Official UK procurement notice
Self Serve Project (N.B name may be subject to future change)
Authority: Government Commercial Agency (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionGCA is looking to procure a solution which will enable users to complete elements of their procurement journey with increased efficiencies and less complexity.
The areas considered for this phase of the initiative focuses on a customer easily raising and refining a requirement, being routed to the most appropriate buying channel and then developing the relevant procurement documentation but reducing the manual effort currently associated with doing so.
The overall aim is to improve customer experience and help them make more informed and compliant decisions earlier in the procurement journey. This should encourage the uptake of GCA products, too.
Example outcomes of this solution include:
- Understanding buyer needs
- Recommending appropriate procurement routes
- Supporting the creation of procurement documentation
- Embedding compliance and policy guidance
- Generating structured procurement data
This solution needs to seamlessly integrate with the wider GCA digital ecosystem and align with government digital, security, accessibility and data governance standards (GDS, WCAG 2.2)
Solution design is flexible, the aim is to maintain a coherent customer journey regardless of which process stages across it are affected or improved by this initiative.
This notice and the upcoming market engagement exercise seeks supplier feedback on existing market capabilities, delivery approaches, commercial models, and other key considerations such as the maturity of technology available today.
Update - The core objective remains the automation of the initial stages of the procurement journey through a digital solution, including guiding customers to the correct commercial agreement to meet their needs and guided bid pack document assembly. We would like to formally thank the suppliers who participated in our earlier engagement sessions; your insights were instrumental in refining the procurement strategy and aligning it with market capabilities.
Due to the integrated nature of the requirements, the GCA encourages interested suppliers to begin internal evaluations regarding their delivery and supply chain models.
CPV: Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security · IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages · Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment · Repair, maintenance and associated services related to personal computers, office equipment, telecommunications and audio-visual equipment · Software package and information systems
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Planned
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Government Commercial Agency runs Repair, maintenance and associated services related to personal computers, office equipment, telecommunications and audio-visual equipment (CPV 5030) tenders for its clients, and who usually turns up
Government Commercial Agency procures on behalf of other bodies; its record below covers every client it has tendered for, 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: Repair, maintenance and associated services related to personal computers, office equipment, telecommunications and audio-visual equipment (CPV 5030) →
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 North West England (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address 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 138 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 bid11%
2–335%
4–621%
7+33%
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 estimate17%
Within ±2%70%
Above estimate13%
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 5030Estimate 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 131 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid11%
2–335%
4–621%
7+33%
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
- 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
- 19 Dec 2025, 14:45 GMT
- Last source update
- 5 May 2026, 09:57 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-040848- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05fa88Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
19 Dec 2025 → 1 Apr 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published305 days ago19 Dec 2025, 14:45 GMT
- Market engagement263 days ago30 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
Invitation to Participate: Market Engagement for the GCA Self-Serve Project GCA is initiating a crucial Market Engagement process to define and shape the commercial requirements for the Self-Serve Project.
The purpose of this exercise is to seek supplier feedback on:
- Existing market capabilities
- Delivery approaches
- Commercial models
- The maturity of technology available today
Your active supplier participation is essential to ensure that the upcoming procurement is optimally aligned with current market capabilities and harnesses the latest innovations.
How to Participate and Register Interest
To receive the comprehensive Market Engagement Pack and formally participate in this exercise, your organisation must formally register its interest by following the process below.
The Market Engagement Pack will include:
- A detailed Briefing Note
- A Questionnaire for structured feedback
PLEASE NOTE: The contract dates provided are indicative and intended for the purposes of this market engagement notice only. GCA anticipates defining a finalised contract term following the conclusion of the market engagement period.
Registration Process:
Please formally express your interest through this link, the address will need to be copies and pasted into your browser:
crowncommercial.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2toA7SOa… ↗
Key Activity Timeline
Suppliers can register for market engagement through the above link.
Date: 08/01/2026
Activity: Webinar Briefing Event
Details: Held via webinar. This will provide the context of the opportunity and will allow suppliers to ask questions (supplementing the clarification process which will open immediately after the event). Registered suppliers are automatically invited via the contact details shared on the EOI. Following this, suppliers will be sent the Market Engagement pack
Date: 19/01/2026
Activity: ME Pack Registration Deadline
Details: Final day to register interest and receive the Market Engagement Pack
Date: 20/01/2026
Activity: Clarification question deadline
Details: Final day to submit any clarification questions on the questionnaire.
Date: 26/01/2026
Activity: GCA response to clarification questions
Details: GCA deadline to respond to outstanding clarification questions.
Date: 30/01/2026
Activity: Market Engagement Closes
Details: Deadline for submitting completed supplier questionnaire responses.
Date: February 2026
Activity: GCA review all submitted supplier responses.
GCA may also wish to hold 1:1 sessions, which may include demonstrations with suggested offerings, with selected suppliers to clarify points raised. All questions and answers will be shared on an anonymised basis as part of any future procurement.
Your timely registration and valuable commercial and technical input are instrumental to the successful development of our future commercial strategies for this pivotal project.
Update - The Government Commercial Authority (GCA) has concluded its preliminary market engagement and finalised the route to market. This procurement will be conducted via GCA Commercial Agreement RM6190 Technology Services 4 (TS4), specifically Lot 6.
Indicative Timescales: GCA expects to issue a 'Request to Participate' to TS4 Lot 6 suppliers at the end of Q1 26/27.
- Latest notice published168 days ago5 May 2026, 09:57 BST
- Today20 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 162 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 19 Dec 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published19 Dec 2025, 14:45 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published5 May 2026, 09:57 BSTUK2
Published amendments (1)
The Government Commercial Authority (GCA) has concluded its preliminary market engagement and finalised the route to market. This procurement will be conducted via GCA Commercial Agreement RM6190 Technology Services 4 (TS4), specifically Lot 6.
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 (2)
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