Procurer Curers: A Giant Has A Word
Amongst Many things, Policies Stifle SME Involvement
by Ethar Alali
I was catching up with some contacts over the last few weeks. One of them, Robert Harris, Managing Director of Harris Associates (@HarrisAssocSW), is always a pleasure to speak to. Robert has an extremely similar perspective on the state of UK tendering to myself, so when we’re talking about areas the process could be better we find ourselves laughing at how the process works and also taking pity on SME’s in particular who have to navigate this space. It is what drove Rob to set up Harris Associates, a specialist firm of tenderers and consultants.
I asked if he’d share some pearls of wisdom around the state of the UK procurement process, and he agreed. To be honest, he didn’t need much convincing :)
Robert Harris
Managing Director
Harris Associates
Experience: 30 years on the client side, most evaluating tenders.
Hi Rob. We’ve known each other a while now, so for the benefit of those who’ve not heard about your experience in this field, how are you involved in public sector tendering?
“I’ve spent almost 30 years both sides of the fence. I started when I came off the tools and joined a surveying section as a temp, that supposed ‘6-week stint’ lasted a hell of a long time! At least they cant ask me to go back on the tools again these days! I managed technical sections that have received and evaluated tenders for 14 years. My trade experience, analytical mind and fair approach brought, I believe, a fresh perspective to the process, and I saw things others didn’t. Redundancy loomed and I could have selected a number of areas to specialise in, but I was the only person I knew that loved tendering! After setting up almost 2 years ago, I now have a team of 7!”
So what sort of contracts do you and your team bid for?
I’m a ‘tendering tart’. I love tenders!
Haha! There’s always one! :)
“..I’ve tendered for all kinds of works, from water hygiene to undertaking! Can you believe that undertakers tender? Another of my weaknesses is learning. I enjoy learning and hold greater qualifications in specialist areas than the companies I tender for! I just can’t help it.
“My largest tender win is £150 Million, but my favourite was helping a small security firm beat all the big nationals to an Oxbridge contract. I attended the interview with the client and we blew those big boys away! I still get pumped now thinking about it, as I get my most enjoyment facing the biggest challenges. I’ve also tendered for Money Collecting and Debt Collection. It’s not often that anyone gets money out of those guys, is it?!”
No certainly not! They normally get money out of others :) How often do you bid for public sector work?
“I tender a lot for public sector. At the time of writing, we completed and submitted 3 tenders in the last 2 working days. It’s all peaks and troughs though. There are times when it goes quiet and we spend our time looking for opportunities for clients more than tender. We have submitted just over 100 tenders since going into business and have an almost 100% record at PQQ stage.”
Indeed. That also suggests you’re willing to work with clients to find suitable opportunities. After all, public tendering is supposed to be steeped in the principle of fair competition…
“The whole exercise isn’t a fair one!
That’s one reason why I chose to go into business, to help the small companies. If tendering was fair, that big security company that failed abysmally with the Olympics would struggle to get other government contracts, wouldn’t they? But they have won more since. Doesn’t that illustrate my point?
It certainly does.
“There are smaller companies that could do a much better job but don’t get a chance. THAT’S why I love beating the big guys!
Having sat the opposite side, I know what they are looking for and I know how to maximise the positives and minimise the risks. The public sector just seems to adore the big bidders. The reality is that big public contracts are actually small contracts to the nationals, whereas a small or medium sized company would regard these as trophy contracts and make damn sure they work!!”
Be their concierge :)
“Right! You only have to read the questions on the tenders to know how much the process is stacked against small companies. Public bodies expect them to have a library of policies, procedures and strategies in place, even if they are a team of just 4 staff! I tendered for a micro business and the tender wanted a ‘Single Equality Policy’ from them. I know most of us aim towards having diversity and equality principles, but if you have a sole trader [not employing staff at that moment], why would you have a Single Equality Policy?”
A policy for yourself? :)
“Yeah! It’s daft beyond belief!”
I suppose it depends on your stance. I have and use them when dealing with associates, as I know you do too. Though the overhead of having to run and maintain these as a sole trader seems pointless. I’d say it’s about the principle of proportionality, which oddly the EU are helping with here. if it wasn’t for Europe we wouldn’t have that rule and so we’d be writing full policies instead of statements and shelling out for insurance we don’t need.
With that in mind, looking at the parallels with associates. In particular running as part of a consortium. I know you’ve done a few, so what are the pros and cons in your field and what tips, if any, could you share to help consortia work effectively?
“I’m about to bid on behalf of a Joint venture for a large ‘well known’ contract. Care has to be taken for JVs and consortia when forming. They need to understand what a JV or consortium is, understand the risks and know the ground rules. It’s also a huge advantage if the businesses have history with each other and has similar business values.
Ultimately, they have to be comfortable working with each other and all it takes is a mismatch of expectations and it’ll start falling apart. I believe that consortia need to know each other and meet for a whole day to map out and understand the processes in advance. This proactive approach works.”
Indeed. What irks you about the tendering process?
“For me, the biggest frustration is that the client doesn’t properly think through the process. I mentioned the policy example earlier as an example of madness, but others exist too! I submitted a tender last week where the council wanted all the green credentials, then asked for FOUR sets of paper copies to be submitted.”
Paper… Hard copy?
“Yes, four! In the digital age, it’s shocking for a local council to want it this way.
Another bug-bear is where they want sight of loads of accreditations, insurance, companies house certificate etc etc from every bidder. Simple thought would allow a more sensible approach, to self-certify first and the winning bidder need only produce them.”
Well they can get that themselves too, since that information is free and easily accessible. Plus, it’s more up-to-date in most cases, as a certificate just shows what they had at the time it was registered. They have to ‘ double check’ it anyway.
“That’s obviously too much trouble for most public sector clients! Another major irk is where a bidder wins on quality and price, and the tenderer insists on trying to shave more off their price!! Tendering has caused the sharpest bid to come first. By trying to drive down the cost, a bidder will only design out layers of quality, so why risk it? They wonder later why those contracts turned bad, and they blame the supplier rather than themselves!”
Yes, it’s a manifestation of the Dunning-Kruger effect as we see it, but that’s another story. With that in mind then, what would you like to see change about the process to improve things for SME’s? Perhaps to improve and encourage SME participation.
“Oh, If I could have a magic wand!
I’d make public sector procurement teams complete their own tenders!! This exercise alone would be one massive eye opener for them. They’d see the irrelevant questions, the wasteful processes and how their ‘sound’ theory breaks down in application.
I’d ban the post-bid bartering to reduce price. Tendering has flagged the best bid, why ruin an opportunity before the contract even starts?
And lastly tip to clients: Include your suppliers in discussions during the tender preparation stage. Design in opportunity for success and see the contract through the eyes of the supplier. You’ll learn more about what you need to do to make it a success than by looking at it through the eyes of an accountant!”
Brilliant! Thanks very much for your tips Rob. With your background, I’m sure folk will be very grateful to you for sharing your expertise.
Robert Harris is the MD of Harris Associates, supporting companies who want to outsource tendering. They have won tenders across a wide range of sectors, the largest being £150 million. After quadrupling one Manchester based company, they have enjoyed rapid success themselves. They specialise on helping small companies to beat the nationals.
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