Public Sector Tendering: Your Route to Success!

Ceri Evans (MCIPS) & Dr Ama Eyo

Institute for Competition & Procurement Studies, Bangor University

Agenda

1. An Introduction to the “Winning in Tendering” project

2. The Tender Review Service (TRS) & what it can do for you

3. Overview of Common Pitfalls to avoid in Tendering

4. The TRS European Union Tendering Passport

5. Remedies in Public Procurement – your responsibilities as a supplier!

6. Conclusions

1. “Winning in Tendering” a €3.7m strategic project, funded by the Ireland/Wales INTERREG (4A) Programme

Our Mission

Partnership Strengths…

Strategy & Policy

Project Supporters…

1. THE TENDER REVIEW SERVICE

2. THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT REMEDIES REGIME LAW WORK PACKAGE

3. THE ‘TENDER-READY’ ON-LINE DIAGNOSTIC TOOL

4. THE LOWER VALUE PROCUREMENT WORK PACKAGE

5. THE SUPPLIER-FRIENDLY PROCUREMENT COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK

•

2. What is the Tender Review Service (TRS)?

The free, confidential and impartial TRS helps suppliers learn from previous unsuccessful PQQ/tender submissions via a bespoke Tender Review Report.

Why is the TRS important?Because a vital part of the tendering process is to take on board

lessons learned from unsuccessful bids!

Who is the service targeted at?1. Those relatively new to tendering2. Those more experienced in tendering, but who still have a

relatively poor track record

3. Those who have been successful in tendering, but are now bidding for larger contracts than they have historically

Why was the TRS established?A response to the Barriers to Procurement Opportunity Report (Welsh

Government, 2009)

What does the Tender Review Service do for suppliers?

Advises you how each element of your PQQ or tender response could have been improved

Helps you see things through the procurer’s eyes

Helps you to understand procurer’s expectations

Ensures you fully understand what the procurer was looking for

Furnishes you with a variety of tendering templates

Provides good general business advice & ideas!•

Lack of detail:• Why? Assumption procurer knows about the supplier! Awareness of depth required Insufficient input from different parts of supplier’s organisation Is the question clear enough?

3. Examples of common tendering pitfalls (A)

Lack of supporting evidence to back statements up: Example: “Using our knowledge and experience in the ABC sector, we

would be able to help influence critical decisions” This does not showcase the supplier’s knowledge or experience!

Example: “We have an excellent track record in the delivery of past contracts” The supplier must prove this via for instance Client Testimonials

and/or statistics!

Examples of common tendering pitfalls (B)Leaving it to the client to draw their own conclusions

about the relevance and value of your experience:

Spell out:

What the customer’s needs and wants were?

How you solved the problem for the customer?

How successful you were?

Various means of communicating the benefits of your experience:

Explaining the logic of your approach

Referring to lessons learnt from previous contracts

Using the term “for example”

Examples of common tendering pitfalls (C)Presentation issues:

Key messages/points Executive Summary Structure Proofing! Writing Style – conciseness, clarity and consistency!

Addressing procurer risk issues:

Quality Management Adequate Resources Delineation of the Project Roles of Personnel Confidentiality of data Business/Organisation continuity issues …Include a Summary Risk Log!

Examples of common tendering pitfalls (D)

Addressing Contract and Project Management issues:

Project Manager

Project Timelines and Milestones

Management of risks

Communication with the client

Selection Stage Questions vs. Award Stage Questions

Examples of common tendering pitfalls (E)

Other issues: Compliance

Time and effort should be devoted proportionally in line with evaluation criteria weightings!

Responses need to be fully tailored to the subject matter and needs of the contract

Answers to questions are evaluated on a standalone basis!

Answering the questions literally!

Avoiding common tendering pitfalls – one final piece of advice!

Tendering is not a low skill form filling exercise, but a real opportunity to present a convincing Business Case – your tender is your chance to present to evaluators the information and evidence they need to make the decision to work with you!

TRS Principles: Our promises to you! A free service – worth £2,400!

Impartial and Honest Review

Bespoke service

Provides constructive & supportive advice and guidance

Understandable

Totally Confidential

Provides an opportunity to gain credits towards a Master’s level qualification

Participating in the TRS: a simple process…

1. YOU fill out a short application form

2. YOU supply documentation to us: Previous recent tender (or PQQ) Procurer’s documentation (and feedback)

3. WE talk to you to: Establish personal contact & clarify

expectations Understand your tendering experiences

4. WE write the Tender Review Report & send to you!

The TRS European Union Tendering Passport

What is it? A follow-up to your initial Tender Review Involves an assessment of how well you have

implemented the advice & guidance from the TRS in a subsequent PQQ or tender

Why participate?

