The National Enterprise Network hosted a well‑attended Member Huddle on 13 July, bringing together advisers, enterprise leaders and government representatives for an in‑depth briefing on the new Central Digital Platform (CDP) and its role in transforming public procurement for small businesses.
A once‑in‑a‑generation shift in procurement
Opening the session, Shirley Cooper OBE, Crown Representative for Small Businesses, set out the scale of change introduced by the Procurement Act 2023. She reminded members that small and medium‑sized businesses make up “99.9% of the entire business landscape” and employ 17 million people, generating over half of private‑sector turnover.
Shirley explained that the Act directly tackles long‑standing barriers to entry, with government buyers now required to “have regard to the fact that small businesses may face barriers to participation” when designing procurements. She highlighted that buyers across government have completed mandatory training to embed these principles, and early examples show tenders being re‑run when SMEs challenge a lack of regard.
She also emphasised the importance of transparency, fair payment, and the new requirement for 30‑day terms throughout supply chains.
Why the Central Digital Platform matters
Shirley introduced the CDP as the new single gateway for public procurement, describing it as “a one‑stop shop… more like a one‑stop shopping mall” where suppliers can find opportunities, register once, and benefit from clearer processes.
Recent figures shared with NEN members show rapid uptake:
- 93,000 notices published under the new legislation
- 89,000 suppliers registered, including 64,000 SMEs
A practical walkthrough from the Government Commercial Agency
Members then heard from Adam Hill, who delivered a detailed demonstration of how the CDP works in practice. He clarified the difference between individual registration and organisation registration, a point that has caused confusion for some suppliers.
Adam walked through:
- Creating a GOV.UK One Login
- Registering an organisation and receiving a Public Procurement Organisation Number (PPON)
- Completing Supplier Information, including connected persons, qualifications, trade assurances, exclusions and financial data
- Generating share codes to reuse core information across multiple bids
- Creating and managing consortia
- Using improved search tools, including upcoming features such as summarised search views and CSV export
He noted that the CDP already integrates with external procurement systems via API, ensuring notices flow automatically into the platform.
Future developments: partnerships, data and SME visibility
Adam also previewed upcoming functionality designed to strengthen SME participation. This includes:
- Procurement Partnerships – enabling buyers and suppliers to connect earlier, share challenges, and explore collaboration
- Enhanced dashboards and analytics – giving suppliers clearer insight into pipelines, contract performance, payment data and SME winners
- Additional modules requested by devolved governments, including Wales
These developments aim to make procurement more accessible, more transparent, and more responsive to the needs of smaller organisations.
Member questions: feedback, local authority access and supply‑chain opportunities
The Q&A session covered several practical concerns raised by NEN members:
- The need for better quality feedback when SMEs are unsuccessful
- How local authorities will adopt the CDP, particularly for contracts under £30,000
- Opportunities for supply‑chain matchmaking, including subcontracting
- Clarification on duplicate registrations, with Adam offering direct support
- Interest in how match funding and co‑created models could be recognised in future procurement policy
Shirley and Adam committed to ongoing dialogue with NEN members and welcomed further questions to be coordinated through NEN.
A strong step forward for enterprise support
The session closed with thanks from NEN and strong appreciation from members, who described the briefing as “really helpful”, “exciting”, and “a great session”. The CDP represents a major shift in how small businesses engage with public procurement, and NEN will continue supporting members to navigate the new system and maximise opportunities.
Presentation slides: Shirley Cooper Slides and Adam Hall Slides
You can view the recorded session here https://youtu.be/HOI3rppCEvs