Posted on 22-11-2011 at 01:00
SME Tendering
The current annual government spend on procurement is in the region of £191 bn per annum. So the news that Sir Francis Maude’s was to scrap of onerous sections within Pre-qualification questionnaires to help encourage small and medium sized business, is positive and welcome news for the many thousands of Small Medium Enterprises attempting to complete a PQQ.
When the current Coalition government came into power they identified that they wanted 25% of all government procurement contracts to be allocated to small and medium sized businesses (SME’s). This target is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve due to the strict barriers to entry of public sector procurement, barriers that the private sector simply does not have.
SME’s are suffering mainly due to the requirement of specific turnover and policies that are often seen as pass/fail criteria during the PQQ submission and Tender writing process. Other articles I have written recently have looked specifically at the need for evidence and supporting policies within the PQQ submission and the impact that they have. These supporting documents can cover a wide variety of subject areas including aspects of training, corporate social responsibility (CSR), health and safety, quality, equality and diversity and so on. Larger firms will often have these policies and practises in place and as a result will have accumulated a large amount of information that can be used as evidence in support of the bid, verifying target and statements. For a small business it can become an uphill struggle from the start as they will often not operate to the same strict procedures or have their policies and practises written up.
The philosophy behind a PQQ should be based around filtering out suppliers that are not going to meet the standards of the contract. A PQQ should be contextual and should not be based around the number of policies you have. Yes, policies have a place but why would a small family firm of three people need a plethora of policies and procedures?
The issues that SME’s is mainly down to the buyers asking questions within the PQQ’s and Tenders that are not relevant to the performance of the contract. This lack of understanding from the buyers will ultimately impede the progress of many SME’s in the procurement process. However the PQQ is a vital step, and acts as a filter helping to find suitable businesses that have in place the correct capabilities to complete the contracts, this is not necessary the company who has the largest policy banks. The views outlined by Mr Maude’s are a step in the right direction but there is still a long way to go in achieving an equal playing field for SME’s when compared with their larger rivals. In order to achieve this mystical level playing field the buyers need to be educated to ensure that the Tenders for public sector contracts are fit for purpose and do not inadvertently excluding SME’s. This exclusion is often due to the complexities of the questions and the extent of the required supporting documents.
If you require any further information about PQQ’s or Tenders please do not hesitate to get in touch and I will be more than happy to discuss the process and delve deeper into any particular points of interest.
Luke O’Neill
