We’re counting down to the Procurement Act: Central Digital Platform unveiled

It’s really happening! The Procurement Act 2023 is all set to come into force on 24 February 2025, and everyone is gearing up. The latest exciting development is the introduction of the new Central Digital Platform. It’s going to be accessible via the existing Find a Tender URL, but suppliers and authorities will need to re-register on the system to access it.

The Government Commercial Function has issued a number of guides and walkthrough videos to show authorities and suppliers how the new platform will look and feel:

How to use the platform

Buyers and Suppliers: How to use the central digital platform, the enhanced Find a Tender service.

This guide is aimed at both suppliers and contracting authorities and looks in detail at three of the notices that will be published, namely the pipeline notice, the tender notice, and the contract award notice. It also explains how to search for opportunities and set up alerts.

Registration is essential for suppliers as the Act prohibits awarding public contracts to suppliers not registered in the system. Suppliers can register from 24 February and will find the guidance issued last week by the Government Commercial Function of particular use. It is worth a read before trying to register – you can access the guidance here:

Suppliers: How to register your organisation and first administrator on Find a Tender in three easy steps.

Suppliers: detailed walkthrough – how an administrator completes and updates supplier information.

The final piece of guidance issued by the Government Commercial Function is Contracting authorities: An overview of the central digital platform, the enhanced Find a Tender service, and this guides contracting authorities through the features available to their users. It includes a step-by-step guide on how to create new notices, as well as information on viewing and editing existing notices.

As a reminder, the Central Digital Platform will be an online portal where contracting authorities will advertise procurement opportunities, interested suppliers will be able to upload their details in order to participate in procurement processes, and contracting authorities will publish all notices and other information relating to the procurement lifecycle. The new platform is an enhancement of the existing Find a Tender service, and the Government Commercial Function guidance explains how to register for and use it, including helpful videos.

Get in touch

We will be publishing more insight into the Procurement Act 2023 and what it means for you in the upcoming weeks. Sign up to our mailing list to receive more updates. 

If you'd like to talk through any of the changes and how they might impact you, speak to Alison Walton, head of procurement on [email protected] or call 0191 211 7829