Delivering MAT Through CFP: A Practical Guide for Category Managers
The Procurement Act 2023 introduces two transformative changes:
- Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) replaces MEAT (section 19)
- Competitive Flexible Procedure (CFP) (section 20) replaces rigid legacy procedures with tailored, proportionate competition
For category managers, this is an opportunity to move beyond lowest-price compliance toward structured processes that deliver genuine value for money, public benefit, and whole-life outcomes—while remaining fully transparent and defensible.
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Start With Statutory Objectives and NPPS Priorities
Document explicitly how your procurement will deliver section 12 objectives (value for money, integrity, equal treatment) and NPPS priorities (social value, SME participation, net zero, innovation). These become the foundation for award criteria and contract KPIs.
How to: Build a simple Category Outcomes Framework that maps each statutory and policy priority to specific, measurable criteria and performance indicators.
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Engage the Market Early—Proportionately
Use preliminary market engagement (section 16) to test requirements, explore innovation, and inform CFP design. Publish a notice if engagement takes place and share insights fairly.
How to: Run structured supplier discovery sessions and bench-marking exercises that generate evidence to shape (but not predetermine) the competition.
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Design a CFP That Fits Risk and Complexity
CFP allows single-stage or multi-stage processes. Use single-stage for straightforward, low-risk categories; introduce dialogue, demonstrations, or negotiation stages for complex or high-value requirements.
How to: Apply a proportionality assessment based on category risk, value drivers, and market maturity. Tools such as a CFP Stage Planner help determine the optimal number and rigour of stages while preserving competition and transparency.
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Translate Outcomes Into Award Criteria
Award criteria (section 23) must relate to the contract subject-matter and can include price, quality, sustainability, and social value. Publish weightings and the full assessment methodology in the tender notice.
How to: Use Criteria Cascade: start with NPPS and organisational objectives, flow down to category-specific outcomes, then break into weighted sub-criteria with clear evidence requirements.
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Apply a Weighted Scoring Model for MAT
MAT is the tender that best satisfies your published criteria—not necessarily the cheapest. Weighted scoring ensures non-price factors carry real influence.
How to: Adopt a multi-point MAT Scoring Rubric tied directly to evidence, with pass/fail gates for mandatory requirements and consensus moderation to ensure consistency.
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Evaluate With Discipline and Transparency
Assess strictly against the published methodology. Investigate abnormally low tenders before exclusion (section 26). Record detailed rationale for every score.
How to: Conduct independent scoring followed by structured moderation sessions anchored in documented evidence—this minimises bias and maximises defensibility.
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Communicate Results and Trigger Standstill
Provide detailed assessment summaries before publishing the contract award notice, explaining scores by criterion and why the winner represents the MAT.
How to: Use a standardised Assessment Summary Pack to deliver clear, compliant feedback that builds supplier confidence and reduces challenge risk.
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Manage for Whole-Life Value
MAT evaluation is only the beginning. Activate KPIs linked to award criteria and NPPS outcomes, then monitor delivery actively.
How to: Implement structured supplier relationship management (SRM) with regular performance reviews and innovation checkpoints, feeding insights back into future category strategies.
Conclusion
Delivering genuine public value is now firmly within reach.
The Procurement Act 2023 hands category managers the tools—flexible procedures, broader evaluation criteria, and a clear mandate to prioritise outcomes over inputs—to design and award contracts that truly serve taxpayers and society. By embedding statutory objectives from the outset, designing proportionate CFPs, and evaluating rigorously against well-structured MAT criteria, you can achieve commercial excellence that is both compliant and transformative. The framework is in place. The opportunity is yours. With disciplined application of these practices, category managers can lead the way in turning the Act’s ambitions into measurable, lasting results.
Nuff said…
(If you would like support building or deploying tools such as the Category Outcomes Framework, CFP Stage Planner, MAT Scoring Rubric, or Assessment Summary Pack, we are ready to help translate these steps into your organisation’s reality.)