Shiona Campbell Shiona Campbell

Busting the myths: Public sector clients aren't worth the effort

Are you struggling to grow your business?  At the moment a lot of business owners I speak to are struggling to grow their businesses? Most business owners I speak to have not given much consideration to selling to the public sector. Why would you? It’s complicated, your business is too small, the cheapest supplier will always win, the reasons not to 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, you can even go back and look at the myths I’ve already busted here.

The myth I am going to debunk this week is that public sector clients aren’t worth the effort.

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MYTH #5: public sector clients are not worth the effort.

The reality of this myth is that on average the UK Government spends on average £292 billion a year. More than 1/3 of all public spending, on purchasing goods, works and services from external suppliers. This translates to around 50,000 new business opportunities a year for many different sectors.

Those unfamiliar with the formal tendering process can find it cumbersome. However, like anything new, it takes practice to become familiar and more efficient in tendering. You may still be sceptical and unsure if it is worth the effort. Below I’ll outline some reasons why I believe it is worth the effort and will help you to grow your business.

  1. Suppliers must be paid within 30 calendar days. Yes you read that correctly but it gets better. The government require the ENTIRE public sector supply chain to pay suppliers within 30 calendar days. Some departments will pay valid invoices within 5 working day. In Scotland the public sector pays 99% of valid invoices within 10 working days.

    Can you imagine that cash flow?

  2. The government is committed to making buying from SMEs simpler. The requirement for the pre-qualifying questionnaire has been removed for low-value contracts in England. In Scotland a procedure called Quick Quotes can be used for low value contracts (in Scotland low value contracts are those worth less than £50,000 for goods and services).

  3. Public sector clients have to adhere to strict guidelines around fairness and transparency. Nothing is hidden and all decisions must be made transparently. This means you should receive feedback if you have been unsuccessful with your submission.

  4. Contracts must be open and accessible. This means that no matter what size your business is, if you meet the criteria and can deliver the contract, you have a fair chance of winning the work. This differs from private procurement.

TOP TIP

Public sector procurement may be perceived as cumbersome and can be time consuming. However, choosing the right opportunities for you and your business is crucial. Take time to consider how you want to grow your business over the next 1, 3 and 5 years. This will help inform what are the right opportunities for you going forward.

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What are you waiting for?

Last week in our blog we busted the myth that you cannot contact or engage with buyers during the procurement process. You can find it here. You can download our free guide here which takes you through the first steps to take in preparing to sell to the public sector.

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Shiona Campbell Shiona Campbell

Busting the myths: you cannot contact or engage with buyers during the procurement process

Are you struggling to grow your business?  At the moment a lot of business owners I speak to are struggling to grow their businesses? Most business owners I speak to have not given much consideration to selling to the public sector. Why would you? It’s complicated, your business is too small, the cheapest supplier will always win, the reasons not to 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, you can even go back and look at the myths I’ve already busted here.

The myth I am going to debunk this week is that you cannot contact or engage with buyers during the procurement process.

MYTH #4 is: you cannot contact/engage with buyers during the procurement process.

The reality of this myth is that you can contact the buyer. In fact you have the right to formally contact the buyer in order to fully understand the contact.

During the procurement process there will be a way in which you can ask questions of the buyer. Normally this is done by using the portal where the notice is being administered but it can sometimes be by email.

However, you can raise questions should be laid out within the tender documentation. This will include any deadlines by which you must raise any queries.

Any questions that are raised will be anonymised and shared with all interested parties. This means that if clarifications are being administered by email you must make sure you are receiving updates when questions are answered.

You can ask the buyer:

  • The scope of the contract

  • How the tender will be scored

  • Confirm the tender procedure

  • What value the contract is over the full contract lifecycle

  • And more.

We advise the business owners we work with to ensure they have reviewed all tender documentation prior to the deadline for asking questions. We also recommend that they have drafts of all questions drawn up by then to ensure they do not have any clarifications that will not be answered.

