Ways2win in You Tube Debut!

• Want to do more business?
• Want to know your NUTS from your CPV's?
• Want to take your first tendering steps?

Ways2win have written and produced a unique series of clips underlining key points of the tendering process.

Subscribe to stay informed about legislative changes, new training courses, funding and thresholds, as well as new content as we produce it.

Whether you are a small company attempting a competitive tender for the first time, or you are a large multinational with in-house capability, our approach is flexible.
We work with you to improve your win rate and contribute to your bottom line.

 
We can advise at a strategic level to refine your tender methodology, and identify the training needs of your in-house tender team, or at an operational level to write or review tender responses on your behalf.

All our tender writers are experienced senior directors and managers within the Public and Private Sectors.

Call our team on 01392 248548 or visit us on You Tube to find out how we can help you with the tendering process.

Why Invest In Tender Solutions

To invest in growth at a time of recessionary pressure is a risk that most businesses just don't feel they can afford. Every year millions of pounds are invested in sales training, marketing and PR just to achieve spread at the business margins. This in itself is a brave decision for many small businesses because if things don't go as planned everything can fall around their ears.

The challenge is to promote growth through increased competition and the classical model of aggressive direct selling or discounting prices until everything is cut to the bone. Dangerous in this current climate.

One of the most lucrative answers to this problem winning Public Sector contracts through tendering. 

2009 was a watershed year for Public Sector Procurement and 2010 has already seen significant growth in lower value tenders being made available. The real opportunities for growth lie in a balanced approach to Procurement activities.

Look at some of the features:
The annual Public Sector Procurement spend is estimated at £175 - £220 billion in the UK each year. Small businesses account for less than 16% of the organisations benefiting from these funds. 

The impact of doubling the size of the SME market share is tiny compared to the value of the whole EU procurement budget. This hasn't gone unnoticed by the government and political parties.

Cuts may be a major feature of the public sector this year and next but it is still going to be a small area of impact on the collective budgets in Europe.

How can you make the most of what is out there?
The Glover Review and Report (2008) has been accepted by all political parties and the targets set for engaging with Small and Medium sized businesses requires action through education and enterprise.

If a small business wants to double turnover it requires a good deal of hard graft, commitment at every level and improvements in management, technology and creativity. Some companies resort to an increase in direct sales or increased marketing budgets, however, for some the opportunity to invest 2.5% of the target income in tender solutions has paid real dividends.

The illustration below highlights a simple comparison:
During January 2010 five South West Business Consultants were asked to estimate the costs a small business should be prepared to spend on direct sales to generate £1,000,000 of income. This did not include account management and after sales services. The average of the five estimates resulted in £133,000 or 13.3% of the total income generated; the range was £96,000 to £148,000.

The Procurement Experience is very different!
Taking an average spend to our clients over the last six months the cost of generating £1,000,000 is maintained at between 2.5% and the higher figure illustrated in the chart below of 4%.

The significant element of this is that the £1,000,000 is sustained over two, three or four years, sometimes even up to seven years.

So why aren't more Small Businesses involved in Public Sector Tendering?
 
The Glover report identified three reasons:

• Lack of Clarity
• Lack of Awareness
• Lack of Sector Skills

 For more information on how to write successful tenders please call our team on 01392 248548.

Public Sector Diversification

No matter who leads the next Government, one thing is certain - the proposed Public Sector spending cuts are inevitably going to affect all aspects of commercial activity.

The global financial crisis has caused the Economy to revisit its structure based on credit lines which had led to the market nose dive. Businesses from all sectors have been aligning their growth strategies on the Public Sector growth. Will this alignment continue once the public sector investment policy implements cuts? The answer could prove to be complex but there are lessons to be learned from the last 10 years.

The construction industry provides a good example of this kind of diversification. In line with Labour's modernisation agenda, the growing emergence of Local Authorities creating efficiencies by hiving off their Housing departments to become not for profit community focused enterprises or charitable trusts has created a new opportunity for house builders to develop.

As the main housing development market became depressed due to the effects of the Recession, the large developers created relationships with social housing organisations, to build new social housing projects and then deliver the early stage maintenance for the properties, thereby subtly changing their emphasis for the sector.

The conclusion that as the house building sector has therefore found a way to maintain some growth in adverse trading conditions, by flexing to the changing shape of it's market the rest of the sectors could provide a sound basis for innovation and sustainability.

This example can be copied across many sectors, as businesses strive to understand how they can turn the Public Sector cuts into an added value to Private Sector, this will impact on turnover from the Public Sector.

With the UK's deficit expected to hit £178bn in 2010 (12.6% of GPD), competition for Public Sector business intensifies. All the more reason for businesses to invest in their capability to win Public Sector Tenders.

Ways2win is ideally placed to help businesses understand what opportunities exist, and how they can be best placed to win Public Sector contracts. With strong relationships with Senior Public Sector procurement contacts, Ways2win provides businesses with a bridge to make contact and do business with the Public Sector. On 21st October 2010, Ways2win will again host the Procurement Connection, an opportunity for businesses to meet influential Public Sector procurement contacts.

Visit Ways2win.co.uk/Procurementconnection to register or for more information on Tender Writing training or our completion service call 01392 248548.

Outsourcing on the rise?

A real opportunity for suppliers

In a recent article (Jake Kanter - Supply Management) reported the results of recent research into how procurement professionals were looking at the ubiquitous trend to outsource. The conclusion returned was that 'Buyers are not concerned that a rise in Procurement outsourcing (PO) will lead to job losses in the profession'.


