GO-2-TENDER COMPANIES WIN £17M (c€21.25M) OF PUBLIC CONTRACTS

Around 130 companies across the island which have participated in the Go-2-Tender public procurement programme over the past two years have won contracts valued at nearly £17m(c€21.25m), according to InterTradeIreland.

InterTradeIreland chairman Dr David Dobbin revealed the figure as the organisation launched a new, two-year phase of the programme, which is targeting 180 companies in Northern Ireland and Ireland.

'The success of the programme speaks for itself,' said Dr Dobbin. 'It is a perfect example of how InterTradeIreland is leading a multi-agency approach to upskill SMEs to capture a market worth £15bn (c€18.75bn) on the island.

'To date, the programme has achieved outstanding directly attributable return on investment for all the participating companies ? however, we are not resting on our laurels and the new, improved, phase is bigger and better than before.'

Go-2-Tender programme manager Jenny Williamson said the new phase featured 12 workshops in Belfast, Omagh and Newry, as well as Galway, Dublin and Cork (details on times and dates from www.intertradeireland.com).

In response to demand, a new Advanced Workshop featuring more sophisticated procurement information has been set up and, for the first time, the programme features direct advice from the Central Procurement Directorate in Northern Ireland and the Department of Finance in Ireland, as well as support from Invest NI and Enterprise Ireland.

'The message for SMEs is that this programme is going to make you money because the procurement agencies will tell you directly, on an all-island basis, how to win their business,' said Ms Williamson.

'So far, we have been inundated with companies wanting to participate and the response from those which have is phenomenal. They are delighted with the financial returns of putting into practice what they have learned.'

The workshops are run over two days, with the option of a half-day's mentoring to follow. Companies are invited to bring along a 'live?tender' or one will be found for them, and the cost is just £99 inc VAT.

Geoff Hayter, Business Development Director for Bluechip Technologies in Belfast, makers of the Guardian24 safety device for lone workers, said: 'The workshop helped us to understand how the marketplace works in the Republic and the best way to approach it. As a result, we have won considerable contracts with Dublin City Council and Focus Ireland and have started operating in the financial sector in the South.'

Sheelagh Carroll is Business Development & Marketing Manager for Filestores, an offsite document storage and data management company with offices in Dublin, Kilkenny, Lisburn and Craigavon.

She said: 'Our strategy was that we weren?t just going to sit and wait for tenders to happen, so representatives of our company attended a number of Go-2-Tender workshops where they learned what we should and should not submit in a tender. We also found the section on debriefing in tendering very useful.

'To date, our efforts have results in a 21% increase in sterling turnover from 05-06 and customer numbers in the North up by 97%. We have created a new purpose-built Record Centre in Craigavon and have won the Public Prosecution Service Tender and the Northern Ireland Civil Service Tender for confidential shredding.'

Des Armstrong, acting Director of the Central Procurement Directorate, said: ?We recognise that more SMEs entering the procurement marketplace means more competition and a more innovative response to business needs, ultimately benefiting the taxpayer in terms of achieving value for money.'

Eamonn Kearns, director of the Sectoral Policy Division, Department of Finance, said: ?Although fully integrated with the EU, Ireland is still geographically on the periphery of Europe. We must, therefore, seek to maximize our capacity to compete successfully in wider markets.

'Learning how to win public procurement contracts on the island can help companies win public sector contracts beyond our shores. The business is there for the taking if companies position themselves effectively to maximize opportunities and the Go-2-Tender programme is one way for companies to do just that.'


To find out more about the Go-2-Tender programme, contact: Jenny Williamson on 028 3083 4173 or jenny.williamson@intertradeireland.com.


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