BIDDING FOR CONTRACTS: BY SANDRA DICK
How to compete on equal terms with the big boys
IT’S the stuff that bosses dream of: fi nally snaring that lucrative public body contract, which brings regular income and stability for months or years ahead.
But getting a foot in the door of what can sometimes feel like a ‘closed shop’, where big companies always seem to snap up the biggest and best of the work on off er, can feel like mission impossible.
While the same old big names seem to be quids in - enabling them to grow even bigger - small operators can be left feeling like they’ll never make the break.
So how can smaller fi rms possibly compete? What should they look out for, and how can they stand a chance when up against the big players?
Getting started Whether it’s government, local authority, public body – like hospitals – universities and colleges, the key is to switch on your search radar. According to Peter Jones (RIGHT), Principal Consultant with Eunomia, advisors to a range of public, private and third sector organisations and procurement specialists, just being aware of what contracts are out there is the logical place to start.
“The fi rst thing is to know is what is coming,” he explains. “What a lot of people are not doing is signing up to websites that give you information about tenders in the public sector.
“Companies can refi ne their searches, and then narrow it down to an area that fi ts their business.”
There are various places to search for up and coming contracts – your local council website for a start.
The government’s Contract Finder site,
https://www.gov.uk/ contracts-fi nder, lets you search contracts worth more than £10,000 with the government and its agencies – which can include universities, councils and the NHS. You can refi ne your search to look through current opportunities, future tenders and early engagement opportunities, which off er the chance to take part in talks about how a tender might progress, or search through past contracts.
For Scotland visit
www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk, Wales is
www.sell2wales.gov.wales and in Northern Ireland
www.esourcingni.bravosolution.co.uk all provide the same service.
Decipher the code A major turn off for many smaller businesses are the legal complexities and jargon used in tender documents. Peter agrees it can look intimidating. “There are a lot of codes and confusing stuff around the edges, but in the middle there should be a straight forward description of the types of services required,” he says. “One thing small businesses might not often do, is look at the PINs – prior information notices. These are notices about tenders which are not yet issued but are potentially coming up. “There’s a tendency to bunch up tenders and for the public body to try to get the service from one company. If you are a small player it might not be feasible to off er all the services required, but perhaps you can off er a part of it.” Smaller businesses can use the opportunity to start a conversation. Says Peter: “They could contact the public body and say ‘why don’t you consider dividing this work up into
12 SHM September, 2017
lots?’ Pre-engagement can turn a tender from something really diffi cult to win, into something you could get a slice of.”
It’s important to act fast, he adds. “By the time it is published as a tender, it’s too late.”
Don’t despair It can be easy to feel defeated before you start. Bear in mind that public bodies are generally keen to encourage SMEs. “It can be tough for the small end of the market to secure big contracts,” agrees Peter. “It is always more risky for a public body with a big contract and if there’s a small company which may be more vulnerable to staff leaving or retiring, or perhaps doesn’t have the capital behind it to deal with diffi cult circumstances. “There are reasons why these are not easy contracts for small companies to win. It’s like an ant climbing Everest, a mammoth undertaking.” He suggests companies that have specialisms might benefi t from approaching larger businesses to discuss partnerships or consortiums – something that can benefi t both parties.
How to win that contract? Unfortunately, many small businesses make a string of schoolboy errors that immediately scupper their chances before they start. "Failing to read the tender questions properly, and waffl ing for ages without saying much – all classic mistakes," added Peter. Plus, it helps to know your business and what pressures it can absorb at the start – biting off too much in one go could be a disaster.
www.skiphiremagazine.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
