The first thing most suppliers do when they find an interesting contract notice is scroll to the bottom looking for the deadline. That's not the wrong instinct — but it's the last thing you should check, not the first. The notice is telling you far more than when to submit. If you know what to look for, it'll tell you whether this contract is worth your time before you've read a single requirement.
CPV codes: what the buyer thinks they're buying
The CPV codes on a notice reveal something useful: how the buyer's procurement team has categorised the contract. Sometimes this is very precise. Sometimes it's wildly off — a social care contract tagged as IT services, or a training programme tagged as recruitment. Either way, it tells you something.
If the CPV codes don't match your expectation of what the contract is about, read the description more carefully. There may be a scope mismatch — or the buyer may simply have used a code that works administratively even if it doesn't reflect the work. Don't let an off-category CPV code put you off a contract that's otherwise a good fit.
Estimated value: treat it as a range, not a number
The estimated contract value in a notice is exactly that — an estimate. Buyers are required to publish one, and they tend to be conservative. There are good reasons for this: they don't want to be held to a figure, and they'd rather undershoot than overshoot.
What you're really checking here is order of magnitude. Is this a £50,000 contract or a £5 million one? That affects whether your turnover qualifies, how competitive the field will be, and what level of resourcing the buyer probably expects. Also check whether the value is the annual figure or the total contract value. A £500,000 figure on a five-year contract is very different from a £500,000 figure on a one-year contract.
Procedure type: how hard will this be to win
This is one of the most important fields on the notice and one of the least read.
- •Open procedure: anyone can submit a full tender. More work upfront, but no pre-qualification stage. Good for suppliers who can write a strong full response.
- •Restricted procedure: two-stage — pre-qualification first, then invitation to tender. More common on larger or more complex contracts.
- •Competitive Flexible Procedure (CFP): the UK-specific replacement for several legacy procedures. More design flexibility for the buyer — could mean dialogue stages, presentations, or iterative evaluation. Read the specifics carefully.
- •Direct award: the contract is already being awarded. Usually only relevant if they're publishing a Prior Information Notice or confirming an existing arrangement.
Open procedure means you can go straight to writing a bid. CFP means you need to understand their specific process before you commit time. Don't assume — read what they've described.
Time allowed to respond: is it realistic?
Count the actual working days. Not calendar days. Two weeks sounds reasonable until you realise it's fourteen calendar days that include a bank holiday weekend and two of your key team are on leave. Public sector buyers are not required to extend deadlines because you're busy.
The time allowed is also a signal about contract complexity. A notice with a five-day ITT window is telling you something — either the scope is simple, the buyer is in a hurry, or the procurement isn't as open as it might appear. Tight windows are worth flagging as a risk before you commit to the bid.
Buyer organisation type: the culture behind the contract
Central government bodies, local authorities, and NHS trusts all procure differently — and they value different things. Central government tends toward formal processes, strict compliance, and detailed methodology requirements. Local authorities vary enormously: a large metropolitan council and a small rural district have completely different approaches. NHS trusts are often the most risk-averse buyers and place high weight on clinical governance and continuity of service.
Knowing which type of buyer you're dealing with helps you calibrate your tone, your evidence, and how much to invest in understanding their strategic context before you write.
The two things that tell you the most
If you've only got five minutes with a contract notice, read two things: the contract description (the prose summary the buyer wrote, not the structured fields) and the evaluation criteria with their weightings.
The description tells you how the buyer thinks about what they're buying — and whether your service genuinely fits. The evaluation weightings tell you where the competition will actually be decided. If it's 60% quality and 40% price, you can win on methodology. If it's 30% quality and 70% price, the bid is largely a pricing exercise. Both are legitimate contracts to bid for — but they require completely different strategies, and you need to know which one you're dealing with before you write a word.