Finding and Responding to Procurement Opportunities

How Do We Advertise What We Want?

Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) advertises procurement opportunities in different ways depending on the value and nature of the requirement. Suppliers may either be directly invited to quote for a requirement or have the opportunity to compete for an openly advertised tender.

Quotation Opportunities

For lower value procurements, GCC may invite a selected number of suppliers to submit a quotation.

If you are invited to participate, you will receive a link to the opportunity in SAP Ariba, where you can:

• View procurement documents and supporting information
• Ask clarification questions
• Receive updates and notifications
• Submit your quotation electronically

Use our Guide for more information: Supplier Guidance Finding And Responding To Directly Invited Opportunities

If you do not already have a Gloucestershire County Council SAP Ariba account, you may be asked to provide:

• Company name
• Contact name
• Contact email address
• Company address
• A brief description of the goods or services you provide

This information allows GCC to request an invitation for you to join our SAP Ariba environment.

Please note: Even if you already have an SAP Ariba Discovery account, you may still be required to register within GCC's SAP Ariba environment if we cannot locate your organisation in our supplier system. In this situation, GCC will send you an invitation email. You should follow the invitation link and sign in using your existing SAP Ariba account credentials to complete the registration process.

For quotation opportunities, suppliers only need to complete Stage 1 - Account Setup to participate.

If You Are Successful

If your quotation is successful, you will be asked to complete Stage 2 - Supplier Registration, including the submission of your company and bank account details through SAP Ariba so that GCC can establish you as a supplier and process purchase orders and payments.

For further assistance, see our SAP Supplier Onboarding Guide.

Open Tender Opportunities

For higher value procurements that are openly advertised, GCC publishes procurement notices on the UK Government's Find a Tender service.

Suppliers can register and participate in open tenders through SAP Ariba Discovery by following these steps:

1. Locate the opportunity using the UK4 Tender Notice published on Find a Tender.
2. Follow the link provided in the notice to SAP Ariba Discovery.
3. Register for an SAP Ariba Discovery account, or sign in if you already have one.
4. Once logged in, search for the opportunity within the RFI (Request for Information) section of SAP Ariba Discovery.
5. Review the procurement documents and submit your response electronically through SAP Ariba.

Use our Guide for more information: Supplier Guidance Registering on the SAP Business Network and responding to open tender opportunities

If You Are Successful

If you are awarded a contract, you will be invited to register within Gloucestershire County Council's SAP Ariba supplier environment and complete the supplier onboarding process.

This is a separate step from SAP Ariba Discovery and enables GCC to set your organisation up as an approved supplier for ordering and payment purposes. As part of this process, you will be asked to complete Stage 2 - Supplier Registration, including providing company and bank account details.

If you already have an SAP Ariba Discovery account, you should use the invitation link provided by GCC and sign in with your existing SAP Ariba credentials to complete the registration process.

Staying Informed About Opportunities

To maximise your chances of finding relevant opportunities, we recommend that suppliers:

• Monitor Find a Tender for open procurement opportunities
• Register on SAP Ariba Discovery and keep company details up to date
• Check email junk and spam folders for SAP Ariba notifications
• Consider setting up alerts on relevant procurement platforms
• Ensure contact details and email addresses remain current so important procurement communications are not missed

Using SAP Ariba

SAP Ariba is GCC's online procurement portal used to manage quotation and tender opportunities. Through SAP Ariba, suppliers can:

• Access procurement documents and supporting information
• Ask clarification questions
• Receive procurement updates and notifications
• Submit quotations and tender responses electronically

We recommend familiarising yourself with SAP Ariba and ensuring you can access the system well before any submission deadline.