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Most water companies run a formal pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) process before each framework tender. The starting point is getting on UVDB (Powered by Achilles) — this is the sector-wide supplier qualification database used by most UK water companies. Once you're UVDB registered, you're visible to procurement teams when frameworks go to market. The critical thing is timing — don't wait until an ITT drops to start the process. By then, approved supplier lists are often already closed. Silver members on Water Industry Hub receive advance notification when frameworks are coming to market, giving you time to get prequalified before the formal process opens. If you're targeting a specific water company, the procurement team contact details for each framework are available on the Contract Intelligence page — a direct call is always worth making if you're genuinely relevant to their programme.

This is exactly the intelligence gap Water Industry Hub was built to close. Named suppliers on awarded frameworks are available to Silver members on the Contract Intelligence page — covering all 100 AMP8 frameworks with the Tier 1s listed for each. For example, the United Utilities Construction Delivery Partners framework lists MWH Treatment, C2V and Murphy Group as the appointed contractors. Once you know who's on the framework, the next step is LinkedIn — find the commercial director or supply chain lead at each Tier 1 and make direct contact. Most Tier 1s on water company frameworks run their own supply chain qualification exercises — ask to be added. Getting in front of them before a framework call-off is issued is the difference between being considered and being too late.

Under the Procurement Act 2023 (which replaced EU directives for UK procurement from February 2025), there are two key early-stage notice types. A Pipeline Notice flags upcoming procurements from a contracting authority — a forward-look with no obligation to tender yet, but a strong signal that work is coming. A Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) Notice means the buyer is actively consulting the market before drafting the specification — this is your single best opportunity to influence a tender before it's written. Water Industry Hub tracks both notice types for every major UK water operator and alerts Silver members as soon as they're published. If you engage at PME stage and the buyer shapes the specification around your capabilities, you're already ahead of every competitor who only reads the ITT.