An interesting feature of the public and private sector growth in the outsourcing market recorded the view that 'Procurement...... experts have forecast active year for the market.' The Everest Research Institute has suggested outsourced purchasing spend may rise as much as 25% in 2010.


How can businesses maximise their access to the market place? Well, interestingly the following comment was included in the article and this presents a real opportunity:-

"Most organisations are looking for procurement outsources to cover areas which previously were not covered, or not covered as well as they might have been, the opportunity lies in knowing what is needed before it arises and the art is being in the right place when the organisation twigs to it's requirements."


So, what will make you stand out from the crowd?


Well a simple conclusion is highlighted in the Kanter article -  "Any outsourced partner needs to be effectively managed." The procurement team needs to know that they can work with you, and that everything is in place for the whole life of the project with clear outcomes that can add real value for money.


So the art of Tender Writing is about creating the right relationship, delivering SMARTER, and achieving beyond basic levels.

Build your buyers confidence in your:

• Credibility from existing activities and customers
• Consistency of product and support
• Quality of service
• With the natural shrinkage in the Procurement Teams the potential for creating sustainable growth through E-tendering there is a real opportunity to get a head if the UK market and catch up with European businesses. 

If this year's budget for Public Sector is £1,600 billion - how much growth could and should your business target?


With £4 billion available to support UK businesses into this market place now is the best time to get involved. For more information on how Ways2win's tender training and writing services please call 01392 248548 or visit our website www.ways2win.co.uk.

The Value of the Tender Process

Tendering versus Direct Sales and networking is becoming an interesting conflict.

The value of the direct sales market is billions of pounds each year but dependent on the market and credit structure for most companies, as opposed to the guaranteed spend from central and regional government.

In the EU the value of the Public Sector Purse is over 1,800 billion Euros, and in the UK that value is estimated between £175 billion and £220 billion - well worth a second glance.

A recent study has shown costs for SME's to grow by £1,000,000 through direct sales to be between £97,000 and £133,000, without the marketing and ancillary costs. However the cost of tendering for contracts in a year through dedicated staff or through a consultancy ranges between £23,000 and £45,000.

That cost saving translates to a substantial cash injection in any SME.

• What do you need to do to be Tender Ready?
• Learn about the Market Place
• Understand where you are positioned
• Complete a product review and gap analysis
• Create the appropriate lines of evidence
• Certification where appropriate
• Improved competitive writing skills

Investing in these areas enables a small company to take regular snap shots of performance, review areas for development and find ways to partner others - why have competitors in a small pond when you can collaborate in a much bigger lake.

What advantages have our clients found?

• Driving forward with excellence as the benchmark
• Stronger understanding of their own product range
• Regular income - now 30 day payments are a statutory requirement
• Sustainable growth - covering core costs
• Stronger contract management skills
• Greater staff retention and fewer staff problems
• Attracting further contracts from public sector bodies and subcontracting arrangements because they understand how the system works.

The list of benefits goes on. The draw backs have to be noted:

• External inspection
• Greater public responsibility
• Time focused and in some instances real punitive penalty clauses (a reason to get the tender right - it saves embarrassment later on)
• Everyone thinks you're 'rolling in it'
• If you make a mistake in your profit margins you can be stuck with it if you can't make efficiency savings

For practical suggestions on how to maximise your business opportunity in the next 3 months give us a call (01392 248548) - our aim is to make you more competitive, tender ready and of course successful. Ways2win operates at an astounding success rate, provides dynamic training and energy in the tender writing process.

Great Acronym With Impact

Having watched the impact of the new regulations affecting procurement practices since 20th December 2009, the introduction of Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency (VEAT) has been movement in a positive direction.

When is a VEAT notice to be used?
Public sector procurement teams should use a VEAT notice when a contract has been awarded using the negotiated procedure (i.e. the award of a contract without prior advertising, where only chosen suppliers are invited to negotiate contracts) and there is no competitive tendering required.

Why should this type of notice be used?
Using the VEAT notice to remain compliant is important but it is also used to inform the market that they intend to make a purchase, who they expect to make a purchase from and in some places to explain why they believe that competition is not required.
By publishing a VEAT notice to advertise the details of the successfully supplier, procurement teams should be able to reduce the standard three month challenge period to 30 days and provide other suppliers the chance to note the trends in purchasing.

What information should be included in a VEAT notice?
The content of a VEAT notice should include:-

• full details of the awarding authority
• the justification for awarding the contract without prior publication in the OJEU
• details of the successful supplier

Why is this move positive?
By publishing a VEAT notice public sector procurement teams will demonstrate greater transparency, notifying the market place that a supplier has been appointed for an opportunity which may not have been advertised in the OJEU, so that companies wishing to supply those products in the future can register an interest as early as possible.


Additionally VEAT notices are intended to dissuade contracting authorities from awarding contracts illegally.

VEAT notices provide suppliers with key market intelligence which can be used to identify possible sub-contracting opportunities. Furthermore, they will afford you the opportunity ti contact the awarding authority and challenge the Contract Award should you believe that your organisation could have been capable of fulfilling the contract in the future.

Additionally, if yu have grounds to question the decision you will have the notification and time to challenge. The new rules came into effect on 20th December 2009, but will only affect new procurement processes starting on or after that date. Our watch on the use of VEAT has seen a productive start for SME's to notify the supplier of ability to supply.

Mark Trotter - Training Lead and Tender Champion - Ways2win.

Next weblog: The Impact of the NEW Thresholds from 1st January 2010