Official UK procurement notice
Defence Talent - Pipeline Notice
Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Authority is exploring options for the future support to the delivery of its recruitment and talent-related services. The future service is intended to support flexible, specialist and often lower volume recruitment and talent requirements across Defence
CPV: Administration software package · Database software package · Employee relocation services · Enterprise resource planning software package · Job search services · Maintenance of information technology software · Programming services of systems and user software · Software supply services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Ministry of Defence buys Software-related services (CPV 7226), and who usually turns up
Ministry of Defence’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Software-related services (CPV 7226) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in South East England (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside South East England.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 41 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid63% / 14%
2–327% / 43%
4–610% / 29%
7+0% / 14%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate62% / 40%
Within ±2%22% / 60%
Above estimate16% / 0%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7226Estimate not published
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 80 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid8%
2–329%
4–629%
7+35%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 1 Sept 2026, 13:35 BST
- Last source update
- 18 Sept 2026, 13:16 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-088682- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ef8bFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
1 Sept 2026 → 20 Apr 2027 · 5 dates- Planning notice published49 days ago1 Sept 2026, 13:35 BST
- Latest notice published32 days ago18 Sept 2026, 13:16 BST
- Market engagement13 days ago7 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
The Authority is holding a pre market engagement event on Wednesday 23rd September 2026, this will be conducted on Microsoft Teams. If you would like to attend this event please contact [email protected] by Monday 21st September 2026.
The Authority is no longer conducting bi-lateral sessions. Following Pre-Market Engagement on 23rd Sept, suppliers may submit questions in writing to [email protected]. The deadline for submitting questions is close of business (1700) on Fri 25 Sept '26. The Authority will strive to respond to questions by close of business on Tues 29 Sept '26. The Authority shall have the right at its sole option to refrain from answering questions that it considers are looking for guidance on a supplier's bid compilation. All questions and answers considered to be pertinent guidance required for all suppliers submitting responses to the RFI may at the Authority's sole option be shared with all suppliers. The Authority may use all questions and answers submitted to further refine the ITT, but shall not divulge information that it considers to be unique to a supplier's prospective solution. If a supplier considers its question to be commercially confidential, please state this in bold at the beginning of your e-mail; if the Authority disagrees, the supplier will have the opportunity to withdraw the question and will not get a response.
The Authority is also asking for Requests For Information (RFI's) these must be returned by Wednesday 7th October.
A Draft Statement of Requirements and the Request for Information document can be found within the opportunity listing at the link below.
- Today20 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 30 days18 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 181 days20 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 1 Sept 2026- Pipeline notice published1 Sept 2026, 13:35 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published1 Sept 2026, 14:03 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published18 Sept 2026, 13:11 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published18 Sept 2026, 13:16 BSTUK2
Published amendments (2)
Change to the engagement description. removal of reference to bi-lateral sessions and inclusion of clarifiaction questions
Change to the engagement description. removal of reference to bi-lateral sessions and inclusion of clarifiaction questions
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2026-09: 1 release · 1 Sept 2026
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender