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Blog
There are only 3 weeks to go until Scotland’s largest free procurement event!
Join SDP, and our headline partners Scottish Government and Scotland Excel, on Wednesday 5 June 2024 at Hampden Park.
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Access to the old eTenders website is ending soon
In 2023, the national electronic tendering website eTenders, switched to a new service provider. To enable ongoing access to past procurement competition data that was hosted on the old website public buyers and suppliers have been able to access the old) eTenders website. This is changing soon, and access to the old website is ceasing in May 2024.
Public procurement buyers should take action now to make sure that they keep the procurement competition data they need.
What changes are taking place?
The national electronic tendering platform eTenders switched to a new service provider in May 2023, marking the first time in a decade that the system had changed to a new provider.
The national electronic tendering website eTenders switched to a new service provider in May 2023, marking the first time in a decade that the website had changed to a new provider.
While eTenders was never intended to be used for long-term record keeping, for some public buyers, the old eTenders website may have been used as part of their approach to meeting their record keeping and data retention obligations. However, the national public procurement guidelines clearly state that “eTenders should not be used as a storage facility and that all relevant documentation records should be maintained off the platform by the contracting authority”. On that basis, and due to scale, complexity and associated risks to data integrity, past procurement competition data could not be transferred from the old eTenders website to the current eTenders website
To facilitate access to past procurement data during this changeover period since May 2023, the previous eTenders website has remained online and accessible to buyers and suppliers. However, access to the old site will end for all users in May 2024, and the OGP is encouraging public procurement buyers to take action now to make sure they retrieve the procurement competition data required from the old website in advance of this date.
Any data associated with past procurement competitions that was published on the old website will be affected. In the majority of cases, this will mean any procurement competition that was published before 15 May 2023 (before the launch of the current eTenders website).
What action do I need to take?
There are three key steps public buyers should take to retrieve data associated with past procurement competitions from the old eTenders website :
• 1) Close: Close any procurement competition on the old site that you want to retrieve data for.
• 2) Archive: Closed competitions can now be moved to the Archive area on the old eTenders site.
• 3) Download: Once a procurement competition has been closed and moved to the Archive area, you can download the Archive file to your designated local storage location.
You can find a more detailed guide on how to download files from the old eTenders system below.
Will I be able to access the files on the old website after May 2024?
No, you will not be able to access any files that were stored on the old system after May 2024. Access to the old website will cease in May 2024.
Who can I contact if I have any issues?
if you encounter any issues relating to closing or archiving competitions on the old eTenders website you can contact EU Supply, at 021 243 9277, or email etenders@eu-supply.com.
National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Exhibition and Conference 2024
Tuesday, 28 May.
RDS Simmonscourt
Simmonscourt Road Dublin 4 Ireland
The National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition will now be run over two days at RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin on May 28th & 29th 2024.
The conference will be of interest to senior management, established practising engineers and researchers together with those that are much earlier in their careers.
Delegates have registered from leading food, pharmaceutical, medical, chemical, electronics and engineering manufacturing sectors.
Manufacturers small and large from across the country will gather to challenge political decision makers to deliver a business environment which manufacturing deserves. Delegates attending the conference will:
– gain industry insights to help their business plan ahead
– share good practice and learn from each other’s experience
– connected with senior business leaders to find new business opportunities
– meet with key technology providers in the dedicated exhibition area
Visitors are free to move between the different events.
Northern Ireland Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition 2024
Thu, 12 Sep 2024 09:00 – 16:00 BST
Thu, 12 Sep 2024 09:00 – 16:00
Join us at the 2024 Northern Ireland Manufacturing & Supply Chain Expo is being held in the Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast on 12th September to hear from an impressive line-up of manufacturing leaders, academics and government agencies who will engage in a stimulating blend of key note addresses and debates.
Creating an Innovative Manufacturing & Supply chain Ecosystem
New approaches and technology have been introduced in recent years that have created significant organisational and process improvements. The aim of the conference is to showcase such innovative approaches and to disseminate the cutting edge research that underpins them.
The conference will be of interest to senior management, established practicing engineers and researchers together with those that are much earlier in their careers.
Delegates have registered from leading food, pharmaceutical, medical, chemical, electronics and engineering manufacturing sectors.
Manufacturers small and large from across the Northern Ireland will gather to challenge political decision makers to deliver a business environment which manufacturing deserves. Delegates attending the conference will:
Key Topics included:
Procurement, Lean Manufacturing, Control & Automation, Supply Chain Optimisation, Information Technology Logistics,Energy Management & Sustainability, Project Management, Automation & Robotics
Resource Efficiency Capital Grant
Heads up to all clients-if you are an InvestNI client then this new Resource Efficiency Capital Grant may be the way to help with the cost of investing in resource efficient technologies that will drive savings and business productivity. The next call for applications will open on Wednesday 10 April and close at 17:00, Thursday 16 May 2024
This project is part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Call 2 of the Digital Transformation Flexible Fund (DTFF) will open for expressions of interest on 4 March 2024
The DTFF aims to help small and micro businesses in Northern Ireland to invest in advanced digital technologies. It establishes a grant fund to support eligible businesses with investments in capital equipment that is critical to achieving their digital transformation ambitions.
