NEPO219 Building Materials & Managed Stores Framework: Supplier Guide

The Association of North East Councils Limited (NEPO) has now launched the live NEPO219 Building Materials & Managed Stores competition. The procurement has developed substantially since pre-market engagement: it is now an open framework worth an estimated £800 million excluding VAT and £960 million including VAT, with six lots and an eight-year open-framework scheme.

The framework covers integrated materials management, general materials, plumbing and heating products, electrical products, kitchens, and modular or portable buildings. Supplier numbers are unlimited and new suppliers can bid at future openings.

For merchants, manufacturers, managed stores providers and specialist building-material suppliers, this is now a significant live route to market. Contact our team, and we can help you decide which lots fit, organise the evidence and build a compliant submission.

Quick facts

About NEPO and the NEPO219 framework

NEPO is a collaborative procurement organisation jointly owned by the twelve local authorities of the North East of England. Its frameworks are widely used by councils, housing associations, NHS bodies, and other public sector organisations across the region. NEPO219 is designed as a successor to existing building materials arrangements, providing a compliant, aggregated route to market for both the supply of building materials and managed stores services, where NEPO provides on-site stock management, inventory control, and materials distribution rather than just point-of-sale supply.

The six NEPO219 routes

Lot 1 covers integrated materials management solutions and managed stores. The remaining routes cover general building materials; plumbing, heating, gas and building-services products; electrical products; kitchens; and modular and portable buildings.

This structure is important because suppliers do not need to present themselves as a full-range national merchant if a specialist lot better reflects their offer. NEPO also allows integrated solutions to use manufacturers, merchants, distributors and other supply-chain partners where that supports the managed-stores model.

Why the open framework model matters

NEPO219 is not a one-off closed panel. The notice states that awarded suppliers are carried over and new suppliers can bid at later openings. That makes the framework commercially relevant over a longer period and gives suppliers that are not ready for the first round another route in later.

Call-offs may be made through direct award or mini/further competition, depending on the contracting authority and its procurement rules. This means framework appointment should be viewed as the start of the sales process rather than the end of it.

Preparing a stronger bid

• Match your submission to the lot. A managed-stores response should evidence inventory control, reporting, replenishment and operational integration, while a product-supply response should emphasise range, availability, logistics and resilience.
• Evidence national and regional fulfilment. The framework is available beyond NEPO’s core North East membership through participating bodies, so explain how service levels will be maintained across the geography you are offering.
• Show how you will manage price movement, product substitutions and supply disruption over a long framework term.
• Prepare your post-award plan. Supplier visibility, account management and mini-competition responsiveness will matter if you want appointment to translate into revenue.

Framework bidding support

If your business is newer to framework competitions, our framework agreements guide explains the relationship between framework appointment, direct awards and further competitions.

Thornton & Lowe can support your NEPO219 submission with opportunity assessment, response planning, bid writing, evidence development and final review. Talk to Thornton & Lowe today for tailored, actionable advice.