Provides additional support and guidance as to how you could further improve your responses

Provides an opportunity to gain credits towards a Bangor University Master’s level qualification – e.g. LLM in Public Procurement Law & Strategy

What the procurer community think about the TRS…

“The report suppliers receive from the Tender Review Service is an incredibly useful piece of work for SMEs who seriously want to improve their bids. The comprehensive nature of the report, together with the simple language used in the key learning points, provides a clear route map forward for those who want to better themselves in tendering.”

Gunther Kostyra, Head of Policy Programme, Value Wales (Welsh Government)

What the supplier community think about the TRS…

“We have not received any business support like this before! We thought the Review was 'spot-on'...it brought home to us the evaluators perspective and opened our eyes to the wide range of things to consider and include within a tender. It has also enlightened us as to what we as a Voluntary Sector organisation can prepare in advance of a tendering exercise using the wide range of templates provided by the Winning in Tendering team."Anthony Flanagan, Development Officer & Director, Dynamix Ltd.

5. Remedies in Public Procurement – your responsibilities as a supplier!

Why can’t the government get its requirement like private businesses

Procurement – What is it?

The process of acquisition of goods, services and works…

From pens and pencils through to major services

Why is Public Procurement different

Subject to EU legislation – aimed to remove barriers in the EU single market

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)

The Procurement Directives (2004/18/ and 2004/17)

Subject to UK legislation Subject to auditAccountable to government and the electorateMany services are sensitive or high profile

Public Procurement – the basic facts

The Treaty principles apply to most procurements irrespective of value

The Directives apply to procurement above a certain financial value

The Directives contain detailed rules on procuring a contract

Type of body/contract

Supplies Services Works

Central government

£113,057 £113,057 £4,348,350

Other public authorities

£173,934 £173,934 £4,348,350

Your responsibility when tendering for contracts

Answer all the questions

Keep to the point of the question

Don’t assume prior knowledge – this can’t be evaluated

Include appropriate references

Seek clarification if unsure

Assuming you do these but fail to win the contract…What next?

Review the experience internally

Seek external professional assistance e.g Tender Review Service

Prepare well for the next opportunity

However there is legal help if you think that the tender exercise was tainted with some irregularity /the public body failed to

follow the rules

What is the Remedies regime?

Legal actions which allow economic operators to request the enforcement of public procurement provisions and their rights under those provisions in cases where contracting authorities, either intentionally or unintentionally, fail to comply with the legal framework for public procurement

•

Purpose of the regime

Increase the transparency of contract award procedures

Build confidence in public procurement among businesses

Facilitate competition

Correct irregularities in contract award procedures

Useful mechanism for monitoring contract award procedures

•

Overview of the regime

Directive 89/665 and Directive 92/13 as amended by Directive 2007/66/EC

Implemented in the UK by the Public Contracts (Amendment) Regulation 2009, Utilities Contracts (Amendment) Regulation 2009 and The Public Procurement (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2011

Standstill and enhanced award notification requirements

Remedies – automatic suspension, declaration of ineffectiveness, Damages, Alternative penalties

Emerging trends in the UK

Previously no culture of bid protest Slight increase in procurement litigation cases with about 20

cases per year Most cases arise from Northern Ireland Areas of challenge:

Award criteria Weighting Evaluation methodology Unequal treatment Lack of transparency Termination of procurement procedure before contract

award

Your obligations Be conversant with the obligations that public body must comply with

Keep every document/information relating to the tender in a safe place On receipt of notification letter – timing is of essence

• Ensure early and careful consideration• Check for compliance with requirements• Was the procedure conducted without any breach of the applicable legislation• Does the standstill information contain “characteristics/relative advantages”

If you are the successful bidder check that• the contract was advertised correctly and• there was a standstill period in which all the candidates were notified of the

intention to award you the contract• If borrowing finance for the work, ensure adequate protection

Get appropriate training

6. Conclusion

Free high quality support available from the “Winning in Tendering” project – so why not

take advantage of it!!!

Contact

Email: c.d.evans@bangor.ac.uk a.eyo@bangor.ac.uk

Tel: + 44 [0] 1248 382907

Web: http://icps.bangor.ac.uk/

Questions