Supply2.gov.uk - Supplier Route to Government

Supply2.gov.uk is a FREE service to public sector organisations for creating and publishing lower-value contract opportunities to the small business community. It also provides public sector buyers with the ability to search for suppliers registered on the online Supplier Information Database (SID) and view their pre-qualification information.

Supply2.gov.uk is a government-backed initiative that focuses on lower-value public sector contracts, typically under £100,000. Developed by the Small Business Service (SBS) and the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), it will enable all organisations across the public sector to publicise their lower-value contract opportunities and, for the first time, all types of businesses will have access to these contract opportunities in a single location.

Supply2.gov.uk will enable buyers in the public sector to post contract opportunities, typically valued at under £100,000, FREE OF CHARGE for access by suppliers. In addition buyers can search and find suppliers registered on the Supply2.gov.uk Supplier Information Database.

In particular, Supply2.gov.uk will:

• Provide access to a wider range of potential suppliers with increased potential for innovation and value for money
• Reduce the time taken to assemble tender lists
• Encourage greater competition
• Facilitate better communication with other buyers active in similar areas
• Offer local suppliers FREE access to local contract opportunities

By publicising your organisation's contract notices on Supply2.gov.uk you will be supporting the European Court of Justice ruling regarding appropriate advertising of public sector contracts as well as supporting one of the recommendations of the 2003 Better Regulation Task Force report on reducing barriers facing enterprises wishing to become involved in public procurement.

Small businesses (SMEs - small and medium sized enterprises) are likely to make up the majority of your local suppliers. The Supply2.gov.uk portal is the focus of the Government´s initiative to make available to the small business community contracts under the value of £100,000. By using this site buyers can benefit greatly by increasing competition, which in turn drives down costs

Small businesses tend to have lower administration and management costs and can bring innovation through the early exploitation of new technology and provide products or services in new or underdeveloped markets

By registering to use Supply2.gov.uk you can sign up to the Supplier Charter and display on your website the official Supplier Charter logo, which recognises your organisation as a contributor to Supply2.gov.uk and as a supporter of small business. You may include hyperlinks from SSupply2.gov.uk to your organisation´s website to further guide small businesses.

Registering for Supply2.gov.uk couldn't be easier. Simply click register now and choose your status as a buyer, then enter your contact details. You will then receive your username and password via email which will allow you access to the Supply2.gov.uk Activity Centre.

Supply2.gov.uk offers buyers a range of facilities but the two primary functions are:

• Contract notice opportunity creation and publication (both lower-value and OJEU notices)
• Supplier sourcing via the Supply2.gov.uk Supplier Information Database (SID)

Other services include:

• Search the Supply2.gov.uk portal for contract opportunities
• Access free guidance and event information

Buyers can create and submit for publication their lower-value contract opportunities (notices and awards) FREE OF CHARGE using the standard templates. All notices are recorded in your audit log, which will show the date and time of submission. The service includes the function to save work in progress and to pre-set common information (e.g. address and contact details) saving you time re-keying every time you create a new notice.

Supply2.gov.uk allows buyers to submit all types of competitive opportunities. These are broken down as follows:

Competitive Contract Notice
Contract opportunities that are typically worth under £100,000 will be categorised as a Competitive Contract Notice and will be classified by the "Nature of the Contract" of which there are four categories: Works, Services, Goods or Research (scientific).

• Competitive Contract Notice will state the requirements of the opportunity.
• Competitive Contract Addendum will highlight any changes or amendments or provide notification of cancellation of a published Competitive Contract Notice.
• Competitive Contract Notice Award will publish details of the company(ies) which have been awarded the contract opportunity.

The contract opportunities that are published on Supply2.gov.uk can be viewed by all suppliers registered on the portal. Any supplier whose subscription includes the area represented within the description of the contract opportunity can view the details in full. Suppliers can choose to upgrade their subscription to receive contracts outside their chosen free location and set up an email alert profile to receive opportunities matching their business offering. This ensures that appropriate suppliers are notified of relevant opportunities and assists buyers with compliance with the European Court of Justice ruling regarding appropriate advertising of public sector contracts.

The e-notice service provides templates for amending or cancelling contract opportunities posted to Supply2.gov.uk, using the addendum template which can be created from the existing notice. Complete the amendment form with the updated details and submit to the site for publication. Should you require assistance to do this please email buyer@supply2.gov.uk

No. You are free to publish as many contract notices, awards and addenda as you wish.

Yes. You will automatically receive an email confirming that the contract opportunity has been received for publication on Supply2.gov.uk. If you do not receive email confirmation, please check your e-notice list to ensure that there is a date and time stamp against your notice. If this does not appear then you have not completed the submission process and will need to re-submit.

Suppliers can complete a supplier profile of standard pre-qualification information and then publish it to make it available on the Supply2.gov.uk Supplier Information Database (SID). The SID service provides public sector buyers with instant access to up-to-date data on pre-registered suppliers, and can be searched using a variety of criteria including organisation name, goods and services, and/or location.

The Supply2.gov.uk SID service provides a list creation and management function for public sector buyers to group and manage lists of suppliers found form searches. Lists can be set with opening and closing dates and times and each list generates a unique Response number that can be quoted in contract opportunities to request suppliers to respond directly to an opportunity. Public sector buyers also have functionality to email suppliers via the Supply2.gov.uk SID service.

Subcontracting opportunities relating to the London 2012 Olympics are available to view online to all Supply2.gov.uk registrants free of charge by logging in to the portal.

London 2012 subcontracting opportunities matching your profile and contained within your free chosen geographical location will also appear in your Daily Email Alert and through the online Contract Search service.

Should you wish to be notified daily of London 2012 subcontracting opportunities (as well as other opportunities) outside your current level of subscription, you will need to upgrade to the relevant location(s) for these opportunities to be included in your Daily Email Alert.

Please log in to the portal and follow the link in the Activity Centre to view all London 2012 subcontracting opportunities.

CompeteFor is an electronic brokerage service that gives businesses unique access to London 2012 business opportunities and the capability to bid for them. It acts as a brokerage service between prospective buyers and suppliers of London 2012 contracts.

CompeteFor also provides access to business support services from Business Link in England and similar agencies throughout the rest of the UK. Suppliers will receive professional advice on how to improve their overall business performance and their ability to compete for Olympic and future opportunities. For Buyers, CompeteFor offers the ability to post opportunities, develop short lists and assess potential suppliers on the basis of their Business Profile.

Once registered for access to Supply2.gov.uk you can access further in-depth 'Frequently Asked Questions' (FAQ) documents relevant to the use of the various tools within Supply2.gov.uk.