Six of the Questions We Are Asked Most Often
We’ve combined the questions we are asked most frequently into this blog post.
You say that you support people to sell to the public sector, what do you mean by the public sector?
In a nutshell the public sector is responsible for providing all public services in the UK. From the emergency services and healthcare, education and social care, to housing and refuse collection. It comprises of central government, local government and private corporations.
To you and mean that means organisations like local councils, Scottish and Welsh Governments, Department of Health, Ministry of Defence and also arms lengths organisations/agencies like:
The Accountant in Bankruptcy
The Care Inspectorate
Quality Meat Scotland
British Museum
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
The list is endless.
What are tenders?
Tenders are contract opportunities published by the public sector for goods, services and works.
The process that all public bodies must follow requires that opportunities over a certain value are advertised.
In England this value is £10,000 in England and £50,000 in Scotland for goods and services.
They publish a contract notice. This will detail how to submit a bid, details of what they want to buy, the value of the contract and duration of the contract.
I’ve been told the process is time consuming and complicated. Is this true?
Procurement is a process. However, once you understand the process you can replicate this.
We support businesses to both understand the process and to implement an internal system to enable them to both identify and respond to opportunities as they arise.
I’m a small business owner will the public sector buy from me?
Yes
By 2022, the government plans that one third of its spend on goods and services will be with SMEs (that’s small and medium enterprises) either directly or through their supply chain.
The public sector changed the way it purchases to make it easier for them to buy from small businesses. Some of these changes are:
Simpler application process
Suppliers will be paid in 30 days.
I still think that I’m too small a business to sell to the public sector
You’re not. As we’ve outlined above the government has changed the way it buys goods, services and works to increase the opportunities for small businesses.
One example of this is a trainer we worked with a trainer who had just set up her business. Although she was experienced in her field she had only worked for others. She had no trading history and was sceptical about securing contracts with the public sector. Working in partnership we quickly identified an opportunity as for Associate Trainers to supply a local college. Demonstrating the experience, she had in her field she was successful gaining a place on the framework.
We also worked with a holistic therapist who specialises in supporting individuals to deal with the stress in their lives. As a solo business owner with no employees she was unsure that the public sector would purchase her services. We quickly identified an opportunity working with senior pupils in high schools. Supporting her we submitted a proposal and she was successful in obtaining a framework. She has since been working with pupils to deal with exam stresses.
What do they public sector buy?
The range of goods, services and works that the public sector buy is huge.
They range from pens and pencils to meditation services for children/young people in schools to major infrastructure projects like the building of motorways or schools. You can read more in the blog post.
What is the best advice you give a solo or small business owner?
We recommend that you have a clear procurement strategy. Key considerations are:
What products (goods and services) you can sell to the public sector
What areas (geographically you can supply) – this could be UK wide or could be limited to a smaller geographic region
Identify public sector organisations that will purchase your product
Identify where these organisations advertise (in Scotland all public sector organisations must advertise on Public Contracts Scotland. In England there are a range of procurement portals).
Once you’ve identified procurement portals that organisations advertise on, make sure you register on these. Where available complete a Supplier Finder Profile and make sure it is published. Find out why here.
We hope this has answered any questions you have. If you have any other questions or would like to book a Procurement Strategy Session then get in touch.