Perfecting your Tendering Skills
to Win that Contract!
1 October 2013
Darren Richardson
What is “public procurement”?
Public procurement is the process of the
acquisition, usually by means of a
contractual arrangement after public
competition, of goods, services, works and
other supplies by the public service.
Northern Ireland Public Procurement Policy, Version 8 – October 2012
The size of the opportunity…
• All-island market worth approx. €12/£10bn
• Significant opportunities for SMEs:
–
–
–
–
In 2010/2011, NI Central Gov awarded 2,618 contracts
Total value estimated at £1.4bn
44% by value awarded to SMEs (up to 250 employees)
23% of contracts awarded to businesses with less than
10 employees
– 33% of all contracts awarded were for £10k or less
So what’s the catch?
Suppliers say:
• Weighting on price too high
• Too much below cost selling
• Inconsistent quality of RFTs or ITTs
• Inadequate de-briefing
• Deadlines too tight
• Requirements too onerous
So what’s the catch?
Buyers say:
• It is a legal requirement to tender
• Process is rules based – no discretion
• First task is to eliminate non-compliant bids (easy
to do)
• Get value for money (aka lowest price?)
• Avoid litigation (so de-briefings often inadequate)
Price in the current environment
Given the current financial climate, with the credit crunch
affecting the global and local economy, there is increasing
pressure on Government finances, and now more than ever,
there is a need to maximise the return on public expenditure.
As Finance Minister and Chair of the Procurement Board, I am
determined to ensure that the Government in Northern Ireland
spends its resources wisely, and delivers best value for money.
Sammy Wilson MP MLA, Minister of Finance and Personnel
Chairman of the Northern Ireland Procurement Board – July 2012
Price in the current environment
The procurement reform programme is targeting up to €500m of
much needed savings for tax payers over the next 3 years. The
reformed procurement functions will adopt a consistent
approach across the public service by addressing 3 things:
controlling demand (looking at how we buy), controlling the
specification (looking at what we buy) and controlling the value
(looking at price and quality).
Brian Hayes TD, Minister of State for Public Service Reform and the
Office of Public Works – July 2013
What is “Value for Money”?
• “The most advantageous combination of cost,
quality and sustainability to meet customer
requirements”
• Cost: “consideration of the whole life cost”
• Quality: “meeting a specification which is fit
for purpose and sufficient to meet the
customer’s requirements”
• Sustainability: “economic, social and
environmental benefits”
Essential ingredients for success
Attitude
Knowledge
Skills
So why do we lose tenders?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Too expensive
They are non-compliant
Documentation incomplete
Not enough detail provided
Award criteria not fully addressed
Sloppy presentation and poorly written material
Missed the deadline
….something else?
So why do we lose tenders?
The competitive landscape
• Production of a Digital Media Film for Marble
Arch Caves / Global Geopark (Fermanagh DC)
– Value of the tender:
– Number of requests:
– Number of submissions:
£30k
18
15
• Upgrading of public right of way between Fallagh
and Rouskey (Omagh DC)
– Approximate value:
– Number of requests:
– Number of submissions:
£40k
70
22
How can we increase our chances?
Understand
your Market
Learn from
the
experience –
whatever the
outcome
Develop and
submit an
excellent bid
Identify a
tender &
make bid /
no-bid
decision
Identify how
we are going
to win
How can we increase our chances?
Understand
your Market
Learn from
the
experience –
whatever the
outcome
Develop and
submit an
excellent bid
Identify a
tender &
make bid /
no-bid
decision
Identify how
we are going
to win
Advertised
Other
How does our customer buy? ROI
Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU)
Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) – ted.europa.eu
€5m (works)
€130k / €200k
Needs to be publicly advertised (Circular 10/10)
www.etenders.gov.ie
€50k (works)
€25k (other)
Varies according to buying organisation
How does our customer buy? NI
Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU)
Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) – ted.europa.eu
£4.35m (works)
£113k / £174k
Central Government & some Councils use eSourcing NI
(e-sourcingni.bravosolution.co.uk)
But varies according to buying organisation
£30k
(BUT CAN VARY)
Varies according to buying organisation
NI market is fragmented
Central Government
Value
Central Government
Works
Central Government
Supplies and Services
Above £5,000,000 (works) or
£113,057 (supplies & services)
OJEU
ted.europa.eu
OJEU
ted.europa.eu
£30k to EU thresholds
Advertised on eSourcing
*new processes in place*
Advertised on eSourcing
Below £30k
Random selection using
Constructionline
Not advertised
Use Purchasers Portal
NI market is fragmented
Local Government (a sample only – 26 Councils in total)
Belfast City
Council
•
•
•
•
Over £30k
£8k – £30k
£3k – £8k
Below £3k
eSourcing, Council website & local press
seek 4 written quotations
seek 3 written quotations
no written quotations required
Omagh District
Council
•
•
•
•
•
Over £15k
£10k – £15k
£5k – £10k
£1k – £5k
Below £1k
Council website & local press
use eSourcing (BUT NOT ADVERTISED)
seek 4 quotations
seek 3 quotations
no quotations required
Fermanagh
District Council
•
•
•
•
•
Above £15k
£10k – £15k
£5k – £10k
£1k – £5k
Below £1k
Council website & local press
seek 6 quotations
seek 4 quotations
seek 3 quotations
no quotations required
How can we increase our chances?
