Celebrating public procurement at GO Awards Scotland

Hundreds of procurement experts gathered at the Crowne Plaza in Glasgow to celebrate their achievements at the GO Awards Scotland.

Organised by BiP Solutions and sponsored by Lyreco, the GO Awards celebrated the delivery of critical public services in Scotland over the past year, with eight different awards up for grabs.

Nick Ford, Director of Procurement and Commercial at the Scottish Government delivered the opening address while Sarah Heaney was host for the evening.

“I think it’s fair to say that the profile and importance of public procurement has never been higher; in Scotland and across the rest of the UK”, Heaney stated. “So these are an awards for everyone involved – buyers and all involved in the supply chain that delivers vital public services.”

“But of course, we must recognise the achievement of each of our finalists. Regardless of the outcome tonight, each has taken the time to put their work in the spotlight and to help progress standards in procurement for all.”

Winning the biggest prize of the night – the GO Excellence Award, was Scottish Government Digital, in partnership with NHS National Services Scotland and Public Health Scotland for creating a service to collect contact data from visitors for various venues during the height of the pandemic.

They were eligible for this award after also winning the COVID Outstanding Response Award (Public Sector) for the same project.

Also picking up double accolades, The City of Edinburgh Council, won the Continuous Improvement Award and the Health and Wellbeing Award for their Thrive Edinburgh project, which helped to simplify the delivery of vital mental health services in the city.

The first award of the night, the Social Value Award, went to Aberdeen City Council, who along with Aberdeenshire Council, NHS Grampian and Neos Networks, were rewarded for their work relating to the ‘Gigabit Connectivity Framework’ to improve and deliver digital connectivity to public sites.

“I can’t take the credit for this project but it was a real team effort and they will all be delighted back at the office. With any collaborative project there is always difficulties but they did a great job and this award is testament to that”, said Fiona Conti, Strategic Procurement Manager at Aberdeen City Council.

Scotland Excel were crowned winners of the Best Procurement Delivery Award for their support in the delivery of the Scottish Government’s £3 billion Affordable Housing Supply Programme, while Sykes Global and NHS National Services Scotland won the COVID-19 Outstanding Response Award (Private Sector) for their creation and delivery of COVID test kits.

“It has been fantastic to be back at government awards and to celebrate the success of the team together. The biggest challenge on this project was the sheer scale of delivery with so many people involved, but we were driven by wanting to get the best outcome for people and we’re proud to have one that”, said Steve Brannagan, Head of Customer & Business Services at Scotland Excel.

Finally, Glasgow City Council won the Procurement Team of the Year Award following their successful procurement of a new fleet of green vehicles for their city.

Among those presenting the awards was Grahame Steed, Content, Research and Communications Director at BiP Solutions. “Given the challenges we have seen facing public procurement in recent years, the GO Awards Scotland were a fantastic opportunity for some teams to earn the recognition they deserve for their hard work in such difficult times, and the standard was as high as ever.”

“It was great to see everyone in person again, and we congratulate all those who took home a GO Awards Scotland trophy, as well as all the finalists who submitted such strong entries. We look forward to seeing all our category winners again in Birmingham on 25 May for the UK GO Awards.”

For those hoping to join Scotland’s winners at the GO Awards UK, the deadline for entries has been extended to Monday 25 April, so submit your entry while there’s still time, and we may just see you at the Hilton Metropole in Birmingham on the big night!

Find out more about entering here, and good luck! https://www.goawards.co.uk/national/

GO Awards Scotland 2019: Celebrating Procurement Success in Style

GO Awards Scotland 2019 trophies

This year’s GO Awards Scotland presentation took place on 29 October at the Marriott Hotel, Glasgow, celebrating the best in all aspects of public procurement in Scotland.

Celebrating Scottish Innovation

Malcolm Harrison and Nikki Archer interviewed by Rona Dougall at the GO Awards Procurement Excellence Live Stage

The Awards ceremony itself, as part of the Scottish Festival of Procurement, was preceded by the 15th Annual Scottish Government National Procurement Conference and Procurex Scotland, taking place at the SEC Glasgow on the same day. A major focus of the day was the unique innovations that set Scottish procurement apart – exactly what the GO Awards celebrate.

Procurex Scotland included the GO Awards Procurement Excellence Live Stage, hosted by Scotland Tonight host Rona Dougall. After a joint interview with Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, and Nikki Archer, Head of Procurement and Commercial Policy & Strategy and Head of Procurement Profession at the Scottish Government, several of this year’s GO Awards Scotland finalists were interviewed onstage to describe the innovations that had led our judges to name them as finalists. Finalists interviewed included APS Group, Police Scotland, and Scotland Excel and Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company. There was also a ‘one year on’ interview with Lawrence Shackman from Transport Scotland, winners of last year’s GO Awards Scotland GO Excellence Award. Mr Shackman described the GO Awards as “a really fun Awards ceremony. I’ve been to other awards and nothing really compares!”

The GO Awards Scotland Presentation Ceremony

The evening presentation ceremony kicked off in style, with a black-tie champagne reception before guests were welcomed by a traditional piper. Presenter Rona Dougall welcomed guests before the official opening address from Ainslie McLaughlin, Director of Scottish Procurement and Commercial at the Scottish Government. Guests were then introduced to the work of the GO Awards official charity partner, the Realising Dreams Foundation.

Over the course of the evening, across 11 categories, awards were presented to 11 winners and seven Highly Commended entrants. The full list of Winners and Highly Commended entrants is available here.

The Awards presentation culminated with the GO Excellence Award. Unlike other awards, organisations cannot enter this category; instead, nominees are chosen directly by the GO Awards judging panel from among the rest of the evening’s winners. With an especially strong crop of entries this year, finalists for the GO Excellence Award were Multiplex Construction Europe Ltd and the University of Glasgow; Child Bereavement UK; and APS Group (Scotland) Ltd. While all these entries were outstanding, the overall winner was the team from Multiplex Construction Europe Ltd and the University of Glasgow, for their campus development work and its focus on integrating social value and community benefit into the project.

Multiplex Construction ltd and University of Glasgow winning GO Excellence Award

Multiplex Construction Ltd and University of Glasgow – celebrating in style!

After the Awards, the festivities continued with entertainment from two-time Scottish Comedian of the Year finalist Ray Bradshaw, performing simultaneously in English and British Sign Language, and the results of the Realising Dreams Foundation charity raffle, which saw the top prizes of a signed Scotland football shirt and an overnight stay at the Marriott Hotel raise hundreds of pounds for the charity, helping to support the dreams of many talented young people.

Comedian Ray Bradshaw had the audience laughing

What’s Next?

Congratulations once again to all finalists, and especially to all Award winners. Many of the fascinating stories behind some of the evening’s winning entries will be available on the GO Awards site Winners’ Journeys page soon – be sure to visit the page to learn more about their innovations, achievements and best practice examples.

All GO Awards Scotland Winners qualify for automatic finalist status at the GO Awards National, to be held on 22 April at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham. The GO Awards National bring together winners from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with new entries from across the UK. Entries will open soon – why not share your procurement success story?

Congratulations to all this year’s Award winners!

Photographs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6: www.scottishphotographer.com

New research reveals scale of public sector Brexit concerns

With the European Union having confirmed a delay to the UK’s departure from the EU, 31 October no longer marks ‘exit day.’ The so-called ‘flextension’ defers Brexit until the end of January, unless a deal is ratified before then. With the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement accepted in principle by Parliament, and an upcoming UK general election, the coming months will prove to be another crucial period in shaping precisely what form Brexit takes, and on what date the UK is no longer an EU member.

Against this backdrop, we are excited to reveal the results of our latest research survey, ‘Brexit: Challenges and Opportunities for Public Sector Buyers.’ This research project surveyed procurement leaders from throughout the public sector – from local and central government and the NHS to higher education and housing associations – for their predictions, concerns and aspirations around what effects Brexit will have on UK public procurement.

Ahead of our full key findings report, to be released soon, some of the survey’s headline statistics are below:

  • 58% of respondents feel that a ‘no-deal Brexit’ will have a worse effect on their procurement strategies than Brexit under the terms of a negotiated Withdrawal Agreement – with over half of this 58% suggesting the effect will be “significantly worse.” However, 31% of respondents believe that in terms of procurement, there will be no difference between a Brexit with or without a negotiated deal.

  • 45% of organisations say they still have no defined Brexit strategy in terms of supply chain management, with 61% of all respondents not currently having a strategy for a ‘no-deal’ scenario.

  • The most significant effect of Brexit for the public sector is believed to be the ability to control costs, with 66% of participants in our survey suggesting there will be either a high or medium impact in this area.

  • 61% of respondents are concerned about post-Brexit supply chain disruption affecting the delivery and quality of services.

