The importance of Government procurement portals

Steve O'Hare
6 minutes ago
2 min read

UK Procurement has been undergoing a significant transformation over much of the last decade.

As the country looks to streamline how public money is spent, procurement portals have become central to how tenders are managed and awarded.

For businesses looking to secure government contracts, these platforms are no longer just useful tools – they are essential.

Government procurement portals were designed to offer transparency and consistency and ensure opportunities are accessible to a wide range of businesses.

Decentralise

In the years ahead, as government seeks to decentralise and open up more opportunities regionally (and this is continuing under Labour), these portals will only become more critical. Being able to navigate them effectively can be the difference between winning valuable contracts or being left behind.

I know from experience that these portals can feel daunting and overwhelming for those people in an organisation tasked with dealing with them. It’s not uncommon for businesses to miss out on opportunities simply because they did not fully understand how to use the system properly.

They are not necessarily overly complicated platforms but unless you eat, sleep and breathe them, they can become overwhelming if you don’t work with them every day.

I have been doing lots of work recently explaining to businesses how they work and, crucially, how to get the best out of them. I am asked: ‘what is this’? and ‘how does this work’? all of the time. When I sit down with clients and explain that everyone is in the same boat and asking the same questions, they immediately feel better!

Engage

That’s where SCLO Consulting can make a difference.

Since 2018, we’ve been supporting organisations of all sizes to engage effectively with procurement portals, making the process less intimidating and much more strategic.

We work with clients to help them identify the most relevant opportunities and ensure submissions are compliant and competitive.

Whether you like them or not, government procurement portals are a necessary evil and are here to stay.

Procurement portals

The downside of not getting on board with them is pretty black and white - businesses will simply struggle to get work. If it’s a government contract, there will definitely be a procurement process and if you are uncomfortable with them, it limits your ability to access those type of contract.

If you want to do local authority government work, you have to do it.

Businesses that invest the time and expertise now to understand them will not only win contracts today but will also build the capability needed for long-term success.

SCLO want to help businesses see procurement not as a barrier, but as an opportunity. If your organisation is struggling to get to grips with procurement portals, we’re here to help with that challenge.