Tendering presentation 280410

Business Link for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon and Somerset

Selling to the Public Sector28th April 2010

Selling to the Public Sector28th April 2010

Martin Ellis

Business Adviser



The Business Link Service provides:

• Information, advice and support to help Start, Run and Grow your business

• We provide information to businesses and link them to relevant local solutions and expertise – Information, diagnostic and brokerage, totally free of charge & confidential

• Business Link works closely with partners, from both the public and private sector to deliver solutions

Telephone– Specialist enquiry service (0845 600 9966)

Online– Extensive website (businesslinksw.co.uk) and online

services (Health Check and other interactive tools and e-alerts)

Advice– Dedicated business specialists and advisers– Events– Partner locations or at your business

– Links to local and national support networks

How is the Business Link service delivered?



• Anyone thinking about starting a business• Anyone just starting a business• Anyone already running a business and wants to grow• Anyone running a business who needs help with a particular problem• Any existing business who needs specialist advice

Who can use the Business Link service?

How can Business Link help me if I need some expert

assistance on a specific business issue?

Can link customers to...

• Business Link specialist Advisers in innovation, environment, 2012 Olympics, social enterprise, finance, IT and more

• Link you to a supplier from the Supplier matching service (Currently being upgraded)

• Link to local partners and programmes



• The service is for any business type or size and can be tailored to suite your needs

• You use us as much or as little as you want

• There’s no charge

• You can get information or advice – face to face or online

• You’ll get linked to a huge regional and national business support network

• It’s high quality, relevant, impartial and confidential and run by committed and experienced individuals

• We are committed to working with partners and strengthening the network

In a nutshell

Who are the public sector

Barriers to tendering

Advantages of working for the public sector

Why the public sector like SME’s

Finding out about contracts

Where to find opportunities (Olympic Overview)

Writing your tender

What clients will expect from you


Agenda


Generally speaking, the term ’public sector’ refers to national and local organisations that are funded by public money. It covers a very wide range of bodies, including:

All departments of central government and its agencies (such as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and the Driving Standards Agency (DSA))

The Ministry of Defence (MoD)

Local authorities, NHS trusts

The emergency services (police, ambulance, fire service)

Publicly funded bodies (such as the BBC, arts venues)

Schools and universities

The Olympic Development Authority (ODA)

London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic

Games(LOCOG).

Who are The Public Sector


Top 10 Barriers

Difficulties finding contract opportunities

When they do find an opportunity advertised advice is not easy to obtain –

passed from pillar to post

Some did not understand the tendering procedure - complicated

Tendering procedure too resource draining for SME’s

Perception of public sector being slow payers

Many contracts too big for small businesses to fulfill

Do not necessarily have the level of organisational policies e.g. Equality, H&S

The legal framework is too complicated (Buyers terms of contract)

Contract term often too short if investment is required

Long timescale between applying for tenders and contract award

Cash flow can be a problem for SMEs, who don’t usually have substantial financial resources to fall back on and find it difficult to wait for payment until the end of a long contract period.

When bidding for work, see if staged or interim payments can be made, based on work done or part-goods supplied.

Sometimes, an SME (particularly in the voluntary sector) may be able

to negotiate an advance payment, before the work starts. These or other variations on contract terms may be worth discussing with potential buyers. The contract cannot be completed until the supplier and the public sector organisation agree terms.


Overcoming cash flow barriers


Which parts of the public sector are of interest to my company?

What are the specific challenges facing my company in tendering for public sector

work?

In what specific ways can my company meet these challenges?

What are the barriers that may prevent my company from tendering for public sector

work?

In what specific ways can my company overcome these barriers?

What steps can I take to make direct contact with potential buyers?

What is the added value my company offers that I can tell buyers about?

Challenges and barriers - Action plan

You may have considered these or similar advantages:

The public sector is largely recession-proof: public bodies don’t normally go out ofbusiness

Public bodies are usually good payers, with robust, reliable payment arrangements The public sector is broadening its supplier base to include more SMEs Exciting projects are often on offer, eg at the cutting edge of technology in defencecontracts, or in projects that help the environment There is greater legal security, since the public sector is subject to public procurementLegislation Projects can include an element of social responsibility and a chanceto help the community


Advantages of working for the public sector

Business Link fo Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon and Somerset

SMEs may offer better value for money than larger suppliers:

Better value for money

Bringing in more suppliers will often bring greater competition to the market place, so reducing the costs of procurement from all suppliers

SMEs have lower administrative overheads and management costs than larger firms. Depending on the nature of the procurement, this can result in lower prices.

