Preparing To Tender

For Public Sector

Works
Andrea Campbell
Agenda
• 10.00 Session 1 – Introduction to Procurement
• Procurement in the public sector work
• Explaining contract types
• Procurement process cycle
• Finding opportunities

• 10.45 Neil Hopkins - Head of Procurement at Birmingham City Council

• 11.15 Break
• 11.30 Session 2 – Succeeding at PQQ stage
• Purpose of Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQ)
• Answering the standard elements of a PQQ
• Dealing with Qualitative Questions
• Common mistakes made
Agenda
• 12.30 Lunch

• 1.15 Session 3
• 10 Tips for procurement presentation and interviews

• 2.15 Break

• 2.30 Questions and Answers

• 3.00 Finish
Housekeeping
• We are not expecting a fire drill today

• Toilets are out by reception

• Lunch and refreshments will be served out by reception

and will be clearly marked

• This is an interactive event – we welcome questions and

comments
Purpose of the event
o To discover what public sector procurement is
o Why public sector bodies use these procurement
methods
o How to find opportunities
o What is a good quality document
o What are the common mistakes and how to avoid them
o You want to be involved!
 Session 1
Introduction to Procurement
 SESSION 1

What is procurement?
Definition:

“The process of acquiring goods, works and services,

covering both acquisition from third parties and from
in-house providers. The process spans the whole cycle
from identification of needs, through to the end of a
services contract or the end of the useful life of an
asset.”
 SESSION 1

What is procurement?
In other words…
• Procurement is the process that the public sector follows
when purchasing goods, works or services from:
o Deciding what to buy

o Deciding how to buy it

o Choosing who to buy it from

o Agreeing a contract with a supplier, to

o Managing that contract until the end or the end of the useful
lifetime of the item / service.
 SESSION 1

What is the public sector?

• The public sector nationally includes:
o central civil government departments
o the Northern Ireland assembly, National Assembly for
Wales and Scottish Executive
o the NHS
o the Ministry of Defence
o local authorities
o schools and colleges
 SESSION 1

What is the public sector?

• In Birmingham the public sector
includes:
• Birmingham City Council
• Birmingham East and North PCT
• Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT
• NHS South Birmingham
• Birmingham University
• Birmingham City University
• Aston University
• West Midlands Fire Service
• West Midlands Police
 SESSION 1

Key objectives
1. Value for Money (VFM)

The right combination of

A high quality service or product
&
Optimum cost
to achieve the desired outcome for the intended service
recipient
 SESSION 1

Key objectives
2. Transparency and Accountability

All public sector bodies are responsible for getting value for
money in their purchasing as they are spending tax payers
money.

They must be able to demonstrate that it has been spent

efficiently, effectively and not wastefully.
 SESSION 1

Procurement rules
• All public sector contracts, no matter what their value, are covered by
an EC treaty. This sets down principles to prevent discrimination
against companies from any member state and ensure open
competition. These principles are backed up in law by the EC
procurement directives.

• Most public sector contracts are tendered because by tendering

contracts public bodies can make sure that they:
• get value for money
• are open and fair in their purchasing activities
• comply with procurement law
 SESSION 1

What is competitive tendering

• Competitive tendering means seeking competitive bids
(tenders) for contracts.

• Contracts are advertised and any interested companies can

tender for them.

• The values for tendering can differ between public sector

bodies.
 SESSION 1

What is competitive tendering

Types of Services / Good tendered for
LOW VALUE CONTRACTS
Services & Suppliers • Catering
Below £100,000 • Cleaning
Works • Construction
Under £3.8 million • Food
• IT Services
• Leisure
HIGH VALUE CONTRACTS • Office Furniture
Services & Suppliers • Property Management Works
Above £100,000 • Stationery
Works • Vehicle Acquisition
Over £3.8 million • Venue Hire
Plus much more
 SESSION 1

Contract Types
Corporate Contracts
• For provision of supplies / services across entire organisations. Usually long term.

One off contracts

• For provision of one off services or supplies for a specific part of an organisation or
department.

Framework contracts
• A contracts set up with a number of companies who are then called on to provide ad
hoc goods / services during the life of the contract. Usually used for legal,
consultancy or care services

PFI contracts
• Long term high value contracts negotiated with large contractors, who may then
sub-contract elements of the work out to smaller or more specialist companies.
 SESSION 1

Common procurement methods

Open Contracts – single stage process
• A notice is placed giving all interested suppliers the
opportunity to tender.
• 52 days must be allowed from despatch of the notice to
receipt of tenders.
• Contract documentation must be sent to suppliers within 4
days of receiving a request.
• Any additional information must be provided at least 6
days before the final date of receipt of tenders.
 SESSION 1

Example Open Process

Request for the Tender
Contract Notice
documentation is information is
is issued
sent received

Document
Contract award All submissions
collated and
notice is issued are evaluated
submitted

Contract
Alcatel period
started
 SESSION 1

Common procurement methods

Restricted Contracts – multiple stage process
• A notice is placed allowing 37 days for interested suppliers
to respond.
• Invitations to Tender are sent only to selected tenderers,
allowing 40 days for their response.
• Contract documentation must be sent to suppliers within 4
days of receiving a request.
• Any additional information must be provided at least 6
days before the final date of receipt of tenders.
 SESSION 1

