Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 11 Jun 2026, 10:53 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Irradiation indicator labels · UK public procurement notice

Authority: NHS Blood and Transplant (Central government)

GoodsAbove threshold
Sectors: Medical Devices & Pharma (33) Delivery: Delivery location not published
Planned pipeline value£581,970pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 2 Sept 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 4 yrsends 1 Feb 2031 · up to 1 Feb 2034 with extensions · starts 1 Feb 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Supply of Irradiation indicator labels

CPV: Medical consumables

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 4 yrs
Contract period: 1 Feb 2027 – 1 Feb 2031 (4 yrs) · up to 1 Feb 2034 with extensions
Extensions: Extension options published

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How NHS Blood and Transplant buys Medical consumables (CPV 3314), and who usually turns up

NHS Blood and Transplant’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: Medical consumables (CPV 3314) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerNHS Blood and Transplant · division 33
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 5 of 10 known-size awards · market: CPV 3314 · South West England (authority’s region), n=20
50%30%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
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 West England (authority’s region).

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 2 of 5 known-location awards · market: CPV 3314 · South West England (authority’s region), n=25
40%12%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside South West England.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 6 decided notices · market: CPV 3314 · UK-wide, n=12
17 days88 days

Half of these awards were announced within 17 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: exactly 10 of 15 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 3314 · South West England (authority’s region), n=39
67%77%

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer10 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 33
50% had one bid
The market47 lots with bid counts · CPV 3314 · UK-wide
11% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid50% / 11%
Buyer: 5 of 10 lots with published bid counts. Market: 5 of 47 lots with published bid counts.
2–340% / 17%
Buyer: 4 of 10 lots with published bid counts. Market: 8 of 47 lots with published bid counts.
4–610% / 23%
Buyer: 1 of 10 lots with published bid counts. Market: 11 of 47 lots with published bid counts.
7+0% / 49%
Buyer: 0 of 10 lots with published bid counts. Market: 23 of 47 lots with published bid counts.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer13 lots with estimate and award · all categories
46% below estimate
The market19 lots with estimate and award · CPV 3314 · UK-wide
53% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate46% / 53%
Buyer: 6 of 13 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 10 of 19 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%23% / 26%
Buyer: 3 of 13 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 5 of 19 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate31% / 21%
Buyer: 4 of 13 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 4 of 19 lots with an estimate and award.
2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 331448 monthsPublished estimate£582k
Expected competition
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 22 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet18% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 22 similar lots
1 bid18%
4 of 22 similar past lots received 1 bid (18%).
2–373%
16 of 22 similar past lots received 2–3 (73%).
4–69%
2 of 22 similar past lots received 4–6 (9%).
7+0%
0 of 22 similar past lots received 7+ (0%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 2 bids.
Commercial price forecast
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.

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £582k, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

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.

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.

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
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Goods
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
11 Jun 2026, 10:53 BST
Last source update
11 Jun 2026, 10:53 BST
Authority reference
C452285
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-055060
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Medical consumables
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06b28d Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

11 Jun 2026 → 1 Feb 2027 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published134 days ago
    11 Jun 2026, 10:53 BST
  2. Market engagement97 days ago
    17 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST

    Supply of Irradiation Indicator LabelsNHSBT would like to consult the market to improve our knowledge of all current offers for the provision of Irradiation Indicator labels to both NHSBT and partner UK blood services. The requirement will include a supply of labels designed to confirm exposure to both Gamma and X Ray radiation sources. Please note this is NOT the start of a procurement process. A separate contract notice will be published to cover this requirement.

    Prior to commencing the formal procurement process, and to help inform our strategy, NHSBT would like to consult the market to improve our knowledge of all current offers available in the market place, identify further opportunities and potential issues, as well as gauge market interest in the proposed service.

    NHSBT is seeking to engage with suppliers on the market who can provide a solution compliant with requirements as set out below:

    • The primary requirement is for the label to positively inform either through colour change or an alternative technology solution that exposure to either a Gamma or X Ray source operating at a range of 25Gy to 50Gy has been received.
    • The label activation must be verifiable by the human eye and able to be interpreted without any additional instrumentation or processes.
    • The NHSBT requirement approximates delivery in the region of 360,000 indicator labels per year to 13 sites. These numbers are indicative. More precise figures including the breakdown of Gamma to X Ray will be advised.
    • Label adhesive must be tested and approved for medical application.

    NHSBT will consider either a single label solution which informs on exposure to either an X Ray or Gamma source, or a separate label solution where sites receive specific labels dependent of the type of irradiator in use. The label must clearly indicate the dose type it is manufactured to report.

    Prospective suppliers will be invited to an engagement in June/July (Teams) where the requirements can be discussed further. Information gained from this exercise will be used to inform production of a detailed specification. Interested organisations are requested to send an expression of interest to Sahithi Bandi [email protected] via email to by no later than 17:00 hrs (GMT) on 10th July 2026.

    If you do not respond by this date you aren’t excluded from taking part in the forthcoming tender, this date is to allow for supplier engagement to be organised.

    Further information (e.g. the draft technical specification, award criteria, timescales etc) may be released, for consultation purposes only, to organisations who express an interest.

    Please note that all details are subject to change.

  3. Tender notice expected50 days ago
    2 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
  4. Today
    22 Oct 2026
  5. Contract startsin 101 days
    1 Feb 2027

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    11 Jun 2026, 10:53 BST
    UK2

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

NHS Blood and Transplant

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PDBY-6395-VWBP 500 North Bristol Park, Bristol, South West, BS34 7QHContact name, email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure