Securing contracts and becoming part of supply chains can provide a valuable source of income, help diversify your customer base and support long-term business growth. Whether you're looking to bid for opportunities, become a supplier to larger organisations, find suppliers for your own business, or strengthen your understanding of procurement processes, support is available to help you. 

Business North Yorkshire is proud to work with The Supply Chain Network, a free platform designed to help businesses find new customers, suppliers, partners and procurement opportunities. 

The Supply Chain Network allows businesses to promote their products and services, find new customers, and post requests for suppliers. The platform supports local and regional supply chains, highlights relevant tenders and contract opportunities, and helps organisations demonstrate their commitment to working with local and regional businesses.

Image Source: Cuffe and Taylor 

Public bodies spend billions of pounds each year on goods, services and works.  Opportunities are available across a wide range of sectors, from professional services and digital technology through to construction, manufacturing, food production, facilities management and consultancy services. Businesses of all sizes can compete for contracts, either directly or as part of wider supply chains. 

The main platform for finding UK public sector opportunities is the Find a Tender Service. This is where organisations across the public sector publish notices relating to procurement opportunities, contract awards and other procurement activity. Since February 2025, notices for procurements have been published through this service, making it the primary source of information on public sector opportunities across England.

Depending on where the contracting body is based, opportunities may also be advertised through dedicated national procurement portals:

Scotland: Public Contracts Scotland
Wales: Sell2Wales
Northern Ireland: eTendersNI and eSourcing NI
Defence sector: Defence Sourcing Portal

Registering on these platforms can help businesses receive alerts about relevant opportunities and stay informed about upcoming contracts.

In addition to tender portals, businesses can use Contracts Finder to search for public sector contracts and view award notices.

North Yorkshire Council purchases a wide range of goods, services and works through a variety of contracts and framework agreements.  

Opportunities are advertised through YORtender, the unified online e-procurement portal used by local authorities and public sector organisations across the Yorkshire and Humber region. If you have any problems using YORtender, you can email uksupport@eu-supply.com or call 0800 840 2050 during office hours (9am to 5pm). 
 
The council also publishes information on current contracts, with an aggregate value of £5,000 or more, through its Contracts Register.

 
Winning public sector contracts can be challenging, particularly for businesses that are new to tendering. Go4Growth provides the tools and resources to help smaller organisations develop the skills and confidence to grow their business and win contracts. The fully-funded programme includes tailored training, useful digital content and templates as well as access to events, 1:1 mentoring and much more to make your organisation Public Sector Supply Ready. 
 
The Go4Growth Programme is a fully funded service for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), voluntary organisations, community groups and social enterprises (VCSE). 
 
Whether you are bidding for your first public contract or looking to improve your success rate, Go4Growth can help your business become tender-ready and make the most of procurement opportunities.