  • A full 40% of respondents believe that Brexit will have little or no impact on their ability to engage with suppliers based outside the UK, and only 25% of buyers say they are concerned about their ability to engage with EU-based suppliers in future.

Our full survey report, detailing further findings and respondents’ profiles, will be available soon.

Visit www.bipsolutions.com/brexit to read all the latest updates, resources and guidance for what Brexit means for procurement. As the situation develops, BiP Solutions will continue to monitor the latest intelligence to provide you with the most up-to-date knowledge and guidance on the implications of Brexit on procurement, up to and beyond ‘exit day.’

Building connections at the UK Infrastructure Show

Bigger and better than ever before, on 30th April the UK Infrastructure Show was back at the NEC, Birmingham for its third year.

The UK’s leading infrastructure and supply chain event was once again a roaring success, connecting buyers and suppliers on the main stage of the sector.

This year, the event combined with the UK Public Sector Expo and Procurex National, with UKIS2019 seeing 1,400 delegates enjoying over 30 free training sessions, five speakers in the Keynote Arena, six Public Sector Solutions Live speakers, four Networking & Collaboration Zones, a Product Showcase Exhibition and the wealth of knowledge demonstrated in the four skills development zones throughout the event.

With over £600bn and 700 projects on the National Infrastructure Pipeline, the show had a huge range of information and opportunities on offer from some of the biggest names and projects within the infrastructure arena.

Infrastructure has been one of the better performers for the construction industry throughout this unsettled political and economic period, as reflected in the attendance numbers and buoyancy amongst the infrastructure community.

The Keynote stage

The Keynote stage, hosting some of the major players in the infrastructure sector, was the focus of the event. A very popular area of the show, at times it was standing room only as people jostled to hear the latest from the National Infrastructure Commission, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, HS2, the Department for Transport and Scape Procure.

Chaired by Stephen Kinnell of supply chain specialists CompeteFor, key themes coming through the informative keynote speeches were the need for collaboration, innovation and a long-term joined-up approach.

First up, Phil Graham, Chief Executive of the National Infrastructure Commission, addressed the audience. He discussed how important infrastructure is to the country, as a key driver of the economy and improver of change.

Phil Graham from National Infrastructure Commission

Matthew Vickerstaff, Interim Chief Executive of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, followed, discussing how delivery of the National Infrastructure Pipeline will be achieved, looking at strategic investment, infrastructure priorities, and the challenges in improving infrastructure performance.

An informative session from Mark Howard, HS2 Chief Engineer, was up next. As Europe’s biggest infrastructure project currently underway, HS2 is a flagship for the infrastructure sector. Mr Howard told the packed room, that up to this point, the amount of track already built equals half the length of the UK – giving us some idea of the huge undertaking this project is.

Once again, the theme of collaboration and a joined up approach was key, with the support of organisations such as the Midlands Engine and Northern Powerhouse crucial to successful delivery.

The next session was held by Catherine de Marco, Deputy Director Infrastructure, Skills and Efficiency at Department for Transport. Ms de Marco focused on the issues of skilled labour and the requirement for new, technology-minded individuals to be enticed into the construction, transport and infrastructure sectors.

Last to the podium was Adrian Hill, Acting Director of Frameworks at Scape Procure. An appropriate close to the arena, the essence of Scape Procure and Mr Hill’s address was to remind the audience that with all infrastructure projects, we are not just investing in the projects, but communities.

Attendees heard again, how collaboration, fair payment, continual improvement and adoption of new technologies and innovations was vital for the sector to ensure economic benefits from the investments.

Subsector zones

The excitement didn’t end with the keynote arena – the floor was host to many exhibitors, showcasing new trends, technologies and innovations to a captive audience.

Two zones, specifically designed to highlight the growing subsectors within infrastructure, were also available to delegates.

In Zone 1, The Energy and Social Infrastructure zone, attendees heard from a range of specialists and suppliers working in the sector.

Over in Zone 2, Transport, sessions from some of the leading figures in infrastructure development in the West Midlands spoke to a lively audience.

Next steps

We would like to thank all delegates, visitors, partners, sponsors and exhibitors at UKIS for helping to make such a successful show and representing an industry with huge potential for growth and development.

To register your interest or to discuss booking your 2020 exhibition or sponsorship package, click here.

 

UK National GO Awards 2019/20

Celebrating the best in public procurement from across the UK, this year’s National GO Awards took place on 30th April at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham.  The event brought together winners from the GO Awards Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over the last 12 months with new entrants for a night of festivities and sharing of best practice, leadership and innovation.

