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Overview

ArcKit provides a complete vendor procurement workflow for UK public sector and enterprise organizations, covering:
  • Statement of Work (SoW) generation for RFP/ITT processes
  • UK Digital Marketplace integration for public sector procurement
  • Vendor evaluation frameworks with objective scoring
  • Requirements-driven procurement with full traceability

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Procurement Workflow

ArcKit follows a systematic procurement process:

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Phase 1: Requirements Definition

Before procurement, you need clear requirements: 
# Generate comprehensive requirements
/arckit.requirements Define payment gateway requirements
This creates ARC-{PROJECT_ID}-REQ-v1.0.md with:
  • Business Requirements (BR-xxx)
  • Functional Requirements (FR-xxx)
  • Non-Functional Requirements (NFR-xxx)
  • Integration Requirements (INT-xxx)
  • Data Requirements (DR-xxx)

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Phase 2: Technology Research

Understand the market landscape: 
# Research available solutions
/arckit.research Investigate payment processing platforms
Outputs:
  • Commercial SaaS options with pricing
  • Open source alternatives
  • UK Government platforms (GOV.UK Pay, etc.)
  • Digital Marketplace suppliers (G-Cloud, DOS)
  • Build vs Buy vs Adopt recommendations

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Phase 3: Choose Procurement Route

ArcKit supports three procurement paths:

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Route 1: Traditional RFP (Statement of Work)

Use when:
  • Custom development needed
  • Not a UK public sector organization
  • Complex, bespoke requirements
Command: /arckit.sow Output: RFP-ready SoW document with scope, deliverables, evaluation criteria, contract terms

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Route 2: Digital Marketplace - G-Cloud

Use when:
  • UK public sector organization
  • Need off-the-shelf cloud services (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS)
  • No custom development
Commands:
  • /arckit.gcloud-search - Find services
  • /arckit.gcloud-clarify - Validate service fit
Output: Live Digital Marketplace search results with service comparisons

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Route 3: Digital Marketplace - Digital Outcomes and Specialists (DOS)

Use when:
  • UK public sector organization
  • Need custom development or specialists
  • Digital project outcomes
Command: /arckit.dos Output: DOS-compliant procurement documentation

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Phase 4: Vendor Evaluation

Score vendor proposals objectively: 
# Create evaluation framework
/arckit.evaluate Create framework for project 001

# Score individual vendors
/arckit.evaluate Score Acme Corp proposal

# Compare all vendors
/arckit.evaluate Compare all vendors for project 001
Evaluation criteria (100 points):
  • Technical Approach (35 points)
  • Project Approach (20 points)
  • Team Qualifications (25 points)
  • Company Experience (10 points)
  • Pricing (10 points)

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Phase 5: Contract Award

After evaluation:
  1. Select winning vendor based on highest score
  2. Document decision rationale with audit trail
  3. Negotiate contract using SoW terms as baseline
  4. Award contract:
    • Traditional RFP: Direct contract
    • G-Cloud: Call-off contract via Digital Marketplace
    • DOS: Award via Digital Marketplace
  5. Publish award details (UK public sector: Contracts Finder)

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UK Digital Marketplace Integration

ArcKit provides real UK Digital Marketplace integration:

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G-Cloud Framework

For off-the-shelf cloud services: 
# Search Digital Marketplace
/arckit.gcloud-search cloud hosting kubernetes
Capabilities:
  • Live marketplace search using WebSearch
  • Finds actual services with supplier names, prices, features
  • Service comparison table
  • Direct links to service pages
  • Requirements gap analysis
Example output: 
| Service | Supplier | Must-Have Match | Compliance | Link |
|---------|----------|----------------|------------|------|
| AWS EKS | Amazon Web Services | 8/10 | ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials Plus | [link] |
| Azure AKS | Microsoft | 9/10 | ISO 27001, SOC 2 | [link] |

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Service Validation

After finding services, validate fit: 
# Generate clarification questions
/arckit.gcloud-clarify AWS EKS
Gap analysis:
  • ✅ CONFIRMED - Service explicitly mentions capability
  • ⚠️ AMBIGUOUS - Mentioned vaguely, needs clarification
  • ❌ NOT MENTIONED - Service doesn’t mention requirement
Outputs:
  • Prioritized questions (🔴 Critical / 🟠 High / 🔵 Medium / 🟢 Low)
  • Risk assessment matrix
  • Email templates for supplier engagement
  • Evidence requirements

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DOS Framework

For custom development: 
# Generate DOS opportunity
/arckit.dos Create DOS for payment gateway project
Outputs:
  • Digital Outcome Description
  • Essential skills (MUST have) from FR/NFR requirements
  • Desirable skills (SHOULD have)
  • Requirements summary (all BR/FR/NFR/INT/DR with IDs)
  • Evaluation criteria (40% Technical, 30% Team, 20% Quality, 10% Value)
  • Architecture review gates (HLD, DLD)
  • Requirements traceability requirements

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Requirements Traceability

ArcKit maintains full traceability throughout procurement: 
Requirements (REQ) → Statement of Work (SOW)
                   ↓
            Vendor Proposals
                   ↓
            Evaluation (EVAL)
                   ↓
         Design Reviews (HLD/DLD)
Every procurement document references requirement IDs:
  • BR-001, BR-002 (Business Requirements)
  • FR-001, FR-002 (Functional Requirements)
  • NFR-S-001 (Security), NFR-P-001 (Performance)
  • INT-001 (Integration Requirements)
  • DR-001 (Data Requirements)

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UK Government Compliance

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Sourcing Playbook

ArcKit aligns with HM Government Sourcing Playbook:
  • Outcome-based specifications - Focus on what, not how
  • Should-cost modelling - Market research before procurement
  • Social value weighting - Minimum 10% in evaluation
  • SME access - Digital Marketplace supports SMEs

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Technology Code of Practice

Procurement commands support TCoP Point 11:
  • Define purchasing strategy
  • Understand total cost of ownership
  • Consider build vs buy vs adopt
  • Use appropriate frameworks (G-Cloud, DOS)
  • Evaluate social value

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GDS Service Standard

Procurement integrates with Service Standard Point 13:
  • Use government platforms where possible (GOV.UK Pay, Notify)
  • Reuse existing services before building new
  • Share solutions across government

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Project Structure

ArcKit organizes procurement artifacts: 
projects/001-payment-gateway/
├── ARC-001-REQ-v1.0.md           # Requirements
├── ARC-001-SOW-v1.0.md           # Statement of Work (RFP)
├── ARC-001-EVAL-v1.0.md          # Evaluation framework
├── procurement/
│   ├── ARC-001-DOS-v1.0.md       # DOS opportunity
│   ├── ARC-001-GCLD-v1.0.md      # G-Cloud search results
│   └── ARC-001-GCLC-v1.0.md      # G-Cloud clarification questions
└── vendors/
    ├── acme-corp/
    │   ├── proposal.pdf
    │   ├── evaluation.md
    │   └── notes.md
    ├── beta-systems/
    │   └── ...
    └── comparison.md

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Next Steps

Generate SoW/RFP

Create Statement of Work for traditional procurement

UK Digital Marketplace

G-Cloud and DOS procurement for UK public sector

Vendor Evaluation

Objective scoring frameworks for vendor selection

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