Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 30 Apr 2026, 08:53 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Uniform Stores Systems · UK public procurement notice

Authority: Greater Manchester Combined Authority (Local council)

GoodsAbove threshold
Planned pipeline valueValue not publishedpipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Contract term 2 yrsends 30 Nov 2028 · up to 30 Nov 2030 with extensions · starts 1 Dec 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), as the contracting authority for Greater Manchester Police (GMP), would like to hear from suppliers willing to share information about operational enhancements we wish to make to our current stores system and technology. The store consists of a single site based at Openshaw in Manchester.

The new system is expected to deliver:

  • Reduced over-ordering and improved entitlement controls.
  • Efficiencies by streamlining manual processes.
  • An improved stocktaking method.
  • Improved service delivery to officers and staff.
  • Compliance with data protection and operational standards.

The proposed specifications include:

  • Functional: Inventory management, user management, distribution and returns.
  • Technical: Reporting, performance, system architecture, security.
  • Operational: User interface, system integration, compliance, implementation and support.

We are exploring market capability to modernise the Stores function and will consider operational enhancements, or an off-the-shelf solution with suitable technology that will interface with existing systems.

We seek to understand the capacity and capability of suppliers who can deliver this type of functionality within a police secure environment.

Whilst the contracting Authority is the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, this contract will be procured and managed by the Greater Manchester Police.

CPV: Bar code scanning equipment · Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages · Software package and information systems · Stock-control services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

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

How Greater Manchester Combined Authority buys Surveillance and security systems and devices (CPV 3512), and who usually turns up

Greater Manchester Combined 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: Surveillance and security systems and devices (CPV 3512) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

Question for the bid
This buyerGreater Manchester Combined Authority · division 35
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: 3 of 5 known-size awards · market: CPV 3512 · North West England, n=12
60%58%

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 North West England.

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 2 of 5 known-location awards · market: CPV 3512 · North West England, n=24
40%13%

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: no decision dates published · market: CPV 3512 · UK-wide, n=20
—31 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 31 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.

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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: exactly 7 of 7 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 3512 · North West England, n=31
100%48%

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 buyer57 lots with bid counts · all categories
25% had one bid
The market29 lots with bid counts · CPV 3512 · UK-wide
14% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid25% / 14%
Buyer: 14 of 57 lots with published bid counts. Market: 4 of 29 lots with published bid counts.
2–330% / 45%
Buyer: 17 of 57 lots with published bid counts. Market: 13 of 29 lots with published bid counts.
4–625% / 21%
Buyer: 14 of 57 lots with published bid counts. Market: 6 of 29 lots with published bid counts.
7+21% / 21%
Buyer: 12 of 57 lots with published bid counts. Market: 6 of 29 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 buyer31 lots with estimate and award · all categories
35% below estimate
The market19 lots with estimate and award · CPV 3512 · UK-wide
42% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate35% / 42%
Buyer: 11 of 31 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 8 of 19 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%61% / 42%
Buyer: 19 of 31 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 8 of 19 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate3% / 16%
Buyer: 1 of 31 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 3 of 19 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 351224 monthsEstimate not published
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 29 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet14% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 29 similar lots
1 bid14%
4 of 29 similar past lots received 1 bid (14%).
2–345%
13 of 29 similar past lots received 2–3 (45%).
4–621%
6 of 29 similar past lots received 4–6 (21%).
7+21%
6 of 29 similar past lots received 7+ (21%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 3 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.

—Estimate not published
The buyer published no estimate for this lot, so there is nothing to forecast against. A price prediction here would be a number about a number we do not have.

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
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
30 Apr 2026, 08:53 BST
Last source update
30 Apr 2026, 08:53 BST
Authority reference
A1308
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-039592
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Bar code scanning equipmentOffice and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packagesSoftware package and information systemsStock-control services
Delivery area
North West (UKD3)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-068eb7 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

30 Apr 2026 → 1 Dec 2026 · 3 dates
  1. Planning notice published180 days ago
    30 Apr 2026, 08:53 BST
  2. Market engagement150 days ago
    29 May 2026, 23:59 BST

    GMP would like to hear from companies who believe they can deliver a relevant solution or enhancements that meets the demands of modern policing for the foreseeable future.

    Expressions of interest must be made by contacting Ali Cordrey (GMP Procurement Manager) via email at procurement@gmp.police.uk. Please quote the reference 'A1308' on all correspondence.

    A market engagement questionnaire will then be issued, which interested parties should complete and return, to the above email address, by 17:00 on 29th May 2025.

    Further information about the requirement is included in the market engagement questionnaire document, and clarifications may also be sought via the above email address.

    Please note that this is not a tender exercise, and formal bids are not being requested at this stage. To ensure transparency rules are adhered to, no correspondence should be entered into with any member of GMP staff about this requirement, other than as stated above.

    Further engagement may take place following review of all questionnaire responses. This may include the use of direct engagement with interested parties or any other form of supplier engagement relevant to the contract and requirements.

  3. Today
    27 Oct 2026
  4. Contract startsin 34 days
    1 Dec 2026

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    30 Apr 2026, 08:53 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

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PXBN-3793-LCTQ 56 Oxford Street, Manchester, North West, M1 6EUContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure