Bob Moodie NJM European, Economic & Management Consultants Limited

1. Selling to the Public Sector – helping Leicestershire SMEs unlock their potential Bob Moodie NJM European, Economic & Management Consultants Limited

2. The Challenge According to the latest figures only 16% of the total value of public contracts go to SMEs. 75% of SMEs rarely or never bid for public sector work

3. Where to find information/opportunities Preferred suppliers We’re too young (we lack trading history /track record) Lack of previous public sector experience Price Lack of bid skills We’re too small (contract is too big as a proportion of our turnover) The timescale is too tight Difficult to access purchasers Process is time-consuming, costly and complex PQQ qualifiers – policies & procedures Location and point of service Difficult to find consortia to bid with

4. Responding to the Challenge: Be Strategic The Key Themes in Today’s Workshop • The Procurement Context • Identifying opportunities and raising business profile • When to bid and when not to bid • Preparing PQQs and tenders In the present competitive environment it is vital to understand that only a very professional approach at all levels of the process will suffice if you want to be successful

5. The Procurement Context: Regulatory Framework EU Procurement Directives Government Strategy Statutory Requirements Council Procedures Local Agreements

6. EU Procurement Thresholds

7. A New Environment

8. Context & Opportunity • Public procurement, estimated at over £175 billion per annum (13% of UK GDP) • Leicestershire County Council spends over £300 million each year on goods, works and services. Over the next three to four years, to 2012-13, the Council will need to make savings of around £70m - that’s 25% of its budget. • Leicester City Council estimated procurement budget for the Authority is £260 million p.a. (2007-2008). • NHS Leicestershire & Rutland Procurement Partnership influences spend of approximately £250 million on goods and services each year.

9. Local Procedures

10. Procurement Procedure

11. Procurement Process Overview Procure Contract Notice EOI PQQ Tender Commission Manage Evaluate Review Award

12. Contract Notices

13. A Strategic Approach Identifying Opportunities & Raising Your Profile

14. Be Systematic & Get Organised • What is your target market? • In your target market who are the key buyers - Personnel at Department level and Procurement Officers (important for low value contracts that are not formally advertised)? • Engage procurement personnel - make sure they know you exist, seed ideas • Find out about approved (accredited) supplier lists • Register and publish on tender e-portals • Network (buyers/commissioners, meet the buyer events)

15. Be Systematic & Get Organised • Set up internal processes and individual(s) to monitor tender portals, alerts, sources and review feedback • Search for potential business partners / collaborators / subcontractors • Develop / improve your key policies e.g. Make them relevant and articulating business benefit • Accreditation (e.g. CHAS, ISO, IiP etc) • Bid writing is a skill – invest the time in developing the capability

16. A Strategic Approach To bid or not to bid?

17. Strategic Decision Making • Is the tender a good fit in relation to your company’s activities? • Can you meet the eligibility criteria (technical qualifications, policy compliance e.g. Quality Assurance, Insurance) ? • Do you have a good track record in relation to the opportunity? • Do you have the trading history (e.g. 2 years Accounts)? • Do you have the capability and capacity to deliver the contract if successful? • Can you make sense of the budget and can you deliver the contract on time?

18. Strategic Decision Making • What are the risks? • Who are your competitors? • What percentage of your turnover does the contract represent? • Do you need a partner(s) or will you use subcontractors? • What is the percentage chance of success? • Do you have the time and resources to devote to preparing a good bid?

19. Strategic Decision Making Solo or Collaborative Bidding? • Form a consortium if: • You don’t have the capability or capacity • You can’t meet the 20% rule • Options: • Consortium • Joint Bidding • Lead Contractor & Subcontractor • Legal basics • Memorandum of understanding (MoU) / Partnership agreement / (Non Disclosure agreement (NDA); Agreement not to compete in other tender) • Service level agreement (SLA)/contract

20. Consortia

21. A Strategic Approach Preparing the Bid

22. Preparing the PQQ/Tender • Make sure you download/print off ALL tender documents and read them carefully (multiple times) • Note the tender instructions, e.g. word limits, submission format, deadlines and evaluation criteria

23. PQQ: Example Scoring Framework

24. Tenders: Example ‘Scored’ Criteria

25. Preparing the PQQ/Tender • Get your team together, appoint a bid manager and conduct detailed review and interpretation of tender requirements. • Determine whether you require clarification of any aspect of the tender and ask the question(s) allowing enough time for a response. • Check regularly to see if any questions/answers have been submitted by competitors. Be aware that any question you ask will be notified to other suppliers) • Prepare work plan & allocation of roles/tasks/milestones with reference to tender & submission deadline. • NB: Build in time to review, refine and style bid

26. Preparing the PQQ/Tender What is the Buyer looking for? • Demonstrate a clear understanding of the brief (i.e. the challenges are understood and addressed) • Design a clearly structured tender response aligned against each tender requirement and criteria (e.g. core, gateway and specific). Ensure compliance! • Methodology: clearly show who does what, why, when, how and benefits from buyer’s perspective). • Identify and demonstrate clearly your capability and the innovation of your offer (USP) - can your offer exceed the contract requirements and provide additional benefits, outcomes?

27. Preparing the PQQ/Tender • Properly define appropriate resources / organisation (CVs of identified team members / subcontractors / partners & management structure). • Project Plan (Schedule of Deliverables, Milestones and Resource and illustrate with diagram where possible i.e. Gantt Chart) • Explain Contract management and communication (i.e. how you interface with the client to monitor project) • Risk Assessment (illustrate how you provide buyer with a low risk solution) • Articulate pricing and value for money • Compliance (Policies – NB You may be asked to explain your policy commitments)

28. Preparing the PQQ/Tender Standing Out from the Crowd • Have you articulated ‘Why choose us?’ • Have you fully defined the key features, quality and benefits of your approach? • Have you used and made the most of recent and relevant case studies to illustrate your track record? • Have you presented advantages over your competitors? • Have you gone the extra mile in manifesting your understanding of the brief and the design of your solution?

29. Costing the Proposal • Personnel & Tasks • Charging Rate(s) (Daily/Hourly) & Time • Fixed Cost / Variable Cost • Expenses & Disbursements • Contingency • VAT • Innovative Cost Proposals • Discounted Cost e.g. 5% early payment, economies of scale and efficiency savings linked to contract term and/or number of contracts (Lots) awarded • Buyer comfort: Offer 10% Contract Price Withheld until completion

30. Preparing the PQQ/Tender • Do not attempt to find an “inside track” (canvassing) • Respond by the correct date + time (electronic, electronic + post, post?) avoid last minute submissions • Ensure the submission is complete AND signed including copies of requested documentation, e.g. insurance certificates, policies, audited accounts etc • Use tender envelope/label if provided and check if there is a tender reference • Look carefully at the evaluation criteria, scores and “weighting”. This should influence time and effort in preparation of answers

31. Preparing the Tender: Bid Writing Language & Style: • Write in plain English • Avoid jargon and unexplained abbreviations • Use ‘active’ and not ‘passive‘ verbs, refer to ‘we’ and ‘you’ • Short sentences and paragraphs; use introductory headers • Punctuation and spelling really matter Aim for clarity, brevity, readability and persuasion !

32. ♪♫♪ Accentuate the Positive ♪♫♪ What QA does your company operate? If no accreditation is held please explain why not and what alternative steps you take to ensure quality at work? Bad Answer: • “We operate our own quality system. We have determined that formal accreditation is inappropriate to our company’s needs. Complaints are the responsibility of the Managing Director.” Good Answer: • “We regard quality as a vitally important part of our business activity and we operate a comprehensive and strict internal quality assurance process covering all aspects of our business activity (details can be found in Appendix 2). We are committed to a process of continuous improvement and we are in the process of applying for ISO 9001 (we expect to be assessed in May of this year)”

33. Avoiding a Poor Score Common reasons for a poor score: • Failure to follow the instructions. • Writing by committee, no narrative flow and lack of control/ownership • Incomplete or missing answers/sections. • Supporting documentation incomplete • Repeating answers or referring to ‘see above’ (questions are rarely repeated) • Over emphasising what you sell, rather than what they are looking to buy • Recycling old tenders ‘Cutting & pasting’! • Generic PQQ/Tender response • Providing response on general capability instead as opposed to specific contract requirements.

34. Buyer Preferences

35. Be...

36. Any questions?

37. Further one to one support: • bob@njm.co.uk • vicky@njm.co.uk • 0191 284 4949