The Competitive Flexible Procedure

What’s Changed And How Complete Tenders Can Help Your Business Win?

The Big Change You Need To Know About

The Procurement Act 2023 has introduced one of its most significant shake-ups to how public sector contracts are run and, if you’re an SME looking to win government work, this one really matters. Previously, contracting authorities had to follow rigid, prescriptive multi-stage processes under the old Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015). Think of it like being forced to follow a set recipe, even if it didn’t suit the dish you were trying to cook.

Now, all of those old multi-stage procedures have been consolidated into a single, far more flexible route called the Competitive Flexible Procedure (CFP). In short, buyers now have the freedom to design a procurement process that actually fits their requirements, their market and crucially – their suppliers. That flexibility creates real, tangible opportunities for SMEs like yours.

So, What Does The Competitive Flexible Procedure Actually Mean?

If the old procedures were a set menu, the CFP is very much à la carte. Instead of being locked into a fixed route, contracting authorities can now design a bespoke, multi-stage journey that suits the complexity and nature of what they’re buying. They can include stages for negotiation, dialogue, presentations, product demonstrations, site visits – even prototype development, all within one continuous process. They can also modify the process as it develops, provided they follow the rules on doing so transparently and notify all suppliers.

This is genuinely new territory. Under the old rules, negotiation was largely off the table or very restricted. Now it’s a fully recognised and encouraged part of the process, which means buyers can engage more meaningfully with suppliers throughout the journey and suppliers get a better chance to truly showcase their solutions.

Why This Is Great News For SMEs

Here’s where it gets exciting for smaller businesses. The old, rigid procedures often created enormous barriers for SMEs. Lengthy, complex processes designed for large enterprises meant that smaller, more agile businesses were frequently squeezed out before they even got started. The CFP has been designed with SMEs specifically in mind and the Act places a legal duty on contracting authorities to consider barriers that SMEs face while actively looking at ways to remove or reduce them.

The CFP means that buyers can now design processes that are proportionate to what they’re buying. A straightforward requirement doesn’t need to come with a mountain of documentation and a six-month timeline. Equally, for more complex or innovative requirements, the process can include dialogue and engagement stages that actually help smaller businesses to understand what’s needed and present their solutions clearly, rather than being lost in a process built for much larger organisations.

For the first time, SMEs with genuinely innovative solutions can compete in processes that cover research, development and purchase – all in one go, without being crowded out by the usual suspects.

The Catch: Flexibility Requires More Expertise

Here’s the truth, though. More flexibility doesn’t automatically mean easier. In many ways, the CFP raises the stakes for SMEs, because the process can look different every single time. One contracting authority might run a two-stage process with a participation stage and a final tender. Another might run a complex multi-stage journey including dialogue, demonstrations and a Best and Final Offer (BAFO) stage. There’s no single playbook to follow anymore.

This means SMEs need to read and understand each tender notice very carefully, because the rules of the game are written fresh each time. The tender notice and associated documents now carry much more weight; they set out the entire process, the criteria for progressing at each stage, whether award criteria might be refined and what supplementary processes will be used. Miss something in those documents and you’ll have the unique experience of discovering you were knocked out of a competition at roughly the same time you were getting excited about entering it!

Minimum time periods also still apply, but they vary depending on the type of stage and whether a qualifying planned procurement notice has been published, adding another layer of complexity that suppliers need to navigate.

How Complete Tenders Can Support You Through Every Stage

This is exactly where Complete Tenders becomes your competitive advantage. We specialise in partnering with SMEs across the entire bid journey; from finding the right opportunities to writing winning responses – and that makes them uniquely placed to help your business thrive under the CFP.  

• Finding The Right Opportunities: With CFP processes now varying so widely, knowing which tenders are genuinely right for your business has never been more important. Complete Tenders takes the legwork out of tender identification, ensuring that the opportunities you’re investing time in are the right fit for your size, capability and ambitions, and that you’re not walking into a process designed in a way that works against you before you’ve even begun.
• Understanding The Process Before You Commit: One of the most valuable things Complete Tenders does is help you understand the specific process being run, before you invest significant time and resource. With the CFP, understanding whether there’s a participation stage, how suppliers will be downselected, what criteria will be used at each stage, and whether negotiation or dialogue is planned can completely change your bid strategy. Getting that wrong is costly. Getting it right is where bids are won.
• Navigating Participation Stages And Conditions Of Participation: The CFP allows contracting authorities to use a participation stage to limit the number of suppliers who progress to the tendering stage. These conditions of participation, which might cover financial thresholds, insurance levels, or relevant experience, can historically have been set in ways that inadvertently exclude capable SMEs. Complete Tenders understands what to look for, can flag where requirements seem disproportionate and can help you present your credentials in the strongest possible way to get through to the tender stage.
• Turning Dialogue And Engagement Into An Advantage: The inclusion of dialogue, negotiation and presentation stages in the CFP is a genuine opportunity for SMEs who are well-prepared. These stages reward businesses that truly understand their solution and can articulate it clearly and confidently. Complete Tenders can help you prepare for supplier presentations and dialogue sessions, ensuring you walk in with a clear narrative, a compelling solution and the ability to respond to questions with confidence, rather than scrambling for answers.
• Writing Tenders That Win: At its core, Complete Tenders exists to help SMEs produce tender responses that stand out. Under the CFP, with processes now potentially including multiple tender submissions, BAFO stages and refined award criteria, the quality of your written response matters more than ever. Complete Tenders brings the expertise to craft responses that are clear, evidence-based, directly aligned to the award criteria and written in a way that resonates with evaluators, giving your business the best possible chance at every stage of the process.
• Supporting Innovation Bids: The CFP’s ability to run end-to-end innovation processes, covering R&D, prototyping and purchase in one continuous procedure, is a genuinely exciting development for SMEs with fresh ideas and new solutions. These processes can feel daunting, but Complete Tenders can help you navigate them, from ensuring you understand what’s being asked at each iterative stage to helping you present your innovative solution in a way that builds the buyer’s confidence in your ability to deliver.

The Bottom Line

The Competitive Flexible Procedure is one of the most significant changes the Procurement Act 2023 has introduced, and it creates a genuine, meaningful opportunity for SMEs to compete for and win public sector contracts on a more level playing field than before. However – flexibility cuts both ways and without the right expertise and support, it’s easy to be caught out by a process that’s been designed in a way you weren’t expecting.

Complete Tenders is your partner through every step of that journey. From spotting the right opportunity, to understanding the rules of each unique process, to submitting a tender response that truly stands out, having an expert in your corner means you can focus on what you do best; while we handle the complexity of the bid.

The door is open wider than ever and Complete Tenders can help you walk confidently through it. With expert guidance and strategic support, we position your business to seize new opportunities and win more contracts.  Ready to unlock your company’s full potential? Contact Complete Tenders today to discuss our comprehensive partnership package and discover how we can support your long-term growth and success.