We encourage Sandwell businesses to go for public-sector contracts

Bidding for public-sector contracts has many benefits, including a transparent evaluation process. If you win a public-sector contract, it guarantees work and often more favourable payment terms. It also means you have a buyer who won’t go out of business.

So we encourage you to go for local and national public-sector contracts!

Three ways to win more business through public-sector contracts

Here are three big things your Sandwell business can do. They can help you stand the best chance of winning more business through public-sector contracts, locally and nationally.

1. Register on these websites to hear about business opportunities

Supplier Registration Service for Government
This is where your business should register as a supplier, to increase your visibility to over 6,000 government buyers. You can complete a standard SQ (Selection Questionnaire) to support your applications for contracts. Also, you can use the Modern Slavery Assessment Tool to make your supply chains more resilient to the risks of modern slavery.

See also:

Contracts Finder to search for lower-value government contracts
Find a Tender to see live higher-value government contracts.

You can switch on email notifications so you will get an alert when new opportunities appear in your sector.

Intend
This is the electronic procurement portal used by Sandwell Council to advertise the products and services it needs to buy. By registering with In-Tend you will get alerts on the contracts coming up in your sector. Then you can request the documentation you need to tender for them.

CompeteFor
Through CompeteFor, your business can pitch for contract opportunities linked to large-scale public and private sector buying organisations – and for projects that include HS2.

Multi-Quote
Multi-Quote aims to help companies boost their capability and capacity to find, win and deliver new business. You can sign up for opportunity alerts so that you can get emails about relevant contracts.

FindIt
FindItInBirmingham and FindItInTheBlackCountry promote local opportunities to local businesses. They encourage global organisations to look to the supply chain here in the Midlands.

2. Consider social value

Nowadays, council buyers include ‘social value’ in their tender specifications. This means they can look beyond price to consider the social and environmental benefits of awarding a contract to a particular supplier.

Think Sandwell’s page on social value tells you how social value works for Sandwell Council.

You may also find it useful to see Birmingham City Council’s Birmingham Business Charter for Social Responsibility.

This document will be useful if you’re tendering to supply NHS contracts:
‘Applying net zero and social value in the procurement of NHS goods and services’ [PDF opens in a new tab].

3. Tell Sandwell Council about the barriers you face

If you’ve tendered for work with the council (or a big contractor in the area) and been unsuccessful, or you found the tendering process too challenging, do feed this information back (you can tell us as Sandwell Business Ambassadors, or go to Think Sandwell, Sandwell Council’s business platform).

If Sandwell Council knows about common stumbling blocks, it can seek to reduce the barriers for local businesses. For example, with training for you on tender writing or support with collaborating.

There are several reasons why local tenders are sometimes awarded to firms from outside the borough or even further away. Sandwell Council has several ways to tackle them. This includes putting pressure on buyers to be transparent about what they expect from suppliers, and coaching suppliers to write strong tenders that meet buyers’ needs.

Tell the Sandwell Business Ambassadors when you win new work

By sharing your successes, you can help to inspire others to go forward and pitch for work. We would love to know about your wins – contact us here.

Further resources

Get a free ten-minute consultation with Black Country-based tender writing experts Klick Business Ltd by calling 01384 279568.