Official UK procurement notice
Switch Architecture Refresh · UK public procurement notice
Authority: BMet College (Education)
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionYou are invited to submit a Tender for the provision of a Network Switch Refresh for Birmingham Metropolitan College.
The contract relates solely to the supply, support, implementation and maintenance of the switch infrastructure equipment and services detailed within this Invitation to Tender and associated pricing schedule.
The proposed solution must be based solely upon the HPE Aruba equipment specified within this Tender documentation. Alternative manufacturers, substitute products, equivalent solutions, refurbished equipment, reconditioned equipment, or equipment from any other vendor will not be considered under any circumstances.
CPV: Networks
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · all with a published value (£745,562 together) · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Switch HardwarePublished value£600,060
Lot #2Support ArrangementsPublished value£145,502
support Arrangements - See excel workbook and ITT
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (3)
- Added Value: 5%
- Quality of Service/Capability: 30%
- Price: 65%
Published award criteria (3)
- Price
- Added Value
- Quality of Service/Capability
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Price carries 65 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 6.5 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
- Turnover usually expected: about £291,004 – ~£1,200,120 per lot (twice each lot's annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How BMet College buys Networks (CPV 3240), and who usually turns up
BMet College has little published record in this market. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Networks (CPV 3240) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
No supplier sizes published for this authority.
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.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address in the region where that award was delivered.
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.
Half of these awards have an award date within 41 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
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.
1 bid15%
2–341%
4–626%
7+17%
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.
Below estimate61%
Within ±2%29%
Above estimate10%
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.
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 #1Switch HardwareCPV 3240Published estimate£600k
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 110 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid15%
2–341%
4–626%
7+17%
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lot #2Support ArrangementsCPV 3240Published estimate£146k
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 110 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid15%
2–341%
4–626%
7+17%
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.
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.
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.
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- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- 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
- 27 Oct 2026, 16:45 GMT
- Last source update
- 27 Oct 2026, 16:45 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 31 Dec 2026
- Authority reference
CA18608- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-101761- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0791bbFind a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via MultiQuote- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 23 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 13 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
To access this opportunity, log in to suppliers.multiquote.com ↗ and view the opportunity. If you are not registered with MultiQuote, please visit suppliers.multiquote.com ↗, complete the registration form on the log in page and quote the title and reference of the notice in your registration.
Timeline
27 Oct 2026 → 31 Dec 2026 · 5 dates- Tender notice published1h ago27 Oct 2026, 16:45 GMT
- Today27 Oct 2026
- Clarification questions byin 16 days13 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 26 days23 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 64 days31 Dec 2026
- Award decision expected byin 65 days31 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published27 Oct 2026, 16:45 GMTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender