Choosing eSourcing software is one of the most consequential technology decisions a procurement team makes. The right platform reduces admin, ensures compliance and produces better procurement outcomes. The wrong one creates new compliance risks and adds complexity rather than removing it.
PA23 compliance — non-negotiable requirements
Any eSourcing platform for UK public sector use must support: automated publication to Find a Tender for all required notice types; automated Contracts Finder publication; the Competitive Flexible Procedure with configurable multi-stage workflows; conflict of interest declaration capture before submission access; social value evaluation and post-award tracking; standstill management with automatic timing and simultaneous supplier notification; and 7-year document retention with immutable audit trail.
Ask any platform: "Show me how your system handles each of these obligations in a live demonstration." If they cannot show it live, the compliance is theoretical.
Evaluation management
Look for: independent scoring where evaluators cannot see each other's scores before moderation; automatic weighting application; divergence flagging when panel scores differ significantly; automated evaluation report generation; and a conflict of interest gate that prevents submission access without a completed declaration.
Supplier portal
The supplier experience matters — difficult portals produce poor quality submissions and generate support burden. Requirements: works on any device without software installation; structured Q&A logged and visible to all suppliers; submission deadline lock; document upload with virus scanning.
Questions to ask any platform supplier
- Was this platform designed for PA23 or retrofitted from PCR 2015?
- How are Find a Tender notices published — manually or automated?
- Can you show me the Competitive Flexible Procedure workflow live?
- How does the evaluation module prevent evaluators seeing each other's scores?
- Where is our data stored and for how long?
- What is your Cyber Essentials status?
The legacy platform problem
Most eSourcing platforms in UK use were built between 2005 and 2015 for PCR 2006 or PCR 2015. They carry 15–20 years of technical debt. When PA23 arrived, compliance was retrofitted — often as manual checklists rather than automated workflows. If a platform cannot demonstrate automated Find a Tender publication and CFP workflows in a live demonstration, that is a significant red flag.