The Procurement Act 2023 is going live in a matter of days, but some changes that are worth going over during your final prep. For instance, some suppliers are hazy on procurement scoring and how the new Act affects bid evaluation and assessment.
In this post, we’ll look at how some of the key changes, like the emphasis on value, will impact suppliers’ procurement planning and buyers’ tender evaluation process.
Let’s start with one of the most talked about changes.
Transitioning from MEAT to MAT
MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender) is part of the current regulations. It emphasises price in the evaluation process. Provided the tender meets the contract’s requirements, the lowest price wins.
To be fair, the current regime does include social value, there is the Social Value Contract 2012, after all. But it’s not really mandatory and doesn’t necessarily contribute to suppliers’ overall score.
MAT (Most Advantageous Tender), on the other hand, emphasises social value in the contract award decision. It’s mandatory and carries a 10% weighting in tender evaluation and scoring.
The transition is important because it opens a door for SMEs and new businesses that want to compete in the public procurement market. These business enterprises, including charitable organisations, can’t compete in a price race but can deliver as much value as larger enterprises. In many cases, they are successful because they provide more value than their larger counterparts.
Now, let’s look at the key differences between the two tender evaluation methods.
MEAT vs. MAT
A quick comparison between MEAT and MAT shows the difference in the evaluation criteria used in the tender process.
| Feature | MEAT | MAT |
| Focus Weighting Compliance Supplier impact | Emphasises price and quality Heavily price-driven EU-driven Competitive on cost
| Broader value considerations Social value, sustainability, and innovation
UK-specific regulations Competitive on value |
MAT is clearly less prescriptive, taking an almost global view of the procurement process’s role in sustainable societies and a sustainable environment. In fact, it’s worth noting that the transition from MEAT to MAT is similar to the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Government Procurement, which requires public contracts to be awarded to the most advantageous tenders (MAT) unless price is the only award criteria.
MAT’s Impact on Public Sector Buyers
MAT has a significant impact on buyers as well as suppliers, meaning buyers must adjust their evaluation process to comply with the new Act’s core principles.
One of the benefits for contracting authorities is greater freedom to identify the factors they think provide the best value for money.
There’s also the new ability to change contract requirements after the procurement process has begun. Buyers can adjust tender requirements, conditions of participation, and award criteria but only in certain circumstances.
In open procedures, changes are allowed before the tender submission deadline.
In competitive flexible procedures, changes are allowed before the deadline for submitting a request to participate in the procedure or in legalese “where there has been no invitation to submit such requests, prior to the deadline for submitting a first or only tender.”
The drop from five competitive tendering procedures to two is another great benefit for buyers and suppliers. It simplifies procurement processes and gives contracting authorities the leeway to design tender processes to suit specific contracts (provided contracts are still awarded according to the new Act’s core principles).
Customised procedures can include any combination of the following:
- Early engagement via events, especially meet-and-greet events for interested suppliers.
- Enhanced due diligence by buyers and suppliers
- Invitation for draft tenders or tender outlines
- Supplier demonstrations
- Supplier presentations
- Dialogue or pre-tender negotiation
- eAuctions
- Post-tender negotiation
Adjust Procurement Strategies
Contracting authorities have to take special consideration of SMEs when drafting their contract. According to the Act, they must consider barriers that block SMEs from joining the competition. They must be proactive and figure out how they can help remove the barriers, so SMEs can more easily access contracts and frameworks.
Buyers must also come to terms with the increased number of notices or notifications they must publish.
For instance, an assessment summary. This admin-intensive task provides an assessment summary to all participating bidders. It includes evaluation scores for all the award criteria and the reasons for the scores.
Additional notices include Pipeline Notices, Planned Procurement Notices (PPNs), Preliminary Market Engagement Notices, and KPIs.
Procurement Scoring
Contracting authorities must go over their scoring criteria to ensure they comply with the new procurement regulations. This includes clearly stating the contract’s requirements and the value or weight assigned to each of the criteria. For instance, innovation could have more value to you than delivery. You could give innovation a weighting of 25% and delivery only 7%.
