Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
There are various existing third-party solutions that can assist in this
process. Some are straightforward electronic brokerage systems, such as
CompeteFor, www.competefor.com, a free-to-use (for both buyer and
vendor) website that was developed for the purpose of opening up supply
chain opportunities arising out of the London 2012 programme. The tool
was designed to allow buyers to identify a long list of potential suppliers
that matched certain supply requirements. Just as the Offi cial Journal
of the European Union (OJEU) advertises contracts being procured by
public-sector organisations, CompeteFor does the same but for all
manner of opportunities, private or public, large and small alike.
Many of the other third-party systems go beyond the advertisement
of opportunities and assist with the procurement process itself. That is
to say, they are the starting point for the full procurement process. These
systems vary in their complexity and requirements but, unlike the elec-
tronic brokerage system developed and used by the ODA, they usually
involve the payment of a fee, either from the buyer or the vendor - or
in some cases both.
If a programme is large enough, it may justify investment in the devel-
opment of its very own simple registration system to capture basic
information on interested suppliers. This would give suppliers an oppor-
tunity to offer their products and services and would provide the pro-
gramme with valuable data.
In the earliest days of the programme to deliver the infrastructure for
London 2012 and before the implementation of CompeteFor, fi rms were
invited to express interest via the London 2012 website, registering their
most basic contact details. This data formed a simple email list for com-
municating to all interested organisations.
As part of a programme's own registration process, a pre-assessment
questionnaire (PAQ) can be used to gauge whether a supplier is fi t to
supply and therefore to compete for a place in the programme supply
chain. A PAQ should be very simple, but aim to capture useful high-
level data that can be used later. The design should utilise the internet
and enable online registration and allow some automatic assessment
using closed questions, inviting yes or no answers. A negatively scored
answer would therefore highlight a gap in the ability of a supplier to
win work. The fi rm could then automatically be directed or passed to
a third-party organisation, such as a Chamber of Commerce or public-
sector-funded advisor - for example, BusinessLink in the UK - who
could then help the business to acquire the knowledge or skills needed
