Month: February 2019

New report: Working with Local Government

Town hall with Metrolink tram passing
Posted on by Amy Madden

Our parent company, BiP Solutions, recently produced the second in their series of reports looking at challenges and opportunities in different areas of procurement – this time focusing on Local Government.

The report includes expert analysis, key trends and figures that will be of interest to SMEs, along with a guide to ‘Getting Ahead in Local Government Procurement’ even if you have little to no experience of tendering.

To download your copy, just click here.

Some of the key facts covered in the report are listed below click to open image in a new tab.

 

Tendering with Supply2Gov

Governments in the UK and Ireland spend a combined £242 billion (€270 billion) on goods and services every year.

If your business wants to tap into this spend and find tender opportunities throughout the British Isles, start by subscribing to a local area of your choice for free.

New users can gain access to tender alerts in any UK local area. Just get in touch on info@supply2govtenders.co.uk to learn more.

Supply2Gov’s Top Tendering Tips

tips
Posted on by Amy Madden

Our parent company BiP Solutions has just celebrated its 35th anniversary – that equates to 35 years’ worth of experience in procurement.

With so much knowledge on our side, we have listed our top tendering tips for Supply2Gov readers.

 

Ask buyers questions

Many suppliers often forget that they can ask buyers questions while others are scared to, as they think it may be a “black mark” against their name.

This is not the case. As soon as a supplier submits a question, it is anonymised. Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a silly question and that the chances are your competitors may be thinking the exact same thing.

Out of fairness, the answers to all questions asked are circulated to all the participants – be sure to read them all.

 

Complete the supplier questionnaire

Suppliers cannot pick and choose the questions which that suit them, if you are bidding for a tender, then you must answer all questions.

Avoid wasting time – if you fail to complete the supplier questionnaire, then your submission will automatically be marked as incomplete.

 

Double, maybe even triple check your submission!

Even those with years of experience in public procurement can become complacent when they are bid writing – so make sure you are working with someone when you are biding.

Silly mistakes could cost your business a valuable tender, so make sure you are leaving enough time at the end of the process to evaluate your work and to get second opinions from others in your team. Fresh eyes can often spot mistakes or lack of clarity. Once you have made the changes be sure to look over it again for any spelling or grammar mistakes.

 

Don’t forget about low value tenders

If you are ambitious, then aiming for high-value contracts may seem like the obvious thing to do. However, if you are just getting started with public procurement, smaller contracts are often a good place to start.

By choosing to bid for low-value opportunities that your competitors have ignored, you could find yourself a procurement sweet spot. Give yourself better odds of winning by choosing low-value contracts and save time on the bid writing process. In addition, winning smaller contracts can build a portfolio of public sector work, increasing your credibility when you do come to bid for larger jobs.

 

Use a tender alerts tool

Make things easier by using a tender alerts tool.

Finding relevant contracts that align with the goods and services your business provides is often the hard part.

Save hours of searching by signing up to a tool that will send alerts to your inbox whenever a match to your chosen keywords or CPV codes arises.

The best part is, is that you can get started with Supply2Gov’s Tender Alerts tool without paying a penny.

Learn more about how public sector tendering works or register for free now.

 

 

 

 

 

Reasons to love working with the public sector

love to work with the public sector
Posted on by Amy Madden

Have you considered working with the public sector?  There has never been a better time for smaller businesses to seek public sector tender opportunities.

Read our reasons why your business should get involved in public procurement below.

 

The government is investing SMEs

The public sector is backing UK SMEs and has just invested £2 million into SME growth.

SMEs can now bid for grants through the government’s Business Basics Fund. The initiative aims to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to “adopt proven technologies, become more productive and successful”.

Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst said:

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. As part of our modern Industrial Strategy, we are supporting them with new investments to boost their productivity and ensure they can continue to thrive in the future.”

 

 £1 in every £3 will be spent with small businesses by 2020

The government is working towards a target that £1 in every £3 government spends will be with small businesses by 2020. This target applies to each government department and the Crown Commercial Service and includes both direct procurement spend and spend through the supply chain.

