​​Holding a supplier briefing

When to hold a supplier briefing

You might want to hold a supplier briefing to:

• develop your understanding of the market and the potential suppliers or providers
• publicise the requirements of your procurement.

If you've engaged early with some suppliers

If you engaged with any potential suppliers before advertising the tender, you might want to use an open briefing to ensure all suppliers have the same information and those you consulted early don’t gain an advantage in the procurement process.

Before the briefing

• Advertise the briefing in your tender documents and GETS notice. You could also advertise it in industry publications, newsletters or social media channels.
• Allow at least five working days from the issue of the RFx to the briefing date, so suppliers can read your documents, reschedule existing commitments and arrange travel if they need to.
• If it's not practical for all interested suppliers to attend, consider providing a video or audio conference facility to allow suppliers to attend remotely.

At the briefing

• The briefing should add to suppliers’ understanding of your requirements and process, not just repeat the contents of your tender documents.
• Pitch the briefing at potential suppliers who have little experience in responding to requests for proposals.
• Make sure you leave an opportunity for suppliers to ask questions as part of the briefing process, and make sure any questions and answers are recorded.
• Take a record of attendees.

After the briefing

If your procurement is:

• open, publish questions and answers on GETS along with a copy of the presentation
• closed, send all your invited suppliers a copy of the questions and answers plus the presentation.