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All Regulated SCTS contract opportunities are advertised and managed through Public contract Scotland (PCS) or Public Contract Scotland Tender (PCS-T). PCS is a national portal provided by the Scottish Government to advertise public sector contract opportunities and is offered free of charge to all suppliers. Once registered suppliers receive email notifications of current and upcoming tenders
A variety of our contracts utilise approved frameworks created and maintained by the Scottish Government, Crown Commercial Services and Scotland Excel.
We would recommend all suppliers attempt to join as many frameworks and DPS as possible in addition to being signed up to receive updates from PCS and PCS-T
Our contract Register can be found here: Buyer Contracts Register - Public Contracts Scotland
If you are invited to tender for one of our projects you will receive a pack of documents containing the following information
Instruction to tender: This contains specific information of key dates and weightings related to the specific tender as well as information outlining the roles and responsibilities. Additionally there will be basic terms and conditions related to the validity of tendering documents.
Specification: This outlines all the specific background knowledge, current situation and requirements for each given project and is key for informing the tender response document to be submitted by suppliers.
Technical Response: This documentation will lay out all the award criteria and weighting associated with each question and will seek to ascertain information from you (the supplier) to outline you proposal and approaches take to meet these requirements.
Pricing Schedule: This document will provide pricing details required by SCTS and the ability for suppliers to outline and provide supplementary information which informs and justifies the pricing.
Terms and conditions: This schedule will contain the terms which govern the contract, these terms can often be bespoke and vary from project to project. Where suitable SCTS Standard terms and conditions will be utilised and can be found here: Procurement Terms and Conditions
This is a guide to our process and is not applicable to all projects.
Using existing governmental frameworks and internal research SCTS will engage with suppliers known in this area to identify potential solution which help build the specifications sent to suppliers.
PIN- (Prior information Notices) this is issued by SCTS as a way to reach out to the market and judge the interest in the project. This is an opportunity for suppliers to engage with SCTS and show alternative options not previously considered.
Pre-Market webinars: working alongside stakeholders we host information sessions about the project to gauge market interest and information to help formulate the tender for the best results. This is an opportunity for suppliers to make themselves known to SCTS as well as asking questions which will be informative to formulate the bid.
Internal process
Once research is conducted and information gained from the market SCTS will develop the documents outlined in the Tender Documents Section.
Release the Tender to the Market
Upon completion of the tender documents they are collated and released on PCS or PCS-T ( if PCS-T is used a contract notice will also be issued on PCS to inform all suppliers). All suppliers registered will have access to download and review the documentation and have the option to upload the completed bid by the deadline.
During this process of usually 30 days, suppliers will be able to ask questions and engage in bidders forums, giving suppliers the opportunity to meet and engage with project members and the procurement department.
Evaluation
After 30 days the tender will be closed and all bids received will be collected by the procurement department. This will then be distributed internally. Once all stakeholders have finished scoring a consensus meeting will take place to finalise the technical scoring. Once the technical scoring has been decided stakeholders will be shown the commercials.
If any member of the Tender Evaluation Team (TEP) have any clarifications question a meeting will be arranged with suppliers and once this has concluded, both technical and commercial scores will be added together to decide the MEAT ( Most Economically Advantageous Tender).
Awarding
Once the MEAT has been decided an internal report CARR (Contract Award Recommendation Report) will be submitted for review by a senior member of the project team and the internal organisation and a contract award will be issued to the successful supplier. Upon completion an implementation meeting will take place to start the contract.