Small Business Can

Any insight, feedback and general views on the process for tendering for Ggovernment contracts would be appreciated. Is the process so onerous, that it would render it insurmountable for the small business to attempt?

Thank you.

Amanda

Hi Amanda,

I do not have any experince in doing a tender process, but memebers of my family have been, and won the contracts with small businesses. Just make sure yours stands out.

Stephen

Amanda

What type of contracts, is it software, training, consulting etc

I should be able to help. I do a bit of work at government level

Trevor

I have a small safety training business as well a Pitman Training Centre. I started working with my wife in July 2006 and spent a lot of time chasing government tenders through etenders etc. Quite honestly i found it a waste of time and I had a legal/contracts background.
I also registered with Achilles, a procurement service, but found this very cumbersome to use although it may have changed since.

Thanks Trevor. It's a bit of a wild one. I met with a couple of people from FAS at a networking event, who confirmed that they outsource most of their career coaching or job seekers workshop type activity, so I just wanted some clarity around whether it would be worth exploring for future opportunities. I would imagine the process can be protracted and there are a lot of compliance criteria?

I have asked the question to Government E Tenders (awaiting reply) - which body is responsible for awarding FAS contracts, as FAS appear to be self governing and not accountable to the Dail......

Thanks again

Amanda

As with any sector it pays to have contacts in government circles

I run a small technology consulting business and I'd have to say I've been pretty successful with semi state, government agencies and departments.

Its one area in which it really pays to network but you have to be prepared for the long haul.

I remember one contract I got, my original contact with them was two years previous at a technology event. But I kept in contact with the odd e-mail updating them on services I provided.

So when it came to tendering they knew me and this helps a lot.

This year I had a similar experience with a government agency however funny enough I'd no contacts, it was won purely based on price and the quality of the presentation I delivered.

Compliance can be a big issue for small (sole trader) tyep businesses
1. 3 years financials
2. tax clearance
3. public liablity
4. Professional indemnity
5. Bankers / Auditors Reference
6. Health & Safety
7. Quality
etc these can vary

But if you are smart and selective and you don't try to bid for somehting that's out of your leauge you have a fair chance.

I always had a nack for looking at technology tenders and within a few minutes I could tell you if I had a reasonable chance of bidding or not.

But it can be very timely.

The one thing I will say is when I do decide to go for a tender, I do my groundwork, I do my background research, I ask plenty of questions and I make sure I submit a good response in the format requested on time in the medium they requested.

I suppose one advantage I do have is I've also evaluated tenders for government agenices so I have a good idea what they look for and how they score them.

Trevor

Trevor, could you please give us all an outline of what they look for and how they score?
What would gain you a better score from an insiders view?
Handy to know really.

Thanks

Stephen

Anyone got any experience tendering for European contracts especially as part of a consortium. Particularly interested in work as a result of new countries preparing to join the Eu. What irish companies are active?

Don't know if this thread is still being monitored, but just in case. It would be great if Public Sector tendering could be qualified based on the scoring or evaluation criteria spelt out in the tendering documents (typically a combination of experience, company profile, cost and solution).
The real problem is that public sector (in the main) awards contracts to incumbants and the large consultancy firms. It is extremely difficult for SMEs to achieve success when they cannot afford to put in the effort to deliver a quality proposal and they don't have the relationships or profile to be seriously considered.
I was so frustrated at this myself that I've just set up a company to provide SMEs with access to the resources necessary to firstly understand whether there's any point in responding to a tender and secondly to put together an outstanding response. The key is that this has to be extremely cost effective and also that the expertise put into the proposal is at least on a par with that of your large competitors.
We'll be launching a beta program for SMEs in the next month so if you're interested in participating (it's free!) let me know.
Cheers,
Tony.

Hi Amanda,
Let me know if you're still looking for information on public sector tendering. We're just launching TenderScout and I'm looking for beta customers to receive free analysis and tips on public sector opportunities.

Cheers,
Tony.

Hi Tony,
I've just seen your thread and would like to find out more on public/goverment tendering as i've just set up my own business but wouldn't know where to start with a tender. It's a cleaning business so if you could help me i would appreciate it a lot.

Cheers
Peter

Hi Peter,
Firstly best of luck with the venture. Tenderscout.com is primarily focussed on providing competitive analysis for ICT tenders (software, hardware, telecommunications and services) so you probably wouldn’t benefit much from that.

Over time however we will be putting up free ‘how to tender’ guides and you’re more than welcome to those of course.

First thing you should do though is register on www.e-tenders.gov.ie, that’s the government site for much of their public sector tendering. I just had a quick look and cleaning contracts (there are 33 active ones) are ‘coded’ under ‘other services – 230). You can set up an email alert to get notified whenever a new one appears.

While government agencies are mandated to demonstrate transparency and fairness in the tendering process it’s sometimes difficult to see that they award many tenders to smaller companies. Having said that the main criteria is that you would deliver ‘value for money’. After that the most important thing is your credibility (which you can establish with references and case studies….if you have another public sector / semi-state organisation as a customer that’s a big bonus).

The format of the required submission is often specified in the tender documentation, but I can give you the broad outline if you like. If you want any help putting one together just let me know.
Hope this helps,
Tony.

Hi Tony,
Thanks for the reply and on the subject of www.e-tenders.gov.ie i am a member but thanks anyway. All it is, is that i wouldn't know how to put a tender in or fill 1 out professionally. Do you know of any courses on the tendering process that i could look into that might be of some help as to get a tender done cost 500e which as starting out do not have.
Thanks for your advice and thanks for the luck
Peter

Surely most tenders - public or private - are being written with a supplier in mind. So, when the tender comes out, if you're not one of the couple or three of companies that have been actively selling and influencing the tender, you have no chance. I am an account manager and its my job to make sure that I know of potential tenders in my area and the people that write them. My sales process is to get in before the tender so that I can influence features and get budgets etc that suit my product. Hopefully by the time the tender comes out and we are in the period where i cant talk to my prospect/contacts in the account, hopefully I will have done enough. This approach is universal, surely. There are even sales process software packages that weigh a potential sale and chances of success by asking how far you have managed to influence the process?
While Im not an SME and work for a large corporate I like this site because it helps me to be a businessman, but sometimes I wish some of the contributers would come into the real world.

Check out Enterprise Ireland as they run courses all the time on public sector tendering. They often use Millstream who also happen to be running the current e-tenders website.
If it's of any use to you, send me a private message and I'll send you on a template that I've had plenty of success with.
Cheers,
T.

Hi
I'd absolutely agree with you that many tenders are written with a supplier in mind. Is that a good thing? Unless the required solution can only be implemented by a small number of suppliers, then clearly:
1. An element of competition has been taken out of the process
2. The 'solution' is going to be biased towards those suppliers that have had the time and money to build the relationship and influence the organisation.

Government do recognise these problems and are actively moving away from that kind of approach to procurement
"… the policies and recommendations of the Procurement Innovation Group are designed to stimulate innovative business activity in Ireland, …the initiative aims to result in greater access for SME companies to public sector contracts.", Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms. Mary Coughlan, T.D. 23rd July 2009

You've hit the nail on the head exactly with your observations, but hopefully the future is going to look a little different and those SMEs that have sufficient capability, can be competitive and can offer an innovative solution then everybody will benefit...

In Ireland alone there are over 2,000 public sector authorities publishing 2 to 3 tenders on average each per year. Many of these are awarded to SMEs without any prior relationship (not the bigger ones of course!!)

Private tenders are subject to different dynamics (e.g. limited transparency, funding models, compliance, etc) and almost always awarded on the basis of a personal contact or recommendation as you suggest in your comment.

Debate welcome

Cant agree more with Stitch up, I have been very successful in public tendering by having a relationship with the buyers and influencing the tender in advance of it being written (I work for a Micro business and I find the time to do it, its all part of business development).

I dont see this as wrong either legally or morally. We do have to come in to the real world here people. Staff in public authorities are not experts in every product or service they procure, they need guidance from the private sector as to what their options are on things they buy.

Procurement staff are there to procure legally and at best value for money, thats what they do, its their job. As far as decision making is concerned they need to be informed as to what their choices are! This is marketing class 1.0

Would any SME out there seriously go out and buy a product or service without first informing themselves of their options??? Or would you just ring up a private company and give them a quote for your product or service before finding out anything about them or what their individual needs are???

am i missing something here or do people just not get it? more importantly does this say more about peoples ability to generate normal business relationships with public bodies?

Guys, you’re absolutely right with respect to relationship building…..it’s a given. During my work as part of government procurement teams, awarding contracts to suppliers, it certainly helped to know who you were dealing with.
What I was really hoping for here were a few positive suggestions that might help SMEs on this site, just setting up and wondering exactly how they can be successful in public tendering given that:
1. They have no track record
2. They have no relationship to speak of
3. They have limited funds to invest in non-revenue generating activities
Some of my initial thoughts centred on building profile through tendering (all tenders have to be read so you’re getting your name known and there’s an opportunity to follow up then and start a relationship maybe) but what thoughts to other people have??

I started a thread on the same topic here

I was basically asking had people had any joy with government tenders as it appears that all the juicy tax and accountancy contracts go to the Big 4 firms e.g. NAMA and PWC.

How do you go about influencing the tender? I've tendered for a few contracts and have had no joy.

I've many years' experience in public tendering - on both sides of the table, having advised public sector bodies on tender processes, as well as responding to public tenders, both here and abroad.

SME's should approach marketing and selling to the public sector in the same way they would the private sector:

1. The public sector is NOT predisposed to dealing with larger companies. The will evaluate all responses equally. However, it is preferable if the the buyer has heard of your company and has some awareness of the services/ products that you provide. Public servants are as brand concious as anyone else.

2. Market intelligence is critical. An SME targeting the public sector, should educate itself on what public bodies procure the service offered by the SME. This is a picture that is built over time. Once you are aware that a department/agency has procured your services in the past, you should make it your business to introduce yourselves and your offering to them, putting down a marker for future procurement processes.

3. Public procurement is slow. Ideally, you should engage with a prospective tendering body, before they have put the tender together. Tendering bodies usually go through an informal education process before documenting their requirements. Your engagement can aid that education process. Once a tender is initiated, communications become extremely formalised and the shutters come down.

4. The most important benefit of working with the Public Sector, particularly in the current environment, is that you'll get paid! Although be aware of withholding tax levied by public bodies in the Republic, which can be claimed back at the end of your corporate tax year.

So the starting point is market intelligence - find out who's procuring what and when.

Heard the following being said by a group of Irish Businesspeople: French Public sector buys from French companies; German public sector buys from German companies; British public sector buys from British Companies; Americam public sector buys from American Companies; Irish Public sector buys from French, German, British and American companies!

im doing a proposal on contracts tendering and performance inequalities help with me with some information

Hi Sandra,
If you want to send me some details, I'll be glad to help.

I see PWC and E&Y have been awarded the NAMA contract for "Appointment to a panel for Loan and Associated Valuation Services to NAMA" PWC have also been awarded the contract for Tax Advisory Services.

Seems as though the big government contracts keep going to the same firms.

Yep....it's very encouraging for good, small companies to see that!! I'd love to see the rationale behind some of these appointments; I'm quiet sure that both companies will do a superb job, but as you say, it's always the same guys.

Guys I run a very small company and I still manage to get public sector contracts.

Nothing very large but all the same I've been lucky to work on some very interesting projects.

My background is IT and I wonder is it a small bit easier to win IT contracts.

Without a doubt preparing the tender and submitting all the information can take time.

I think you have to be careful what you tender for. Selective.

The one big thing that excludes me from some tenders is the 3 years financials and the insurance

But not all tenders require this up front and in many instances this only becomes a requirement at the contract neg stage.

Trevor

Have you tried partnering with companies that have the 3 years financials and the insurance? Why not post your enquiry on the Better Business thread which is SFA and ask them what they can do to help. A start up getting a Government contract would increase its chances of survival no end? the SFA are supposed to represent small firms in these areas aren't they?

Have you tried partnering with companies that have the 3 years financials and the insurance? Why not post your enquiry on the Better Business thread which is SFA and ask them what they can do to help. A start up getting a Government contract would increase its chances of survival no end? the SFA are supposed to represent small firms in these areas aren't they?

Have you tried partnering with companies that have the 3 years financials and the insurance? Why not post your enquiry on the Better Business thread which is SFA and ask them what they can do to help. A start up getting a Government contract would increase its chances of survival no end? the SFA are supposed to represent small firms in these areas aren't they?

Just from my own perspective, to date I've not partnered but it’s a great option to explore.

To date the contracts I’ve been awarded include ICT consultancy and software design/development.

But I need to look in to the partner model if I wish to expand.

Trevor