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Worcester City Council Preliminary Market Engagement Exercise for Memorial Calligraphy Services (Physical & Digital Book of Remembrance).

Buyer: Worcester City Council →

BuyerWorcester City Council
Statusplanning
DeadlineNot published
Value£10,000
Published9 Apr 2026

What is being bought

Worcester City Council is undertaking a Preliminary Market Engagement Exercise (PME) to support its Bereavement Services in understanding the current market for Memorial Calligraphy Services, including physical Books of Remembrance and associated digital or online formats. The purpose of this engagement is to gather information from suitably experienced and qualified organisations regarding service capability, delivery models, digitisation options, pricing structures, quality assurance arrangements and turnaround times. The information obtained will help inform internal planning, budget setting and any potential future procurement approach. Interested organisations are invited to review the Specification set out in Appendix 1 of the PME documentation and to complete the Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire contained within Appendix 2. This exercise is being carried out solely as a market sounding and information gathering activity. It is not an invitation to tender, a call for competition, or a request for expressions of interest. Participation in the PME will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in relation to any future procurement process. The Council may use the outcomes of this PME to shape the scope, specification and procurement strategy of any subsequent procurement exercise. In accordance with sections 16 and 17 of the Procurement Act 2023, the Council reserves the right, subject to internal governance and where legally justified, to consider appropriate procurement routes should the market be extremely limited. All communication in relation to this PME must take place via the messaging facility on the Council’s procurement portal. Please see separate document on the portal The Council is using the e-procurement portal known as the Proactis Pro-Contract portal https://procontract.due-north.com to conduct this procurement exercise. To gain access to the procurement documents, bidders will need to register their company details at the above website. Once registered, bidders will be emailed a log-in and password, allowing them to gain access to the procurement documents. Bidders will need to search for the invitation under Worcester City Council and then electronically submit an expression of interest and follow the online instructions to view the procurement documents.

Delivery location

UKG12, GB

Categories

Miscellaneous furnishing 39290000Printing and related services 79800000Miscellaneous services 98300000Funeral and related services 98370000

Lot details

Lot 1

No lot description published.

Statusplanning
Contract periodFrom 31 Jul 2026 to 31 Jul 2029
SME suitabilitySuitable for SMEs

What is included

ItemCategoryQuantity
1Funeral and related services, Miscellaneous services, Printing and related services, Miscellaneous furnishingNot published

Comparable-procurement analytics

Benchmarked against retained Find a Tender procedures with CPV division 39. The category anchor is Miscellaneous furnishing (39290000); this is a deliberately broad market comparator. The comparison is shown at several levels rather than pretending one company or region is always the best benchmark.

Comparison setProceduresReported bids per procedureNamed award suppliersPrice evidence
Market: CPV division 398204 median · 44.2 average (227 of 820 with a bid count)5.4 average (242 of 820 with named award suppliers)Not published
Same buyer2Not publishedNot publishedNot published
Delivery region: UKG122Not publishedNot publishedNot published
Similar published value (0.5×–2×)7Not publishedNot publishedNot published

“Reported bids” is an official aggregate, sometimes reported per lot; it is the closest available competition measure. “Named award suppliers” are winners, not all applicants.

Price-outcome signal

Not enough comparable procedures currently publish both a GBP tender value and a usable lowest-valid-bid value to calculate a responsible price-reduction benchmark. Tenderline deliberately does not infer a saving from named award suppliers or from missing award values.

Procurement strategy & market signals

Framework agreementNot published
Dynamic purchasing systemNot published
Competitive procurementNot published
Recurring requirementNot published
Procurement method rationaleNot published
Rationale classificationsNot published
Special regimeNot published
Covered byNot published
Submission policyNot published
Selection criteriaNot published
Risk detailsNot published

Planning & early market engagement

BudgetValue not published
No-engagement rationaleNot published
Planning documents1
Planning milestones1
MilestoneTypeDueStatus
Worcester City Council is undertaking a Preliminary Market Engagement Exercise (PME) to support its Bereavement Services in understanding the current market for Memorial Calligraphy Services, including physical Books of Remembrance and associated digital or online formats. The purpose of this engagement is to gather information from suitably experienced and qualified organisations regarding service capability, delivery models, digitisation options, pricing structures, quality assurance arrangements and turnaround times. The information obtained will help inform internal planning, budget setting and any potential future procurement approach. Interested organisations are invited to review the Specification set out in Appendix 1 of the PME documentation and to complete the Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire contained within Appendix 2. This exercise is being carried out solely as a market sounding and information gathering activity. It is not an invitation to tender, a call for competition, or a request for expressions of interest. Participation in the PME will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in relation to any future procurement process. The Council may use the outcomes of this PME to shape the scope, specification and procurement strategy of any subsequent procurement exercise. In accordance with sections 16 and 17 of the Procurement Act 2023, the Council reserves the right, subject to internal governance and where legally justified, to consider appropriate procurement routes should the market be extremely limited. All communication in relation to this PME must take place via the messaging facility on the Council’s procurement portal. Please see separate document on the portal The Council is using the e-procurement portal known as the Proactis Pro-Contract portal https://procontract.due-north.com to conduct this procurement exercise. To gain access to the procurement documents, bidders will need to register their company details at the above website. Once registered, bidders will be emailed a log-in and password, allowing them to gain access to the procurement documents. Bidders will need to search for the invitation under Worcester City Council and then electronically submit an expression of interest and follow the online instructions to view the procurement documents.engagement7 May 2026scheduled

Related procurements

No linked framework, prior procurement or reprocurement published.

Documents & submission route

Source data inventory

Diagnostic view. “Not published” means this current release does not provide a value.

OCIDocds-h6vhtk-067ed3
Latest release ID032303-2026
Latest release timestampThu Apr 09 2026 10:56:12 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Sourcefind-a-tender
Official notice URLNot published
Tender statusplanning
Procurement methodNot published
Procurement method detailsNot published
Main procurement categoryservices
Above thresholdNo
Legal basis2023/54
Tender period: startNot published
Tender period: endNot published
Expression of interest deadlineNot published
Enquiry deadlineNot published
Award period: startNot published
Award period: endNot published
Submission method detailsNot published
Submission languagesNot published
Electronic catalogue policyNot published
Total tender value£10,000
Tender lots in source1
Tender items in source1
Tender documents in source0
Awards in latest release0
Contracts in latest release0
Parties in latest release1

Notice history

DateEventReference
9 Apr 2026planning032303-2026

All source data

Unmodified official OCDS data retained by Tenderline for this procurement process.

Complete current OCDS release JSON
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  "id": "032303-2026",
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  "date": "2026-04-09T11:56:12+01:00",
  "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-067ed3",
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    ],
    "title": "Worcester City Council Preliminary Market Engagement Exercise for Memorial Calligraphy Services (Physical & Digital Book of Remembrance).",
    "value": {
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  "planning": {
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        "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
        "datePublished": "2026-04-09T11:56:12+01:00"
      }
    ],
    "milestones": [
      {
        "id": "engagement",
        "type": "engagement",
        "status": "scheduled",
        "dueDate": "2026-05-07T23:59:59+01:00",
        "description": "Worcester City Council is undertaking a Preliminary Market Engagement Exercise (PME) to support its Bereavement Services in understanding the current market for Memorial Calligraphy Services, including physical Books of Remembrance and associated digital or online formats.\nThe purpose of this engagement is to gather information from suitably experienced and qualified organisations regarding service capability, delivery models, digitisation options, pricing structures, quality assurance arrangements and turnaround times. The information obtained will help inform internal planning, budget setting and any potential future procurement approach.\nInterested organisations are invited to review the Specification set out in Appendix 1 of the PME documentation and to complete the Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire contained within Appendix 2.\nThis exercise is being carried out solely as a market sounding and information gathering activity. It is not an invitation to tender, a call for competition, or a request for expressions of interest. Participation in the PME will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in relation to any future procurement process.\nThe Council may use the outcomes of this PME to shape the scope, specification and procurement strategy of any subsequent procurement exercise. In accordance with sections 16 and 17 of the Procurement Act 2023, the Council reserves the right, subject to internal governance and where legally justified, to consider appropriate procurement routes should the market be extremely limited.\nAll communication in relation to this PME must take place via the messaging facility on the Council’s procurement portal.\nPlease see separate document on the portal \nThe Council is using the e-procurement portal known as the Proactis Pro-Contract portal https://procontract.due-north.com to conduct this procurement exercise.\nTo gain access to the procurement documents, bidders will need to register their company details at the above website. Once registered, bidders will be emailed a log-in and password, allowing them to gain access to the procurement documents. Bidders will need to search for the invitation under Worcester City Council and then electronically submit an expression of interest and follow the online instructions to view the procurement documents."
      }
    ]
  },
  "initiationType": "tender"
}
Complete JSON history (1 releases)
9 Apr 2026 · 032303-2026 · planning
{
  "id": "032303-2026",
  "tag": [
    "planning"
  ],
  "date": "2026-04-09T11:56:12+01:00",
  "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-067ed3",
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          },
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            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Miscellaneous services"
          },
          {
            "id": "79800000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
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            "description": "Miscellaneous furnishing"
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        "description": "Worcester City Council is undertaking a Preliminary Market Engagement Exercise (PME) to support its Bereavement Services in understanding the current market for Memorial Calligraphy Services, including physical Books of Remembrance and associated digital or online formats.\nThe purpose of this engagement is to gather information from suitably experienced and qualified organisations regarding service capability, delivery models, digitisation options, pricing structures, quality assurance arrangements and turnaround times. The information obtained will help inform internal planning, budget setting and any potential future procurement approach.\nInterested organisations are invited to review the Specification set out in Appendix 1 of the PME documentation and to complete the Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire contained within Appendix 2.\nThis exercise is being carried out solely as a market sounding and information gathering activity. It is not an invitation to tender, a call for competition, or a request for expressions of interest. Participation in the PME will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in relation to any future procurement process.\nThe Council may use the outcomes of this PME to shape the scope, specification and procurement strategy of any subsequent procurement exercise. In accordance with sections 16 and 17 of the Procurement Act 2023, the Council reserves the right, subject to internal governance and where legally justified, to consider appropriate procurement routes should the market be extremely limited.\nAll communication in relation to this PME must take place via the messaging facility on the Council’s procurement portal.\nPlease see separate document on the portal \nThe Council is using the e-procurement portal known as the Proactis Pro-Contract portal https://procontract.due-north.com to conduct this procurement exercise.\nTo gain access to the procurement documents, bidders will need to register their company details at the above website. Once registered, bidders will be emailed a log-in and password, allowing them to gain access to the procurement documents. Bidders will need to search for the invitation under Worcester City Council and then electronically submit an expression of interest and follow the online instructions to view the procurement documents."
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}