Councils can create more impact from supplier development by linking support to real procurement opportunities. We look at how to identify local SMEs, assess readiness, build capability and strengthen the local supplier base.
Councils increasingly want local businesses and SMEs to benefit from public sector procurement. Done well, this can support local economic growth, create stronger supply chains and give buyers access to a broader pool of capable suppliers.
The challenge is making supplier development practical.
Generic tender training has a place, but the biggest opportunity is to connect supplier development directly to where the council is going to spend money.
Start with upcoming contracts and priority categories. Identify where there is realistic local supplier potential. Find the businesses that could compete. Then understand what is stopping them from doing so.
A practical council supplier development programme can follow six stages:
Identify opportunities → Identify and engage local suppliers → Assess readiness → Develop capability → Connect to opportunities → Measure impact
Thornton & Lowe supports councils and other public sector organisations through our Supply Chain & Supplier Development.
Why local supplier development should start with procurement opportunities
One of the biggest mistakes in supplier development is deciding what training to provide before understanding the local supplier market.
If a business is unable to compete because it lacks a required accreditation, additional bid writing training will not solve that problem.
If another supplier has the right capability and compliance but does not understand how to identify suitable public sector opportunities, it needs different support.
The starting point should therefore be the council's procurement pipeline, contract information and future areas of spend.
Questions to consider include:
- Which contracts and categories are coming to market?
- Which could realistically be delivered by smaller or local suppliers?
- Where does the council already have good local supplier coverage?
- Where are there gaps?
- Which businesses have the potential to compete?
- What is preventing them from becoming procurement-ready?
This connects procurement, economic development and supplier engagement around actual opportunities rather than delivering business support in isolation.
Want to understand where local suppliers could realistically compete? We can review upcoming procurement activity, identify suitable categories and help you connect supplier development to real opportunities.
Discuss Local Supplier OpportunitiesA new opportunity for local procurement in England
There is also greater flexibility for relevant local authorities in England when considering suitable below-threshold procurements.
Government guidance published following the Local Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026 confirms that in-scope authorities can, where appropriate, reserve competitions for below-threshold contracts to suppliers based within a defined local area. Authorities may also consider reserving appropriate below-threshold competitions for SMEs and VCSEs.
The policy is voluntary. Councils still need to consider competition, value for money, their own governance and the suitability of the individual procurement.
Read the Government guidance on reserving below-threshold competitions
For supplier development, the important point is that councils can look at suitable future opportunities and ask:
Do we have local businesses capable of competing for this work, and if not, can we help them become ready?
1. Identify opportunities with local supplier potential
Start with where the council is going to spend money.
Review upcoming procurements, contract renewals, priority categories and relevant below-threshold requirements.
Not every contract will be suitable for local SMEs. The objective is to identify those where there is a realistic match between the requirement and the local business community.
That creates a much stronger foundation for supplier engagement because the conversation is based on genuine future demand.
2. Identify and engage local suppliers
The next step is understanding which businesses could potentially compete.
This could include existing council suppliers, previous bidders and new businesses identified through Chambers of Commerce, Growth Hubs, business networks, sector bodies and targeted supplier research.
Engagement can help establish:
- whether the supplier is interested
- whether it operates in the required area
- relevant experience and capability
- available capacity
- existing accreditations and compliance
- barriers preventing it from competing
- areas where development support would help
This also gives the council useful intelligence about its local supplier market and where genuine capability gaps exist.
3. Assess supplier readiness
A Supplier Readiness Diagnostic can then identify what each business actually needs.
This might cover:
- understanding public sector procurement
- finding and selecting suitable opportunities
- frameworks and Dynamic Markets
- policies and compliance
- accreditations and insurance
- social value
- tender capability
- evidence and case studies
- contract readiness and delivery capacity
The aim is not to give every supplier the same training.
It is to identify the specific gaps preventing a capable business from competing effectively.
4. Develop the right capability
Support can then be targeted around those gaps.
Some suppliers may need help understanding public sector procurement. Others may need support with compliance, social value, accreditations, opportunity selection or tender performance.
For some businesses, a short one-to-one intervention may be more useful than another workshop.
Linking development to actual supplier needs makes the programme more useful for businesses and gives the council a much clearer way to demonstrate impact.
We can help identify relevant procurement opportunities, understand the local supplier market and develop SMEs with genuine potential to compete.
Discuss a Supplier Development Programme5. Connect local businesses to real opportunities
Supplier development should ultimately lead towards relevant routes to market.
That might include the council's own future contracts, frameworks, Dynamic Markets or opportunities from other public sector buyers.
The purpose is not to guarantee participating businesses work or give them preferential treatment. Procurement decisions remain with the contracting authority and businesses still need to compete through the appropriate process.
The aim is to ensure more local businesses understand the market, become contract-ready and are better placed to compete when suitable opportunities arise.
Thornton & Lowe's Tender Pipeline can also help businesses identify live and future public sector opportunities.
6. Measure what actually changes
Supplier development should be measured by more than workshop attendance.
Useful measures can include:
- local businesses engaged
- Supplier Readiness Diagnostics completed
- one-to-one support delivered
- readiness improvements
- relevant opportunities identified
- tenders submitted
- contracts won
- new public sector customers
- jobs created or safeguarded
The focus should be on what changed as a result of the programme, not simply how many businesses attended.
This can also provide valuable evidence of local economic and social value outcomes.
A funded Supplier Development Programme for councils
Procurement Growth Group has developed a funded programme for UK local authorities, delivered through Thornton & Lowe and Executive Compass.
The programme combines three elements.
Wider local business support
Four open online supplier development workshops each year for the council's wider business community, covering areas such as public sector procurement, contract readiness, finding opportunities, compliance, social value and tendering.
Targeted support for up to 20 local SMEs
Working with the council, up to 20 businesses are selected for more focused support.
This includes a Supplier Readiness Diagnostic, up to two hours of targeted one-to-one specialist support, relevant opportunity information, practical guidance and follow-up measurement.
Connecting development to council opportunities
We work with the council to understand upcoming spend and priority categories, identify local businesses with supplier potential and target development around the gaps that could prevent them competing.
This means the procurement intelligence directly informs which businesses are engaged and what support is delivered.
The programme is funded by Procurement Growth Group, with no cost to the council or participating businesses.
Building a stronger local supplier base
Effective local supplier development is not simply about teaching more SMEs how to write tenders.
It is about connecting three things:
where the council will spend money, which local businesses could potentially compete, and what those businesses need to become ready.
That creates a stronger link between procurement, local economic development and measurable social value.
