How to become a supplier

Find out how suppliers can apply for NHS LPP opportunities, prepare for tender processes and understand what we look for from appointed suppliers.

Suppliers are appointed to NHS LPP agreements through formal advertised procurement processes. To become a supplier on an NHS LPP agreement, you must respond to a relevant procurement opportunity and successfully complete the tender process.

Finding tender opportunities

NHS LPP, alongside other public procurement organisations, publish opportunities in the following places:

  • Tender opportunities for higher financial value contracts (£139,688 inc. VAT and above) are advertised via Find a Tender Service.
  • Lower value contracts (over £12,000 including VAT) can be found via Contracts Finder

Plus, you can follow us on LinkedIn where we post our latest news and opportunities via social media.

Before applying, suppliers should:

  • register on the relevant procurement portals
  • monitor advertised opportunities
  • read all procurement documents carefully
  • check they can meet the requirements
  • submit responses before the stated deadline

Register on Atamis

Atamis is a single health family eCommercial system that enables most NHS organisations to undertake procurement planning, tender, contract and supplier management. We recommend suppliers register onto Atamis as it provides access to published tender notices, user guides and allows you as a supplier to set up business alerts that notify you about relevant business opportunities when they appear on the system. It also allows suppliers to complete the Evergreen sustainable supplier assessment, which enables them to engage with the NHS on their sustainability journey and align with the NHS on net zero and other sustainability ambitions.

What we look for from suppliers

NHS LPP works with suppliers across four main categories. The specific requirements will vary by procurement, but suppliers may be asked to demonstrate:

  • relevant experience and capability
  • understanding of NHS and public sector needs
  • quality, safety and service standards
  • value for money
  • capacity and resilience
  • financial stability
  • innovation and continuous improvement
  • sustainability and carbon reduction commitments
  • social value
  • ethical and transparent supply chains
  • ability to support customers throughout the life of the agreement

We welcome interest from suppliers of all sizes, including SMEs and VCSE organisations if they can meet the requirements of the procurement and support NHS outcomes.

Benefits of being a supplier

Our agreements are used by many NHS organisations. This means suppliers on our frameworks benefit from access to a wide audience of customers who know the suppliers listed have been vetted and approved, with terms and conditions that can easily be agreed to. Awarded suppliers are supported by our category framework managers. We aim to engage awarded framework suppliers throughout the life cycle of an agreement to understand market developments and any issues that arise in your dealings with the NHS. To find out more about the benefits of being an NHS LPP supplier, please view our Benefits of being a supplier flyer.  

Emerging markets and innovation

Do you feel that your product or service is not captured by any of our frameworks, but does fall within our categories? If so, we’d like to hear from you. Please contact our Strategic Sourcing Manager, Daniel Dabrowski for an informal conversation.

Please note our portfolio is mostly non-clinical. Most clinical products, service and food are supplied to the NHS via NHS Supply Chain.