WINTER 2021 PROCUREMENT Going public Small businesses remain a largely untapped source when it comes to government contracts, but opportunities are out there if youre bold enough to bid Take-up of public sector procurement opportunities by small- and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) is very low, despite the publication of such contracts on government portals. Even in sectors that rely heavily on SMEs such as construction there remains a vast, untapped pool of businesses. Making better use of SME suppliers would reduce the public sectors overreliance on large single providers acting as aggregators, and may reduce departments waste and expenditure by cutting out the middleman. Making better use of SME suppliers would reduce the public sectors overreliance on large single providers The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has worked closely with local authorities across the West Midlands to make the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) for bids more small-business friendly. It has also helped them to disaggregate contracts break down large, main contracts into smaller ones, to make it easier for small firms to be successful and to form clusters. This is where local authorities bring together groups of small firms to strengthen their chances of winning large contracts. Where public liability levels and staff academic qualifications could be lower for smaller contracts, the FSB has also worked with councils to address this for example, not having a blanket approach of, say, 10m of indemnity and all staff qualified to NVQ Level III or above. Two huge opportunities for businesses across the Midlands at the moment are the HS2 rail project and the Commonwealth Games 2022, which will be held in Birmingham. HS2: To maximise opportunities for suppliers, Tier 1 contractors are mandated to use CompeteFor to advertise all appropriate opportunities, and to cascade this requirement through their supply chains. HS2 Ltd also has various requirements for the day-to-day management and running of its business. These direct corporate opportunities tend to be lower in value, but are more numerous. Commonwealth Games 2022 (Birmingham): All direct opportunities are advertised on the Birmingham2022 business portal, while material contracts are also publicised on the gov.uk and Tenders Direct websites. Again, the FSB has worked closely with both organisations to help them understand the worth of small businesses in their supply chains and the challenges small firms often encounter. Businesses keen to bid for procurement opportunities should: Do your research and maintain active networks Know your supply chain and where you fit in Register on the relevant portals Assess the PQQ requirements for the organisation you wish to work with particularly around equality, diversity and inclusion, and staff qualifications (NVQ Level I, II, III or industry qualifications) way ahead of getting to the bid stage Get your company and team ready to respond to opportunities as soon as they appear. Attend Meet the buyer events and Bid ready workshops Formulate a strong About my company statement; look at what you do well, what your strengths are, and how those strengths can be transposed into the supply chain. Author credit: Karen Woolley, development manager, Federation of Small Businesses Image: iStock / elenabs For larger-scale infrastructure projects, such as HS2 and the Commonwealth Games, there are requirements for information relating to company registration(s), key employees, finances, professional standing, and insurances but this is by no means an exhaustive list, so familiarise yourself with all the requirements before attempting to bid. Procurement figures 200bn annual UK public sector spend on procurement of goods and services 1 in 5 SMEs that bid for a public sector contract in past three years. 2 in 5 SMEs in construction that bid for a public sector contract in the past three years 49% 1 in every 3 11% 63p proportion of SMEs new to public sector opportunities (1-9 bids) that failed to secure a contract in the past three years amount the government wants to increase procurement spend with SMEs to by 2022 amount re-spent in a local area for proportion of SMEs with experience every 1 spent with a local SME, of public sector procurement (>9 bids) compared with 40p per 1 spent with a that failed to secure a contract in the larger business past three years For further information, please contact your local Trading Standards Service