Proactis and the UK Procurement Act 2023
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The UK's Procurement Act 2023 marks a significant shift in the public procurement landscape, and the Cabinet Office has announced that the Act will come into force from Monday 28 October 2024. A strategic and proactive response is required, and rest assured that we are here to support you.

The latest iteration and modernisation of the procurement process in the UK, post-Brexit, introduces several key rules and changes aimed at improving transparency, efficiency, and value for money in public procurement.

Proactis has supported the practice of strategic procurement for over 25 years, and our solutions have enabled customer processes to efficiently comply with Public Sector requirements throughout this time, and we are working closely as a key advisor to the Cabinet Office in finalising the details and will ensure that Proactis solutions continue to provide organisations with the tools to remain compliant with new regulatory requirements.
 

Proactis and the Procurement Act requirements

As the first choice for contracting authorities in the UK, the Proactis digital platform encompasses many features and functions that are already in line with the requirements of The Procurement Act 2024, including:
  • Flexible and configurable procedure workflow.
  • Connectivity to publish notices.
  • Flexible qualitative evaluation.
  • Inherent supplier risk management capability.
  • ESG supplier due diligence.
  • Streamlined digital interaction with suppliers and stakeholders.
  • Overall data visibility and transparency.
Here are some of the key ways in which Proactis already supports these requirements:
Procurement Act: Simplified Procurement Procedures
The Act will reduce the number of procedures and through the Competitive Flexible Procedure, allow authorities to take greater ownership in the design of their processes.

Today Proactis provides authorities with highly flexible procedure templates, within which users can easily design their own workflow to encompass all required steps and stages, conflict assessments, approval gateways and supplier interactions. Users are not bound to a rigid set of structures but can create flexible procedures to suit their needs.
Procurement Act: Increased Transparency
The Act will require organisations to share more information throughout the procurement lifecycle including notices or contract award details.

Today, Proactis allows authorities to add communication stages throughout the sourcing process. This includes the publication of notices, with in-built channels to existing public notice boards such as ContractsFinder and FTS, as well as communication directly with the supply chain. Reporting allows for data to be analysed for pipeline visibility and can be shared easily outside of Proactis as needed. The Supplier Network provides a single, central hub for all supplier communication. Proactis is working closely with The Cabinet Office to ensure compliance with future notice types.
 
Procurement Act: Value for Money
Authorities are encouraged to consider whole-life costs rather than just pricing.

Today Proactis provides authorities with the means to build comprehensive evaluations into their sourcing events, allowing for all manner of qualitative considerations, as well as pricing to be evaluated. Authorities can apply complex weightings as needed to their evaluations, ensuring outcomes are automatically ranked based on true value for money.
 
Procurement Act: Social Value and Sustainability
The Act emphasises the importance of taking into account social value, sustainability, environmental and economic outcomes in procurement decisions.

Proactis provides the tools to capture, assess and report on key supplier data, covering the whole spectrum of ESG considerations. This features in all aspects of the Proactis platform, from supplier engagement, through to how procurement exercises are managed and evaluated, to contract lifecycle management including KPIs.

Automated document expiry monitoring, configurable supplier rating scorecards, detailed contract KPIs and a dedicated portal for buyer-supplier interaction puts all of this information at your fingertips for detailed analysis to drive considered decision-making.
 
Procurement Act: Streamlined Challenge Process
Reduced timelines and simplification of the challenge process to minimise delays.

The Proactis Supplier Network has been providing authorities with a dedicated hub for managing the challenge process in a compliant, controlled and auditable manner for over 15 years.  

Procurement procedure templates allow authorities to define appropriate timeframes as needed to accommodate current and future requirements.
Procurement Act: Centralised Procurement Oversight
A new central unit to oversee and analyse public procurement, providing guidance and support ensuring compliance with the new rules.

Providing a single, centralised platform for all procurement activities. Proactis delivers full visibility across supplier management, sourcing and contract management activities and data.
Procurement Act: Innovation and SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises)
The Act promotes innovation and aims to make it easier for SMEs to compete for public contracts through reducing administrative effort and ensuring accessibility of opportunities.

The streamlined and easy-to-use Supplier Network encourages maximum supplier adoption, particularly from smaller suppliers, for whom onerous or manual processes could be a barrier to entry.

Automated notifications, easy-to-understand workflow, with the use of dedicated Proactis Supplier Support all contribute to closer collaboration between all areas of the supply chain, freeing organisations up to focus on real value through innovation.
Procurement Act: Digital Transformation
The Act encourages the use of digital tools and platforms to improve efficiency and accessibility, with the use of E-Procurement systems mandated to streamline processes and access to information.

Proactis has been the E-Procurement platform provider of choice to the UK public sector for many years, with a footprint covering over 50% of Authorities and other regulated organisations. Proactis solutions streamline, automate and centralise all procurement processes, driving efficiency, reducing risk, ensuring compliance and giving full visibility of data. This makes Proactis your partner of choice.


How Proactis will support public organisations to meet these new requirements

We are continually working on updating our solutions, in line with updates from the Cabinet Office, to ensure there is a smooth transition for you.

We are actively updating ProContract, Source-to-Contract and myTenders solutions to enable you to meet the requirements of the regulations when our technology is combined with your processes.

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