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Focused bids, better outcomes

Our view on what good SME tendering looks like for Scottish social landlords and their suppliers

Social housing tenders in Scotland: why focus pays off for members and SMEs

When SMEs go after social housing tenders in Scotland, the strongest bids are the focused ones. Two or three bids aimed at work a firm is clearly suited to will usually get further than fifteen sent out on the off chance. That matters to the landlords reading the bids as much as to the businesses writing them.

That was the heart of our answer when The Business Desk asked whether public sector work is worth the cost for smaller firms. We think it can be, as long as suppliers go in with their eyes open. For members, it’s also a useful way to think about the bids that land on your desk.

SMEs already win a large share of Scottish public spend

Smaller firms are a big part of public procurement in Scotland. The Scottish Government’s annual report on procurement activity for 2023 to 2024 found that £7.6 billion of public spend went to SMEs. That was 47.6% of reported spend where the supplier’s size was known. Of the spend with Scottish-based suppliers where size was known, about 62p in every pound went to SMEs.

Those figures show the opportunity is real for smaller firms. They also show why focus matters, because plenty of other small businesses are going after the same work.

What this means when you’re the buyer

Buyers want suppliers who know precisely where they bring something extra. A business that tries to be everything to everyone rarely convinces. A smaller firm that’s clear about its strengths often gives you more confidence in what you’ll get.

Capacity is worth weighing too. A supplier that takes on more than it can handle and then struggles to perform causes problems for everyone involved. So it’s worth looking at whether a bidder has the staff and resources behind the contract, as well as whether the price works.

The timing matters for members as well. The Scottish Government has proposed raising the thresholds in the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, from £50,000 to £100,000 for goods and services and from £2 million to £4 million for works. If the Scottish Parliament approves the change, it’s expected to take effect on 1 April 2027. The Scottish Government says it should give local firms, SMEs and third sector organisations a better chance of winning public work, and let public bodies buy more quickly at lower values.

Community Wealth Building and local spend

The Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 25 March 2026. Most of its provisions come into force through later regulations. The main duties sit with local authorities and the public bodies they partner with, and their action plans must include an indicative target for the share of public contract spend that goes to local suppliers.

Registered social landlords aren’t named among those bodies, so the Act doesn’t place these duties on members directly. It does show which way local spend is heading, and our guide to the Act sets out what it could mean for Scottish social landlords.

If you’re a supplier thinking about bidding

It’s tempting to treat tendering as a numbers game and apply for anything that looks close to what you do. We’d steer you away from that scattergun approach. Every speculative bid eats into time, which is the thing most small firms are short of. Putting that time into fewer, sharper submissions gives each one a far better chance.

Be wary of winning the wrong contract, too. A contract you can’t deliver can do almost as much harm as one you never won. If you stretch too far and then fall short, the hit to your reputation can quickly cancel out whatever the work earned you.

The SMEs we see doing well have usually prepared long before an opportunity appears. Small teams are often stretched, and much of the pain of tendering comes from hunting down documents and evidence in the final days before a deadline. Keeping that information in order and easy to find takes a lot of the stress out of the process when a good opportunity comes along.

If you’re new to tendering, you don’t have to work it out alone. The Supplier Development Programme is a partnership of local authorities, the Scottish Government and other public bodies. It gives Scottish-based SMEs free help with tendering, including training and events, and it’s a sensible place to start on that groundwork before a bid is due.

Why a DPS suits a focused approach

A Dynamic Purchasing System fits well with everything above. Under the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, a DPS stays open to any supplier that meets its selection criteria for as long as it runs. Suppliers can apply to join once they’re ready, rather than racing a single deadline, and then bid for the contracts that suit them best.

For members, a DPS gives access to local SMEs with less tender admin. The East Lothian and repairs examples linked below show how that works for Scottish landlords.

Three questions to ask before you bid

Next time a tender lands in your inbox, run it past these three questions.

  • Does this contract sit squarely in the area where we add most value?
  • Do we have the staff, budget and know-how to deliver it well from day one?
  • Is the information the buyer will ask for organised and ready to go?

If the answer to any of them is no, it may be one to let go. Turning down the wrong opportunity leaves you the time and energy to win the right one. Members can use the same three questions in reverse when reading bids: is this supplier focused, can they deliver, and have they given you what you asked for?

Members, what do you look for first when a smaller supplier bids for your work?

Andrew McAllister is an account manager at PfH Scotland.

This article is based on comments Andrew gave to The Business Desk for its analysis piece, Is public sector procurement worth the cost for SMEs?

How PfH Scotland can help

Bringing local contractors on board. See how East Lothian Council used a DPS to appoint a local scaffolding contractor.

Repairs work for local trades. Find out how Scottish landlords are using a DPS to work with local trades on routine repairs.

Community Wealth Building. What the Act means for how Scottish social landlords spend locally.

For suppliers. Find out how our frameworks and DPS work, and how to join them as a supplier to Scottish social housing.

About Andrew McAllister

Andrew McAllister is a public sector procurement specialist with a background spanning construction, framework management and account management across Scotland’s public sector landscape.

Currently an Account Manager at PfH Scotland, Andrew previously served as Framework Manager at SPACE, where he led the management of public sector frameworks, delivered procurement solutions to a range of public bodies and supported higher and further education institutions through significant changes to their working and learning environments.

His expertise covers public sector procurement processes, strategic relationship building, framework and contract management, and connecting organisations with solutions that deliver genuine outcomes rather than just outputs.

Andrew works with a broad range of public sector clients, including local authorities and registered social landlords across Scotland, helping them navigate procurement frameworks and identify the right solutions for their needs.

With a BSc Honours in Chemical Engineering from the University of the West of Scotland, Andrew brings an analytical, problem-solving approach to account management, combining technical thinking with a practical understanding of how public sector organisations actually work.

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