The glittering black-tie event was hosted by TV presenter Sarah Heaney, and gave finalists to share their success stories and have their achievements recognised.

The event also saw an official opening address from Simon Tse, the Chief Executive of the Crown Commercial Service, who stressed the need to celebrate the sometimes under-appreciated wider importance of procurement in the UK.

This year there were 16 categories, plus the GO Excellence Award, with many categories from previous years split to recognise different types of organisation. This testifies to both the quantity and quality of entries. The judging panel, made up of experts in the field of procurement, stressed that this year’s batch of entries was among the strongest ever, with chair of the judging panel David Smith commenting that:

I believe the standard of the awards has improved greatly over the years. The winners in the categories this year are as good if not better than any other year.

See some of the highlights of the evening here:

GO Awards presentation

Although many of the evening’s winners and highly commended entrants represented previously recognised entries from the GO Awards Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, there were also many winners from among the new entrants. A full list of winners and highly commended entrants is below – congratulations to them all!

GO Social and Community Benefit in Procurement Award – Local Authority, Consortia and Housing

Winner: Liverpool City Council
Highly Commended: Tai Tarian

Liverpool Council – clearly pleased to have won!

GO Social and Community Benefit in Procurement Award – Other Organisations

Winner: Department for Infrastructure, Graham Farrans Joint Venture & AECOM
Highly Commended: Scottish Government – SG Procurement, Contract Management and Capability Team

GO Best Service Award – Micro and Small Businesses and Third Sector Organisations

Winner: Ingenica Solutions & Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Highly Commended: AdviseInc Ltd.

GO Best Service Award – Medium & Large Organisations

Winner: Warmworks Scotland
Highly Commended: Hays & Birmingham City Council

GO Procurement Innovation of the Year Award – Taking the procurement function forward – Health and Social Care

Winner: Scan4Safety & the Department of Health and Social Care
Highly Commended: Angus Council / Angus Health and Social Care Partnership
Highly Commended: Leicestershire County Council

GO Procurement Innovation of the Year Award – Taking the procurement function forward – Health and Social Care (NHS Organisations)

Winner: University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust & Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Highly Commended: NHS Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit & NHS West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group
Highly Commended: NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support & NHS England

GO Procurement Innovation of the Year Award – Taking the procurement function forward – Local Government, Central Government and Other Organisations

Winner: Kent Police & Essex Police
Highly Commended: Kirklees Council

GO Infrastructure Project of the Year

Winner: Transport Scotland – Forth Replacement Crossing

GO Procurement Leadership of the Year Award – Local Government & Other Organisations

Winner: North Yorkshire County Council
Highly Commended: Tunbridge Wells Borough Council

GO Procurement Leadership of the Year Award – Central Government & Healthcare Organisations

Winner: Bank of England
Highly Commended: Office of National Statistics

GO Procurement Project of the Year Award (sub-£20m value)

Winner: Renfrewshire Council
Highly Commended: Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, North West Shared Infrastructure Service and others

GO Procurement Project of the year award (above £20m value) – Local Government and Consortia

Winner: North Lincolnshire Council
Highly Commended: NEPO

GO Procurement Project of the year award (above £20m value) – Other Organisations

Winner: Translink
Highly Commended: Department for International Development
Highly Commended: North of England Commissioning Support Unit & NHS England (Specialised Commissioning, North Region)

GO Emerging Procurement Talent Award

Joint Winner: Leidos Supply Limited
Joint Winner: Cardiff Council

GO Procurement Team of the Year Award – Health and Social Care Organisations

Winner: NHS Scotland National Procurement Equipping Sourcing Team, working with NSS Health Facilities Scotland Equipping Team
Highly Commended: Procurement and Logistics Service (a subsidiary of the Business Services Organisation) partnering with all Health and Social Care Trusts & the Department of Health

GO Procurement Team of the Year Award – Local Government, Central Government and Other Organisations

Winner: Kirklees Council
Highly Commended: Network Homes
Highly Commended: North Yorkshire County Council

GO Excellence Award

Unlike other awards, the GO Excellence award cannot be entered. Instead, the nominations for this award were revealed on the evening of the ceremony, comprising a list of five of the overall strongest entries from across this year’s winning entrants, as decided by the expert judging panel.

The GO Excellence Award this year went to the team from Scan4Safety & the Department for Health and Social Care. The judging panel described this entry as

a major league project for a major league organisation – delivering significant benefits in a host of areas: efficiency, safety and cost management to name just three. A project that has required huge effort to coordinate, with an impressive list of benefits achieved and evidence of sharing of best practice.

