we need
• bidder instructions - this provides important information such as the deadline for your bid, how to respond and how we'll evaluate your bid - the evaluation criteria all have a specific weighting to show their importance
• contract terms and conditions - you'll be required to enter into a contract with us - we include this with the tender documents - some contracts will be our standard terms and conditions, some will use specialist industry specific terms and conditions - make sure you've read them thoroughly and understand the risks and benefits
• bid response - you'll need to answer a series of questions and give us a price for the goods, works or services required - if you don’t respond in the way that we ask, we may not be able to find the information we need to evaluate your bid, or we may have to exclude your bid (non-compliant bid)

You'll need to complete a suitability questionnaire or standard selection questionnaire. We ask a set of questions to make sure your company's suitable to deliver our contract.

Tips to help you when you bid:

1. register on the procurement portals
2. if we invite you to participate in market testing, please do so - we listen to suppliers so we can ensure what we are buying is fit for purpose - It’s also a really good way of getting to know us as a potential customer
3. read all the tender documents thoroughly and don’t be afraid to ask questions - our answers might help you submit a better bid
4. make sure you understand how we are going to evaluate your bid, take account of the award criteria and the weightings - this will help you allocate your time and effort to the most important parts of the bid
5. don’t underestimate the time it takes to complete and submit a bid - plan your resources early
6. make sure that you respond in the way we have asked and by the closing date and time - we cannot accept your bid if it is late or submitted incorrectly
7. remember that we aren’t allowed to negotiate your price with you - make sure the price you submit is your best - provide the price in the format requested – we ask for the price in a specific format so we can compare all bids on a like-for-like basis

Always be honest in your response. Remember that your quotation or bid will form part of the final contract with us. We will hold you accountable for the promises you have made in your bid.

Our commissioning team work with Welland Procurement Unit.

If you have any questions about or procurement or how to sell to us, please email us: commissioning@rutland.gov.uk