Busting the myths: The size of contracts won’t be achievable for me and my business
We’re fast approaching the end of the year. How are you progressing towards the goals you set at the beginning of this year? I know that some business owners I speak to are struggling to meet those goals. Most business owners I speak to have not given much consideration about selling to the public sector. Or they have not pursued it because they think its too complicated, their business is too small, the cheapest supplier will always win, their reasons go on.
What if I told you, these were myths? That the public sector wants to buy from you! Join me over the next few weeks while I bust these myths. So far, we’ve busted the following myths:
Public sector only buys from bigger businesses
Lowest price will always win a contract
Contracts always go to the same suppliers
You cannot contact/engage with buyers during the procurement process
Public sector clients aren’t worth the effort
You can cut and paste your response from one tender to another
Its difficult to find and win work
Its difficult for a small business owner to know where to start
I’m a new company and without a trading history the public sector won’t buy from me
Engaging with the buyer prior to procurement is anti-competitive.
This week we are going to debunk the myth
The size of contracts won’t be achievable for me (and my business)
The stats
On average the UK Government spends around £292 billion a year. More than a third of all public spending goes on procuring goods, works and services from external suppliers. This money generates over 50,000 business opportunities a year for many different industries.
The public sector wants to work with SMEs
Yes, you read that correctly. The public sector wants to work with SMEs. By 2022 the UK Government wants 33% of all public contracts to be awarded to SMEs. The following points demonstrate this:
30-day payment period – all invoices for contracted work must be processed by public bodies within 30 days of receiving them, ensuring all businesses get paid promptly. Lengthy payment periods can be an issue within the private sector, where larger businesses can dictate when they issue payment.
Buying has been made simpler by removing the pre-qualification questionnaire for low value contracts.
Contracts are required to be advertised in one place.
Use of Frameworks or DPS. In the world of procurement, a framework agreement is a form of procurement used to create an umbrella agreement with suppliers.
The framework sets out the terms and conditions under which goods, works or services can be purchased throughout the period of agreement. These will include terms such as price, quality, quantities and timescales.
The sweet spot to find these advertised is in Contracts Finder for England. In Scotland and Wales lower value (for goods and services normally those worth under £50,000) can be advertised invite only as a Quick Quote. For this you need to have a registered Supplier Finder Profile. You can download my guide.
Some examples
Below are some examples of smaller value contracts that I’ve found.
Business Plan Consultant: The value of this tender is between £6,000 to £8,000. The buying organisation are looking for support in preparing a business plan. This will be submitted as part of a grant funding project. The length of this contract is 4 and a half months.
Delivery of the effective use of social media and digital communications workshops to elected council members in England. This opportunity has been published by the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government. The value of the opportunity is up to £10,000. They buyers are looking for one or more suppliers and run one-off stand-alone development workshops on the effective use of social media.
Event Production and Management support published by Telford and Wrekin Council. The value is between £10,000 and £25,000. The contract will run from 8/11/21 to 31/3/22. This is Pride Event Support.
What are you waiting for?
If I’ve whetted your appetite and you’d like to discuss the type of opportunities available to your business why not book a virtual coffee? We’ll talk to you about your business and the opportunities available to you and your business.