Congratulations to the Scan4Safety team!

The GO Awards – next steps

While this year’s National GO Awards presentation may be over, check the GO Awards website over the coming weeks to learn more about the fascinating and inspiring stories behind some of the winning and highly commended entries.

In addition, the GO Awards Scotland 2019/20 will take place on 29th October with the GO Awards Wales following on 7th November. The entry process will begin soon – so why not share your procurement success story?

New Brexit Guidance for Procurement

Business people figurines shaking hands on map of Europe

The Government has released new guidance specifically aimed at those working in public procurement as to what the effect of the various possible Brexit outcomes will be for the industry.

The Procurement Policy Note (PPN), ‘Preparing the UK for Leaving the EU’, sets out guidance that will be applicable as soon as the UK leaves the EU, scheduled for 29th March. The guidance aims to cover all potential outcomes, whether or not the UK has negotiated a withdrawal deal with the EU. The PPN clarifies areas including how procurement notification requirements in the different constituent countries of the UK will be affected, the currently assumed length and scope of an ‘implementation period’, and – most crucially – the changes that suppliers will have to make if there is a ‘no-deal’ exit.

The PPN and explanatory notes can be accessed here.

BiP Solutions is specifically named in the explanatory ‘frequently asked questions’ supplement to the PPN, as one of the first e-senders to announce plans to integrate with the new, UK-specific tenders notification service that may supersede the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU) in the case of ‘no deal.’ This represents a potential major change for UK suppliers and how they do business. To find out more, read our recently updated guidance document, ‘Procurement After Brexit: Deal or No Deal‘, which complements the Government’s PPN.

For the latest updates on what Brexit means for procurement, visit BiP Solutions’ dedicated Brexit page.

Digital Strategies in Government Procurement: Procurex Wales

CarenFullertonIn anticipation of her presentation at Procurex Wales Live on 6 October at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, entitled Digital Strategy for Welsh Government, Caren Fullerton, Chief Digital Officer at the Welsh Government, spoke to BiP Solutions journalist Domhnall Macinnes about the importance of having a good digital strategy in central government procurement.

Caren Fullerton worked for the Welsh Government as an analyst for 15 years before moving on to such roles as Head of ICT for the Welsh Government’s agriculture department and Head of Corporate Services at the International Property Office, among others.

She said: “In my current role I’m responsible for providing leadership on the Welsh Government’s own digital services and digital delivery and also for some aspects of data. My team are also looking at opportunities to do things differently with respect to ICT services and unified communications.”

In April 2015, the Welsh Government published Digital First, a strategy outlining the Government’s approach to driving digital change in the public sector. Digital First aims to stimulate the provision of a variety of good-quality online services for citizens and businesses in Wales.

Mrs Fullerton explained: “A key principle underpinning Digital First is the ability to use digital to generate efficiencies and deliver value for money. Digital First is not overly prescriptive and instead provides a framework to drive improvements; we are already beginning to see some really tangible deliveries as a result of the strategy. We have also recently published an open data plan for Welsh Government, the principles of which are repeatable across the public sector. We already publish a vast amount of open data and the plan will stretch us even further. A USP for Welsh Government is that our data is bilingual and therefore valuable to a variety of people all over Wales.”

Mrs Fullerton also noted that the introduction of the National Procurement Service has had a positive impact on how suppliers and government do business all over the UK.

She continued: “I think it’s important to remember that Wales has a distinct policy agenda when it comes to digital development and digital approaches. Nevertheless, our citizens and businesses receive many of their services from Whitehall departments so I think it’s important that suppliers of services in Wales understand both the differences and our common ground in order to deliver the best quality products for us. This also helps their credibility when they look at developing themselves as suppliers to the rest of the UK.”

Mrs Fullerton touched on the vital importance of having a well thought-out digital strategy in central government procurement, benefiting both government and the supply chain.

She commented: “You want your suppliers to have done their homework up front when they are bidding for work so that the procurement process goes quickly and smoothly for them and for you. Also, these days it’s more likely that our procurements involve limited competition with a group of suppliers who themselves have already been through a framework contract procurement process.”

Mrs Fullerton briefly explored what the Welsh Government looks for in a supplier.

She said: “I’ve met suppliers that have come with really great products they’re potentially interested in trying to sell to Wales, but because they haven’t done their research on a lot of the things that matter to the public sector in Wales and the Welsh Government, they’re not really able to compete for that work. Do your research first!”

