News

Scottish Government will no longer support or update the Word version of the Single Procurement Document

From 1 April 2024, the Word version of the Single Procurement Document (SPD) will no longer be supported or updated by Scottish Government. From then, the fully online versions of the SPD, available within PCS and PCS-Tender, will be the only ones updated, supported, and maintained by Scottish Government.

What is the Single Procurement Document (SPD)?

The Single Procurement Document (SPD) includes questions used at the selection stage of a tender exercise – to enable buyers to ask questions that will identify suitably qualified and experienced suppliers. The SPD is the pre-qualifying stage, formally known as the PQQ / Pre Qualifying Questionnaire.

What does this change mean for you?

For suppliers, this will simplify and streamline the selection process, enabling you to see the buyer’s requirements within the SPD itself, without the need to cross refer to other procurement documents. Suppliers will also be able to store and re-use their answers to standard SPD questions, and upload evidence documents, such as company accounts, once but use them multiple times.

What will you need to do?

• The SPD module is integrated into PCS, so there’s no need to re-register or create a separate log-in.
• If you’re already using PCS-Tender, or the SPD module in PCS to run your procurement exercises, then you should continue to do so.
• If you currently use the SPD word document (or any other offline version) to create your SPD requests, then you are advised to familiarise yourself with SPD functionality within PCS well in advance of 1 April 2024. The SPD module is intuitive and straightforward to use, and there are a number of additional resources to support users: SPD User Guides, PCS SPD module video, PCS Training Site. From this date, the fully online versions of the SPD, available within PCS and PCS-Tender, will be the only ones updated, supported, and maintained by Scottish Government.

Support is also on hand from SDP

SDP will host a free 'Helping You Bid Better; let's examine the SPD question by question' webinar on Tuesday, 24 October from 2:30pm to 3:30pm. Come along to learn all you need to know about the Single Procurement Document (SPD) from a procurement expert. 

Please note: If you have a query relating to a specific procurement exercise, you should contact the buyer in the first instance. Please seek legal advice if you have any queries regarding the processes and procedures.