Current and prospective suppliers need to contact Bedford Borough Council for basic information. General enquiries should be directed to commercial.hub@bedford.gov.uk
Procurement can be defined as the act of obtaining or buying goods.
Devolved procurement structure
The Council operates a devolved procurement function.
Service departments are responsible for day-to-day procurement, including:
- tenders, requests for quotations and sourcing
- raising purchase orders (POs) and resolving invoice queries
- managing contracts and suppliers
The Commercial Hub team regulates procurement. This team also support Service Departments in securing best value from their procurement activity, and will also:
- manage certain corporate contracts
- provide management information on procurement expenditure and contractual commitments
- analyse our procurement activity and identify potential cost and efficiency savings
- manage development of procurement systems to increase efficiency and encourage competition for Council business
Helpful hints for tenders and contracts
- Ensure that you supply all the details asked for.
- Ensure that your submission reaches us by the deadline via our e-tendering portal.
- Study the entire tender document carefully and ensure that you meet all the requirements.
- Use the pre-formatted tender documents we send you, rather than your own as it helps us in our analysis.
- Contact the buyer if you have any queries about any aspects of the tender process.
- Respond promptly to any requests for further information.
- Look at the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) for tender advertisements.
- Your tender is legally binding – you cannot alter your submission once received by the Council.
- Don't expect special treatment – we treat all tenders equally.
- Ask for a debriefing if your bid is unsuccessful.
Further details of our approach to procurement can be viewed at:
Learn more about public procurement and how to bid for public sector contracts by visiting GOV.UK's Sell goods or services to the public sector.