Lot

A separate part of a tender that can be bid on and awarded on its own, such as “Lot 1: website” and “Lot 2: hosting”. Lots let small firms bid for the part they are good at.

Related terms

Framework agreement

An umbrella agreement with a set of approved suppliers, under which public buyers later award contracts without a full tender each time. Getting on a framework is often the only way into recurring IT work.

Open procedure

A tender anyone may bid on, with no shortlist stage. Every compliant bid is evaluated.