Preparing To Tender
For Public Sector
Works
Andrea Campbell
Agenda
• 10.00
Session 1 – Introduction to Procurement
•
•
•
•
• 10.45
• 11.15
• 11.30
Procurement in the public sector work
Explaining contract types
Procurement process cycle
Finding opportunities
Neil Hopkins - Head of Procurement at Birmingham City Council
Break
Session 2 – Succeeding at PQQ stage
•
•
•
•
Purpose of Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQ)
Answering the standard elements of a PQQ
Dealing with Qualitative Questions
Common mistakes made
Agenda
• 12.30
Lunch
• 1.15
Session 3
• 10 Tips for procurement presentation and interviews
• 2.15
Break
• 2.30
Questions and Answers
• 3.00
Finish
Housekeeping
• We are not expecting a fire drill today
• Toilets are out by reception
• Lunch and refreshments will be served out by reception
and will be clearly marked
• This is an interactive event – we welcome questions and
comments
Purpose of the event
o To discover what public sector procurement is
o Why public sector bodies use these procurement
methods
o How to find opportunities
o What is a good quality document
o What are the common mistakes and how to avoid them
o You want to be involved!
Session 1
Introduction to Procurement
SESSION 1
What is procurement?
Definition:
“The process of acquiring goods, works and services,
covering both acquisition from third parties and from
in-house providers. The process spans the whole cycle
from identification of needs, through to the end of a
services contract or the end of the useful life of an
asset.”
SESSION 1
What is procurement?
In other words…
• Procurement is the process that the public sector follows
when purchasing goods, works or services from:
o Deciding what to buy
o Deciding how to buy it
o Choosing who to buy it from
o Agreeing a contract with a supplier, to
o Managing that contract until the end or the end of the useful
lifetime of the item / service.
SESSION 1
What is the public sector?
• The public sector nationally includes:
o central civil government departments
o the Northern Ireland assembly, National Assembly for
Wales and Scottish Executive
o the NHS
o the Ministry of Defence
o local authorities
o schools and colleges
SESSION 1
What is the public sector?
• In Birmingham the public sector
includes:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Birmingham City Council
Birmingham East and North PCT
Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT
NHS South Birmingham
Birmingham University
Birmingham City University
Aston University
West Midlands Fire Service
West Midlands Police
SESSION 1
Key objectives
1. Value for Money (VFM)
The right combination of
A high quality service or product
&
Optimum cost
to achieve the desired outcome for the intended service
recipient
SESSION 1
Key objectives
2. Transparency and Accountability
All public sector bodies are responsible for getting value for
money in their purchasing as they are spending tax payers
money.
They must be able to demonstrate that it has been spent
efficiently, effectively and not wastefully.
SESSION 1
Procurement rules
• All public sector contracts, no matter what their value, are covered by
an EC treaty. This sets down principles to prevent discrimination
against companies from any member state and ensure open
competition. These principles are backed up in law by the EC
procurement directives.
• Most public sector contracts are tendered because by tendering
contracts public bodies can make sure that they:
• get value for money
• are open and fair in their purchasing activities
• comply with procurement law
SESSION 1
What is competitive tendering
• Competitive tendering means seeking competitive bids
(tenders) for contracts.
• Contracts are advertised and any interested companies can
tender for them.
• The values for tendering can differ between public sector
bodies.
SESSION 1
What is competitive tendering
LOW VALUE CONTRACTS
Services & Suppliers
Below £100,000
Works
Under £3.8 million
HIGH VALUE CONTRACTS
Services & Suppliers
Above £100,000
Works
Over £3.8 million
Types of Services / Good tendered for
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Catering
Cleaning
Construction
Food
IT Services
Leisure
Office Furniture
Property Management Works
Stationery
Vehicle Acquisition
Venue Hire
Plus much more
SESSION 1
Contract Types
Corporate Contracts
•
For provision of supplies / services across entire organisations. Usually long term.
One off contracts
•
For provision of one off services or supplies for a specific part of an organisation or
department.
Framework contracts
•
A contracts set up with a number of companies who are then called on to provide ad
hoc goods / services during the life of the contract. Usually used for legal,
consultancy or care services
PFI contracts
•
Long term high value contracts negotiated with large contractors, who may then
sub-contract elements of the work out to smaller or more specialist companies.
SESSION 1
Common procurement methods
Open Contracts – single stage process
• A notice is placed giving all interested suppliers the
opportunity to tender.
• 52 days must be allowed from despatch of the notice to
receipt of tenders.
• Contract documentation must be sent to suppliers within 4
days of receiving a request.
• Any additional information must be provided at least 6
days before the final date of receipt of tenders.
SESSION 1
Example Open Process
Contract Notice
is issued
Request for the
documentation is
sent
Tender
information is
received
Contract award
notice is issued
All submissions
are evaluated
Document
collated and
submitted
Alcatel period
Contract
started
SESSION 1
Common procurement methods
Restricted Contracts – multiple stage process
• A notice is placed allowing 37 days for interested suppliers
to respond.
• Invitations to Tender are sent only to selected tenderers,
allowing 40 days for their response.
• Contract documentation must be sent to suppliers within 4
days of receiving a request.
