Member Article

Government contracts – don’t shy away from them

Public sector contracts have recently been shown in a negative light especially following the demise of the construction firm Carillion. Don’t be put off by this. Public contracts can still be a great way to upsize your business and achieve vital growth.

The UK Government spend billions of pounds with businesses, both large and small, in the public sector. Recent statistics have highlighted that public sector tendering for contracts given to SMEs is increasing. Contracts cover a multitude of goods and services such as construction of council housing through to the collection of refuse.

For many small and medium-sized enterprises, government contracts represent a great way of securing lucrative deals. What could be better than working for clients who have deep pockets and require a large number of services?

Why work for the government?

The government in the UK is a good buyer to work for. It offers a whole range of contracts suited to many different types of businesses, usually with fixed parameters to offer certainty for the supplier. Needless to say, their payments tend to be better honoured than in the private sector.

Did you know that an economic target of spending £1 in every £3 has been set aside for SMEs by 2022? The Government aims to do this through both direct and indirect spending, as part of a concerted effort to bolster the UK economy.

With the support of professional bid writers like Executive Compass many SMEs stand a better chance of being awarded government contracts. That said, bidding for these tenders isn’t as straightforward as it used to be. Reasons for this include:

• The government introducing measures to simplify the public procurement process.
• The abolition of the pre-qualification questionnaire for contracts under £100,000.
• More accountability especially where late payments are concerned.

There are basically four procurement procedures used to award contracts in the public sector tendering process namely:-

1. Open procedure
2. Restrictive procedure
3. Competitive procedure
4. Competitive procedure with negotiation

The amount of government tenders being awarded to SMEs is on the up. Ministers have set a new goal of 33% having beaten the previous target of 25%, so positive news for SMEs.

Find out more about tender writing services.

For your business to bid for a government contract successfully, you need to be better than the competition. If you don’t have the in-house bid writing expertise, outsource to a proven bid writing consultancy. Bid writing and tendering is so much less stressful when letting the experts do it for you. What’s more, this could significantly increase your chances of being awarded a contract.

Established bid writers can provide SMEs with handy hints, tips and advice when bidding for contracts such as:

• Playing to your strengths and competitive advantages
• Bidding for what you can win
• Doing your research
• Making sure you look good on paper
• Submitting on time and to the guidelines

When bidding for government contracts, bid and tender writing specialists can deal with all the necessary documents. Consultants will manage the entire process from start to finish completing your bid to the highest standard. Look no further than Executive Compass for more information.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Executive Compass .