Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
From this analysis of capacity and utilisation, the programme team
are now equipped to develop a number of questions for the suppliers of
each of the procurements. For example, as far as Contractor 1 is con-
cerned, they appear to have suffi cient capacity to deliver their current
contractual obligations and potentially the additional three projects for
which they are currently tendering. However, it may be prudent to
check which individuals are being proposed to manage the contracts in
their tenders for each of the tendered projects. That would reveal whether
or not they were over-selling certain individuals' expertise, who may
already have been engaged on another awarded project. At this stage it
might also be worthwhile to ask the supplier to identify its key supply
chain members and how they proposed to manage any overlap across
the multiple projects for which they were tendering.
In the case of Contractor B, as Figure 9.3 shows, this programme alone
would be drawing on more than 30 per cent of the supplier's resources
to deliver its contracts in year 2. It would therefore be reasonable to ask
how the supplier intended to meet that amount of demand in one year
and how it intended to mitigate the risk of allocating so much of its
resources to one client. Again, it may be valid to enquire about the key
project individuals allocated to each tender, to ensure that the work
could be managed in the event of an award of more than one project.
Contractor C appears to have targeted a specifi c project on the pro-
gramme. If a Market Sounding exercise had been carried out for this
project, that assumption could be confi rmed. Their size and the size of
the project seem well matched and therefore this supplier should be able
to put together a robust and well-focused response.
Contractor D already has a contract that does not exceed its acceptable
utilisation level, according to Figure 9.2. However, if this supplier were
to be awarded the other two contracts it is currently tendering, its over-
exposure threshold would then be crossed. In anticipation of that pos-
sible overexposure, a number of issues call for immediate clarifi cation.
For example, the contractor needs to explain how further resources
would be mobilised to respond to the increase in demand (assuming they
have other clients beyond this particular buyer's programme). Contrac-
tor D also needs to convince the programme that they genuinely want
to win both projects. Alternatively, the contractor should be asked
whether it would be better to focus on one project, which would enable
them to remain within an acceptable utilisation threshold.
A programme, portfolio or client that has multiple projects to manage
should take a strategic view of their exposure to the supply chain.
