How to do business with Sellafield Ltd
Source: gov.uk (2025-07-24)

How to find and apply for opportunities at Sellafield.

Sellafield Ltd’s (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/sellafield-ltd/about#what-we-do) work at Sellafield can only be achieved through strong partnership with the supply chain.

Our Small to Medium Enterprises Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/small-to-medium-enterprises-strategy-sellafield-ltd) supports the small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) community, facilitating them to work not only with Sellafield Ltd, but with other companies in and outside of the nuclear industry.

Sellafield Ltd does not operate a preferred supplier list.

Contract opportunities are awarded through open competition in line with the general European Treaty principles of non-discrimination, equal treatment and transparency in order to ensure we provide value for money to government.

Opportunities are also available for businesses to work indirectly as a subcontractor through our prime partners.

Introduction

We have a vision to create a sustainable supply chain that can efficiently and effectively deliver the site purpose now and for the future.

We understand how the supply chain touches everything we do and we need to help make them sustainable, agile and innovative to enable us to deliver our purpose.

Should you have any queries or wish to contact the Supply Chain Development team, email:xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)

How to do business with us

(https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6824a284aa3556876875ec50/SEL14241_Supplier_Journey_ACCESSIBLE_FINAL.pdf)

A Supplier Journey (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6824a284aa3556876875ec50/SEL14241_Supplier_Journey_ACCESSIBLE_FINAL.pdf)

PDF, 5.74 MB, 31 pages

Supplier guidance

As part of our commitment to improve the supply chain experience, we’ve produced a guidance document to support every step of the supplier journey when working with Sellafield Ltd.

This document is currently being updated and will be available again soon.

Current suppliers

Information for current suppliers is published on Sellafield Ltd’s Management of Contractors portal.

You will be asked to register on this system when you start working with Sellafield Ltd.

Find an opportunity with Sellafield Ltd

Opportunities to do business with Sellafield Ltd are advertised in Atamis (https://atamis-2464.my.site.com/s/Welcome) and dependent on the value of the contract opportunity via the Find a Tender (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search) service.

Once you are registered on the system, you can use it to manage your tendering activities.

Opportunities are also listed in Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder).

Procurement plan schedules

The Sellafield Ltd procurement plan schedule (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sellafield-ltd-procurement-plan-schedule-june-2017) gives details of recently awarded and upcoming procurements with a value over £20,000 over the next 3 to 5 years.

It’s a live tool, updated regularly, providing a list of future commercial activities planned by a contracting authority over a defined period and over a designated transactional spend level.

It includes future activity even if funding hasn’t been secured. We encourage suppliers to regularly check the procurement pipeline for up coming opportunities.

Procurements on a page

The Sellafield Ltd procurements on a page (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sellafield-ltd-procurements-on-a-page-2022) has been designed to provide a higher level of detailed support to each procurement programme of work.

Each procurement number is unique to the specific procurement. This enables the supply chain to cross reference from the quarterly procurement plan to the individual procurements on a page and vice versa.

The purpose of the document is to provide the supply chain with greater visibility of our key procurements by expanding on the procurement detail.

Procuring innovation

Our work at Sellafield can only be achieved through innovative ways and we are reliant on our supply chain to bring innovation into the organisation to help us to deliver our purpose.

Our procurement routes for innovation outlines a number of ways in which we may bring solutions into the business.

We actively seek to engage the supply chain, academia, and individuals who can bring their innovative, smart technologies and digital solutions into the nuclear arena and help accelerate our purpose of creating a clean and safe environment for future generations, whilst also reducing costs and upholding our commitment to human and environmental safety.

Innovation is usually focused on the way in which we carry out improvements. It can be carried out in anything so isn’t just focused on technology.

Our purpose is to enable innovation within the organisation through the introduction and support of governance, capability, and cultural change.

We deliver the Dragons’ Den, Sellafield Innovation Council and NDA Innovation Council.

