Procurement at MOD

Doing business with defence: information for those looking to become a supplier or contractor.

What the MOD procures

The MOD buys equipment, products and services from a variety of procurement organisations. 

MOD supply chain opportunities

Register at the following free-to-access websites to view live contract opportunities:

  • The Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) hosts all of MOD’s advertised requirements. You can tailor your notifications from DSP by selecting appropriate category codes.

  • Contracts Finder lets you search for information about contracts worth over £12,000 (including VAT) with the government and its agencies.

  • Register for the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender  to search and apply for high-value contracts in the UK’s public and utilities sectors. High-value contracts are usually above £139,688 including VAT.

  • MOD Acquisition Pipeline is a forward look of potential procurement activity and Framework Agreements at MOD.

MOD works closely with the following strategic suppliers:

MOD’s strategic suppliers are encouraged to advertise subcontracting opportunities through the DSP.

Information for new suppliers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

The MOD does not maintain preferred supplier lists and is always keen to attract new entrants to the supply chain. In addition to being registered on the DSP and Central Digital Platform, there are various ways to make your company visible to defence:

MOD also engages with regional defence and security clusters. These clusters allow industry and government to share ideas, promoting collaboration and commercialisation. MOD currently works with:

Framework agreements

A framework agreement is a contract between the buyer and a qualified group of suppliers. It details the overarching terms and conditions against which the buyer may place orders or tasks. Framework agreements provide an efficient means of procuring when requirements arise on a regular basis, combining the benefits of reduced costs and enhanced buying power.

Terms and conditions vary by framework to reflect what is being purchased. It is the responsibility of the supplier to decide which frameworks they want to be involved with, and the responsibility of MOD to use the most appropriate framework to support their procurement. 

MOD framework opportunities, such as the Neutral Vendor Framework for Innovation and Engineering Delivery Partner (EDP) are published on the DSP. MOD also procures through Crown Commercial Service Frameworks.

In addition to traditional procurement frameworks, suppliers of science and technology research can sign up to R-Cloud to access opportunities from across the MOD.

Government grants and funding

The Department for Business and trade has developed a list of available finance and support for your business.

Apply for funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Apply for funding from DASA.

Export guidance and sanctions

UK Defence and Security Exports helps UK defence, cyber and physical security, and civil maritime companies to export.

To export goods from the UK, access the SME export toolkit and follow this step-by-step process. 

Apply for an export or trade licence with SPIRE, the online export licensing system. You will need to be aware of UK sanctions regimes and how they might impact your export opportunities.

Other useful sources of information on sanctions are:

MOD supplier payments

The government aims to pay 90% of undisputed and valid invoices from SMEs within 5 days. Additionally, 100% of all undisputed and valid invoices should be paid within 30 days.

MOD’s supplier payment information can be found here. For FY 2023/24, average payment within 5 days was 89.13%, and average payment within 30 days was 99.29%.

Report a procurement concern

The Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS) sits within the Cabinet Office and allows government suppliers (and potential government suppliers) to raise concerns anonymously about poor public sector procurement practice.

Email PPRS if you have a concern about a procurement process or a problem with payment on a public contract: publicprocurementreview@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

PPRS report on the trends in the issues raised and makes recommendations on how to improve, and publish monthly results from their investigations .

Contact us

The information on this page is maintained by the MOD’s Industry Collaboration and Strategic Supplier Engagement team. Please email defcomrclSSM-Suppliers@mod.gov.uk if you have any questions not addressed on this page.

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