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TOP TIP

Make use of the clarification function, making sure you ask any questions prior to the deadline. It is also important that you review the questions (and answers) raised by others.

What are you waiting for?

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Last week in our blog we busted the myth that contracts always go to the same suppliers. You can find it here.

You can download our free guide here which takes you through the first steps to take in preparing to sell to the public sector. Or book a virtual coffee here . We’ll talk to you about your business and the opportunities available to you and your business.

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Shiona Campbell Shiona Campbell

Busting the myths: contracts always go to the same suppliers

Most small business owners I speak to want to grow their business. To be honest who doesn’t want to grow their business? Most business owners I speak to have not given much consideration to selling to the public sector. Why would you? Its complicated, your business is too small, the cheapest supplier will always win, the reasons not to 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.

The myth I will debunk this week is that contracts always go to the same suppliers.

MYTH #3 is: contracts always go to the same suppliers.

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The reality of this is that an existing (or incumbent) provider should have a good chance of retaining their contract, this is not always the case. Authorities do not always award contracts to existing contractors.

The way that public bodies buy goods and services is a transparent system. As we talked about in last weeks blog buyers can take a number of different elements into account when purchasing goods and services.

Recently I worked with a consortium who were bidding to deliver a self-development programme. This programme had already been the subject of a pilot. Despite not being the existing providers of this programme, which had evaluated well, the consortium was successful with their bid.

Contracts are not only single supplier. There are lots of opportunities that take the form of a framework or dynamic purchasing system. These can offer great opportunities to those businesses new to selling to the public sector. This blog tells you more about the types of contracts used by the public sector.

What are you waiting for?

Last week in our blog we busted the myth that the lowest price will always win a bid. You can find it here.

You can download our free guide here which takes you through the first steps to take in preparing to sell to the public sector.

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Shiona Campbell Shiona Campbell

Busting the myths: The lowest price always wins a contract - myth 2

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Many small business owners I speak to want to grow their business.

To be honest who doesn’t want to grow their business?!

Yet, most of those business owners I speak to have not given much consideration to selling to the public sector. Why would you? Its complicated, your business is too small, the cheapest supplier will always win, right? Wrong! 

What if I told you these objections were all myths? That the public sector actually WANTS to buy from you!

Join me over the next few weeks while I bust these myths and get you to realise just how to take advantage of the lucrative and plentiful opportunities that are waiting to be filled by you and your small business

Myth #2 is: the lowest price always wins a contract (which means you count yourself out because you know there are others in the market place who deliver lower quality products or services at a lower price.

The reality of this is that price cannot be the sole reason for awarding a contract. Instead, most bids are awarded to the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT). This is laid down in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

What do I mean by the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)?

The Most Economically Advantageous Tender is the tender that offers the best price, not necessarily the lowest price. They will use a cost-effectiveness approach or price/quality ratio.

MEAT evaluation can include:

  • Quality

  • Technical Ability

  • The proposed design

  • Accessibility

  • Social characteristics

  • Environmental benefits

  • Innovation

  • Customer service or ongoing support

  • Ability to delivery on time.

The evaluation section of the tender will outline exactly how the opportunity will be evaluated. It is common for a maximum percentage to be given for price and a percentage to be allocated for quality. For example, 60% Quality, 40% Price.

Abnormally Low Prices

If one of the prices of a bidder appears to be abnormally low, it can be rejected. Although the buyer must first ask the bidder to explain the relevant calculations/characteristics in detail to justify the low price. The supplier may have a more efficient manufacturing process, the technical solutions chosen, favourable conditions and/or the originality of the bid. However, if the price is low because it does not comply with UK environment/social or labour laws, it must be rejected.

Some Tips to help you identify and win public sector opportunities

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  1. Make sure you understand the selection criteria.  If you do not use the clarification/question and answer function. (We’ll have more about this in a few weeks).

