|
Case Study - EGA Limited Modernising Government Programme Makes Public Sector a Big IT Spender The Modernising Government white paper published in March 1999 sets out a long-term programme of reform to modernise the public service and a key part of this is the commitment to ‘use new technology to meet the needs of citizens and business and not trail behind technological developments’. As a result, the public sector has been set IT targets that have required increased expenditure. Already a big spender on IT, the public sector is now the largest purchaser of IT products and services in the UK. Tenders for almost all of these purchases need to be published and EGA Ltd is using Tenders Direct to keep abreast of the growing public sector market for IT services. EGA's services can broadly be described as the provision of Internet and Intranet technology based solutions, particularly addressing business-to-business and functions within business. Core skills are, Business Analysis, Systems Analysis and Software Application Development. The company supplies its solutions locally and nationally to the UK Government and some of the world's largest companies, backed up with comprehensive support, training and consulting services. Terry Williams, Managing Director for EGA Ltd., collects tender listings and puts tenders together. He looks for major UK and international contracts, refining his keywords in consultation with Tenders Direct to ensure he receives tenders that match exactly what it is that company does. “I do not have a problem with government tendering and I think those that do make the common mistakes of ignoring what the tendering organisation wants for its price and ignoring the specifications outlining the company/organisation’s requirements,” commented Terry. “Instead they try to convince the organisation to up its price, make changes to the tender specifications, etc. and this is a big mistake.” All tenders will have a pre-qualification process and EGA has a pre-qualification document, specifying criteria, relevant experience, references, etc. Tenders are usually submitted as hard copy, although an electronic version is often also provided. Whilst most government bodies are not geared up to dealing with tenders electronically, this is changing. “In return you will get a confirmation of receipt and sometimes they do come back with questions to obtain additional information from EGA,” explained Terry. Public sector tendering is a long process and can take several months, but the next step is to inform EGA if they’re short-listed or not. If EGA is not short-listed or does not win the contract in the end, Terry always asks for a de-brief. “I feel this is the only way we can improve our success rate and learn from our ‘mistakes’. I recommend everyone in this situation does the same,” said Terry. EGA does not pursue a huge number of tenders and is more concerned about quality rather than quantity. The end result will not always be a one to one contract and, for instance, EGA recently signed a framework contract with the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions as one of eight companies. “Another feature of this type of contract is that the value of the business can be open ended,” said Terry. “The important thing is to be part of the arrangement.” Public sector works counts for 50% of EGA’s turnover and the notifications provided by Tenders Direct are a vital part of Terry’s marketing. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
