Can a public body award directly to a Chinese factory?
Only where a permitted direct-award ground applies. For unique equipment, establish that only the supplier can meet the need and no reasonable alternative exists. For urgency, establish an unforeseeable emergency outside your control that cannot accommodate competition. Gather China-side evidence with Cambridge China Bridge.
Confirm the procurement route before approaching the factory
This guide covers public contracts governed by the Procurement Act 2023. Competition is the default; direct award needs a permitted justification. Devolved Scottish authorities are generally outside the Act, although some joint procurements and procurement arrangements bring its provisions into play. Ask your procurement team to confirm the applicable regime and contract classification before promising an order.
Identify the proposed contracting supplier: the factory, a distributor or a sourcing seller. Keep the equipment purchase and any sourcing-service appointment clearly described. Our agent or seller guide explains the commercial distinction; buying without an intermediary does not itself establish a procurement justification.
Test the claim that the equipment is unique
The relevant grounds concern exclusive rights or an absence of competition for technical reasons. Both require that only a particular supplier can supply the requirement and that no reasonable alternative exists. A patent or exclusive distribution arrangement does not settle the question: investigate alternative equipment and whether another supplier could obtain permission to supply.
Write the required outcome independently of the factory catalogue. Keep a dated market search, responses from other suppliers, an engineer's compatibility assessment and the rights documents relied on. Explain why each apparent alternative fails. Ask who can supply, install and support the equipment, rather than accepting a factory's statement that it is the only manufacturer.
Separate an emergency from a missed deadline
Extreme and unavoidable urgency applies only where the requirement is strictly necessary and a competitive procedure cannot be completed, even using shortened urgency timescales. The urgency must be unforeseeable and not attributable to the authority's acts or omissions. Failing to leave enough time for re-procurement does not qualify.
Build a chronology of the event, discovery, operational consequences and required response. Record why competition cannot fit and limit the contract to what addresses the emergency; longer-term needs require a separate procurement. Check stock, freight, installation and commissioning realistically. Where time permits, compare available suppliers informally rather than assuming overseas manufacture is the quickest response.
Keep the justification separate from supplier checks
Under the ordinary direct-award route, an excluded supplier cannot receive the contract unless an overriding public interest applies. The authority must also consider whether the supplier is excludable and, if so, whether awarding to it is appropriate. A technical justification does not replace these checks.
Prepare a decision file containing the chosen ground, supporting documents, alternatives considered, supplier assessment and internal approval. Ask for original documents alongside translations and reconcile the supplier name across the quote, rights evidence and proposed contract. Use the Chinese supplier procurement risk register to organise delivery and support risks.
Publish notices before signing
For the equipment grounds discussed here, publish a transparency notice on the central digital platform before direct award. State the ground and why it applies, and identify the intended supplier if known. Then publish the contract award notice before entering into the contract. Describe the actual evidence behind the decision, rather than merely writing 'unique equipment' or 'urgent'.
A technical or exclusive-rights award normally requires a standstill of at least eight working days starting on publication of the contract award notice. Extreme and unavoidable urgency is an exception to mandatory standstill, but the transparency and contract award notices still apply. Do not sign during any applicable standstill. After entering into the contract, publish the required contract details notice.
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Give the China team an evidence brief
Send the functional specification, proposed justification, delivery constraint and evidence gaps. Cambridge China Bridge's own staff in China can gather factory records, check production capability and compare supply options. Ask your procurement and legal team to approve the award route before making a binding commitment.
Compare the complete delivered and commissioned offer, including installation, training, spares and support. Use understanding your landed price for the import-cost method already covered elsewhere. Agree acceptance checks and who will resolve faults before shipment; keep factory findings distinguishable from the authority's procurement decision.
Frequently asked questions
Does a factory patent allow direct award?
Not by itself. The exclusive-rights ground requires that only the supplier can supply the requirement and no reasonable alternative exists. Check alternative equipment and licensed supply.
Can we direct award because our budget expires?
An expiring budget alone does not establish extreme and unavoidable urgency. The event must be unforeseeable, outside the authority's acts or omissions, and too urgent for a competitive procedure.
Do we still publish notices for an emergency purchase?
Yes, for an extreme-urgency equipment award under this guide. Publish the transparency and contract award notices before contracting, followed by the contract details notice. Mandatory standstill is excepted.
Can Cambridge China Bridge approve our direct award?
Ask your procurement and legal team to approve the route. Cambridge China Bridge can gather factory evidence, compare supply options and support agreed checks in China.