  2. Consider where you provide real value to the client (buyer). Review the specification and see where you can exceed their requirements.

  3. Think about what is important to the buyer.

  4. Understand the market you are operating in and your capacity within this. Download our Business Growth Guide which will take you through the things to consider.

What are you waiting for?

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Last week in our blog we busted the myth that the public sector only wants to buy from bigger businesses.

If you want to find out more about the opportunities, you are missing out on book a virtual coffee. We’ll talk to you about your business and the opportunities available to you and your business.

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Shiona Campbell Shiona Campbell

Busting the myths: you CAN grow your small business by selling to the public sector - myth 1

You’re a small business owner who wants to grow your business. To be honest who doesn’t want to grow their business? It’s likely you’ve not given much consideration to selling to the public sector. Why would you? Its complicated, your business is too small, the reasons not to 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

One reason that you may not have thought about selling to the public sector is that you think your company is too small to sell to the public sector (MYTH 1). In fact, you may think that organisations like Housing Associations, local councils, and even large central government departments wont buy from you because you’re a small business.

What if I told you that this is a myth? That’s right, your belief that your business is too small to sell to the public sector is incorrect.

Ok, its fine me telling you that but you want proof.  Let me tell you the official line.

The government made changes to help SMEs bid for public sector contracts. These changes are outlined below. 

Suppliers must be paid within 30 calendar days

The government requiring the entire public sector supply chain to pay suppliers within 30 calendar days. In reality, central Government departments will pay valid invoices within 5 working days. In Scotland the public sector pays 99% of valid invoices within 10 working days.

Payment terms for SMEs were accelerated further last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is because the government recognise the importance of cash flow for smaller businesses.

Even as a sub-contractor on a government contract you must still be paid within 30 calendar days. In some tenders you will be asked to complete a prompt payment certificate. This means you are committing to pay your suppliers within 30 calendar days.

Making buying simpler

The government is committed to making buying simpler for low value public sector contracts. This was achieved by removing the requirement for a pre-qualification questionnaire for low value contracts.

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Requiring contracts to be advertised in one place

Well, that headline above may be slightly misleading. Each nation of the UK has a dedicated portal.

  • In England all Central Government Department and its agencies are required to advertise contracts over £10,000. The portal Contracts Finder is used for this.

    In addition, the wider public sector in England must advertise all opportunities valued over £25,000 on Contracts Finder.

  • In Scotland the Public Contracts Scotland Portal must be used to advertise all opportunities.

    For contracts under £50,000 (for goods and services) the Quick Quote facility can be used to invite suppliers to bid.

  • In Wales the portal Sell2Wales is used to publish notices.  It also has the Quick Quote facility.

Public Sector spend with SMEs

The UK Government has previously committed to 1/3 of its spend going to SMEs by 2020. This was then extended to 2022. We’ve been unable to verify how much of their spend is currently with SMEs.

In Scotland:

  • Last year 76% of opportunities were awarded to SMEs

  • £542 million was spent with micro companies. These are companies with less than 10 employees.

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What are you waiting for?

As you can see the public sector wants you as a supplier. There are opportunities to help you grow your business.

You can download our free guide which takes you through the first steps to take in preparing to sell to the public sector. Or book a virtual coffee. We’ll talk to you about your business and the opportunities available to you and your business.    

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Shiona Campbell Shiona Campbell

How to demonstrate you are a Fair Workplace Employer… and win that tender!

You’re a small business owner, interested in selling to the public sector but amongst the questions you are being asked in a tender there is a question about sustainability and/or fair work practices. You are not sure how to even start answering this question?!?!

One of the myths of selling to the public sector that I often hear is that the public sector only want to buy from bigger businesses, not SMEs and definitely not solo businesses. When I come across questions about fair work practices and sustainability in tenders, I can see why business owners like you think this.

The fact is that the public sector have made changes to how they buy goods and services to make it easier for small business owners to bid for more contracts.

