Official UK procurement notice
Purchase of Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) Instrument
Authority: Scottish Government (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Scottish Ministers, Marine Directorate invites tenders for the purchase of a Temperature, Conductivity and Depth (CTD) instrument with associated oceanographic sensors.
CPV: Hydrographic instruments · Surveying instruments · Surveying, hydrographic, oceanographic and hydrological instruments and appliances
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1The Scottish Ministers wish for the provision of a CTD instrument and associated…
The Scottish Ministers wish for the provision of a CTD instrument and associated sensors for the accurate measurement of the characteristics of sea water for environmental monitoring to quantify and understand trends and variability in Scottish waters, as a result of natural variability and human activities, including climate change. The equipment will be primarily used by the Oceanography delivery area but also potentially by colleagues in other areas (fisheries, marine renewables, aquaculture, nature conservation) who require a good understanding of the physical environment.
What 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).
Published sub-criteria (6)
- Technical Solution & Delivery: 60
- Key Staff & Organisational Experience: 15
- Contract Management & Quality Assurance: 15
- Fair Work First: 5
- price: 30
- Corporate & Social Responsibilities: 5
Published award criteria (6)
- Technical Solution & Delivery: 60
- Key Staff & Organisational Experience: 15
- Contract Management & Quality Assurance: 15
- Corporate & Social Responsibilities: 5
- Fair Work First: 5
- Price: 30
- Economic & financial standing
a) A review of the minimum specific yearly turnover over last two years.
b) Appropriate insurance levels as stipulated in 4B.5.
c) Demonstration of a Current Ratio of greater than 0.8.
d) A Net Profit greater than zero within the two year cycle.
Minimum: 4B2a: Bidders will be required to have a minimum "specific" yearly turnover of 250,000 GBP for the last two years. In the event that the Bidder does not comply with this requirement, they will not be considered any further in this tendering exercise. As evidence for the SPD (Scot… - Technical & professional ability
a) Recent examples demonstrating relevant experience to deliver goods or services.
b) Details of staffing resources and facilities available.
c) Details of technical facilities.
d) Environmental Management
e) Technical equipment, tools and plant
f) Subcontracting.
Minimum: 4C1.2: Bidders will be required to provide three examples over the last five years that demonstrate that they have the relevant experience to deliver the services/supplies as described in the Contract Notice or the relevant section of the site notice. 4C2.1: Bidders will be requi…
- Staff
- Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted
- Price carries 30 of 130 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £300,000 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Scottish Government runs Surveying, hydrographic, oceanographic and hydrological instruments and appliances (CPV 3829) tenders for its clients, and who usually turns up
Scottish Government buys for other bodies; its column covers all its clients. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Surveying, hydrographic, oceanographic and hydrological instruments and appliances (CPV 3829) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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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.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
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How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 36 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 bid33% / 20%
2–332% / 60%
4–619% / 20%
7+15% / 0%
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 estimate48% / 60%
Within ±2%40% / 0%
Above estimate12% / 40%
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 #1The Scottish Ministers wish for the provision of a CTD instrument and associated…CPV 3829Published estimate£150k
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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 47 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid28%
2–340%
4–621%
7+11%
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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 · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 29 Oct 2026, 10:37 GMT
- Last source update
- 29 Oct 2026, 10:37 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- 30 Nov 2026 – …
- Authority reference
CASE/693111- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-102453- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-079328Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- electronic ordering · electronic payment
Publisher note: SPD will be scored on a pass/fail basis. Question scoring methodology for Award Criteria outlined in Invitation to Tender. 0 - Unacceptable. Nil or inadequate response. Fails to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement. 1 - Poor. Response is partially relevant but generally poor. The response addresses some elements of the requirement but contains insufficient/limited detail or explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be fulfilled. 2 - Acceptable. Response is relevant and acceptable. The response addresses a broad understanding of the requirement but may lack details on how the requirement will be fulfilled in certain areas. 3 - Good. Response is relevant and good. The response is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good understanding and provides details on how the requirements will be fulfilled. 4 - Excellent. Response is completely relevant and excellent overall. The response is comprehensive, unambiguous and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the requirement and provides details of how the requirement will be met in full. NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Public Contracts Scotland Web Site at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=538689. The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx. Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems. NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Public Contracts Scotland Web Site at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=846993. The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx. Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems. (SC Ref:846993) Download the ESPD document here: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/ESPD/ESPD_Download.aspx?id=846993
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Public Contracts Scotland- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 30 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- —
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 180 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 30 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
Timeline
29 Oct 2026 → 6 Jan 2027 · 4 dates- Notice published13h ago29 Oct 2026, 10:37 GMT
- Today29 Oct 2026
- Submission deadlinein 31 days30 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Bids openedin 31 days30 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 68 days6 Jan 2027
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Sheriff Court HouseReview body
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice; the tender pack is on the portal.