Discover how The Litmus Partnership helped Affinity Learning Partnership run a compliant tender process for their catering contract across all schools within the trust.
Tender Management
Compliant tender and procurement management from The Litmus Partnership — delivering transparency, value and full compliance with the Procurement Act 2023
Tendering for Success
Tendering is a vital stage in achieving best value and securing the right delivery partner for your catering or facilities service.
At The Litmus Partnership, we design and manage fully compliant, transparent and commercially effective tender processes — ensuring you achieve the best outcomes with complete confidence.
Our approach combines compliance with both the Procurement Act 2023 and the Public Procurement Regulations 2024, ensuring every process is fair, auditable and aligned with current public sector transparency requirements.
With decades of experience across education, healthcare, business and the public sector, we help clients secure measurable value for money while maintaining the highest standards of governance, accountability and professionalism.
Procurement Act 2023 compliant tendering
We ensure every tender process fully meets the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023, providing a robust, transparent framework that protects clients and delivers demonstrable value.
Our approach:
- Follows all relevant public procurement legislation and best practice guidance.
- Guarantees fairness, openness and transparency.
- Creates a clear audit trail for complete accountability.
- Helps clients achieve genuine value for money.
Compliance is the foundation — but the goal is always better outcomes for your organisation.
Tender design & specification
Tender process design
Every successful tender begins with a clear, structured process. We work with you to design a framework that is compliant, efficient and outcome-focused.
We define:
- Processes, timeframes and evaluation criteria aligned to your objectives.
- Roles and responsibilities for each stakeholder.
- Communication and governance frameworks that ensure fairness and clarity.
The result is a process that is simple to follow, transparent at every stage and designed to deliver the best possible outcome.
Service specification development
A well-defined specification is essential to achieving accurate, comparable bids.
We help you:
- Define the full scope of the opportunity.
- Set clear performance standards and KPIs.
- Establish the commercial structure and service outcomes required.
Clear, detailed specifications ensure suppliers can submit competitive and accurate proposals, reducing ambiguity and supporting a fair comparison.
Tender Portal Management (LTMS)
We provide a secure, centralised online portal to manage all tender documentation and communication, ensuring efficiency and full auditability.
The portal enables:
- Secure issue and receipt of tender documents.
- Central communication between all parties.
- Complete record-keeping for compliance and transparency.
Everything is managed in one place, keeping the process organised, traceable and fully compliant.
Tender process and support
Tender process management
Our experienced team manages the technical and financial evaluation of bids in collaboration with your decision panel.
We ensure that:
- All bids are reviewed fairly, consistently and transparently.
- Evaluation criteria are applied accurately and without bias.
- Scoring outcomes and recommendations are clearly documented.
The outcome is an evidence-based selection process that stands up to audit and gives stakeholders confidence in the final decision.
Contract signing, mobilisation & transition support
A successful tender doesn’t end at contract award. We support you through signing, mobilisation and transition to ensure a smooth, professional and timely start.
Our support includes:
- Overseeing final negotiations and legal documentation.
- Coordinating mobilisation plans and supplier onboarding.
- Managing early performance monitoring to confirm delivery against commitments.
We make sure your new contract starts strong — setting the foundation for long-term success.
Public Procurement Regulations 2024 - Notice Publication
The Public Procurement Regulations 2024 introduced new transparency requirements for all contracting authorities, including mandatory publication of notices and annual KPI reporting throughout a contract’s lifecycle.
The Litmus Partnership helps clients meet these obligations with confidence — supporting everything from KPI data validation and annual compliance submissions to contract variation and termination notices.
Our support typically includes:
- Assessing contractor performance against agreed KPIs.
- Preparing and publishing mandatory notices via the government’s digital platform.
- Providing evidence and analysis to support accurate KPI submissions.
- Reviewing documentation to ensure compliance prior to publication.
- Advising on best practice for contract management and record-keeping.
We make compliance practical — helping you maintain transparency, accuracy and confidence across all procurement activity.
Why choose The Litmus Partnership
Working with The Litmus Partnership ensures your tender and contract management process is:
- Fully compliant with the Procurement Act 2023 and Public Procurement Regulations 2024.
- Transparent, fair and defensible under audit.
- Designed to achieve measurable value for money.
- Supported by robust reporting and performance data.
- Delivered efficiently from tender through to contract completion.
The result is a professional, compliant procurement process that delivers the right partner, the right price and the right result.
Client Success Stories
Discover how we’ve helped organisations across education, healthcare, business and the public sector achieve measurable improvements in quality, efficiency and value.
Discover how The Litmus Partnership helped Marlborough College approach a re-design of their historic dining space through consumer insights.
Discover how The Litmus Partnership helped Queen Alexandra College approach a re-design of their historic dining space through consumer insights.
Discover how The Litmus Partnership helped The Lighthouse Schools Partnership approach a re-design of their historic dining space through consumer insights.
Discover how The Litmus Partnership helped Marlborough College approach a re-design of their historic dining space through consumer insights.
Discover how The Litmus Partnership helped Huntington School successfully negotiate and improve their facilities services.
Insights and News
Stay informed with the latest industry insights, expert commentary and project updates from The Litmus Partnership team.
- EducationRead More
South West councils lead the way with automatic enrolment for Free School Meals – what it means for schools and caterers
- News | Consumer InsightRead More
Navigating a shifting foodservice landscape: Key takeaways from the AlixPartners Growth Event
- EducationRead More
Benchmarking and performance – are you really in control of your school’s operational contracts?
- Consumer Insight | Education | Public SectorRead More
Coming Soon: A new Consumer Insight Programme for special schools
Take the next step
Whether you’re preparing to run a new tender, managing existing supplier contracts, or meeting the reporting obligations of the Public Procurement Regulations 2024, The Litmus Partnership can help.
Get in touch to discover how we can manage your procurement and compliance processes — ensuring full transparency, best value and lasting success.
Contact Us
We love to connect with business leaders that want to make a change. Contact our friendly team to request a no obligation chat about your current challenges and goals.