Why the public sector like SME’s

Business Link fo Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon and Somerset

Better quality of service

SMEs have short management chains and approval routes, so they can respond quickly to changing requirements. SMEs may also be highly focused on particular markets making them particularly responsive to changes in those markets

Being a large customer of a small business means your business is important to the SME. This can result in a better, and often more personal, level of service and in a better relationship with the supplier

The SME may also be more willing and able to tailor a product or service to meet specific customer needs than a large firm that sells an established offering

Many SMEs, including social enterprises, supply higher quality specialist products or services than larger suppliers, either because larger suppliers are discouraged by the limited demand, or because the SME has skills, originality and commitment in that field that are greater than those found in their large company competitors.

Why the public sector like SME’s Cont.


Build contacts with potential customers Adverts in local and national newspapers Adverts in trade and professional magazines covering your area of business Research contracts outside your business sector which may produce secondary contracts for you, eg if a new office block is built, it will need desks, carpets, signage, stationery, cleaning and laundry Follow up press and other reports - a company may be expanding or sub-contracting part of a big order Network and pick up information from other businesses

Finding out about contracts

You can find out about private-sector contracts in a number of ways:


Devon https://www.devontenders.gov.uk Cornwall https://www.tendersincornwall.co.uk/default.aspxSouth West One http://www.southwestone.co.ukSouthwest http://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk Police https://www.bluelight.gov.uk NHS http://www.supply2health.nhs.uk/default.aspxSell2Plymouth http://www.sell2plymouth.co.ukExeter http://www.exeterbuysellprosper.co.uk Public Sector http://www.supply2.gov.uk/ Public & private procurement http://www.tenderalerts.co.uk/ or http://www.publictenders.net Training / Consultancy http://www.bravosolution.com

Finding out about contracts Cont:

E-Portals – Public Sector

https://www.devontenders.gov.uk/

https://www.tendersincornwall.co.uk/default.aspx

http://www.southwestone.co.uk/

http://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk/

https://www.bluelight.gov.uk/

http://www.supply2health.nhs.uk/default.aspx

http://www.sell2plymouth.co.uk/

http://www.exeterbuysellprosper.co.uk/

http://www.supply2.gov.uk/

http://www.tenderalerts.co.uk/

http://www.publictenders.net/

http://www.bravosolution.com/


Southwest One – To register email [email protected] with a short summary of the business and who you have worked with in the past.

mailto:[email protected]


Dorset Police Opportunities

Start Date Contract Title End Date

01/09/2010 PUBLIC RELATIONS SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE DORSET SAFETY CAMERA PARTNERSHIP (TENDER T10-100...

30/08/2013

04/11/2010 PROVISION OF AN INTEGRATED HR & FINANCE SYSTEM (TENDER No.T10-10053)

03/11/2017

Avon Fire & Rescue Service Opportunities

Start Date Contract Title End Date

01/04/2011 Financial Services 31/03/2016

https://www.bluelight.gov.uk/procontract/supplier.nsf/frm_opportunity?openForm&contract_id=CONTRACT-QTLE-82KCB4&search_id=PLAN-SCHQTLE-84WGAX&org_id=ORG-QTLE-7B7FKD&from=



https://www.bluelight.gov.uk/procontract/supplier.nsf/frm_opportunity?openForm&contract_id=CONTRACT-QTLE-82JKSU&search_id=PLAN-SCHQTLE-84WGAX&org_id=ORG-QTLE-7B7FKD&from=

https://www.bluelight.gov.uk/procontract/supplier.nsf/frm_opportunity?openForm&contract_id=CONTRACT-QTLE-82JKSU&search_id=PLAN-SCHQTLE-84WGAX&org_id=ORG-QTLE-7B7FKD&from=

Plymouth LSPPlymouth Procurement Forum

Partnership Forums


Over the next few years the London 2012 Games will provide numerous business opportunities. The combined spend of the Olympic Development Authority (ODA) and London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is estimated to be £7 billion, with 7,000 direct contracts and 75,000 opportunities in supply chains. Goods and services are required within a wide range of market sectors, including:

Construction and engineering Manufacturing Tourism and leisure Catering and food Retail and merchandising Business services Interpreting and translation services Most of the opportunities for SMEs will probably come from the supply chains required by the bigger contracts.


The London 2012 Games

London 2012 https://www.competefor.com/business


London 2012 business benefits:

• Over 800 contractors have won work supplying the ODA worth over £3.5bn in total.

• Over two thirds (68 per cent) are small and medium sized.

• Just under half (46 per cent) are based outside of London.

