RM6397 Lot 12 of 12
RM6397 Lot 12: MSP Master Vendor
Master vendor managed service provision, filling requisitions from own supply first and managing a second tier for the remainder. Part of the £2 billion excluding VAT (£2.5 billion including VAT) NHS Workforce Alliance framework, which replaces RM6281 (clinical and healthcare staffing) and RM6277 (non-clinical staffing).
Submissions close 3pm on Monday 21 September 2026 (11 days remaining). Clarification questions close 3pm on 2 September 2026.
Lot 12 at a glance
- Framework
- RM6397 Clinical and Non-Clinical Temporary and Permanent Staff
- Buyer
- Government Commercial Agency, for the NHS Workforce Alliance
- Submissions close
- 3pm on Monday 21 September 2026
- Clarifications close
- 3pm on 2 September 2026
- Framework value
- £2 billion excluding VAT (£2.5 billion including VAT)
- Term
- Four years from February 2027
- Portal
- CCS/GCA Bravo Solution (Jaggaer)
- Supplier numbers on this lot
- Limited
- Staff groups in scope
- Not a single staff group. The service combines first-tier direct fulfilment across clinical and non-clinical groups with second-tier chain management.
This lot is limited in supplier numbers. That changes the bid or no-bid calculation entirely. On the direct supply lots, a compliant and well-evidenced submission secures a place. Here you are ranked against competitors, so an adequate submission loses. Confirm the stated supplier numbers in the ITT before committing a team to it.
Who should bid this lot
Large staffing groups with both direct supply capability and managed service infrastructure, and established master vendor providers with NHS delivery history.
The general rule across RM6397 is to bid the lots you can evidence rather than the lots you would like to hold. Evaluators score depth of evidence per lot, not breadth of ambition, and providers who bid three lots properly consistently outperform those who spread thin across eight.
The compliance discriminator for Lot 12
First-fill rate and second-tier fairness are examined together. Evaluators want evidence that your own fulfilment genuinely reduces cost and time rather than simply capturing margin, and that second-tier agencies are treated fairly enough to stay engaged, because a chain that disengages leaves the client exposed on the requisitions you cannot fill.
What actually scores
First-fill percentage by staff group, second-tier agency retention and satisfaction, total cost outcomes against the client's prior arrangement, and compliance audit results across both tiers. Naming the client organisations and the scale of spend managed is essential.
The mistake that loses marks on this lot
Presenting first-fill rate as an unambiguous good. A high first-fill figure paired with a disengaged second tier is a fragile model and experienced NHS evaluators know it. Present first-fill alongside second-tier health, and explain how you keep chain agencies willing to work with you when you are also their competitor.
Lot 12 questions
Can we bid both MSP lots?
Check the ITT for any restriction before assuming it. Even where both are permitted, bidding both requires two genuinely distinct propositions, because neutrality and first-fill capability are contradictory selling points. A submission that argues for impartial supply chain management in one lot and preferential own-supply fulfilment in the other, without addressing the tension, invites the evaluator to doubt both.
Can we bid an MSP lot and direct supply lots?
This is common for large staffing groups and is the natural position for a master vendor, since first-tier fulfilment depends on direct supply capability. Confirm in the ITT whether holding both creates any conflict-of-interest declaration requirement, and be prepared to explain how requisition routing works when you sit on both sides.
Lot names, the framework value and the timetable were last reviewed on 21 August 2026. Published summaries of RM6397 differ on the submission date and on the term commencement, so treat the ITT on the CCS/GCA Bravo Solution (Jaggaer) portal as the only authority. See the full RM6397 guide for the detail on those discrepancies.
The other eleven RM6397 lots
Most providers bid more than one. Each lot has its own regulator, evidence expectations and characteristic failure mode.
See also the RM6397 framework guide, the NHS tender pipeline and the NHS Workforce Alliance overview.
Bidding Lot 12? The evidence is the work
Getting fill rates, compliance audit outcomes and named contract references out of your operational systems and written to the published criteria is what decides the score, and it is the part providers start too late. Call 020 3668 5488 or send us the deadline and we will come back with a Teams time.
RM6397 Lot 12: MSP Master Vendor
Which lots are you bidding, and what does your msp master vendor evidence look like today?