Some of these changes are:

  • A simpler application process has been established and

  • Large contracts can be split into smaller parts (lots) to create more opportunities.

Suppliers to public sector organisations must comply with workplace standards and labour laws. A question or questions within a tender can judge a suppliers compliance with these standards and laws.

 
 
 
 
 
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How to evidence your practices in a tender

In some tenders these are a series of yes/no questions. In other tenders you are asked to demonstrate how you are a fair work practice employer with a text narrative, where do you even start?

We advise business owners to consider these five points, as a starting point to responding to this type of question:

  1. How will you ensure your employees voice is heard? For example, trade union representation or employee forums.

  2. How do you invest in workforce development? Do you invest in both your training and the training of any of your staff? How do you decide what training you and/or your staff will access? Do staff have a training plan? Do you employ trainees or apprentices?

  3. Do you employ staff on zero hours contracts?  If you do this will not rule you out. However, within your response you should provide more information. For example, if you offer staff the type of contract that suits their life and availability or if you move staff to permanent contracts after a set period of time.

  4. What action do you take to ensure your business is as diverse as the community it serves? This includes, but is not limited to gender equality -  are men and women performing the same duties paid the same salary? One step towards addressing equality and diversity is ensuring all staff receive some training on this. ACAS offer some free online training which would give you a starting point. Also making sure you have an Equality and Diversity Policy will help you to consider this within your business.

  5. The final point to consider is do you provide fair pay for workers? The main measurement for this is paying all staff at least the Scottish Living Wage (this is slightly higher than the national minimum wage (also called a living wage, which is a tad confusing). You can become an accredited living wage employer.

 

Evaluation of Fair Work Practice Questions

When buyers are evaluating a bidder’s response, they should consider the bidder’s context. This includes:

  • Their size – obviously a business with only one director employed in it will vary in how they can comply with this than businesses who employ 10, 20 or hundreds of members of staff.

  • The sector they are operating in – some sectors traditionally employ staff on sessional or zero hours contracts, they require staff to pay for their own training, etc. In other sectors employers may work largely with associates or sub-contractors. And

  • How the five fair work first criteria will apply to the delivery of the contract.

By considering the five points outlined about you can begin to implement policies and procedures in your business which make sure you are considering sustainability – not only now but as you grow your business.

Often our clients can struggle with how these 5 points apply to their small (sometimes solo) business. If this feels familiar to you, why not book a call with one of the team? 

Why not book a virtual coffee and have a chat with us about how you can grow your business by winning public sector contracts?

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Shiona Campbell Shiona Campbell

Are you ready to grow your business - stage 5?

Over the last few weeks we’ve been talking about are you ready to grow your business?  I think that most business owners will consider that they are.  However, I’m not sure all truly are ready. 

Over the last month we’ve considered:

·         Who are you customers?

·         Strengths and weaknesses

·         Geography and Pricing

There are 8 steps we take business owners through when they are preparing to grow their business.  Over the last few weeks we’ve covered stages 1, 2, 3 and 4, this week we are looking at stage 5. 

This week we want you to think about what makes your business and your products (goods and/or services) unique.  In particular think about:

  • Do you have a unique selling point?

  • What do you do differently to your competitors?

The type of things this could include are your onboarding process, how you deal with customers and potential customers.  It could also include:

  • Memberships you or your business have

  • Training you and/or your staff have

  • Your passion for your business and the customers you serve

  • The experience the customer gets

  • As a tradesman you might turn up when you promise to turn up. 

Like the exercises we’ve suggested in our previous blogs it can be beneficial to carry out this exercise on a regular basis. As you grow it may be that you want to widen your geographic reach.  Naturally as you grow your business your pricing structure is likely to change.  You also may find out more information about the pricing of your competitors. 

Taking 15 minutes to carry out this exercise on a regular basis will take you one step closer to being ready to grow your business.  

