Permanent List of Prequalified Suppliers

A permanent list of prequalified suppliers is a list created after a buyer publishes a notice and assesses which businesses meet stated qualification criteria. Suppliers that qualify are added to the list, and the buyer keeps it for use across several later solicitation processes. Tender documents are then issued for individual requirements under the list. The Government of Canada's sourcing guidance describes the approach in these terms.

Canadian guidance uses the wording "permanent list of prequalified offerors". The same guidance says the mechanism may be called a source list, and that many trade agreements call it a multi-use list. At Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), permanent lists are put into practice as supply arrangements.

Other names for the same mechanism

Three terms are closely tied to this one, and a supplier will meet all of them in tender documents.

• Source list: another name for a permanent list in Canadian guidance.
• Multi-use list: the term used in many trade agreements.
• Supply arrangement: the form PSPC uses to operate a permanent list of prequalified offerors.

PSPC states that supply arrangements let client departments solicit bids from a pool of prequalified suppliers for specific requirements. A supply arrangement is not a contract. It sets up the pool, and contracts follow from the separate solicitations that draw on it.

Rules when trade agreements apply

Where the Canadian Free Trade Agreement or an international trade agreement covers the list, the Government of Canada guidance sets out conditions for how it runs. The list must be established through open tendering and kept up to date. The guidance also says:

• The existence of the list must be advertised annually.
• Businesses must be allowed to seek qualification at any time.
• All businesses meeting the selection criteria must be included.
• Every prequalified offeror must be allowed to submit an offer for covered procurements.

These conditions are why a list stays open after its first intake. A supplier that missed the original notice can still apply by submitting a request for qualification.

Federal examples: ProServices and Shared Services Canada

The ProServices supply arrangement is a federal government-wide mandatory method for professional services below the Canada–Korea Free Trade Agreement threshold. A department may direct a requirement below $40,000 to a prequalified supplier. For certain requirements below the applicable threshold, it may instead invite at least two prequalified suppliers to compete.

Shared Services Canada offers another example. Its challenge-based solicitation for IaaS and native PaaS services places responsive bidders that meet the prequalification requirements on a permanent multi-use list. The list can be used for future requirements and stays valid until Canada terminates it.

A related but separate tool is the qualified products list. The Department of National Defence maintains these lists, which are established in advance to identify products or services that meet recognized performance standards or specifications. They qualify products or services, while a permanent list of prequalified suppliers qualifies the businesses.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Getting onto a list is a gate, not an award. A supplier must respond to the published notice, show that it meets the mandatory and rated requirements, and stay compliant with the list's conditions. Once qualified, it must still submit a separate bid for each solicitation issued under the list. Inclusion does not guarantee a contract.

Suppliers that are not on a relevant list may never see the work, because buyers draw on the pool for those requirements. Bid teams should track which permanent lists cover their goods or services, and apply for qualification when a list is open to new entrants.