Managed procurement
Managed procurement is for requirements that cannot be met by a single provider or a single service — multiple locations, several services, or a supplier selection that needs to be run properly. TCSA reviews the brief, assesses the market and presents the options.
This service is delivered by TCSA, subject to confirmation of scope, location and availability.
What this covers
Organisations sourcing across several countries or services at once, businesses running a competitive selection where the shortlist must be defensible, and buyers taking on a new market who need providers assessed before committing.
Brief review
Clarifying the requirement, the mandatory criteria and the commercial constraints before approaching the market.
Market assessment
Establishing which providers can genuinely meet the brief, based on capability and coverage rather than registered address.
Shortlist and presentation
A shortlist with the reasoning behind each inclusion, presented for your decision.
Introduction and handover
Introductions to the selected providers, with the commercial relationship held by you.
Who performs the work: TCSA delivers the review and the sourcing work. The services themselves are delivered by the appointed providers, or by TCSA where a confirmed in-house service covers the requirement.
Limits: TCSA does not sign contracts on your behalf, does not take commissions from suppliers and does not guarantee provider performance. Providers respond to you directly and contract with you directly.
How membership and accreditation differInformation to have ready
None of this is required to send an enquiry. It helps us confirm the appropriate route and the scope faster.
- What has to be delivered, and where
- Volumes, scope or spend involved
- Mandatory requirements and disqualifying factors
- Timescale for appointment
- Whether incumbents are being replaced or supplemented
- How the selection decision will be made
What happens next
The same four steps apply whatever the service. Timings are agreed with you rather than promised up front.
- 01
Brief
Submit the requirement through the procurement brief form, including the mandatory criteria.
- 02
Review
TCSA reviews the brief, asks any clarifying questions and confirms the approach.
- 03
Sourcing
The market is assessed against the brief and a shortlist is prepared with its reasoning.
- 04
Introduction
Selected providers are introduced. You decide who to proceed with and on what terms.
What affects the price
The brief review is free. Sourcing work is quoted against the scope of the brief, and any fee is confirmed in writing before work begins. TCSA does not take commissions from providers.
Submitting the enquiry is free. The service itself is quoted before any work begins.
TCSA sets the rates for the work it delivers itself.
Where this is available
Briefs are accepted for all eight TCSA markets. Where a brief spans markets outside that set, we confirm whether it can be handled before proceeding.
Availability on a specific lane, site or regime is confirmed during review.
Who handles the work
Briefs are handled by staff who assess providers against stated criteria and document the reasoning, so the shortlist can be explained and defended.
Membership of TCSA is not a statutory licence, and neither membership nor accreditation guarantees the performance of any provider. Scope and charges are agreed with you before work begins.
Questions about this service
Related services
Customs and trade software
Customs and trade software covers declaration filing, classification data, landed-cost calculation, origin determination and trade compliance screening. Requirements differ sharply by volume, trade lanes and existing systems, so the selection is as much about fit as about features.
Inspections
Inspections verify goods, documents or conditions at a defined point in the supply chain — before shipment, on arrival, during loading, or at a warehouse or supplier site. The scope of each inspection determines what can be verified and what evidence is produced.
Customs compliance review
A structured review of how an organisation handles customs: the data behind its declarations, the procedures it follows and the records it keeps. It identifies where errors are arising and what to fix first.
The process
How an enquiry works
Find customs, freight and trade services through TCSA. Tell us what you need and we will review your enquiry, connect you with suitable member providers, or confirm whether TCSA can deliver the service directly. Submitting an enquiry does not book work or accept a quotation, and does not guarantee that a provider is available.
- 01
Choose a service and tell us what you need
Pick the service that fits and describe the requirement. It takes a couple of minutes.
- 02
TCSA reviews the requirement
We confirm the appropriate next step: a member provider, a TCSA-delivered service, or a managed sourcing process.
- 03
The agreed route responds
Suitable member providers or the TCSA team respond according to the route you agreed to.
- 04
You decide whether to proceed
Review the scope, the provider and the pricing before committing to anything.
Membership
What members get on services
You do not need to be a member to enquire. Membership changes the rate you pay and the way opportunities are routed to you as a provider.
For buyers
- Preferential rates on eligible services, confirmed with your quotation.
- Eligibility checked against your membership record, not a self-declaration.
- One enquiry route covering customs, freight, compliance and inspections.
For member providers
- Enquiries matched to your stated services, countries and language capability.
- Only enquiries you are assigned to are visible to you, in the Member Portal.
- Your details are shared only where the customer has permitted it.
Buying a service has no bearing on accreditation. Accreditation is assessed separately against published criteria.