Understand
your Market
Learn from
the
experience –
whatever the
outcome
Develop and
submit an
excellent bid
Identify a
tender &
make bid /
no-bid
decision
Identify how
we are going
to win
Sources of tenders
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pro-active targeting of buyers – select lists
https://e-sourcingni.bravosolution.co.uk
http://www.etenders.gov.ie/
Council websites – including www.laquotes.ie
National & Local press
Commercial sources:
– Contrax Weekly Ireland (www.contraxonline.com)
– Glenigan Constructing Insight (www.glenigan.com)
– and many others (ask for a trial)
How can we increase our chances?
Understand
your Market
Learn from
the
experience –
whatever the
outcome
Develop and
submit an
excellent bid
Identify a
tender &
make bid /
no-bid
decision
Identify how
we are going
to win
How can SMEs participate
• Go it alone on an appropriate contract
– Identify sub-threshold opportunities
– Have a clear Value Proposition (and communicate it)
• Act as a sub-contractor
– Identify successful bidders and target them
• Partner as a member of consortium
– Need to demonstrate the value you can bring
– InterTradeIreland launching new initiative
www.cpdni.gov/uk
www.cpdni.gov/uk
How can we increase our chances?
Understand
your Market
Learn from
the
experience –
whatever the
outcome
Develop and
submit an
excellent bid
Identify a
tender &
make bid /
no-bid
decision
Identify how
we are going
to win
Developing an excellent bid
• Read the ITT/PQQ; the detail is important
• Pay specific attention to award criteria marks
• Ask clarification questions – don’t assume
• Structure the bid document appropriately
• Make it attractive, easy to read and navigate
• Allow plenty of time – including to review/edit
Developing an excellent bid
• Use relevant examples or references
• Include resources that are fit for purpose;
exclude passengers
• Highlight awards, certificates, standards
• Complete pricing as requested
‘Green Procurement’
• Becoming more common across all sectors
• Can be included as:
– Environmental Management
– Sustainability
– Eco-innovation
• Often represents an ‘unknown’ for SMEs
– A&E approach: use SimplyDocs (BUT TAILOR IT)
– Utilise the support under the STEM programme
HSE – Multi Supplier Framework Agreement for
the provision & Supply of Fresh & Prepared
Fruit & Vegetables Products
Craigavon Borough
Council – Supply and
Delivery of Cleaning /
Paper Products
Road Safety Authority - Framework
Agreement for the
Provision of Printing Services
Belfast City Council
simply-docs.co.uk
How can we increase our chances?
Understand
your Market
Learn from
the
experience –
whatever the
outcome
Develop and
submit an
excellent bid
Identify a
tender &
make bid /
no-bid
decision
Identify how
we are going
to win
In summary
• Understand your buyer and your market
– Sub-threshold opportunities / select lists
– Annual tenders for commodity products / services
• Answer the exam question
– Make it easy for the buyer to award you the marks
– Be comprehensive, but succinct
– Numbers not stories: quantify where possible
• Ask clarification questions if necessary
In summary
• General pitfalls to avoid
– Don’t bid if you can’t meet the Pass / Fail criteria
– Check for recycling / cut & paste problems
– Reviewer can only assess what’s in the document
•
•
•
•
Consider partnering (or sub-contracting)
Show VFM – if cost is a high %, don’t over-engineer it
Remember it is a competition – don’t just ‘get a bid in’
Always seek feedback (and learn from it)
The deadline is not a target….
Next steps
• Tender Clinic (today)
– 15 minutes per company
– Answer any immediate questions or queries
• Go 2 Tender Programme – STEM event
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–
–
–
–
Two one-day workshops (Newry)
Up to 3.5 days of mentoring support
€100 or £85 per person
Tue 26 November & 3 December
www.gototender.com for more details and booking
Thank you
Darren Richardson
Clarity Consulting
E: darren@clarity-ni.com
T: 02892 626 717
Perfecting your Tendering Skills
to Win that Contract!
1 October 2013
Darren Richardson