Find out how to work more successfully with prime suppliers as an SME

Published 23 October 2026

Last updated 22 October 2026

This article explains how SMEs can work more successfully with prime suppliers (primes). It encourages SMEs to reflect on what they can offer to primes and to understand their value proposition. It also explains how to target the right primes from the outset to give the relationship the best chance of success.

The article also covers the support and guidance primes can offer SMEs, a topic of growing interest. It provides practical advice on the groundwork SMEs should do before pursuing a relationship with a prime. This includes what to look for in a prime, and how to make it work.

For guidance subcontracting as an SME, see our previous article, how to successfully subcontract.

What is a prime and what is partnering?

We use the following terms in this article: 

  • prime supplier: the entity who has the contract with the buyer, also known as a tier 1 supplier
  • subcontractor: the supplier who delivers all or part of the contract; they do not contract directly with the buyer but instead with the prime supplier
  • partnering: an approach which aims for a closer, long term working relationship between the subcontractor and the prime

We hope that, by following the advice below, SMEs as subcontractors can feel like their relationship with their chosen prime supplier is more successful. It should feel more like a partnership than a traditional arms length relationship.

Why work with a prime contractor?

Working with a prime contractor is a powerful growth tool for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is especially true if you are looking to scale and gain market access. A successful working relationship will focus on a long-term alignment built on complementary capabilities. 

Each partner brings something valuable to the table:

  • the SME brings specialised technical expertise, agility and flexibility 
  • the prime brings a much larger operational footprint and financial capacity

In this way, partnerships can help SMEs capture high-value contracts that would otherwise be out of reach. This gives them more freedom and flexibility. 

Partnerships also offer some crucial benefits to the prime, namely:

  • securing trusted, agile capacity
  • filling critical niche requirements for winning bid proposals 

When executed successfully partnerships allow both partners to: 

  • mitigate individual risks
  • expand their market share
  • build a predictable pipeline of collaborative revenue

How primes support and help SMEs

Some primes will provide extra support to help SMEs to develop their capability. This may include:

  • help with portfolio building and case study creation
  • support in developing social value propositions
  • help in understanding compliance requirements
  • helping to understand the public sector customer landscape
  • joint marketing initiatives and bid management

What do you need to consider before working with primes?

To identify where your offerings are most relevant, you need to understand the public sector landscape. Primes are more likely to partner with SMEs that can clearly show: 

  • which customer problems they solve
  • how their capabilities help primes to win, keep or expand existing business 
  • how they strengthen a prime’s public sector proposition

Before looking to work with primes you should consider:

  • the outcomes you improve: do you reduce costs, create social value, or improve service quality?
  • the most relevant market segments are most relevant to your business: for example, central government departments such as the Department for Education, or wider public sector organisations such as NHS trusts and local authorities?
  • where is your innovation most valuable: as a standalone product or a value-add to an existing service?

Before making an approach to a prime, consider creating a short statement, tailored to each prime you are targeting, explaining:

  • why a prime should work with your organisation
  • where you fit within a prime’s public sector business
  • what makes your offer different from other organisations and what value you bring 

Do your research 

To help you find suitable primes to approach, you need to do some research. This will also ensure you have all the information you need for your initial reach-out.

1. Use publicly available information

Use resources to build a targeted list of primes. You can use things such as:

Consider whether a prime is on a commercial agreement through which it has repeatedly won business. A prime with the potential to make a good partner will:

  • be working in your target market segments
  • be working with your target customers
  • have  a strong track record of winning, and likely to win again

   The relationship needs to work for both parties.

2. Become familiar with the commercial landscape

Understand which commercial tools, such as frameworks or dynamic markets, are most important to your targeted primes. Learn how they operate. Try looking at the prime’s website for case studies. If you don’t understand the commercial tool that the prime uses most often, you are not going to understand the contractual obligations that sit behind it. 

3. Understand public sector market priorities 

Primes want to align with public sector market priorities. Policy or emerging risks tend to shape these priorities. Procurement Policy Notes (PPNs) are used to communicate new policies (addressing public sector priorities), which must be applied to public procurement activities. Understanding these policies is important for two different reasons. 

In the case of modern slavery, prompt payment and social value, SMEs will need to demonstrate compliance in any case, if they are a key subcontractor for a prime. For carbon reduction and cyber essentials, SMEs do not necessarily need certification as a subcontractor. However, certification is likely to come in useful in future, for instance if you decide to contract directly. Your relationship with a prime might come in useful here, as primes sometimes help SMEs with compliance. For instance, some primes might offer a grant to cover the cost of certification. Some of our previous Supplier Specifics articles look in detail at these policies and explain how SMEs have been considered in the application of the policy:

4. Look for evidence of prior partnerships

Look beyond the size of an organisation and seek evidence of a collaborative approach. Many primes publish information about their SME engagement programmes and partner networks. They might also have case studies about their previous subcontracting activity. These can provide a useful signal of how supportive they are of working with SMEs.

5. Qualify the partnership opportunity

Understand the prime’s strengths, how it partners, and its business strategy.  Partnerships work best when what you offer builds on an existing strength or supports a deliberate growth plan.

Assessing commercial terms and relationship fit: how to get it right

Once you’ve made your initial approach to a prime, you’ll need to negotiate terms. You’ll also need to manage your relationship going forward. Here’s how to get it right:

Commercial arrangements

You need to carefully prepare for commercial negotiation with primes. Be confident in your offering and establish your bottom line from the start. You should aim to protect your commercial interests. Consider:

  • how much risk and liability are they expecting you to assume?
  • will they guarantee workshare, for example the exact percentage, value, or distinct scope of a project?
  • are payment terms fair?
  • are they insisting on exclusivity or restricting your ability to sell elsewhere?
  • is your intellectual property (IP) and know-how protected and will your contribution be recognised to allow you to showcase your work?
  • are they focused on controlling how you engage with their customers and access to them?

Relationship management

Successful partnerships depend on strong relationships as well as good commercial arrangements. Look for:

  • a clear and transparent approach to selecting and managing SME partners
  • clear governance
  • early engagement
  • a well documented onboarding process
  • structured ways of working

Expect:

  • a focus on a shared portfolio of customers rather than just one
  • willingness to involve you early in shaping the solution, rather than only asking for pricing near bid submission
  • opportunities for joint strategic account planning
  • regular partner performance reviews with clear assessment criteria

Once you have agreed on the terms of a partnership, continue to track the quality of engagement. The measurement of success of the relationship should have been discussed in advance so it is clear to both parties.

Make sure you do not become dependent. A prime partnership should not be your only pipeline of business. You should retain your own market insight and the resources to pursue and win direct business too. 

Find out more

We want to hear from you: send your questions, feedback, or ideas to smefeedback@gca.gov.uk.

 

Supplier Specifics