Inverted Microscope

About the buyer

University of Edinburgh buys as a higher education institution, through its own Procurement function. Larger tenders are advertised on Public Contract Scotland, via the PCS-T e-tendering platform. Suppliers must register separately on both systems before bidding. Much of this procurement flows through framework agreements with APUC, Scotland Excel and the Crown Commercial Service. Prior information notices invite market engagement from suppliers ahead of larger tenders. The Strategic Procurement team leads regulated sourcing, while Operational Procurement manages day-to-day purchase orders. A Procurement Support team handles reporting, data analysis and training across the function.

Education procurement reached £47.4bn in 2024/25, the fourth-largest public sector budget.

Over the past 5 years, most of University of Edinburgh's contract awards have been in laboratory and precision equipment, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals and software and information systems.