Official UK procurement notice
Print Services Framework · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Transport for Greater Manchester (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionTransport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is seeking to establish a multi-supplier framework for the provision of print services to support a wide range of operational and customer-facing requirements across the organisation.
TfGM is responsible for delivering the Bee Network - an integrated, accessible and customer-focused transport system for Greater Manchester. As part of this, we produce a high volume and wide variety of printed materials that support passengers, promote services, and enable the effective operation of the network. This procurement is intended to ensure that these materials are delivered consistently, efficiently and to a high standard, while enabling TfGM to work with a range of suppliers, including local providers, where appropriate.
The TfGM Design Studio operates as an in-house creative and production service, responsible for the development and delivery of campaigns, passenger communications and branded materials across the Bee Network. The Studio plays a key role in ensuring brand consistency, quality and value for money, working closely with internal stakeholders and external suppliers to deliver work at pace and scale.
Through this framework, TfGM is seeking to appoint multiple suppliers to deliver print production services across three core areas:
- Small and large format print, ranging from low-volume, ad hoc jobs to high-volume production runs
- Exhibition print and production, from small portable assets through to large-scale installations (including installation where required)
- Bus timetable and passenger information materials, requiring accuracy, durability and consistency across the network
The framework will primarily cover print production and fulfilment. While design services are not in scope, suppliers will be expected to work closely with the TfGM Design Studio to ensure that final outputs meet specifications and brand standards.
TfGM requires suppliers who can demonstrate:
- High-quality print production across a range of formats and materials
- Flexibility and responsiveness to varying volumes and turnaround times
- Competitive pricing and value for money
- Sustainable print practices and materials where possible
- The ability to support efficient ordering processes, with on-demand or digital ordering solutions considered advantageous
This framework aims to create a flexible and reliable supplier base capable of supporting both day-to-day operational needs and larger programmes of work as the Bee Network continues to evolve.
CPV: Miscellaneous printed matter · Printed books, brochures and leaflets
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 3 yrs · up to 4 yrs from 1 May 2027
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- “Print Services Framework” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Transport for Greater Manchester buys Printed books, brochures and leaflets (CPV 2210), and who usually turns up
Transport for Greater Manchester’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Printed books, brochures and leaflets (CPV 2210) →
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 the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in North West 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 223 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.
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.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
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 bid0% / 9%
2–310% / 43%
4–615% / 33%
7+75% / 15%
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.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.
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 #1Published estimate£1.5m
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 86 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid9%
2–343%
4–633%
7+15%
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- 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
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 14 Jul 2026, 09:39 BST
- Last source update
- 14 Jul 2026, 09:39 BST
- Authority reference
DN820753- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-065942- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ca60Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
14 Jul 2026 → 1 May 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published100 days ago14 Jul 2026, 09:39 BST
- Market engagement21 days ago30 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
Suppliers are invited to register their Expression of Interest via the ProContract procurement portal using the following link: procontract.due-north.com/Register ↗
Upon registration please register your interest on project reference DN820753 for an automatic invite to tender.
Please be advised this is not a call to competition and tender documents will be published in due course.
- Tender notice expected20 days ago1 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 191 days1 May 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published14 Jul 2026, 09:39 BSTUK2
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 (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender