The e-tendering System

Presenters:

Sally Pizzie, Senior Category Manager, Construction

Sean Adams, Senior Category Manager, Facilities Management

Agenda

• Introduction & Overview

• “Why is Public Sector Procurement Complex”?

• The Tender Process Explained

• What is E-Tendering?

• Useful Sites

• Questions?

Introduction and Overview

• Procurement is the process of buying goods, services and works.

• The annual purchasing spend of the public sector in the UK is estimated at £220 billion.

• The annual purchasing spend of Dorset County Council is £157 million.

• Over 65% of suppliers are SME's

• Dorset Councils Working Together

ICT - £10.5m

Professional Services -£12m

Construction - £19.5m

Transport - £17.5m

Facilities Management -£10.5m

Waste - £12.5m

Adult & CommunityServices - £62m

Children's Services -£11m

DCC spend £157m on external goods & services

Spend by Category

Head of Dorset Procurement

Principal Category Manager

Senior Category ManagerTransport

Senior Category Manager

Professional Service

Senior Category ManagerFacilities

Management

Senior CategoryManager

Construction

Senior Category Manager

ICT

Senior Category ManagerWaste

Management

Category Management Structure

Children's Services Commissioning

AdultsServices Commissioning

Why is Public Sector Procurement Complex?

Regulations & Governance

EU Directives

Public Contract Regulations 2006

Internal Contract Procedure Rules

Accountability

Council Tax Payers

Elected Members

Internal/External Audits

Central Government

Considerations

Timescales

Environmental issues

Sustainability & Diversity

Value for Money

Whole life costs

Achieve more for less

Price versus Quality

Most Common EU Procurement Procedures

Open Procedure

Restricted Procedure

Framework Agreement

EU Thresholds as of 1st January 2010

• Goods & Services = £156,442• Works = £3,927,260

Other EU Procurement Procedures

• Accelerated procedure• Negotiated Tender• Competitive Dialogue• Central Purchasing Bodies• Dynamic Purchasing Systems

Common Procurement Procedures

Tender Cycle

Advertise TenderExpressions

of Interest

Invitationto Tender

Tenders Returned

Evaluation

Contract Award

Implementation

ContractManagement

ContractExpiry

Pre-QualificationQuestionnaire

Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Process

A PQQ enables the buyer to select potential suppliers who are suitable and capable of working with the Council.

Stage 1:Exclusio

n

Stage 2:Selectio

n

• Ineligible Tenderers (offenders, insolvencies, etc)

• Failure to meet “minimum standards”

• Selection of firms to invite to tender (shortlist) based on ‘economic and financial standing’ and ‘technical or professional ability’

“A PQQ CAN’T WIN YOU THE CONTRACT BUT IT MAY LOSE YOU IT”

Tips for completing the PQQ

• The PQQ does not allow for any prior knowledge of your organisation by the contracting authority (even if you are the existing supplier!)

• Where written policies and procedures do not exist, include a statement to support how you manage that activity in your organisation

• This is your opportunity to sell yourself to us. Think of it as a job application. In order to get to interview stage you need to sell yourself on the application form.

• Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you are unsure, but ensure that your queries are submitted in writing.

Invitation to Tender (ITT)

• Instructions to Tenderers

• Form of Tender

• Terms & Conditions

• Specification

• Price Schedule

• Declarations

• Criteria based on the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) : inc price, quality, cost effectiveness, after-sales, technical merit, environmental, sustainability, diversity, equal opportunities & delivery etc

“VERY FEW PUBLIC SECTOR CONTRACTS ARE AWARDED ON PRICE ALONE, ALTHOUGH PRICE IS A VERY IMPORTANT

FACTOR”

Tips for completing the Tender Document

• Be clear & concise

• Allow adequate time for clarifications

• Focus on the business needs

• Innovation & Value for Money

• Ensure all parts are complete

• Return on time

Alternative Approaches

Consider the rest of the supply chain

can you be a sub contractor to one of our main contractors?

Consider working collaboratively

can you build a consortium to reduce your overheads?

What is e-tendering?

“e-tendering is the carrying out of the tendering cycle/process using electronic means, such as the internet and specialist e-tendering software applications”.

Benefits of e-tendering

• Replaces the traditional manual paper-based tender trail.

• Faster response to queries and/or clarifications.

• Reduced costs for suppliers and buyers.

• A single website providing 24hr access.

• Early notification of tendering opportunities.

• Data security with suppliers keeping their own information up to date

Accessing e-tendering Systems

• You will need access to a computer with internet access

• You will need word processing software such as Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat

• Basic web browsing and word processing skills are all you need.

• Its free once you are Internet ready, there are No further costs associated with the system.

• Comprehensive on-line help is available.

http://www.dorsetforyou.com

e-tendering

Accessing the System

Access

Click on link

Supplier Registration

Click on this arrow to register

Company Details

Important fill in your company profile

Sample Profile

ImportantRegister your business to the correct category

Categories

You can select more than one category if applicable

Useful Sites

Dorset County Council - www.dorsetforyou.com

Proactis Support Desk - supportdesk@alito.co.uk

Dorset Procurement - dp@dorsetcc.gov.uk

Business Link - www.businesslink.gov.uk/southwest

Supply2.gov.uk - www.supply2.gov.uk/

Office of Government Commerce (OGC) - www.ogc.gov.uk

Federation of Small Businesses - www.fsb.org.uk/

Dorset Community Action - www.dorsetcommunityaction.org.uk

Questions

Anna Frizzell

Business Link in DorsetEnvironmental Adviser

Sustainable Procurement

Definition of a Sustainable Business

A sustainable business is a successful and profitable business

It is one that continuously improves its productivity by taking action on the

economic, social and environmental impacts of its business

Drivers

• Economic

• Political

• Legislative

• 6 key starter areas• Energy

• Waste

• Water

• Legislation

• Transport

• Resources

What do I need to know?

• Energy

• Waste

What do I need to know?

• Water

• Legislation

What do I need to know?

• Transport

• Resources

What do I need to know?

www.envirowise.gov.uk

0800 585794

www.carbontrust.co.uk

0800 085 2005

Netregs

www.netregs.gov.uk

Business Link

www.businesslink.gov.uk/southwest

Improve Your Resource Efficiency IYRE

• Growth Companies • 15 hours of support

• Funding of last resort

www.businesslink.gov.uk/southwest

www.envirowise.gov.uk

www.carbontrust.co.uk

www.netregs.gov.uk

The Power of Words

Mark Pitcher

Concordia Business Improvement Ltd

What we are going to cover...

The stages of the tender submission

The top tips

What’s happening to public sector procurement?

What next?

Questions

Before we start...

Do you really want to tender?

- Takes time, money and resource.

- Do you have the technical skill, experience and resources

- Does it fit your business aims?

- How much money will you make?

- How important is the client?

Before we start...

• Check payment terms

• Check any guarantee terms

• Check your status

• Check insurance, and bomb shell outs!

The stages of the tender process..

• Register of interest

• PQQ

• Tender submission

• Interview and negotiations

• Contract Start

• Contract reviews

Top tips...

• Programme the tender process

• Put in the time and resource

• Collection of tender documents

• Find out what client really wants

• Site inspection

• Focus on the client, talk about their needs and how you answer them

Top tips con..

• Method statements for work

• Timetable and project programme

• Highlight possible issues and possible solutions

• Build relationships

Top tips continued..

• Talk about resource and experience you have

• CVs of the team going to be used

• Help with new ideas and alternatives

• Benefits of your tender, business and cost savings made on other projects

• Contract management resource?

• Financial ability to undertake the works

Getting it right...

• Meet all the requirements

• Get it there on time!

• Do not say what is not true!

• Think about the price

• Proof read the document

• Tender submission meetings

• Will you make money – e tender?

Once you have it...

• Interview

• Discussions on detail

• Work hard to keep it, project review!

• Push for better value!

• You become the buyer!

• If you don’t win find out why - face to face interview

Things not to do..

• We believe we do not have the resource to do the project

• No answer as we are not sure what answer you want

• We want to make profit from the contract double that of the market leaders

• We believe setting time scales is wrong as we never stick to them

• We have never done catering before, in fact we applied for the wrong tender but feel our experience in building gives us the required skills to run a catering contract

Public sector procurement in the future........

• BAA – what goes around comes around?

• Watch your contract terms

• Value for money

• Outsourcing

• More risk, use of smaller contractors

• Less management more customer failures improvement in value!

What next....

• More training

• Outsource to tender bid writing firms

• Review your company aims

• Work with 3rd party on bid submissions

• You’ve got to be in it to win it