Book a call to let us know how you got on when you completed this exercise. 

Download your copy of a guide to go through this exercise here.

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Shiona Campbell Shiona Campbell

Are you ready to grow your business - stages 3 and 4?

Over the last few weeks we’ve been talking about are you ready to grow your business?  I think that most business owners will consider that they are.  However, I’m not sure all truly are ready.  Click here to read our previous blogs which outline Stage 1 and Stage 2..

This is the case particularly when we consider selling to the public sector. 

There are 8 steps we take business owners through when they are preparing to grow their business.  Over the last few weeks we’ve covered stages 1 and 2, this week we are looking at stages 3 and 4. 

This week we want you to firstly look at where you cover geographically. 

This will differ depending what type of product you deliver.  By product we mean both goods or services.  If you provide a service directly to children or young people within schools, then your geographic reach will be limited to the distance you are willing to travel.  Whereas if you sell PPE its likely you will be able to supply this throughout the UK (and possibly further afield). 

Take 5 minutes to consider and note the geographic reach you want your product to have. 

Now take some time to consider your current pricing strategy.  For example consider:

·         Are you clear around your pricing – offering all customers similar pricing?

·         Do you offer any discounts?

·         How competitive is your pricing?

·         What do your competitors charge?

The information you have gathered by carrying out these exercises will help you to understand which public bodies you may want to work with. 

It can be beneficial to carry out this exercise on a regular basis.  As you grow it may be that you want to widen your geographic reach.  Naturally as you grow your business your pricing structure is likely to change.  You also may find out more information about the pricing of your competitors. 

Taking 15 minutes to carry out this exercise on a regular basis will take you one step closer to being ready to grow your business.   Why not join us in our FREE Facebook group and let us know how you get on? 

You can download our Growth Strategy Guide. This guide takes you through 8 key areas to consider in growing your business. 

Join us next week when we take you through the next step in preparing to grow your business. 

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Shiona Campbell Shiona Campbell

Are you ready to grow your business – stage 2?

In last weeks blog, we asked you, are you ready to grow your business?  Hopefully you spent 15 minutes considering our customers’ exercise.  If not why not take the time to do that exercise just now. You can access last weeks blog here.  This is the first step we take customers through when we are speaking to them about growing their business.

This week I would like you to consider the strengths and weaknesses of your business. 

They types of things to consider within both are:

  • size of your team

  • your knowledge and experience

  • your customer base

  • your aspirations.

This is a really important exercise when you are considering growing your business. 

Once you’ve completed this exercise you can decide if you need to work on your weaknesses – you may decide not to work on all of them.  If you do then coming up with a plan of action – how quickly do you want to achieve this? – is essential.

This is an exercise you should be considering regularly. 

When you are preparing any proposals it could be beneficial to demonstrate your strengths within these. 

Strengths of small business owners, like you, could include being:

  • Nimble

  • Able to respond quickly to your customers’ needs

  • A specialist in the area you operate.

Remember when you considering selling to the public sector, you would welcome winning low value contracts.  For larger companies some smaller value contracts may be viewed as nuisance contracts.

Remember for goods and services low value contracts can be up to £50,0000 in value.  Bigger suppliers may think of contracts of this size to be a nuisance and therefore not worth their while. Whereas for you winning these could demonstrate considerable growth for your company.    

We recommend taking 15 minutes to carry out this exercise on a regular basis will take you one step closer to being ready to grow your business. 

You can download our Growth Strategy Guide here. This guide takes you through 8 key areas to consider in growing your business. 

If you are interested in growing your business by selling to public sector organisations, then why not join our FREE Facebook Group

Join us next week when we take you through the next step in preparing to grow your business. 

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Shiona Campbell Shiona Campbell

Are you ready to grow your business – stage 1?

Are you ready to grow your business?  I think that most business owners will consider that they are.  However, I’m not sure all truly are ready. 

