Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 11 Sept 2026, 12:03 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Control Software · UK public procurement notice

Authority: UK Atomic Energy Authority (Central government)

GoodsBelow thresholdSME suitable
Planned pipeline value£20,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 16 Nov 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 1 yrends 31 Dec 2027 · starts 31 Dec 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

For this project We have 6 modules. Each module is made up of 3 stages. These stages are (1) an x-y stage, (2) a tilt goniometric stage, and (3) rotational stage. The links to these stages and the control box can be seen in the attached supporting document. The difference between our stages and the COTS stages is that each stage has a different motor to the COTS item (integrated 485 bus-type closed-loop stepper driver, IRS42E-K02, manual available). All modules are controlled via a single controller box. The controller box has power and user instructions from control software (via RS232 to USB cable) as inputs and has six output cables, each connected to one of the modules (RS232 to RS232). Each output cable is limited to 2m length. The cable from the controller connects to the bottom most stage of the module, that is the x-stage. The x-stage is then connected to the y-stage via a RS232 cable. The y-stage is connected to the goniometric stage via a RS232 cable. Finally, the goniometric stage is connected to the rotational stage via a RS232 cable. In this way, a controller with 6 outputs controls 6x4=24 motors. This setup is shown in the diagram and a picture of a single module is also provided on the attached supporting document. The control signal is sent via the control box to the desired module. If the control signal is not for the x-stage, the control signal is passed up the chain, and so on. We need the control software to interface with our existing hardware to control the 6 modules. The solution could interface with the existing control box, or alternatively provide a new controller to interface with the 6 modules. The requirements above are for the software/control of the 6 modules.

CPV: Automation system · Custom software development services · Electronic equipment · Industrial process control equipment · Industry specific software development services · Remote-control equipment

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How UK Atomic Energy Authority buys Programming services of packaged software products (CPV 7221), and who usually turns up

UK Atomic Energy Authority’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Programming services of packaged software products (CPV 7221) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerUK Atomic Energy Authority · division 72
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
i

How often small and medium firms win.

Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.

The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 6 of 14 known-size awards · market: CPV 7221 · South East England, n=59
43%32%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in South East England.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 3 of 12 known-location awards · market: CPV 7221 · South East England, n=59
25%20%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.

How long to a decision?
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 5 decided notices · market: CPV 7221 · UK-wide, n=61
14 days49 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 14 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 8 of 13 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 7221 · South East England, n=89
62%56%

Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.

How many bids did past lots attract?

i

How many bids past lots received.

Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.

Past bids do not predict this tender.

Last 36 months.

This buyer10 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 72
20% had one bid
The market81 lots with bid counts · CPV 7221 · UK-wide
4% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid20% / 4%
Buyer: 2 of 10 lots with published bid counts. Market: 3 of 81 lots with published bid counts.
2–30% / 33%
Buyer: 0 of 10 lots with published bid counts. Market: 27 of 81 lots with published bid counts.
4–630% / 33%
Buyer: 3 of 10 lots with published bid counts. Market: 27 of 81 lots with published bid counts.
7+50% / 30%
Buyer: 5 of 10 lots with published bid counts. Market: 24 of 81 lots with published bid counts.

How did awards compare with estimates?

i

Where winning prices landed against estimates.

Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

This buyer30 lots with estimate and award · all categories
40% below estimate
The market57 lots with estimate and award · CPV 7221 · UK-wide
47% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate40% / 47%
Buyer: 12 of 30 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 27 of 57 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%37% / 33%
Buyer: 11 of 30 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 19 of 57 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate23% / 19%
Buyer: 7 of 30 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 11 of 57 lots with an estimate and award.
2

Assess each lot
i

What past awards tell you about each lot.

See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.

No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 722112 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£20k
Expected competition
i

How many bids this lot may attract.

The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.

Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 87 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet8% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 87 similar lots
1 bid8%
7 of 87 similar past lots received 1 bid (8%).
2–329%
25 of 87 similar past lots received 2–3 (29%).
4–629%
25 of 87 similar past lots received 4–6 (29%).
7+34%
30 of 87 similar past lots received 7+ (34%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 5 bids.
Commercial price forecast
i

Where the award price may land.

The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.

No comparable awards for this lot yet.

A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £20k, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

Who has supplied this buyer on similar work?
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

A past supplier may not bid again.

No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.

Who could compete for this lot?
i

Who could compete for this lot?

Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.

None is confirmed as a bidder.

Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.

About this data
  • Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
  • Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
  • Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
  • Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Goods
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
11 Sept 2026, 12:03 BST
Last source update
11 Sept 2026, 12:03 BST
Authority reference
T/085DB/26
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-086349
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Automation systemCustom software development servicesElectronic equipmentIndustrial process control equipmentIndustry specific software development servicesRemote-control equipment
Delivery area
South East (UKJ14)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f7ea Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

11 Sept 2026 → 31 Dec 2026 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published46 days ago
    11 Sept 2026, 12:03 BST
  2. Market engagement11 days ago
    15 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
  3. Today
    26 Oct 2026
  4. Tender notice expectedin 21 days
    16 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
  5. Contract startsin 65 days
    31 Dec 2026

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    11 Sept 2026, 12:03 BST
    UK2

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

UK Atomic Energy Authority

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PLJV-1169-JTDD Culham Science Centre, Oxfordshire, South East, OX14 3DBContact name, email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure