Guide for suppliers

As Britain’s mapping agency, OS is responsible for the surveying, collection, production, maintenance and marketing of a wide range of geographic information. Information that government, business and individuals rely on.

Ordnance Survey Limited procure goods and services on behalf of our Group companies in accordance with the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023.

Our Public Procurement policy applies to all purchasing arrangements, including:

• Purchase of goods and services from an existing or new suppliers
• Call off orders under existing OS or government frameworks
• Renewals, variations and extensions to existing contracts
• Proof of concept trials
• Third party data supply arrangements
• Contract tender and renegotiations

When going to market for a requirement, our approach can range from going direct to an approved supplier on a government framework for small value goods through to a full procurement process.

It is essential that legislation and OS policy is complied with where applicable, particularly the Procurement Act 2023 The current threshold for suppliers and service contracts is £214,904 (inc. VAT) (over the life of the contract).

This policy and the OS procurement processes ensures compliance with the Procurement Act 2023 including the following statutory obligations:

• Publication of all notices
• Comply with guidance issued by procurement policy notes
• Reporting obligations and keeping records of all decisions.

Our approach to procurement aims to be cost effective so that we can secure the best value for money, with value being defined as the economic benefit over time, including:

• Reduce price
• Reduce lifetime operating costs
• Reduce working capital requirement
• Improve services
• Improve products
• Enhance reputation
• Legal compliance
• Risk mitigation.

OS is also committed to the government transparency agenda and the publication requirements of the Procurement Act 2023. OS will publish the following information on the Central Digital Platform (CDP):

• Active or pipeline opportunities
• Archived contract information (where the contract value is over £25,000)
• All expenditure over £25,000, including costs, supplier and transaction information

Our procurement requirements are much broader than you might think. We use category management and supplier segmentation to classify our suppliers and our requirements as such: