Preliminary Market Engagement for Vending Services for Confectionery, Snacks and Drinks for Clients within NI Health and Social Care

About the buyer

The Procurement and Logistics Service, known as PaLS, is the sole procurement and logistics provider for Health and Social Care organisations across Northern Ireland. Twelve sourcing teams manage buying across categories from medical equipment to ICT and facilities. Six operational teams run transactional purchasing across sites throughout the region. Tenders above a set value are advertised through the eTendersNI portal. Larger contracts follow the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and Northern Ireland's procurement policy. Logistics teams then distribute purchased goods from four centres to hospitals and HSC sites across the region.

£434bn was the total UK public sector procurement spend in FY 2025/26.

Over the past 5 years, most of Regional Business Services Organisation Procurement and Logistics Service's contract awards have been in medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, repair and maintenance and laboratory and precision equipment.