Procurement processes
Singapore’s procurement process strives to deliver value for money, provide open and fair competition, and transparency to suppliers, to maintain public accountability.
Last updated 1 December 2025
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Government procurement is open by default, to ensure transparency, open and fair competition, and value for money. Information on the Government’s procurement opportunities can be found at the GeBIZ website.
In addition, to ensure proper accountability of the use of public money and resources, the procurement process requires approvals at key junctures. There is also segregation of key procurement roles and responsibilities to ensure there are checks and balances in the system.
What are the stages of the government procurement process?
The procurement process can be broadly broken down into the following stages:
Sourcing: Government agencies can source for goods and services through various procurement approaches.
Evaluation: Bids are evaluated based on the published evaluation criteria in the tender documents to ensure transparency. The evaluation criteria will generally include both quality and price, to enable Government agencies to procure from sources that can best meet their requirements and offer the best value for money.
Approval of Award: The evaluators will present the outcome of their evaluation to the approving authority. When approved, an award notice with the name of the supplier and the contract sum will be published on GeBIZ.
Contract Management: Upon award, Government agencies are required to:
Ensure that the goods or services are supplied in accordance with the contractual requirements
Monitor costs and ensure proper documentation of key considerations and decisions' during the contract management stage.
Identify and deal with potential contractual issues.
What are the different procurement approaches?
Small Value Purchases (SVP)
Estimated procurement value: Not exceeding S$6,000
Buy from suitable suppliers or off-the-shelf, provided the prices are assessed to be reasonable.
Sourcing methods:
Verbal or written quotes
Off the shelf purchase
Quotation
Estimated procurement value: Not exceeding S$90,000
Open Quotation
Quotation notice published openly on GeBIZ inviting suppliers to bid according to the specified requirements
Sourcing methods:
Invitation to Quote (ITQ)
Limited Quotation
One or a few selected suppliers will be invited to bid according to the specified requirements
Sourcing methods:
Invitation to Quote (ITQ) issued to selected suppliers
Tender
Estimated procurement value: more than S$90,000
Open Tender
Tender notice published openly on GeBIZ inviting any interested supplier to bid according to the specified requirements
Sourcing methods:
Invitation to Tender (ITT)
Selective Tender
A 2-stage process in which interested suppliers will be shortlisted based on their capabilities via a pre-qualification exercise. Only shortlisted suppliers will be invited to submit their bids according to specified requirements.
Sourcing methods:
Pre-qualification exercise followed by Invitation to Tender (ITT) for qualified suppliers
Limited Tender
One or a few selected suppliers will be invited to bid according to the specified requirements
Sourcing methods:
Invitation to Tender (ITT) is issued to selected suppliers
Innovative Procurement Partnership
One of the sourcing methods that Government agencies can use to procure innovative solutions. It is most appropriate for innovative solutions which requires pilot testing before wider deployment. This sourcing method enables Government agencies to award contracts covering the pilot phase, and includes an option for the deployment phase through a one-time scale-up of the innovative solution within a defined period.
The Innovative Procurement Partnership initiative benefits businesses as follows:
Removes the need to show track record by default, to improve accessibility for businesses
Shares risks with businesses during the pilot phase by removing security deposits and the provision for liquidated damages by default
Increases opportunities to deploy innovative solutions more widely when pilots are successful
Tender Lite (Sub-category of Tender)
Estimated procurement value: Not exceeding S$1 million
Covers new tender opportunities called from end April 2024 (for general goods and services), and from May 2025 (for construction)
MOF will be implementing Tender Lite for ICT contracts in phases from the second half of 2025, and details will be shared in due course.
The Tender Lite initiative benefits businesses as follows:
Fewer contract conditions as compared to typical tenders, to improve accessibility for businesses;
Share risks with businesses by removing or limiting the amount of liquidated damages and removing security deposit.
Note: Sourcing mechanisms under Tender applies to Tender Lite
Share with us your feedback on procurement
For feedback on specific tenders/quotations, kindly contact the procuring agency. For feedback on GeBIZ or other feedback on Government procurement, please use the channels below.