Example Restricted Process

Request for the PQQ PQQ completed
Contract Notice documentation and
documentation
is issued is sent submitted
is received

ITT issued to Results Evaluation

Feedback
successful announced for undertaken
Offered
companies ITT stage

ITT Possible Final

completed and ITT interview scores
submitted evaluated and/or site visit calculated

Contract Alcatel Feedback Contract notice

started period offered is issued
 SESSION 1

Other procurement methods

• Accelerated Restricted
• Negotiated Procedure
• Accelerated Negotiated
• Competitive Dialogue
 SESSION 1

Finding Opportunities
• Find it in Birmingham
www.finditinbirmingham.co.uk
• Tenders Electronic Daily (TED)
www.ted.europa.eu
• Supply2Gov
www.supply2.gov.uk
 NEIL HOPKINS
HEAD OF PROCUREMENT
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL
 Session 2
Succeeding at PQQ Stage
Purpose of PQQ
• The main purpose of a PQQ is to ensure that all companies
who are invited to tender can meet the minimum financial
and technical requirements to undertake the advertised
work.

• When public sector organisations place advertisements for

tenders and request expressions of interest, they may
receive hundreds of responses. A PQQ is almost always
used as a way to shortlist these responses.
Purpose of PQQ
• Completing a PQQ is often the first step in the tender
process.

• PQQs issued by the public sector are often more detailed

than those issued by the private sector because the public
sector has greater responsibilities and is accountable for
spending public money. Therefore they need to know that
their suppliers follow good practices.
Standard elements of a PQQ
• General Company Information
• Technical Capability
• Financial Information
• Insurance
• Statutory Information
General Company Information
Basic Information such as
o Name Do you know your
company registration
o Address number?

o Contact details Do you have an

organisational chart
o Company registration number already made up?

o Legal status
Is your website
o Names of directors, partners, up to date?

or trustees
Technical Capability
Evidence of your ability to deliver
• Experience
• References
• Standards and competence of your staff in relation
to this type of work
• Registration, licenses or particular technologies
that you may need to deliver the contract
Do you have all the
Have you got Do you regularly ask
training certificates for
case studies prepared? clients to be referees?
your staff?
Financial Information
Assessing your financial stability
• 3 years accounts, and if 3 years are not available, accounts
for the period that you have been trading Who does your bank
• Banker's references references?

• The ratio of the contract you are applying for to your

annual turnover
Have you checked your
• Your credit rating business credit rating?

• Levels of reserves and profit and loss accounts

• Parent company accounts (if applicable) Does your accounting
software give you
management reports?
Insurance
Have your got your
Normally at pre-set minimum limits certificates?

• Public Liability – £10m

• Employers Liability – £5m Can you get this much

• Professional Indemnity (if applicable) insurance at a reasonable

price?

– usually set at £2m

You will normally have to supply certificates as well as the facts

and figures
Statutory Information
• Business and Professional standing
o Including questions about mandatory exclusions
• Health and Safety
o Your Health and Safety policy
o Information around what you do to manage Health and Safety in
your organisation. This could be details of responsible staff, risk
assessment procedures, or details of any accidents or fatalities that
may have occurred in your organisation.
• Equal Opportunities
o An Equal Opportunities / Equality and Diversity policy
o Evidence that you have not been found guilty of any offences
relating to discrimination.
Statutory Information
• Quality
o A policy or statement of how you manage quality
o A formally recognised accreditation or kitemark (e.g. ISO 9000)
o An in-house Quality Management System
• Environment
o Details of your environmental policy
o Details of any environmental management system you may follow
(e.g. EMAS)
o Details of what you do to ensure you carry out your business in an
environmentally friendly manner
Dealing with Qualitative Questions
What are qualitative questions?
o They are used to differentiate you from your
competitive
o They are a chance for you to demonstrate why you are
the right supplier or contractor
o They are the questions which often carry large marks
Getting it right
• Consider the objectives of those procuring the
service
o Why is the question there?
o What do they want to know?
o How can you evidence what you are saying?

• Quality of the writing

o Is it logical, concise and grammatically correct?
o Is it easy to read?
o Have your followed the guidelines (word count)?
o Have you answered the question?
Common mistakes made
• Simple administration failures such as not signing the
tender
• Late delivery or delivery to the wrong person or place
• Not following instructions
• Not answering the questions
• No evidence offered
• Poor presentation
• Not following the number system
• They are not competitive
TIME TO BREAK FOR LUNCH
BACK FOR 1.15PM
 Session 3
Top 10 Presentation Tips
Top 10 tips
1. Find out the format in advance
2. Find out how from the organisation will be
there
3. Arrive early
4. Send the right people
5. Don’t drift off topic
Top 10 tips
6. Don’t use it as a chance to sell your
company – stay focussed
7. Don’t run over time – practice makes
perfect
8. Try not to waffle
9. Be prepared
10.Be yourself
 Session 4
Questions and Answers