• Over 42,000 (42,671) companies have registered on CompeteFor, more than 29,500 (29,517) are small companies with less than 50 employees and 89 per cent have less than 200 staff.

• Over 30,000 of companies registered on CompeteFor are based outside of London.


How do businesses win contracts?

There is a three-stage process to successfully bidding for contracts:

Stage 1: REGISTER a business profile and ensure that the minimum requirements are met – a profile will then be ‘published’

Stage 2: IDENTIFY the contract or sub-contract opportunities and get the tender information

Stage 3: SUBMIT a successful tender

What are the Minimum Requirements?

Quality Management Statement

Equal Opportunities Policy (5 or more employees)

Health & Safety Policy (5 or more employees)

It also may help if the business has an

Environmental Policy & Sustainable Development Policy


DEVON firm BridgeZone has won a sought-after contract to inspect and maintain the booms on the canal leading into the Olympic Park, ahead of the London 2012 games.

BridgeZone Ltd, based at Swallow Court, beside junction 27 of the M5, near Tiverton, has become an official Olympic supplier. The waterway will be used to take construction materials into the East London site.

Dave Rylatt, operations director at BridgeZone, said he was "chuffed to bits" to have won the high-profile contract.

He said: "On the basis of our specialisation in engineering work associated with diving and rope access, we were matched with the work they already have and had to go through a competitive tendering process."All in all, the process took about three months."



Finding Opportunities - Action Plan

Which routes are best for my business to find opportunities?

What are my relevant CPV codes? (Common Procurement Vocabulary )

Which NUTS codes are particularly relevant to me? (geographical location )

What information do I need to carry out an effective Portal search?

What are the procurement portals of most interest to me?

Which local public sector websites have I registered (or will I register) with? Which websites can I register with that will help me find opportunities outsidethe UK?

Who gathers information and does research?Who co-ordinates all the material you need?Who writes the drafts?Who checks them?How will the rest of your firm's work get done?Keep a tendering folder

A good starting point is to make a list of all the questions you would ask if a company was submitting a tender to provide a product or service to you.


Writing your tender

Once you have decided to bid, you'll need to decide how you'll manage the bid:

Name: Being vague about contact details doesn’t show a willingness to develop a business relationship. It’s better to give your full name, eg ‘David Jones’. Job title: The completed PQQ should come from a senior manager or executive within the organisation, representing the importance given to the opportunity, eg ‘Managing Director’ as opposed to an administrator.

Email: A common error made by many SMEs is to use a ‘freebie’ email address. It’s far more professional for a company to use a ‘company-specific’ email address extension, eg ‘[email protected]’. In terms of the overall form this may be one field in many. However, it’s sometimes small details like this that can make the difference between getting through the PQQ stage and not.

Improving your responses



Clients will expect you to:• Summarise your work as a contractor, past experience and credentials for this job

• Say how you'll carry out the work, and how and when the client's aims will be achieved

• Explain the benefits and value for money of your bid

• Detail when and how goods and services are to be delivered, and provide a timetable

• Demonstrate your team's skills, experience of similar work and their responsibilities if you win the contract

• Explain how you will manage the project

• Give details of your pricing and any aftercare arrangements within the price

• Be practical and identify potential problems without promising what's clearly impossible for you to deliver


As a minimum, if you’ve more than five employees, you’ll be expected to have met your legal requirement to have a written Health and Safety Policy in place. Where relevant, a public authority may also want to see evidence of your commitment to: Quality Equal opportunities Environmental / Sustainability

Some public authorities require proof that you have employers’ and public liability insurance in place. Others will allow you to provide proof that cover is arranged and can be put in place quickly if your bid is successful.

A letter from a commercial broker or current underwriter explaining this will normally be sufficient.

Policies and insurance


What supporting documents do I need for tender responses?

Do I have all the policies which I need to have in place when tendering for

public sector work?

Do I have the insurance cover required for public sector work or the ability

to put the cover in place quickly if I win a contract?

Is my company's accounts information readily available?

What accreditation does my company have that I can use in a tender response?

What specialisms or unique selling points can I focus on in a

tender? What other companies might I work with in a consortium or sub-contracting role?

Tendering - Action plan

• Business Link’s advisory teams:

• Help identify new Olympic or public sector contract opportunities

• Help develop a business to deliver bids won

• Help businesses to grow and secure additional public and private sector contract opportunities

• Provide general business advice and support should a business decide not to bid

What help is available after bidding?


Thank you

Tel: 0845 600 9966

www.businesslink.gov.uk/southwest

Martin Ellis

Email: [email protected]: www.twitter.com/martbellis
