Supply2.gov.uk - Supplier Route to Government

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

Supply2.gov.uk provides the business (particularly small business) community with all the contract information and support services they need to compete and be successful in the lucrative public sector contract arena. The site is the focus of the Government's initiative to make available to the business community contracts under the value of £100,000. However, Supply2.gov.uk goes further and offers suppliers access not only to lower-value contracts but also to higher-value (OJEU) contract notices for their local area FREE of CHARGE.

By registering with Supply2.gov.uk you can either search online for contract opportunities or set up a daily email alert which will send you direct all low and high value public sector contracts in your local area matching your profile of keywords and phrases - absolutely FREE. In addition you will also receive summary information of the contract opportunities for the immediate region of which your local area is part of (to view this information in full, click upgrade now). Supply2.gov.uk also makes small and medium-sized enterprises visible to public sector buyers through the Supply2.gov.uk Supplier Information Database (SID) and offers advice and support through the Resource Centre for smaller businesses wishing to tender for public sector contracts.

Registering for Supply2.gov.uk couldn't be easier. Simply click register now and choose your status as a supplier, then enter your contact details. A confirmation page will show you the area to which you have FREE access to. You will then receive your username and password which will allow you access to the Supply2.gov.uk Supplier Activity Centre.

Supply2.gov.uk offers suppliers a range of facilities. Once logged in you can visit the Activity Centre to access the three primary functions of Supply2.gov.uk:

• Online contract opportunity searching service
• Set up and manage a daily email alert service
• Complete and publish your profile on the Supply2.gov.uk Supplier Information Database (SID)

Supply2.gov.uk offers you the ability to run a Quick Search or an Advanced Search to search for contract opportunities posted on Supply2.gov.uk. By entering a time period and using keywords you can search the Supply2.gov.uk site for matching contract opportunities. The search will return you an analysis of the types of contract opportunities matching your search and you will be able to view the complete text of contract opportunities in your area. You will also be presented with a list of contract opportunities that match your search but fall geographically outside your subscription area/region; to gain access to these you will be required to upgrade your subscription to the lever appropriate for the area.

Once registered and logged-in, you are able from the Activity Centre to set up your Supply2.gov.uk daily email alert. This service will allow you to create a profile matching your company's requirements. An alert will then be despatched on a daily basis to your email account containing relevant contract opportunities.

Your Supply2.gov.uk daily email alert profiles are driven by keywords or phrases (e.g. 'computer' or 'window cleaning') and CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) codes (CPV codes have been specially developed by the EU for public sector procurement).

CPV codes have been specially developed by the EU for public sector procurement. Buyers use CPV codes to classify their contracts by applying a code and description for the items they wish to procure. Suppliers can add CPV codes into their supplier profile to assist in the matching of contract opportunities. To assist you we have provided an easy online search where you can type in a word or word stem (e.g. 'computers' or 'comp') which will return matching CPV codes. By clicking the boxes next to the CPV codes you can include them in your profile or use them for online searching.

At any time during your subscription you can access the Supply2.gov.uk website and from the Activity Centre choose to update your daily email alert.

As part of your daily email alert, and when using the search services, you will be able to see a synopsis of other contracts published on Supply2.gov.uk which match your keywords but are outside your region. To access the full text of these contract notices you can upgrade your current access from local or regional to multi regional or even national (by clicking the upgrade now link).

The Supply2.gov.uk Supplier Information Database (SID) allows suppliers free access to create and manage their own unique profile of pre-qualification information. Included in this information are key company details along with the goods and services you provide. Once you have completed your supplier profile, you can 'publish' it on the Supply2.gov.uk SID. This ensures that your company information can be viewed and accessed by public sector buyers registered on Supply2.gov.uk who can perform a variety of searches using criteria such as products, services or locations.

The Supply2.gov.uk site is updated on a daily basis. Buyers can submit contract opportunities at any point and each opportunity will appear on the site within 24 hours of submission.

Yes, support is available through a variety of channels. Contract opportunities may raise queries as they contain so much information, so we have provided online user guides as well as interactive demonstration tools and integrated help functions. If, however, you still have any unanswered questions, we provide a complete support service. Please use the contact us form to submit your query or telephone 0845 270 7085.

Competitive Contract Notice
Contract opportunities that are typically worth under £100,000 will be categorised as a Competitive Contract Notices 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 to 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.

Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU)
Contract opportunities worth above £100,000 (and thus submitted via the European Journal - OJEU, formerly OJEC) will be given an OJEU reference and will again be classified by 'Nature of Contract'.

• Prior Information/Periodic Indicative Notice: A PIN is an advance warning of a contract to be awarded at some time in the future; PIN stands for Prior Information Notice (Public Sector) or Periodic Indicative (Utilities) notice. The issuance of a PIN does not guarantee that a contract will be placed.
• Contract Notice Opportunities: These are formal calls for competition and are classified by Procedure type (see below for further explanation).
• Award Notice: This is published by the purchasing authority after the award of a contract. It provides the date the contract was awarded, the name of the successful supplier(s) and the value of the contract (unless omitted for reasons of confidentiality).

Procedure Types

• Open procedure: A procedure where suppliers can apply without prior selection. The EU Directives lay down the type of criteria which can be used to eliminate unqualified or unsuitable suppliers.
• Restricted procedure: A procedure where suppliers are selected by an open first-round invitation. All prospective suppliers can apply to be included in the restricted list for the contract. Those suppliers who then meet the required criteria will then be invited to tender.
• Negotiated procedure: A procedure where only chosen suppliers are invited to negotiate contracts. May be used in limited circumstances - e.g. extreme urgency, failure of open/restricted procedures to yield valid tenders, repetition of similar work.
• Accelerated restricted or negotiated procedure: A procedure where the length of time of the procurement response process may be shortened to accommodate unforeseen circumstances and/or emergency situations.

As a Supply2.gov.uk subscriber you will have access to our Resource Centre. Here you will find links to industry bodies, EU Directives, supplier guidances, seminars and events, a glossary and further FAQs.

Yes, just complete the registration form with your address details and you will receive a username and password. You can then choose which location and service you wish to access from the upgrade menu in the 'my details' section.

In order to continue with your current access levels, please log in to your account and choose the subscription renewal link from the activity centre menu to continue receiving contract opportunities for your chosen location.

To change your current access levels, please log in to your account and choose the subscription renewal link from the activity centre menu or choose the upgrade option from my details on the left-hand side of the screen.

Following the first year of your subscription, in which you obtained complimentary access to higher-value (OJEU) notices, access is now subject to a fee of ??95 plus VAT for your local area.

When your account is due for renewal you will be notified by email 28, 14 and 7 days before your expiry date and again 48 hours in advance. Full instructions will be given on how you can renew your current access levels.

Please log in to www.supply2.gov.uk and from the left-hand navigation menu please visit my details and then select current access levels to downgrade or cancel your account.

Please note that, after you have completed the process, the system will then schedule your request to be completed on your renewal date. Until this date, you will benefit from the daily email alert service for Supply2.gov.uk.

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.

We hope that we have made Supply2.gov.uk very user friendly, and in order to support your use of this site we have provided online user guides within the help section as well as integrated help functions. If, however, you still have any unanswered questions, we provide a complete support service. Please use the contact form to submit your query or telephone on 0845 270 7085.