Procurement Platforms
What Is NUPCO? A Supplier's Guide to NUPCO Tenders
3 October 2026 · 7 min read · By NextBid Bid Experts
NUPCO buys medicines, medical devices and supplies for Saudi government health entities, and it runs its tenders through its own channels. Here is what it buys, how its tenders run and what a supplier needs first.
NUPCO (نوبكو), the National Unified Procurement Company, is the Saudi company that buys medicines, medical devices and medical supplies for government health entities, then stores and distributes them. It is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, and it runs its supplier tenders through its own channels. If you sell to Saudi public hospitals, NUPCO tenders are a route you need to understand before you bid.
This guide covers what NUPCO is, what it buys, how a tender runs from the annual plan to the final results, what a supplier needs in place first, and how to keep track of new NUPCO tenders.
What is NUPCO and who owns it?
NUPCO was established to supply medicines, devices and medical supplies to government health sectors through a unified procurement system, with transport and storage alongside. It is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, and it describes itself as a centralised healthcare procurement, warehousing and distribution company for pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and supplies. NUPCO also calls itself the national arm for unified procurement and healthcare supply in the Kingdom. Its own announcements name the Ministries of Health, Defense, Interior, Education and National Guard, and King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, among its partners in government health entities.
What does NUPCO buy, and for whom?
- Medicines: the pharmaceutical tenders on NUPCO's annual plan.
- Medical devices and equipment: the medical device tenders.
- Medical and laboratory supplies, including consumables and laboratory solutions.
- Ambulances: a 2026 Council of Ministers resolution requires government entities to obtain their ambulance needs from NUPCO.
The idea behind unified procurement is simple. Instead of each health entity tendering for the same items, NUPCO runs competitive tendering among approved and qualified suppliers, assesses offers against criteria set by specialised committees, and then follows supply through to delivery. Many entries on NUPCO's plan are open framework agreements, which let new suppliers join during the agreement's term while health entities order at the awarded prices. Alongside them, the tenders list carries direct purchase requests, each with its own terms and, in the ones we checked, usually a window of a week or two.
How does a NUPCO tender run?
- Plan: NUPCO publishes an annual tender plan on its website, grouped into medical and laboratory supplies, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, with the expected bid-opening and final-results dates.
- Announcement: each tender appears in the tenders list with a status: available (new or updated), under study, initial results, final results, cancelled or direct purchase. Its page shows the dates, the booklet price, the item list and the terms.
- Booklet: a supplier that is registered and qualified with NUPCO buys the booklet through the SADAD payment service. The price differs from tender to tender and is refunded only if the tender is cancelled, so weigh it in your bid or no-bid decision.
- Offer: you submit electronically through NUPCO's official channels before the deadline, following the submission mechanism attached to the tender.
- Evaluation: a technical committee of NUPCO representatives and officials from public health entities evaluates the products during the tender period.
- Results: initial results are announced once the technical and financial evaluation is complete, which NUPCO says usually takes four to eight weeks. Suppliers can object to them, and final results are announced once the objections are reviewed. Objections are not accepted after the final results.
- Award: winners are notified and sign the agreement, then the health entities place their orders. In the booklets we reviewed, the final guarantee was 5% of the contract or purchase order value.
Registration comes before the tender, not during it. Only a registered and qualified supplier can buy the booklet, and direct purchase requests can close within a week or two, so complete your NUPCO registration and your Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) product registrations before the tender you want is announced.
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Who can bid, and what should be ready?
A supplier must be registered and qualified with NUPCO before it can buy a booklet, and NUPCO trains suppliers on the procedure during registration. Registration runs through NUPCO's supplier portal, iNUPCO. NUPCO's booklets address manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, agents, local producers and suppliers abroad, and they apply local content and small and medium enterprise (SME) preference rules, so read our guide to local content in Saudi government tenders before you price.
Every booklet has its own document list. Start with our checklist of documents required for Saudi government tenders, then check these items, which the booklets we reviewed asked for:
- Commercial registration, or the licences for your activity
- A zakat or tax certificate, and a General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) certificate showing contributions are paid
- Chamber of Commerce membership and Saudization certificates, where they apply to you
- SFDA documents: a registration certificate for each item you offer. For devices, the booklet we reviewed also asked for the medical device establishment licence (MDEL), the manufacturer's legal representation certificate (AR) and the product's marketing authorization (MDMA)
- The manufacturer's agency certificate, and the Monsha'at certificate if you claim SME treatment
- An initial bank guarantee of 1% of the offer value, unless you are a local factory or an SME and can prove it
How do you find NUPCO tenders?
The manual route is NUPCO's official website. The tenders list shows each tender's status and deadline, and the annual plan shows what is coming. Check both on a fixed routine, because direct purchase requests close fast and a missed announcement cannot be recovered. NUPCO is a separate channel from Etimad, so it needs its own routine next to your Etimad process.
NextBid's Pulse (نبض) follows NUPCO alongside Etimad, Forsah and Tanafos and sends alerts by email. NUPCO tenders are included on the paid plans, Pulse Pro and Pulse Intelligence, and not on the Free plan. Pulse Pro adds instant email alerts when a tender is published, unlimited sectors, keywords and buying entities, and downloads of booklets and appendices where the platform provides them. Pulse Intelligence adds a participation board and guarantee and three-deadline tracking with reminder emails, which suits tenders that need a guarantee arranged and several dates watched.
Frequently asked questions
What does NUPCO stand for?
NUPCO stands for the National Unified Procurement Company, known in Arabic as الشركة الوطنية للشراء الموحد للأدوية والأجهزة والمستلزمات الطبية (نوبكو). It is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund and buys medicines, devices and medical supplies for government health entities.
Where are NUPCO tenders published?
NUPCO publishes its tenders list and annual tender plan on its official website, and suppliers buy booklets and submit offers through NUPCO's own channels. Do not assume Etimad alone will show them, and track NUPCO as a separate source.
Do I need to register with NUPCO before bidding?
Yes. NUPCO states that suppliers must be registered and qualified with it before they can buy a tender booklet through SADAD, and training on the procedure is part of registration. Registration is handled through the iNUPCO supplier portal.
Do my products need SFDA registration?
Yes. NUPCO states that all products offered in unified procurement tenders must be registered with the SFDA. If unregistered products are submitted, they are handled under the tender's general terms and the needs of the health entities at the time of award.
Are local factories and SMEs treated differently?
NUPCO says local factories and SMEs are exempt from the bid bond and may provide an SME certificate or a manufacturing certificate instead. The booklets we reviewed also cut the booklet price by 50% for them after the bids open, on proof of status.
How long do NUPCO results take?
Initial results are announced once the technical and financial evaluation is complete. NUPCO says the timing depends on the size and complexity of the tender and usually takes four to eight weeks. Reviewing objections also takes four to eight weeks, and final results are then published on NUPCO's website.
NUPCO tenders run on their own channels, apart from your other tender sources, which makes them easy to miss. On its paid plans, Pulse brings them into the same email alerts as your other tender sources, so you can decide early whether to buy the booklet and have your registration, guarantee and product documents ready in time.