Planning

Preliminary Market Engagement for the Supply of Stationery and School Supplies for Education Buying Group Ltd

EDUCATION BUYING GROUP

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

05 May 2026 at 08:41

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Education Buying Group, based in Cardiff, is currently in the planning stage of a procurement process for a potential supply framework of stationery and school supplies. This process involves preliminary market engagement (PME) with a scheduled deadline for questionnaire responses on 29 May 2026. The tender encompasses supply across England and Wales and is categorised under goods with a focus on stationery and educational equipment. The process anticipates a framework agreement with an estimated value of £45,000,000 over four years. The contract will potentially start on 1 October 2026 and conclude on 30 September 2030. The engagement seeks to refine procurement strategies and involves a single provider framework approach.

This opportunity offers substantial growth potential for businesses specialising in the supply of stationery and school supplies, particularly those capable of supporting large-scale, multi-site distribution frameworks. It presents an attractive chance for companies to secure a long-term framework agreement with a substantial public authority buyer. The PME process invites businesses to contribute innovative solutions and showcase their capabilities, which could influence the final tender specification, making it an excellent time for seasoned suppliers in the educational goods sector to align with public procurement needs and engage in a transparent pre-tender dialogue.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Preliminary Market Engagement for the Supply of Stationery and School Supplies for Education Buying Group Ltd

Notice Description

Education Buying Group works in partnership with Education Buying and Churchmarketplace (for Catholic education settings) - delivering EBG frameworks and DPSs to education and supporting framework delivery and sector engagement. This collaborative model ensures: Clear governance through a school-led PSBO Expert delivery through experienced procurement organisations A single, compliant route to market for education buyers For further information regarding Education Buying Group please visit: https://educationbuyinggroup.org.uk/ Education Buying Group Ltd (EBG Ltd) is inviting responses from providers of Stationery and School Supplies to this Preliminary Market Engagement process in anticipation of a planned Tender process in summer 2026. The current proposed procurement strategy is to procure a single-provider framework delivering all Stationery and School Supplies to our education and wider public sector customers across England and Wales. The anticipated value of the future framework will be set at PS45,000,000 over the full 4 year duration of the Framework. EBG Ltd welcomes consultation with providers and suppliers of this category via a brief questionnaire to understand and test our proposed procurement strategy, inclusions and seek innovative proposals prior to finalising a tender specification and tender process. Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) is a "pre-procurement" process that enables contracting authorities and/or procurement agents acting on behalf of contracting authorities that are subject to the Procurement Act 2023 to seek responses from the market in a transparent, fair and equitable manner prior to any formal tender process. The preliminary market engagement is your opportunity to influence the potential shape and solution of a future procurement process. Through this process you can express views and confirm latest product/service developments which may meet the need of the contracting authority. This process is not a procurement process, although it may form part of a procurement process in the future and as such will be conducted in accordance with The Procurement Act 2023. The Contracting Authority reserves the right to invite any/all respondents to a meeting/presentation/interview following the closing of the deadline for the receipt of questionnaires. The purpose of this invitation will be to understand and clarify further aspects of the response. Neither this document nor any associated Preliminary Market Engagement Notice constitutes a 'call for competition'. The contracting authority/procurement agent may decide following this process that a future procurement process is not the right solution to meet the specific need identified. No guarantee or warranty is given as to any statement made in these documents. Any information is given entirely in good faith and liable to change as the future procurement process progresses. Respondents are advised therefore to keep up to date on the progress of this process. The contracting authority/procurement agent has an obligation to ensure the principles of equal treatment and transparency as required by The Procurement Act 2023 are upheld throughout this process. It may be required therefore to make available to future candidates and tenderers information provided during this PME process. Respondents should also be aware that in some cases contracting authorities are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and as such no information provided by the market can be deemed exempt from disclosure. All costs and expenses associated with participating in this PME process, including any invitations to meetings and/or presentations will not be reimbursed. Responses to this PME must be submitted no later than 12noon 29 May 2026 via the Delta e-Tendering Portal. All PME documents are available to download via the Delta e-Tendering Portal. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Cardiff:-Stationery./6C5QW29X2A To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/6C5QW29X2A

Planning Information

Responses to the PME Supplier Questionnaire are invited via Delta eSourcing no later than 12noon 29 May 2026. EBG Ltd reserves the right to invite any/all respondents to a meeting/presentation/interview following the closing of the deadline for the receipt of questionnaires. The purpose of this invitation will be to understand and clarify further aspects of the response. Any meetings/presentations or interviews following initial PME submissions will be communicated with respondents as applicable.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0690df
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040822-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

30 - Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages

39 - Furniture (incl. office furniture), furnishings, domestic appliances (excl. lighting) and cleaning products

CPV Codes

30192700 - Stationery

30199000 - Paper stationery and other items

30199600 - Dividers for stationery

30199700 - Printed stationery except forms

39162000 - Educational equipment

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£45,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
5 May 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
31 Jul 20263 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
30 Sep 2026 - 30 Sep 2030 4-5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
EDUCATION BUYING GROUP
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
CARDIFF
Postcode
CF24 3JW
Post Town
Cardiff
Country
Wales
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLL Wales
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLL5 South East Wales
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLL52 Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Cardiff
Electoral Ward
Plasnewydd
Westminster Constituency
Cardiff East

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

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