Progress is already being made in some industry sectors as £1.39 in every £3 spent through the government’s Digital Marketplace is going to small and medium-sized enterprises. This has given the UK’s technology SME sector a major boost.

 

The government promotes prompt payment

The government has made other changes to help SMEs bid for public sector contracts, one of which is the requirement for the entire public sector supply chain to be paid within 30 days of submitting an invoice.

This is extremely helpful to SMEs as being paid promptly for work done ensures businesses have a healthy cash flow.

 

Find public sector tenders

There are many reasons to love working with the public sector. If you would like to find tender opportunities in this marketplace relevant to your business – get started with Supply2Gov.

New users can register for free and can gain access to tenders in the local area of their choice now.

Learn more about our free and paid packages or get started here.

 

 

 

The MOD partners with start-up company for their latest aerospace investment

aerospace tenders
Posted on by Amy Madden

It was announced at the start of the year that the MOD will be working with start-up company Oxford Space Systems (OSS) to design antennas for a sovereign satellite radar system. This partnership is the largest contract placed with a first-time supplier by the DASA (Defence and Security Accelerator).

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson commented that the MOD must “accelerate the development of new, innovative capabilities – especially those in the space domain”.

Read more about this partnership.

 

Investment into space technology

The UK Government is investing heavily into pioneering space technology in 2019 with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and the Defence Innovation Fund investing £1 million into the satellite radar system project.

Dr Lucy Mason, Head of DASA, said:

“Our work with OSS ticks all DASA’s objectives; not only did we provide the initial stimulus to establish this partnership, but it will also open up opportunities for truly cross-government collaboration, with the potential to meet the needs of both our defence and security customers.”

 

Tendering opportunities in the pipeline for start-ups

The UK Government has a goal to develop and launch a constellation of British spacecraft by 2020 which will collect data and intelligence for both tactical and operational applications.

This plan is being kicked off by the newly appointed contractors Oxford Space Systems. They are to develop a 3-3.5m deployable antenna, with plans to make 5m structures for other radar applications.

The Senior Commercial Strategist at OSS, Shefali Sharma, stated that this opportunity to work with the MOD puts the business on a global stage and that its “doors are open to international trade”.

 

Defence tenders

Register with Supply2Gov and start finding defence opportunities with the UK public sector.

All subscribers can gain access to defence tenders from the local area of their choice for FREE, with the option to upgrade their plan at any time.

Register Now

Sourcing relevant public procurement opportunities

searching for contracts
Posted on by Amy Madden

Public sector bodies publish tender notices every day, which means that thousands of opportunities are published every year.

With so many contracts available, the marketplace can be a daunting place for SMEs with little resource.

To get the best out of your time and efforts it is important that your business is sourcing only relevant public procurement opportunities.

 

How to search for public procurement opportunities

Contract search tools can be extremely beneficial to a business getting started with public sector procurement.

When searching for relevant public procurement opportunities, a company that specialises in cyber security, for example, could choose the category ‘IT’ to search for contracts. By doing this, they will have to trail through many irrelevant IT service and maintenance opportunities.

To avoid this, make sure you are using a tool which uses an ‘Or’ search logic. Also, use a combination of keywords and Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) codes. This will refine your search, meaning that it filters out irrelevant opportunities, leaving the contracts that are right for your business.

 

Tender Alerts

Manual search can be eliminated if your business chooses to implement a tender alerts tool into its procurement strategy.

Many small businesses find that they discover opportunities suited to the services or product their business provides when it’s too late. Your business will need as much time as possible to prepare for a bid, therefore it is important that you are keeping your eyes on the prize by using a tender alerts service.

The main benefit of alerts is that your business can stay ahead of the competition without sifting through numerous portals as a notification is sent to your inbox as soon as a relevant opportunity becomes available.

 

Get started with Supply2Gov

Supply2Gov users can gain instant access to opportunities in the area/region/country of their choice. This tailored approach supports small businesses with their goal of being more efficient when sourcing relevant public procurement opportunities.

What is unique about our Tender Alerts tool is that you can pay as you grow. So, start with no strings attached by registering for a free local area subscription.

Register for free