• Any additional information must be provided at least 6
days before the final date of receipt of tenders.
SESSION 1
Example Restricted Process
Contract Notice
is issued
Request for the
documentation
is sent
PQQ
documentation
is received
PQQ completed
and
submitted
Feedback
Offered
ITT issued to
successful
companies
Results
announced for
ITT stage
Evaluation
undertaken
ITT
completed and
submitted
ITT
evaluated
Possible
interview
and/or site visit
Final
scores
calculated
Contract
started
Alcatel
period
Feedback
offered
Contract notice
is issued
SESSION 1
Other procurement methods
• Accelerated Restricted
• Negotiated Procedure
• Accelerated Negotiated
• Competitive Dialogue
SESSION 1
Finding Opportunities
• Find it in Birmingham
www.finditinbirmingham.co.uk
• Tenders Electronic Daily (TED)
www.ted.europa.eu
• Supply2Gov
www.supply2.gov.uk
NEIL HOPKINS
HEAD OF PROCUREMENT
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL
Session 2
Succeeding at PQQ Stage
Purpose of PQQ
• The main purpose of a PQQ is to ensure that all companies
who are invited to tender can meet the minimum financial
and technical requirements to undertake the advertised
work.
• When public sector organisations place advertisements for
tenders and request expressions of interest, they may
receive hundreds of responses. A PQQ is almost always
used as a way to shortlist these responses.
Purpose of PQQ
• Completing a PQQ is often the first step in the tender
process.
• PQQs issued by the public sector are often more detailed
than those issued by the private sector because the public
sector has greater responsibilities and is accountable for
spending public money. Therefore they need to know that
their suppliers follow good practices.
Standard elements of a PQQ
•
•
•
•
•
General Company Information
Technical Capability
Financial Information
Insurance
Statutory Information
General Company Information
Basic Information such as
o Name
o Address
o Contact details
o Company registration number
o Legal status
o Names of directors, partners,
or trustees
Do you know your
company registration
number?
Do you have an
organisational chart
already made up?
Is your website
up to date?
Technical Capability
Evidence of your ability to deliver
• Experience
• References
• Standards and competence of your staff in relation
to this type of work
• Registration, licenses or particular technologies
that you may need to deliver the contract
Have you got
case studies prepared?
Do you regularly ask
clients to be referees?
Do you have all the
training certificates for
your staff?
Financial Information
Assessing your financial stability
• 3 years accounts, and if 3 years are not available, accounts
for the period that you have been trading
Who does your bank
references?
• Banker's references
• The ratio of the contract you are applying for to your
annual turnover
Have you checked your
business credit rating?
• Your credit rating
• Levels of reserves and profit and loss accounts
Does your accounting
• Parent company accounts (if applicable)
software give you
management reports?
Insurance
Normally at pre-set minimum limits
• Public Liability – £10m
• Employers Liability – £5m
• Professional Indemnity (if applicable)
– usually set at £2m
Have your got your
certificates?
Can you get this much
insurance at a reasonable
price?
You will normally have to supply certificates as well as the facts
and figures
Statutory Information
• Business and Professional standing
o Including questions about mandatory exclusions
• Health and Safety
o Your Health and Safety policy
o Information around what you do to manage Health and Safety in
your organisation. This could be details of responsible staff, risk
assessment procedures, or details of any accidents or fatalities that
may have occurred in your organisation.
• Equal Opportunities
o An Equal Opportunities / Equality and Diversity policy
o Evidence that you have not been found guilty of any offences
relating to discrimination.
Statutory Information
• Quality
o A policy or statement of how you manage quality
o A formally recognised accreditation or kitemark (e.g. ISO 9000)
o An in-house Quality Management System
• Environment
o Details of your environmental policy
o Details of any environmental management system you may follow
(e.g. EMAS)
o Details of what you do to ensure you carry out your business in an
environmentally friendly manner
Dealing with Qualitative Questions
What are qualitative questions?
o They are used to differentiate you from your
competitive
o They are a chance for you to demonstrate why you are
the right supplier or contractor
o They are the questions which often carry large marks
Getting it right
• Consider the objectives of those procuring the
service
o Why is the question there?
o What do they want to know?
o How can you evidence what you are saying?
• Quality of the writing
o
o
o
o
Is it logical, concise and grammatically correct?
Is it easy to read?
Have your followed the guidelines (word count)?
Have you answered the question?
Common mistakes made
• Simple administration failures such as not signing the
tender
• Late delivery or delivery to the wrong person or place
• Not following instructions
• Not answering the questions
• No evidence offered
• Poor presentation
• Not following the number system
• They are not competitive
TIME TO BREAK FOR LUNCH
BACK FOR 1.15PM
Session 3
Top 10 Presentation Tips
Top 10 tips
1. Find out the format in advance
2. Find out how from the organisation will be
there
3. Arrive early
4. Send the right people
5. Don’t drift off topic
Top 10 tips
6. Don’t use it as a chance to sell your
company – stay focussed
7. Don’t run over time – practice makes
perfect
8. Try not to waffle
9. Be prepared
10.Be yourself
Session 4
Questions and Answers