How to become a supplier - working with the Bank

The tender process stages

The Commercial Division run the Bank’s Tendering processes online through an externally hosted Portal. Once a supplier has registered on the Portal, they will be able to download advertised tender documents, free of charge, for Tenders over the current PA 23 thresholds.

An example of possible tender process stages are:

• Prospective contracts opportunities are advertised on the Supplier Portal and the Central Digital Platform (CDP). Providing the supplier with the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), Invitation to Tender (ITT), Pricing Schedule and Contractual documents for review.
• Suppliers fill out the PSQ and submit it via the Supplier Portal
• The Bank scores the completed PSQs, following a defined and published Selection Criteria 
• Selected Suppliers are invited to respond to the Banks’ Tender, by completing the ITT
• Supplier interviews and presentations are undertaken, if required
• A panel of Bank officers evaluate and score the tenders against set award criteria
• The evaluation panel make a recommendation for the contract to be awarded to a supplier
• The contract is finalised and signed
• The tender result is published on the CDP

These are general guidelines only, the specific process may be slightly different for each contract tendered.

Supplier procurement specific questionnaire

A supplier procurement specific questionnaire (PSQ) is a document suppliers have to complete at the beginning of the tendering process. The PSQ makes sure only suppliers who meet the minimum requirements are invited to submit a tender. 

The PSQ document will give you:

• An overview of the contract, including contract length and value
• An explanation on how the questionnaire will be evaluated
• The deadline by which to return the questionnaire.

To fill in the PSQ, you must answer the following questions:

• Information about your business or organisation
• Previous contracts and experience
• Relevant qualifications and accreditations
• Financial information and accounts
• Health and Safety policies
• Equality policies
• Insurance levels
• Project-specific questions.

The Bank scores all the PSQs against the published pre-set scoring criteria to get a shortlist of suppliers to invite to tender. The Bank also gives feedback on scores to unsuccessful candidates at the end of the tender process.

Invitation to tender

An Invitation to Tender (ITT) is an invitation for a potential supplier to bid on a particular contract.

An example of what an ITT may contain:

• Instructions on how to complete your response
• Criteria against which the tender will be evaluated, for example price and quality
• Certificates to be signed confirming your agreement with our policies and terms
• A specification providing details of the contract requirement
• Contract terms and conditions that will be used between the Bank of England and successful company
• Pricing schedule where you enter prices in a standardised format so they can be compared objectively and fairly with other bids
• Quality or Technical questions.

Advice for preparing your tender

To give your company the best chance of success:

• Read all the instructions carefully, especially on any ‘pass or fail’ questions
• Make sure you are answering the stated question clearly, and unambiguously, as vague or irrelevant answers will not score highly
• Always give an answer, even if this is ‘Not Applicable’, as answers left blank may be scored 0 and may lead to your tender being rejected
• Ask for clarification on anything you are not clear about, even if it is just to confirm your understanding, as early as possible before the clarification question deadline so that the Bank has adequate time to respond and for you to assimilate the additional data received
• Make it clear which questions your answers are referring to
• Be clear and accurate in your pricing, the more detail the better
• Explain any assumptions you have made to reach your price
• Do not include any marketing or publicity materials unless specifically requested, as attachments will not be scored unless they have been specifically referenced in the answer to one of the questions asked
• Be conscious of remaining within any stated response limitations in terms of word or page limits if applicable, as submission elements outside of those limitations may not be scored
• Proof read your submission and double-check you have attached all the documents 
• Allow yourself plenty of time to upload your response to the portal, do not leave it until the last minute. Multiple documents can slow the upload process on, and we cannot accept submissions received after the published deadline
• Ensure you have reviewed the contract and, if there are elements you need to discuss, please ask for clarification before the clarification deadline

If you are unsuccessful, you will be sent feedback on your submission at the end of the Tender process.