Procurement routes for innovation (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sellafield-ltd-procurement-routes-for-innovation)

Find an opportunity with prime suppliers

There can be opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and specialist suppliers to provide their products and/or services indirectly through our prime suppliers (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-an-opportunity-with-tier-2-suppliers) who have been awarded contracts or frameworks with Sellafield Ltd.

It is often more efficient for Sellafield Ltd to strategically give larger contracts or frameworks to outside organisations on a long-term basis.

The organisations that are selected for this work are referred to as prime contractors companies. A prime contractors organisation is a company that has a direct contract with Sellafield Ltd.

Prime contractors companies are private sector organisations, which means that their methods of procurement vary.

For SMEs wishing to work with prime contractors organisations, it is important that they investigate how they can best apply for opportunities within these companies.

Networking events, such as those organised by Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster (https://www.becbusinesscluster.co.uk/) are useful in ensuring that SMEs can make themselves known to Sellafield Ltd’s partners, ensuring that SMEs are best placed when applying to work for prime contractor projects.

SMEs should be aware that to ensure they can maintain long term access to these projects they will still need to contribute to the wider Sellafield Ltd vision. SMEs should therefore always strive to set themselves apart to maximise the opportunities that are available to them.

Major frameworks and contracts

The Sellafield Ltd major framework and contracts (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sellafield-ltd-major-frameworks-and-contracts) document gives an overview of all our major frameworks and contracts in existence to deliver works on the Sellafield site.

The document is useful for both existing and potential suppliers looking to further understand our supply chain landscape and to be used in conjunction with the prime supplier listing (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-an-opportunity-with-tier-2-suppliers) which explains what the main site contractors are looking for in their supply chain.

SMEs - LINC with Sellafield Ltd

LINC (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/linc-with-sellafield-ltd-registered-companies) with Sellafield Ltd is a scheme that encourages SMEs at local and national level to collaborate and deliver innovative solutions to the mission at Sellafield.

Work packages that set out some of the opportunities we are addressing at Sellafield will be published on this page.

LINC has been designed to provide Sellafield Ltd with direct access to SMEs in addition to supporting Sellafield Ltd’s contribution to the UK SME agenda.

All SMEs must be registered with LINC before submitting a proposal. If you would like to register to LINC, you can do this by visiting Atamis (https://atamis-2464.my.site.com/s/Welcome) and navigating to C11962 - LINC with Sellafield Ltd Qualification. If you have a query about LINC, email: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)

Non-SMEs are free to register with LINC but their participation will be limited to a supporting role only. We recommend that Non-SMEs join our Dynamic Purchasing System for other opportunities.

As part of the registration process, companies/businesses will be categorised into one of the following:

Category 1 - SME

SMEs are those companies that have less than 250 employees and an annual turnover of less than 50 million euros (approximately £45 million) or annual balance sheet not exceeding 43 million euros (approximately £38 million) and be a standalone entity that is not part of a wider corporate entity/group.

Category 2 - Supplier

Both category 1 and 2, are eligible to participate directly in LINC, however submissions from category 2 will only be considered should an acceptable submission (defined relative to each opportunity) not be received from category 1.

Category 3 - Supporting Companies

Those companies who do not meet the EU definition of an SME in terms of numbers of employees and turnover or balance sheet thresholds. Supporting Companies (Non-SMEs) are free to register with LINC but their participation will be limited to a supporting role only. We recommend that Non-SMEs join our Dynamic Purchasing System for other opportunities. Supporting companies are not permitted to participate directly but may participate as part of an SME led proposal.

The Engineering and Technology Solutions Marketplace Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS)

The DPS is a collaborative procurement lead by Sellafield Ltd on behalf of the NDA Estate.

The DPS which provides a compliant procurement route to market and direct relationships with the supply chain that drive value for money through competed work packages.

