The UK’s public sector procurement rules changed on 24 February 2025, when the Procurement Act 2023 officially came into force.
Alongside this, the government introduced the Central Digital Platform, which acts as a single hub where suppliers can register, share reusable company information, and where public sector organisations publish procurement notices. Find A Tender is now the ‘front door’ for public data and supplier identification with all organisations who wish to pursue public sector contracts needing to be fully registered to navigate this platform.
In this guide we will explain:
- What the CPD is?
- What it means for suppliers into the public sector?
- The step-by-step process you need to follow to get registered and ready to share your information in upcoming tender submissions.
What the CPD is (and what it isn’t!)
The CPD is a fully integrated platform that has been operational for over 12 months now which contains the following functionality:
- Find A Tender, where the publication of all procurement notices across the procurement lifecycle (Prior Information Notices (PINs), Contract Notices and Contract Award Notices) are made publicly available.
- The standardisation of sign-in and registration for all buyers and suppliers.
- Completing, storing and sharing your core supplier registration details for future bids and tenders.
The government has published its own short guides which describe CDP as a simplified portal for registration, identification, storing core business details (previously asked for via Selection Questionnaires for each individual bid you pursue) and making opportunities easier to search, navigate and monitor.
You should not see the CPD as a procurement portal where you manage bid submissions yourself. You should not see this as a replacement for the likes of NEPO, ProContract, In-tend, CCS Digital Marketplace, Bravo Solutions, etc. Authorities will typically continue to use their existing portals to manage their procurement processes, and you should see CPD as an overarching tool to help locate potential contracts and streamline your information sharing for the bids you do decide to compete for.
What it means for suppliers into the public sector
- A “single supplier identity” has become very important
One of the most significant changes with the introduction of the Central Digital Platform is now there are Unique Identifiers recorded and issued via the portal. These identifiers enable for consistency in the information shared to all public sector organisations, including the NHS.
- Your Profile and Shared Data is now part of your overall bid-readiness
The CPD has been designed for you to be able to curate a profile of information commonly requested by contracting authorities as part of the bid process. You can then share this from the CPD itself rather than repeatedly reissuing the same information for each contract you tender for. For bid professionals, this is therefore an important early step to ensure your core data is right before you focus on solutions and value for each of your bid responses.
- You should be expecting more transparency going forward
A core tenet of the procurement act is that there should be transparency in the publication of information throughout the procurement lifecycle. This starts with Prior Notices, Market Engagement/Meet the Buyer Events and throughout every stage of the bid process once the Contract Notice is published through to Contract Award.
How to get registered and set-up on CPD.
Organisations and their bid teams should approach this as three key deliverables they want to achieve: User Access (the logins that need to be used by the organisation), Company Registration (your supplier identity and unique identifier), and your Supplier Information and Share Code (your reusable supplier pack that is shared across multiple submissions).
Step 0 – Prepare first before registration.
Before beginning your CPD profile it is important to gather the following:
- Registered legal entity name and address
- Companies House number (if applicable)
- Key people data (e.g., directors/connected persons where required, including date of births)
- Policies/assurances and standard compliance evidence (e.g., exclusions, trade assurances, company certificates etc.)
- Basic financial information (audited/unaudited accounts, management accounts/balance sheet information – if where required)
The above will all be requested as part of completing your profile as documented in the official supplier user guides.
Step 1 – Create a GOV.UK One Login (for each user who needs access)
Suppliers can access the CPD via the Find a Tender through a GOV.UK One Login account. Your bid team should establish user accounts first, then decide who will be the initial administrator. We always recommend having at least two administrators who can access this platform to avoid a single point of failure/dependency during a live submission.
Step 2 – Registering your Company on CPD
Once signed in you are now able to start the process of registering your organisation on the CPD platform. You will first need to select ‘Register an organisation’ from your user dashboard. You will need select ‘supplier’ and then be prompted to provide a Companies House number and a shared email address.
Once you have inputted all of your information you will be given an option to review the answers you have provided, make any necessary changes, before proceeding to select ‘save’ and completing the registration of your organisation. Following this, all remaining information detailed in Step 0 will be requested via a series of simple drop-down answers to core questions.
There is even a detailed walkthrough of this section available on YouTube which can be found here to ensure you complete this accurately and without any omissions/errors.
Step 3 – Declare and Share
Once all the requested information has been provided for your organisation you are able check everything before declaring the information you have given is accurate. Once that you have made this declaration you can then share this profile within your bid submission either via a bespoke share code, or via downloading your profile information which can then be appended to your bid submission. This can be done by selecting ‘Create a Share Code’ and following the prompts on screen. When you have your share code and download of your information ready, congratulations, you are now bid ready!
Step 4 – Ongoing Maintenance
You should never treat this as a single one-off admin task. Ongoing regular maintenance should be scheduled in to reflect new certificates that expire as well as company accounts that are issued annually. We recommend the following schedule for ongoing maintenance:
- Biannual check: company details, finances, accreditations/certifications etc.
- Pre-ITT check: confirm Supplier Information still reflects current reality (especially financials and connected persons)
- Post-award/company change update immediately (avoid mismatches across portals)
Done properly, CDP reduces repeated administration and improves consistency across bids, freeing your team to focus on the important parts that help you win contracts: solution design, quality, evidence, innovation, and added value. If, when you get to these parts of a bid you feel like you need some external support to ensure you score maximum marks, you should consider contacting the Evolve Network Group today for a no-obligation discussion on how we can support you in your next strategic bid win.