This is by no means universal, but one of the most commonly used scoring methods is the simple 0 – 5-point scale.
0: Does not meet requirements
1: Poor (well-below requirements)
2: Fair (meets some requirements but not others)
3: Good (meets requirements – nothing special)
4: Very good (goes above and beyond in some areas)
5: Excellent (value so great it leaves the requirements in the dust)
Contract Evaluation Model
An evaluation model helps contracting authorities assign weight to contract award criteria. It’s not always a simple process, especially when there are a lot of stakeholders with different priorities and strategic aims. It’s up to the buyer to find a balance that satisfies (or placates) all parties.
The model kicks off with identifying organisational aims and the aims of specific contract. Relevant stakeholders provide input that helps assign weight to each requirement. If a couple of suppliers are neck and neck in the procurement race and it’s tricky to choose one over the other, increase the weighting of social value.
This emphasises the importance of social value for suppliers. In a dead heat, buyers look to MAT for the solution. If your social value outweighs the competition, you could very well walk away with the contract.
A note for buyers: Whatever procurement scoring model you use, you must include details in the tender documents you supply when publishing a contract notice.
Compliance and Transparency in Tender Evaluation
The new Act is all for increasing transparency in the procurement process, most of which comes from the contract-related notices mentioned above. Now, we’ll take a closer look at some of the key notices.
Pipeline Notice: For contracting authorities that spend more than £100 million per financial year. Suppliers can see your planned procurements (valued over £2 million) and prepare for the tenders relevant to their services.
Preliminary Market Engagement Notices: These are published before the actual tender notice, again giving suppliers time to prepare. It opens the way for dialogue and engagement between all parties.
Planned Procurement Notices (PPNs): One can never be too well prepared, apparently, as this is another opportunity for buyers to alert suppliers to upcoming tenders, giving them time to prepare knock-out bid proposals.
Spend Data: According to the Procurement Act, contracting authorities must publish notices when they make payments of £30,000 and above on any contract. This actually provides a lot of insight as suppliers can see who the current supplier is and will get a better idea of what the contract is worth – is it worth their time?
The Act demands compliance with these regulations and a host of others. Non-compliance can result in financial penalties, legal action, and even debarment from the supplier list.
How Suppliers Can Increase Their Evaluation Scores
Suppliers must adjust their procurement strategies to optimise the opportunities contained in the Act. For instance, SMEs can join forces and bid on large contracts as a consortium. Combined, they meet all the contract’s requirements, while each still specialises in their particular area.
This is all well and good, but there’s still the matter of added value. Suppliers have a choice, they can focus on innovation to enhance their operations and improve quality and productivity, indirectly saving contracting authorities money, or they can focus on innovation to enhance their products or services and directly impact buyers by improving quality and productivity. Or, they can choose to focus on social value and sustainability.
The decision is obviously based on your strengths, but it’s also based on the buyer’s priorities. The scoring methodology provides insight into the contracting authority’s priorities. If technology-related requirements rank highly in the evaluation model, you might want to look at product development and push the technology up a level.
If buyers prioritise sustainability-related requirements, you might want to consider the environmental pillar of social value, especially if you can contribute to Net Zero goals.
Delta eSourcing Supports Buyers and Suppliers
Delta eSourcing is something of a pioneer in online procurement platforms. We continue to lead the way with our continuously evolving range of services for both sides of the procurement process.
For example:
- We have tools that help buyers create tenders that are MAT and Procurement Act compliant.
- Suppliers can use our tools to structure bids that meet contract requirements and improve their evaluation scores using MAT as a basis.
- Many features, including Training and Consultancy, and the resources in our Engagement Zone, provide insight into how our eSourcing platform improves transparency and efficiency across the board.
- Expert staff are available to help buyers and suppliers with the transition from MEAT to MAT.
Book a free demo to find out more about the new Procurement Act, including the switch in approaches, or explore the site to decide which of our solutions best suits you.
