Competefor.com - the website for procuring 2012 contracts
Competefor.com opens up business opportunities in the 2012 games to small and medium sized companies.
Registering on Competefor should be a priority for all SMEs.
Not only does it provide them with access to Games contracts but registering on Competefor will give SMEs a quick 'MOT' and through access to business support a helping hand on the way to greater business success.
So, what is competefor.com?
Competefor was set up at the request of the business community in London. It has the needs of business central to its operation. It is different from other procurement portal - and offer a much better service.
Firstly, it is NOT an e-procurement site. While opportunuties will be advertised on the site, each buyer will continue to use their existing procurement procedures.
What it is, however, has been described as a "dating agency" which puts buyers and suppliers in touch with each other.
Potential suppliers need to register their details on the site and create a business profile giving information about their businesses. This information is confidential to the site and is not disclosed to buyers.
Assuming that their profile is accepted (see below), businesses will then receive automatic e-alerts to notify them of opportunities which match their business profile. They can then take part in the normal procurement procedures of the buyer.
The 2012 team expect about 20% of all the tendering opportunities relating to the Games will be posted on the competefor.com site, although buyers will be able to use existing supply chain where they already exist. Nonetheless, there are likely to be in excess of 10,000 contracts advertised in the next few years.
Furthermore, the competefor.com site has started to have non-2012 contracts posted on the site and the Greater London Authority, the public sector and many private companies have started to post tendering opportunities on competefor.com
To have a profile accepted by competefor.com - and therefore to receive the e-alerts - potential suppliers need to certify that they have a) an equal opportunities policy, b) a Health and Safety policy and c) a quality assurance statement.
Suppliers who do not have these will be automatically referred to their local Business Link (or equivalent in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland) to be put in touch with potential providers of this aspect of business advice. Once these policies are in place, the supplier is re-instated with competefor.com and will start to receive the e-alerts.
Completing the business profile on competefor.com takes about 30 - 40 minutes and once done is not required for each tendering opportunity.
Businesses are able to view currently advertised contracts without formally registering on the site and building a business profile.
To view the competefor.com website, click here.
The FSB would welcome comments from small businesses registering with the competefor.com site since its performance will be kept under review. We are pressing the Government to ensure that competefor.com becomes the procurement portal for small businesses.