Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The challenge of attracting suppliers to bid for the ODA's opportunities
was that the construction sector was experiencing a peak in demand at
the time. There were many private-sector opportunities for the supply side
to pursue that offered less bureaucratic intervention, as private-sector
projects are not subject to as many regulations. More importantly, they
offered the same or less risk and greater potential for reward. The ODA
at the time was perceived as a one-off client, which was procuring a
number of large and complex construction and civil-engineering projects
on a highly contaminated site in a densely populated area of east London.
Many of the opportunities on offer were sports stadia, and the well-
publicised failure of the Wembley Stadium project to realise its cost and
schedule targets was still fresh in the minds of those operating in the
sector. Add to those factors the absolutely immoveable deadline for deliv-
ering the Games, and it becomes clear why appetite for ODA projects in
2006 was low.
Through a strong market engagement plan, one by one the perceived
fears of the market were addressed through vendor engagement tech-
niques, including industry days, Meet the Buyer events and an open
two-way communication with the market. These methods did not convince
all organisations that the ODA's demand was appropriate for them
and, while many fi rms were engaged at that point, only some expressed
interest and actually went on to respond to opportunities when they
were published. However, throughout this period the procurement
team were always aware of which organisations were interested in par-
ticipating and which were not. The procurement team also knew the
reasons behind their decisions up to the point of the tender receipt dead-
line. Bidder tracking had succeeded in avoiding surprises and, where
appetite was low, decisions were taken to adjust procurement plans
to raise appetite to attract bidders to respond and ensure competitive
returns.
Through the transparency and robustness of the interaction with the
supply side, the ODA was able to demonstrate value for money against
its balanced scorecard of value criteria. It was able to procure the most
capable and appropriate organisations to deliver the buildings and struc-
tures as specifi ed, ahead of time and in many cases below budget. It was
also able to procure over 150 major construction contracts, worth many
billions of pounds, without a single challenge.
According to the National Audit Offi ce (2008), reviewing the ODA's
approach to procurement, there was clear evidence that procurement and
supply chain management had evolved to an advanced level 'with innova-
tive processes in place'.