This is the case particularly when we consider selling to the public sector. 

There is a simple exercise that we take business owners through which helps them to:

  • assess where they are now and decide where currently are and

  • identify areas in their business where there is opportunity to grow.

The first step in this exercise is considering who your current customers are.

We can probably relatively easily come up with a list of our customers but try delving a bit deeper.  For example:

  • How much do they spend with you?

  • How long have you been working with them?

  • What do they buy?

  • Why not speak to your customers, what do they love about what you do?

When we take business owners through this exercise they are often surprised by the answers.  Often the customer who spends the most with them is not the customer they would have put at the top of this list. 

In the same way the most popular of their products is not always the product they would consider it to be.

By carrying out this exercise they are taking the first steps towards selling to the public sector.  When bidding to sell to the public sector you often must provide examples of similar contracts you have delivered.

The information you have gathered in this exercise will help you to provide the best examples of contracts. 

Some business owners do not consider themselves to be delivering contracts but by carrying out this exercise you can see that you do in fact contract with customers, no matter how informal. 

Taking 15 minutes to carry out this exercise on a regular basis will take you one step closer to being ready to grow your business.   Why not join us in our FREE Facebook group and let us know how you get on? 

You can download our Growth Strategy Guide. This guide takes you through 8 key areas to consider in growing your business. 

Join us next week when we take you through the next step in preparing to grow your business. 

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Shiona Campbell Shiona Campbell

The 1st stage of any tender explained

This month we will be looking at the different parts of a tender.  You’ve decided you’re going to grow your business by selling to the public sector. You have found an opportunity that looks like a good fit. You download the documentation. Then you are faced with a bunch of questions about your business and offences that may have been committed.

Wait, what is all of this? You’ve come across the section known as the selection questionnaire or SPD. 

It is important to remember this section will be scored as pass or fail.  

The first section of a tender is known as:

  • PQQ (pre-qualifying questionnaire) or

  • Selection Questionnaire or

  • SPD (Single Procurement Document) or

  • Qualification Envelope.

This can be a stand-alone part of the tender process or can be combined with other stages in a single stage (open) tender.

This section is commonly a set of pass/fail questions.  This starts with an information section about your company.  It commonly includes you declaring compliance with:

  • Legal compliance

  • Financial standing

  • Insurance cover

  • Modern slavery

  • Equality and diversity

  • Health and safety regulations

  • Environmental standards, etc. 

This is typically the first stage of a tender process.  It helps the buyer decide which organisations are best suited to deliver the contract.  Remember, they cannot base this decision on price alone.  If you do not pass this stage then you will not have the rest of your bid evaluated (or receive an invite to stage 2 of the process).

It also ensures any previous convictions or misconduct is declared.    This is a requirement of the procurement regulations.  If you do declare convictions or misconduct this may not rule you out of the process.  There are ways to self-cleanse. 

We would argue that the most important part of this first stage is the response to the technical and professional capabilities.  This part is where you outline to the buyer your experience in delivering similar contracts.  The purpose of this is to demonstrate you have a capability to deliver the contract.  This is both in terms of duration and size of contracts.

This part can be scored.  Buyers often ask for the following information:

  • Name of buyer

  • Contact details of buyer

  • Contract duration

  • Contract value

  • Details

People assume that this is the easiest part of a tender process.  If you have all the information stored where you can access it, this is correct.  Especially once you’ve been through the process. 

Think of it as an application form – this is essentially what it is.  The application won’t necessarily win you the contract, but it will get you to the next stage.  This is when you have the opportunity to sell what you do.  One of the keys to submitting any tender is to remember that tendering is a competition.

Now we’ve outlined the purpose of this, go on give it a go. Or if you need some support in completing your first one please get in touch.

P.S. Did you know we run a FREE Facebook group?  In the group we look at a current tender opportunity each week and share hints and tips.  Why not join us? 

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Shiona Campbell Shiona Campbell

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

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