subject: Understanding Public Procurement In Scotland [print this page] Small and medium sized businesses can achieve unprecedented growth after grabbing a public tendering opportunity. Selling to the public sector can really help your business gain strength and speed. Read on to know how a vendor-buyer relationship between SMEs and government bodies is a win-win situation for both parties.
The public sector in Scotland has a big spending budget. In fact the figure quoted for the amount spent on purchasing goods and services is close to 9bn every year. This amount shows that there is a huge demand of goods and services from the government sector and also that the sector is on the lookout for new suppliers. That is why your SME has the chance of serving the government in some form or the other.
In case you are not clear what makes up the public sector in Scotland, well here is a rough idea of the same. When we mention the public sector, we are not talking about any uniform body but are referring to a number of sub-sectors which employs one-fourth of the total work force in Scotland. Some important elements of the public sector include: Scottish Executive & Scottish government agencies, the local authorities and offices, the National Health Service, the Scotland-based departments of the UK government, higher educational institutions, the police, the judiciary and other official and non-departmental government agencies. So, by the phrase public sector we are referring to a number of government bodies engaged in a variety of public services.
Now that we have established the elements of the public sector and their annual spending budget, let us talk about their need for procurement. Why does the government need work done from external service providers and suppliers? Well the answer is that the public bodies outsource their requirements to businesses which can deliver the requirements on time and in a highly efficient manner while ensuring high-quality/service standards. Better service/product delivered cost effectively is the main motto behind public bodies giving up on in-house services and outsourcing their requirements. As an SME owner you know the latest tools, techniques and thoughts of your industry. So the government is of the view that by giving you its contract, it will have goods or services supplied using the latest cutting-edge technologies which can be delivered by those with a certain degree of expertise. Also the public body benefits by outsourcing as it can reduce the overall operating cost and also because it gets to use its own resources for other purposes.
We hope you understand by now that whatever the nature of your business, there is always a way for you to supply to the government by becoming a contractor or even a subcontractor. You will also enjoy multiple benefits after catering to the public sector. Firstly, you will be getting a great customer which will always pay on time and will be honest and fair in all its dealings with you. The payment will be done as per the contract and within the stipulated time limit. Another great benefit apart from prompt payment is that once you supply to the government you will gain a better reputation among private businesses as well.
The public sector in Scotland follows the procurement directives of the EU and has to allocate the SMEs with a certain percent of all public contracts Scotland based businesses must make the most of every tendering announcements and hope to make the winning bid.
