All councils will have different procedures when it comes to the procurement process, but they all aim to make sure that the process is fair, with a real push to awarding contracts to SMEs and growing the GVA in the local economy. Depending on the value of the contract, will depend on the length of the quoting process and what procurement portal is used to identify potential suppliers.
Through attending meet the buyer events and with the feedback received from users of the SupplyDevon platform, we have a better understanding on why SMEs might be deterred from getting involved in Public Sector Procurement. To build on this, we developed a survey in conjunction with Teignbridge District Council to seek feedback from suppliers on the tendering process and clarify the specific pain points.
Our survey concluded that 42% of SMEs wouldn’t seek out public tenders. One common view is that the tendering process is time consuming. In addition, several businesses reported a lack of staff resource to complete tenders the combination making the tendering process almost impossible for SMEs to emerge themselves in.
Only 41% of respondents are aware of social value frameworks and feedback is regularly received that the tendering process can be bias towards larger organisations, with far too many platforms available to choose from.
Since our survey, we invited Rosanna Wilson, Corporate Procurement Officer from Teignbridge, South Hams, and West Devon District Council to discuss the results and provide guidance to suppliers on where and how they can access information to tackle Public Sector Procurement.
Rosanna encourages all businesses to reach out to councils if they would like to get involved but don't know how or where to start. Councils can provide advice on what tendering systems they use and provide instructions on the process as well as issue feedback to any unsuccessful applicants.
“SupplyDevon is user friendly and easy to use, for both buyer and supplier”
Watch the full interview with Rosanna below.
Getting started
If you’re a Devon-based business, you can register and begin using SupplyDevon right away. The platform is aimed to be simple and less daunting than some of the larger procurement platforms available. It’s free to use for both buyer and supplier.
Buyers can source multiple quotes from Devon based businesses through the short online form here https://www.applegate.co.uk/supply/devon/request-quotes
Suppliers can register their business to help promote their products and services to other Devon businesses and be invited to quote on local jobs and tenders through this link. https://www.applegate.co.uk/supply/devon/join-as-supplier#get-started
Leave a comment if you have any questions relating to public sector procurement or get in touch with a member of our team.