Winning Public
Sector Business - a rough guide
5. Getting down to it...continued
5.3 Complying with public
sector requirements
Pre-qualification for
public sector business is a significant hurdle for all suppliers
and it can be particularly off-putting the first time you encounter
it. Although there are signs that this is changing, you may find
that no two organisations seem to operate the same procedure and
it may even vary between Departments within an organisation. So
it means going through the process afresh every time you bid for
a public sector contract.
However it is not all
bad news: there is a positive aspect to be considered. As we saw,
public sector organisations are not allowed to discriminate in favour
of one company over another on any grounds other than pure commercial
criteria. However they are allowed to factor into their terms and
conditions and selection procedures some criteria that would not
normally apply in the private sector, such as training and other
‘best practices’ that mean you are seen to be offering
Best Value. Many of the pre-qualification requirements imposed on
suppliers can thus be turned into opportunities for your company
to differentiate itself on criteria other than price alone.
Despite the differences
in the detail, most public sector organisations have similar pre-qualification
requirements - see the detailed list in 5.4 below - so it is worth
ensuring that you have found out about them and, where appropriate,
taken the necessary steps in preparation for when you have to furnish
evidence of compliance. You may even come across a group of councils
that have agreed a standard pre-qualification process and a common
document, in which case you may be able to rely on one that has
been previously accepted.
Some organisations operate
a system where you are asked at the ‘expression of interest’
stage in bidding for a contract to tick whether you have the required
documents. Proof would then be required at the later contract stage
if you win the business. Others ask for the documents at the first
hurdle. It is always best to overdo it and provide more evidence
than the minimum specified in the tender requirements.
Note that some or all
of the requirements may be waived at the discretion of the contracting
manager where they are not appropriate or place too onerous a burden
on the supplier. Don’t count on this, though – they
are laid down in the organisation’s policies and more often
than not managers will apply them religiously, irrespective of whether
they are appropriate!
Next
page: 5.4 Typical requirements
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