The Solutions Marketplace Dynamic Purchasing System scope covers products and services which is split in to 8 categories which are:
- asset maintenance
- digital
- engineering services
- manufactured products
- robotics
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- robotics and AI infrastructure
- robotics and AI services
The following contracting authorities are able to use the DPS:
- Sellafield Ltd
- Nuclear Restoration Sites (NRS)
- Nuclear Waste Services (NWS)
- Nuclear Transport Services (NTS)
- UK National Nuclear Laboratory
- United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA)
For more information on the DPS, please register for Atamis (https://atamis-2464.my.site.com/s/Welcome) and locate the opportunity using ‘Find Opportunities’ - C12362 Engineering and Technology Solutions Marketplace DPS Qualification. If you have a query about DPS, email: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)

Manufactured Products Organisation (MPO)

Sellafield Ltd’s MPO is responsible for ensuring the Sellafield site has the containers it needs to safely store and dispose of nuclear waste.

Procurement of the thousands of drums, cans, and boxes the mission requires represents a significant opportunity for the manufacturing supply chain.

More information can be found in this blog: Ticking all the boxes: How we’re maximising opportunities from our manufacturing mission (https://nda.blog.gov.uk/ticking-all-the-boxes-how-were-maximising-opportunities-from-our-manufacturing-mission/)

SME action plan

As a public contracting authority Sellafield Ltd are committed to delivering activities which increase the opportunities for SMEs (small to medium enterprises) to do business in our supply chain.

We publish our activities which drive towards this target in the form of an annual SME action plan.

We comply with the UK Government’s financial target, to invest 31 to 33% of our annual supply chain spend with SMEs.

However, at Sellafield, we are committed to supporting the SME community above any financial target. We believe that the SME community play a significant role or our mission’s delivery and in the overall economy.

As a result, we have robust plans to consistently engage, and we encourage our stakeholders to invest in individual SME programs, which we are very much interested in.

For transparency purposes, we publish our activities and we share our prime contractors’ best practices as well, aiming to inspire and influence.

SME Forum

The SME Forum was established by Sellafield Ltd Supply Chain Development Team to facilitate consistent engagement and open communication with the SME community.

Through these forums we aim to encourage the constructive dialogue using a collaborative platform to identify and promote opportunities for mutual learnings, improvements and development, knowledge and best practices, innovation, market trends, areas of common interest.

Meetings currently take place on a quarterly basis, both in West Cumbria and Warrington (schedule and location announced in advance via our Supply Chain Bulletin and email communications).

The forum runs under Sellafield’s Supply Chain Development and SRM Teams, with Category Manager’s support/contribution.

Depending on the matters raised during the sessions, Sellafield Ltd’s subject matter experts join to provide first-hand and accurate information, as well as prime contractor for networking purposes.

Social Impact

We’ve been building social impact into procurements for several years and through the Procurement Policy Note PPN 06/20 (Taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts) the government has reinforced its expectations.

Procurement Policy Note 06/20 – taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0620-taking-account-of-social-value-in-the-award-of-central-government-contracts)

Our ambition to achieve the maximum possible social impact from our work at Sellafield is outlined through 6 objectives in our social impact multiplied strategy, known as SiX, and requires direct and indirect contribution and support from our supply chain partners.

Sellafield Ltd Social Impact Strategy (SiX)

The SiX strategy contains our vision, objectives and outcomes linked to the Sellafield Ltd Enterprise Strategy, to provide our communities and taxpayers with a socio-economic growth return on their investment at Sellafield.

[Sellafield Ltd - Social Impact Strategy](Sellafield Ltd Social Impact Strategy - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sellafield-ltd-social-impact-strategy)

To understand what we are looking for from our suppliers within procurements, and to support the delivery of our strategy, watch the video below.

Social Impact (https://youtu.be/IDrxF-5054k)

Further information on our social impact activities can be found on our social impact, multiplied (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/social-impact-multiplied) page.