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Government
Online Tender Information Service
What
is the Government Online Tender Information Service?
The
Government Online Tender Information Service is a comprehensive
tender service for the supply of high and low level contracts. Tender
advertisements and associated documents are sent by email to subscribers
of the service. It offers subscribers more than twice as many
contracts as most free services. It is available separately
or as part of a subscription to Government
Online Information Services.
What
Types of Contracts are Advertised?
Almost
every conceivable type of contract are advertised, at all levels:-
Requests for Quotes, One-off Purchases, Select Lists and Approved
Lists, Low and Medium Level Contracts,
High Level Tenders, Framework Agreements, PFI opportunities, Market-Testing
Exercises, Competitive Dialogue, Contract Awards (for subcontracting
or collaborative working). Example contracts are displayed on our
Tender
Advertisements' page.
What
Tender Sources are Utilised?
Tenders
derive from the Official Publications Office of the European Union
and more than 700 additional sources. The latter include local and
national newspapers, regional purchasing consortia, Central Government
Departments and Agencies, the Ministry of Defence, government procurement
portals, local councils, educational institutions, housing associations
and utility companies, charities, and many other organisations.
Why Subscribe to the Government Online Tender Information Service?
- Extremely accurate search procedures: CPV code, keywords, title
and content searched in combination. Contract searches double
checked to reduce errors. Can be tailored to your company's specific
requirements.
- High and low level contracts included in one service.
- No further costs involved to access any type of contract.
- More than 700 information sources used for locating contracts - from
individual organisations to consortia acting for multiple groups
of public bodies.
- Every type of organisation in the public sector
covered (also includes part of the private sector).
- Offers at least twice as many contracts as free services.
- Includes comprehensive information on registering on government procurement portals and
internal systems used within the public sector. Speeds up bidding
for contracts, raises your company's profile with actual buyers,
and increases opportunities of direct purchasing for lower level
contracts.
- Extensive tender support, dealing with all aspect of
the tender process, from low level quotes to high level tenders.
- Increases your company's chances of winning business and reduces
time spent on finding guidance.
- Cost effective at £600 per year, with access for one or several users included in the subscription.
What Types of Organisations Advertise Tenders?
Central
Government Departments and Executive Agencies, Non-Departmental
Public Bodies, Regional Government, Local Government, the Ministry
of Defence, the Police and Emergency Services, purchasing consortia,
the NHS, schools, colleges and universities, housing associations,
transport and utilities companies, charities, and others.
What
Size of Organisation Wins the Greatest Number of Tenders?
Small
to Medium Sized Enterprises win the greatest number of tenders.
Most companies are unaware of this fact, and mistakenly believe
that only global corporations are the victors in the tender stakes.
What
If I Operate a Small Company?
A
company's size does not determine whether it can secure public sector
business or not. The essential points are whether it can fulfil
the work for which it bids, whether it can demonstrate that it can
do so in contract or tender documents, whether it can meet the criteria
set by the buyer, and, finally, whether it presents itself effectively
during the bidding process. A good quality company with good quality
services simply needs to be able to show it will be an excellent
supplier in a way that will satisfy third party observers. The UK
public sector has committed itself to increasing the number of small
companies working in the government marketplace by drawing up the
'Small Business Friendly Concordat' (Local Government Association
and Small Business Service 2005).
What
Proportion of High and Low Level Contracts are Advertised on a Regular
Basis?
Approximately
80% of advertised contracts are high level and 20% are low level,
with a realistic margin of error of 5%. This calculation is made
by comparing European with non-European contracts advertised during
a typical week. The number varies from category to category, with
some being split 50-50, others 70-30 and still others 90-10. There
are even some categories that are almost always of either a high
level or a low level.
How Do I Register my Company on an Approved List?
There
are several ways to answer that question, but one of them is to
say that Approved Lists of Contractors are often advertised, and
so it is possible to secure a place on an Approved List by meeting
the criteria of set contracts. Another is to register your company
on the internal procurement systems used within the public sector.
Can
the Tender Service Help my Company Locate Subcontracting Opportunities?
Yes.
Subcontracting opportunities can either be advertised in an actual
tender, or companies looking to supply their services to contract
winners can monitor Contract Award notices and then approach them
for subcontracting work.
Does
the Service Include Guidance on the Tender Process?
We
can supply extensive guidance on the tender process, covering meeting
policy requirements, answering the Company Questionnaire, choosing
when to bid, structuring tender documents, pricing, post award procedures,
and so on. These documents are included free of charge as part of
the Tender Service subscription, with the aim of bringing companies
up to speed as soon as possible.
Have
Any of Your Subscribers Secured Business by Using the Government
Online Tender Information Service?
Yes,
repeatedly. From registering on Approved Lists, to selling a handful
computers to educational institutions, to refurbishing government
properties, to building websites, and to securing subcontracting
opportunities, we regularly have companies that win business by
using the Government Online Tender Information Service. Several
of our clients normally win tenders each month. An outline of recent
successful bids is given on the page Client
Successes.
How
Does It Work?
A Company Questionnaire will be sent by email upon subscribing to the service; this will be used to define CPV codes and keywords for contract searching, and for ascertaining the contact details of the individual who is to received the tender notifications. We will provide suggestions to help complete your search profile. A search for all current live contracts held in our contract archive will then be implemented, and you will be able to reap the benefits of the subscription the same day.
What's
the Cost and How do I Subscribe?
The
cost is normally £600 per year. However we're now offering a special
discount so it's £500 for the first year and then £600 for
the second year. To subscribe now please choose one of the two preferred
payment methods below and follow the onscreen instructions.
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