Rounding off the session, Mrs Fullerton provided a snippet from her upcoming talk at Procurex Wales and discussed the value of Meet the Buyer events.

Discussing the importance of digital change, she said: “I think the talk is mostly going to be around how digital change is about completely transforming the way in which your business operates. It is about rethinking how you deliver your service, sometimes through a very different business model. Examples from the private sector include Uber and Airbnb, where people have completely rethought how the transaction between the buyer and seller takes place and then built an IT system and new processes to deliver that. This radical rethinking also applies to how we need to transform the public sector.”

She concluded: “I think for buyers, events like Procurex are an opportunity to step back a bit and think about what it is you’re doing, while learning from the past experiences of others.”

Procurex Wales will be a hub for opportunity when private sector delegates and key public sector representatives descend onto the floor of the Motorpoint Arena for a day of networking. To gather fantastic tips about digital change from Mrs Fullerton’s speech and to seize the opportunity to gain much more, register for Procurex Wales Live 2016 today.

PIN down Prior Information Notice Updates

Prior Information Notice

The new UK Public Contract Regulations have changed the way Prior Information Notices (PINs) can be utilised by sub-central authorities. Here BiP journalist Julie Shennan talks to Principal PASS (Procurement Advice Support Service) Consultant Eddie Regan about the implications these changes will have on suppliers.

In the past, Prior Information Noticess were used to inform suppliers that a contract notice was on its way and if the contracting authority so chose, the timescale for tenders could be reduced in the Open, Restricted and Negotiated Procedures. While this functionality is maintained for for central government authorities, PINs now have a wider scope of use for sub-central authorities.

Sub-central authorities, including local councils and certain NHS Trusts, can now use a PIN:

  • As a means to notify the market of a forthcoming opportunity;
  • With the specific intent to reduce the tender timescales in the Open, Restricted and Competitive Procedure with Negotiation or
  • As a ‘Call for Competition’ which negates the need for a further Contract Notice and means that only those suppliers that respond as required will be invited to participate at PQQ in the Restricted and Competitive Procedure with Negotiation.

Commenting on the changes, BiP’s Principal PASS (Procurement Advice Support Service) Consultant Eddie Regan warned that suppliers must be vigilant to catch opportunities.

He said: “When a Prior Information Notice is used as a Call for Competition there will be no further Contract Notice published, so the PIN will begin the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire cycle. When the authority is ready to proceed with competition it will only consider those suppliers that have responded to the PIN. Only those that reconfirm their interest, when asked to do so, will receive the PQQ.”

Mr Regan further cautioned: “Suppliers must keep an eye out for PINs that act as a Call for Competition and respond to them providing the information that is requested. There is no second opportunity in this process.”

Important information in Call for Competition PINs includes:

  • The contracting authority’s contact details and links to tender documents.
  • NUTS and CPV codes.
  • A description of the goods or services sought.
  • The expected value of the goods/services sought.
  • Invitation to dialogue with the contracting authority.
  • Type of award procedure that will be followed (including collaborative models).
  • Conditions for participation, including mandatory social clauses for suppliers.
  • Description of the selection and award criteria.
  • Expression of Interest deadlines.
  • Expectations of the minimum and maximum number of companies that will be invited to tender.
  • Estimated delivery timescale of the contract.

Timescales also differ at the tender stage when Prior Information Notices have been used with the intent to reduce timescales. In the Open Proccedure, which allows 35 days for response, a PIN can cut the timescale to 15 days.

In both the Restricted and Competitive Procuedure with Negotiation, the 30 day minimum timescale can be slashed as low as 10 days.

To meet this new challenge, Mr Regan suggested suppliers prepare for a fast turn- around.

He said: “Suppliers really need to build a database of their company information, answering the common questions asked during the tender process. The new EU Public Contract Regulations make the selection criteria clear, explaining the information that can be asked of suppliers. Suppliers must use these resources to build a profile of their business.”

Online guides and training also act as vital aids in the tendering process, as Mr Regan explained.

He said: “Suppliers who are new to the marketplace can read the ‘Ultimate Guide to Winning Government Contracts’ or undertake a PASS training course to get a better understanding of the process.”

For more information on the tendering process, visit the BiP Solutions website.

BiP Solutions Limited is a company registered in Scotland with Company Number SC086146 and VAT number 383030966 and having its registered office at Medius, 60 Pacific Quay, Glasgow, G51 1DZ.

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