Welcome to another post in the series Only Connect. It is written by Nick
Locke, of Nicab
Ltd, who has over 15 years of experience in the electronics
manufacturing industry specialising in interconnection cable assembly.Last week's government spending review was a stark reminder of how deep our financial woes are, and that the days of easy government contracts are over.
Well I'm going to challenge the limiting belief that many people are thinking right now, "there is no work out there" or "MOD contracts will dry up".
Let us look at the hard facts. Even though the government is cutting back there are still many contacts up for the taking. With a MOD £31 billion budget there are still penalty of contracts up for grabs. What's more, there is a significant opportunity for many SMEs to do business with the government.
At this point you're thinking I've completely lost the plot saying that we can acutely make more money through the spending cuts. Well read on....
Because every government penny must now more than ever be spent with great consideration those of us bidding for contacts have to offer more value and demonstrate our ability to either save money and or provide a superior product. Yes this will take more effort on your part and more creative thinking but it will be very worthwhile.
Companies used to picking up big contacts are having to justify why they win, other than being preferred bidders. Your opportunity and challenge is to offer your services, beat the old boys network, and win the deal!
A good starting point is the local government supply portal where local government contracts are advertised. Also let's not forget what opportunities there are from the 2012 Olympics - many new bids are advertised each day through the CompeteFor portal.
It is also important to remember the governments' commitment to purchasing as much as possible from SMEs and to ensure fast payment of invoices. There is no better guarantee of payment than that of a government contact.
So while yes there is pain to come there are also many opportunities and for those of us willing to put in the effort this may be the biggest opportunity in your company's history.
I believe we need to be brave think positively and avoid limiting beliefs, but most importantly to genuinely want to offer great value to our customers. That really is the key to winning any contract.
Nick Locke, director at Nicab Ltd, has over 15 years experience in the electronics manufacturing industry specialising in interconnection cable assembly. Driven by a passion for interconnection he spends a great deal of his time searching out the latest technology and innovation in interconnection & manufacturing in general.
Keen to pass on information his aim is to engage the electronics community in the subjects and issues he believes are important. Totally devoted to the promotion of the electronics manufacturing industry he sees the future of electronics manufacturing as vital component in the UK economy.
Previous Only Connect entries:
* Only Connect: A Top Ten of connector manufacturers
* Only Connect: Red toxic sludge points the way (Going Green #3)
* Only Connect: Handy Design Tips #4 - Explosion proof Ethernet
* Only Connect: We're changing the world into a better place, baby!
* Only Connect: Handy Design Tips #3 - The right wrong connector
* Only Connect: Proud of the Made In UK mark
* Only Connect: Handy Design Tips #1 - Colour
* Only Connect: Better promoting the value of UK manufacturing
* Only Connect: Easy ways to go green
* Product packaging (Going Green II)
* Only Connect: The Nicab Top Ten connectors
* Only Connect: Handy Design Tips #2 - Problems & Opportunities
* Only Connect: Kudos for Connector.com
Because every government penny must now more than ever be spent with great consideration those of us bidding for contacts have to offer more value and demonstrate our ability to either save money and or provide a superior product. Yes this will take more effort on your part and more creative thinking but it will be very worthwhile.
Companies used to picking up big contacts are having to justify why they win, other than being preferred bidders. Your opportunity and challenge is to offer your services, beat the old boys network, and win the deal!
A good starting point is the local government supply portal where local government contracts are advertised. Also let's not forget what opportunities there are from the 2012 Olympics - many new bids are advertised each day through the CompeteFor portal.
It is also important to remember the governments' commitment to purchasing as much as possible from SMEs and to ensure fast payment of invoices. There is no better guarantee of payment than that of a government contact.
So while yes there is pain to come there are also many opportunities and for those of us willing to put in the effort this may be the biggest opportunity in your company's history.
I believe we need to be brave think positively and avoid limiting beliefs, but most importantly to genuinely want to offer great value to our customers. That really is the key to winning any contract.
Nick Locke, director at Nicab Ltd, has over 15 years experience in the electronics manufacturing industry specialising in interconnection cable assembly. Driven by a passion for interconnection he spends a great deal of his time searching out the latest technology and innovation in interconnection & manufacturing in general.
Keen to pass on information his aim is to engage the electronics community in the subjects and issues he believes are important. Totally devoted to the promotion of the electronics manufacturing industry he sees the future of electronics manufacturing as vital component in the UK economy.
Previous Only Connect entries:
* Only Connect: A Top Ten of connector manufacturers
* Only Connect: Red toxic sludge points the way (Going Green #3)
* Only Connect: Handy Design Tips #4 - Explosion proof Ethernet
* Only Connect: We're changing the world into a better place, baby!
* Only Connect: Handy Design Tips #3 - The right wrong connector
* Only Connect: Proud of the Made In UK mark
* Only Connect: Handy Design Tips #1 - Colour
* Only Connect: Better promoting the value of UK manufacturing
* Only Connect: Easy ways to go green
* Product packaging (Going Green II)
* Only Connect: The Nicab Top Ten connectors
* Only Connect: Handy Design Tips #2 - Problems & Opportunities
* Only Connect: Kudos for Connector.com
Comments (1)
If anything, sometimes cutbacks in government personnel lead to an increase in outsourced projects for bid. Many services still have to be done by someone, even if contracted to private industry.
Posted by Hunter Lawrence | October 25, 2010 9:57 PM
Posted on October 25, 2010 21:57