Transcript Being Procurement Ready Gareth White MCIPS 3 Sector Procurement Officer

Being Procurement Ready
Gareth White MCIPS
3rd Sector Procurement Officer
Lancashire County Developments Ltd
Introduction
• The public sector spends a huge amount
each year and is always looking for new
suppliers. However small your business,
there are always opportunities to supply
this market. Even if you are already
supplying one part of the public sector, it is
worth looking for opportunities in other
areas.
What is the Public Sector
• The public sector employs more than 25% of the UK
workforce and includes:
• central civil government departments and agencies;
• the NHS and its local trusts;
• the Ministry of Defence;
• the Northern Ireland Assembly, the National Assembly
for Wales and the Scottish Executive;
• Local authorities;
• Universities; and Colleges
• In the North West in 2002/03 the total identifiable public
sector expenditure on services was £40.9bn (NWDA).
Who are your Potential Customers?
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467 Local Authorities in England & Wales
131 Higher Education Institutions
162 Further Education Colleges
24,000 State & Independent Primary Schools
3,500 Secondary Schools
303 NHS Trusts
42 Police Services
39 Ambulance Services
25 Government Departments
– Agencies attached: MOD 28
What are the benefits to you?
– Usually long standing, stable customers
– Huge Public Sector spend
– Good payers & proper arrangements
– Keen to work with a broad range of suppliers
– Chance to get involved in exciting projects
that you will not find elsewhere
– Subject to public procurement legislation
– You may also find that trading successfully
with the public sector can give added
credibility with private-sector customers
What are the possible pitfalls?
– Can be a lengthy and expensive
process to winning work
– Different formats and forms to private
sector tenders
– Decision-making processes can take
longer than in commercial organisations
– Pre qualifying criteria can be strict
Understand How Public Sector
Procurement Works
• Public sector procurement must comply with UK
law, EU Directives (International laws) and
internal rules such as SO’s (standing orders)
and SFI’s (standing financial instructions).
• If the total value of the contract (value is usually
based on 3 year period) is above certain EU
procurement limits then the public sector body
must advertise the business throughout Europe
in the Official Journal of European Union.
EU Procurement
• The current EU procurement limits as 31st January
2006 are:
• Supply and Service contracts £144,371. However,
central government bodies which are subject to
WTO GPA (World Trade Organisation Government
Procurement Agreement) have a limit of £93,738.
• Works contracts £3,611.319.
• Utilities contracts £288,741.
• Please note that these threshold limits are net of
VAT.
EU Tender Procedures
• Under the EU regulations there are three types of tender
procedure available to procurement officers:
• Open Procedure.
• Under this, all potential suppliers who express an
interest in tendering must be invited to tender. This
particular procedure allows companies to apply without
prior selection. The timescale for the open procedure is
that companies have 52 days to return tenders.
EU Tender Procures Continued
• Restricted Procedure.
• Under this the number of interested suppliers to whom
invitations to tender are sent may be restricted, but there
must be no discrimination between suppliers on grounds
of nationality or Member State. This is usually a
two/three stage process in which companies will be
shortlisted to receive tenders once they have passed
certain pre selection criteria. The timescales for this
procedure are 37 days for the companies to register an
interest and 40 days from despatch of tender to return.
EU Tender Procures Continued
• Negotiated Procedure.
• There are two types of Negotiated Procedure: with the
publication of a notice, and without the publication of a
notice. There are strict rules concerning the use of the
Negotiated Procedure and very few contracts qualify.
One of the rules is that it may be used "when, for
reasons of extreme urgency brought about by
unforeseeable events, the time limits for the Restricted
or Open Procedures cannot be met".
• Only chosen suppliers are invited to negotiate contracts.
EU Tender Procures Continued
• Competitive Dialogue Procedure.
• Available for complex procurements where the
contracting body does not consider that the
open or restricted procedures will allow the
award of the contract. The procedure will allow
the contracting body to enter into dialogue with
bidders before seeking final tenders from them.
It is expected that this procedure is appropriate
for many cases where hitherto the negotiated
procedure had been used.
Where are Opportunities Advertised?
• Public sector opportunities may be advertised in a wide
variety of places. Contracts below the EU limit are often
advertised in trade journals, increasingly on websites,
and occasionally in national or regional newspapers.
However, although encouraged to do so, some publicsector organisations do not advertise low-value contracts
at all. You may benefit from identifying the appropriate
individual in an organisation, and giving them information
about your business.
Where are Opportunities Advertised?
• Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU –
formerly called OJEC)
• Almost all public procurement contracts for business
worth more than an EU limit, which is roughly £144,371,
must be published in the daily supplement to the Official
Journal of the European Union (OJEU). This provides
information on the current requirements and invites
suppliers to express an interest, or to tender directly in
some cases, depending on the contract procedure. It
also sets out information about contracts that have been
awarded.
Useful Websites
• Supply2.gov.uk
• Supply2.gov.uk is a dynamic new government-backed service
designed specifically to give companies easy access to lowervalue contract opportunities (typically worth under £100,000)
offered by the public sector.
• This portal brings buyers and suppliers together for the first
time and is the first portal of call for lower-value business
opportunities.
• The Chest
• Brings together buyers and suppliers making it easier for buinesses
to find out about sources of potential revenue and to grow and
develop to the benefit of the local economy. Suppliers can register
online and receive email updates on opportunities that match their
capabilities.
What Next? - Responding to Advertised
Contracts
• The contract advertisement/notice will invite
companies to submit an expression of interest
for a contract.
• Once expressions of interest have been
received, companies may be required to submit
supporting information either via a pre
qualification questionnaire or within the ITT
(invitation to tender) package.
Responding to Advertised Contracts
• It is important that suppliers provide all the information requested
and respond by the due date otherwise they may be rejected from
the process.
• The type of information required may include all or some of the
following:
• Company details
• Financial information
• Management and business structure
• Resources and staff training
• Quality assurance
• Environmental matters
• Insurance cover
• Equality and diversity policies
• Health and safety practices
• References
The Tendering Process
• The responses from the completed pretender questionnaire will be used to
assess whether the company can meet
the public sector bodies requirements for
that particular contract. If the company can
meet the relevant requirements they will
be shortlisted and will receive an invitation
to tender package or ITT.
Conclusion
• You may already be conscious of business
opportunities that are out there. But you may not
have felt that the processes of bidding to win
service contracts, or the pitfalls of entering the
contract culture, are for you. One message is
clear from those who have followed this path
before: the best course of action is to take one
careful step into the field and to seek experience
through a modest contract or sub-contract.
Thanks………….
•…for your time and for
listening.
•Any questions?
Website Addresses
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www.ogcbuyingsolutions.co.uk
www.pasa.doh.gov.uk
www.dh.gov.uk
www.bipcontracts.com
www.supplyinggovernment.gov.uk
www.supply2.gov.uk
www.tendermatch.com
www.contraxweekly.co.uk
www.contracts.mod.uk
www.dcicontracts.com
www.constructionline.co.uk
www.cips.org
www.nearbuyou.co.uk
www.simap.eu.int
http://ted.publications.eu.int
www.tenders.co.uk
www.tendersdirect.co.uk
My details
Gareth White - MCIPS
3rd Sector Procurement Officer
Lancashire County Developments Ltd
PO Box 78
Preston
Tel: 01772 536600
E-mail: [email protected]