Award

Award of contract for Wolfram Mathematica licences

UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

03 Sep 2025 at 00:00

PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The University of Aberdeen has completed a procurement process for awarding a contract to Wolfram for Wolfram Mathematica licences. With the industry's core focus on education, the University based in Aberdeen, UK, proceeded with an award without a prior call for competition under clause 6(1)(b)(ii) of the legislation due to the proprietary nature of the software. The contract, valued at GBP 89,581, was signed on 3rd September 2025, following the conclusion of the limited procurement method for goods in the region of UKM50, without the introduction of any competition.

This tender presents growth opportunities for businesses involved in supplying specialised educational software, particularly those developing unique products without market substitutes. Although the tender has already been awarded, companies with similar offerings can target future opportunities by engaging with educational institutions that require proprietary software solutions. SMEs like the contracted supplier, Wolfram, illustrate the potential advantage smaller businesses can have in areas lacking competitors due to technical uniqueness.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Award of contract for Wolfram Mathematica licences

Notice Description

Wolfram Mathematica site license

Lot Information

Lot 1

Award of contract for Wolfram Mathematica site license

Procurement Information

Under clause 6(1) (b) (ii) of the legislation, a contracting authority may award a contract without competition (only where no reasonable alternative or substitute exists, and the absence of competition is not the result of artificial narrowing down of parameters of the procurement). In this case, the grounds for not exposing to competition are as follows: Mathematica is proprietary software and is only available to be supplied on an educational license by Wolfram.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-r6ebe6-0000809122
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=SEP538377
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large, SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems

CPV Codes

48100000 - Industry specific software package

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£89,581 Under £100K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
3 Sep 20255 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
3 Sep 20255 months ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
e-sourcing@abdn.ac.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
ABERDEEN
Postcode
AB24 3FX
Post Town
Aberdeen
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM5 North Eastern Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM50 Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire
Delivery Location
TLM50 Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire
Local Authority
Aberdeen City
Electoral Ward
Tillydrone/Seaton/Old Aberdeen
Westminster Constituency
Aberdeen North

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
2
Supplier Names

UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN

WOLFRAM

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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