Procurement Act: Public Sector Sales Impact
The Procurement Act will commence in February 2025 and potentially alter the way central and local Government procures. Providers of outsourced public services will need to consider the impact on their future sustainability.
Changes Driving Buyer Behaviour
Consensus exists within Government and provider networks that competition to deliver public services will increase due to:
Tightening public service expenditure: This will be reflected through central and local government financial settlements agreed during the comprehensive spending review
Competition to secure contracts: More organisations competing for tender opportunities, especially in sectors with a higher return on investment (employability and health)
New technology adoption: AI has the potential to increase the volume of tender responses, which will necessitate the deployment of greater resource by commissioners to evaluate responses
Demonstrating bidding credentials: Commissioners evaluating a bid response will be more inclined to contract with organisations who positively engaged pre-procurement.
Market Implications
Commissioners are likely to reshape the structure of procurements to manage the quantity and quality of submissions. This will include:
Adjusting scoring ratios & weightings: Higher scoring on technical questions (operational solution), past performance and local knowledge
Attention on Government policy priorities: Emphasis on Social Value (10% + of scoring) and devolution (Place Based Initiatives)
Commercial dialogue: Delivery of effective presentations and dialogue to support extra due diligence outside of the bid submission.
Impact on Providers of Outsourced Services
Providers will need to make informed decisions where they deploy business development resources across the sales cycle. Submitting a bid document will only be part of a wider sales process that will used to secure contracts. We believe key actions include:
Investment in pre-bid resources: Engaging with commissioners to better understand their requirements and areas of focus
Creating a stakeholder development plan: Mapping key leaders and decision makers across localities, and identifying areas for adding value and integrating into existing local networks
Addressing commissioner priorities: Demonstrating Social Value and local knowledge impact will rank highly within responses
Streamlining the bidding process: Optimising the use of AI by using highly skilled bid writers with a deep understanding of AI systems. At 50 Degrees, we believe in the power of human intelligence, but that doesn’t mean we don’t recognise the transformative role AI can play. Read our thoughts here.
If you’d like to discuss how 50 Degrees can support you to implement any of the solutions described above, please contact Matt@50-degrees.com