Notice Information
Notice Title
***Pre-Market Engagement *** ICT-26-009 Catering Management Tool
Notice Description
**This is not a tender exercise*** The Education Authority Northern Ireland (EANI) would like to invite participation in a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise to seek the views of the market for the provision, in the first instance, of a Catering System within Northern Ireland schools, supporting modern, secure and efficient payment methods and managing risks associated with special diets within schools. The purpose of this PME exercise is for EANI to gain an understanding of the latest developments and innovative solutions available for school settings and will be used to assist EANI in gaining a better understanding of the feasibility of the requirements, the most appropriate procurement and operational approach, the capacity of the market to deliver the requirements and an opportunity for the market to highlight any possible risks or issues. This PME exercise also seeks to identify indicative costs to help inform the business case on the commercial aspects for the delivery and implementation of solution(s). For the avoidance of doubt, this is the scoping phase of the project and is not part of any formal procurement process and there is no commitment at this stage to carry out such a process. Any information gathered will not be considered in any future tender exercise. Please note that participation or non-participation in this PME exercise shall not prevent any supplier from participating in any future procurement process, nor is it intended that any information provided shall place any supplier at an advantage or disadvantage in any future procurement exercise. Further information including the questionnaire can be downloaded from the documents section of the CfT on eTendersNI. Suppliers who wish to participate in the PME exercise must return the completed questionnaire via the messaging function of the CfT on eTendersNI no later than 15:00 on Friday 29th May 2026. As part of the PME exercise, participants may be invited to attend a follow-up session with EANI to explore and discuss the information provided in their response, this will be at the discretion of EANI. For reference, the eTendersni reference number for this PME exercise is 6527440
Planning Information
Suppliers who wish to participate in the PME exercise must return the completed questionnaire via the messaging function of the CfT on eTendersNI no later than 15:00 on Friday 29th May 2026
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-0694f6
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/049474-2026
- Current Stage
- Planning
- All Stages
- Planning
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
- Procurement Type
- Standard
- Procurement Category
- Services
- Procurement Method
- Not Specified
- Procurement Method Details
- Not specified
- Tender Suitability
- SME
- Awardee Scale
- Not specified
Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
- CPV Divisions
48 - Software package and information systems
55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services
72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
-
- CPV Codes
48000000 - Software package and information systems
48100000 - Industry specific software package
48442000 - Financial systems software package
48812000 - Financial information systems
55500000 - Canteen and catering services
55512000 - Canteen management services
55524000 - School catering services
72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
72212442 - Financial systems software development services
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- £5,000,000 £1M-£10M
- Lots Value
- Not specified
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- Not specified
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 27 May 20261 months ago
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- 31 Jul 20263 weeks to go
- Award Date
- Not specified
- Contract Period
- 31 Mar 2027 - 31 Mar 2032 Over 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 AUTHORITY
- Contact Name
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
- Contact Email
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
- Contact Phone
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Buyer Location
- Locality
- BELFAST
- Postcode
- BT1 2NQ
- Post Town
- Northern Ireland
- Country
- Northern Ireland
-
- Major Region (ITL 1)
- TLN Northern Ireland
- Basic Region (ITL 2)
- TLN0 Northern Ireland
- Small Region (ITL 3)
- TLN06 Belfast
- Delivery Location
- Not specified
-
- Local Authority
- Belfast
- Electoral Ward
- Duncairn
- Westminster Constituency
- Belfast North
Further Information
Notice Documents
-
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/049474-2026
27th May 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/042646-2026
8th May 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
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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