The focus of the fund is on innovative technologies, such as:
- smart environments and the Internet of Things
- simulation, process automation and additive manufacturing
- big data and analytics
- immersive technologies
- artificial intelligence and machine learning
- blockchain technologies and more
To be eligible, capital investments must enable business transformation rather than simply digitisation of existing business models or operations.
Funding is available between £5,000 and £20,000 for an investment project. If eligible, the grant can fund up to 70% of the cost of the total value of a project. Applicants must match-fund a minimum of 30% of the overall project costs.
Register for the DTFF online pre-briefing session
Potential applicants can register to join the online pre-briefing session for Call 2 on 4 March 2024.
Dates for the in-person pre-briefing sessions across each council area will be published on the DTFF website soon.
Call 2 of the DTFF will open to expressions of interest on 4 March and close at midday on 29 March 2024.
Calling all Growing Businesses!Have you thought about joining a consortium co-operative (with at least two other partners) to enable you to bid for larger contracts? Cooperative Development Scotland (CDS) wants to talk about this opportunity in its webinar The Consortium Model of Bidding for Bigger Contracts. The free webinar runs Thursday 29 February 2024, 2-3pm. About the Webinar The webinar will cover: · The key characteristics of a consortium co-operative · Benefits of joining a consortium co-operative · How the model is used for tendering · The support provided by CDS to businesses seeking to formally collaborate as a consortium co-operative About Consortium Co-operatives In a consortium co-operative: · Members work together for a common goal while retaining their own brands, identities, and control · Members can be limited companies, partnerships or individuals · A consortium co-operative works best for three or more businesses (due to the democratic voting nature of a co-operative) About CDS · CDS works to provide support to companies and community groups who want to adopt employee ownership or co-operative business models · Co-operative Development Scotland is part of the Inclusive Models Team within Scottish Enterprise · This model acts on behalf of all Scotland’s Enterprise agencies (Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise) |
Happy Christmas from us all at JCR Network Services Ltd
Happy Christmas
A retiring consultant’s advice on consultants
How to manage the snake-oil salesmen
From the Economist 06/09/23
I, naturally, would have been ideally positioned, given my many years of experience serving your company’s principal rival. Alas, the time comes in every man’s life when he must hang up his hat and retire to his home in the Bahamas. As my swan song, I have thrown together, as requested, a few thoughts on how to handle my kind. I hope you find the attached 120-page PowerPoint presentation useful. Below you will find a brief summary
Be ready for the “bait and switch”: Do not be fooled by the eloquent veterans who will turn up to your office to plead for your business. The work will mostly be done by clever but pimply 20-somethings, armed with two-by-two matrix frameworks recycled from client to client. What they lack in wisdom will be made up for in long hours. You need not feel sorry for them. They are cocooned in a shell of fancy meals, lavish hotels and private drivers—at your expense.
At first you will find them to be of no use at all—detrimental, even—as they harry your management team with endless questions and urgent requests for data. Eventually, they will win you over with their brains and gumption—or be quietly replaced. Meanwhile, those grey-haired senior partners will pop by from time to time. Beware.
Watch out for “land and expand”: We consultants are masters of the clandestine sale. If you hire us for a two-month project, it will assuredly take 12. By the time it ends, our tentacles will have spread. Ask for a new company strategy, blink, and we will be cutting your costs, fixing your it systems and tinkering with your supply chain.
Like many other bosses, you may one day tire of our eye-watering rates and decide to poach the cleverest consultants for yourself. We will happily oblige. The most reliable missionary for the merits of consulting is one of our own. The more senior, the better. Hire them, but do not give them the cheque book.
Question everything: Every self-respecting consultant knows that big recommendations demand big numbers. As a rule, divide everything you see by two. Never trust a benchmark; I made up most of mine. And carefully read those endless notes at the bottom of charts. That is often where the dirtiest secrets are buried. Be doubly dubious of any consulting reports your underlings happen to commission, especially when they recommend a bigger budget for said underling.
Take none of the blame: As a freshly minted chief executive, you are undoubtedly brimming with ideas. Many of them are terrible. Some may prove catastrophic. Among the valuable services offered by management consultants is the human shield. Make sure your board knows it was they who recommended the disastrous new product line or the overpriced acquisition. You always had your doubts, but trusted their illustrious reputations. Equally, your consultants may, from time to time, stumble upon a good idea. You thought of it first.
Experiment with polygamy: Your consultants will do their utmost to woo you into exclusivity. There will be much talk of “long-term partnership”. Yet it is a one-sided monogamy they seek. Fidelity is not in a consultant’s nature. Chances are they are already advising your competitors, with only the thinnest of Chinese walls between teams.
Follow their example and hire their rivals, too. Ideally, sit them in adjacent rooms at your offices. Consultants are fiercely competitive, and nothing will better spur them on to even longer reports than seeing their nemeses wandering the halls of your company. If bored, invite representatives of two warring firms to a meeting and watch them tussle for your favour.
As I look back on my career, I am not too proud to admit that I have occasionally fleeced the odd firm. But I maintain that my profession is a noble one. “Impact”, after all, is our industry’s watchword. (Admittedly, I never was quite clear what it meant, but you cannot deny it sounds lofty.)
One final thought to conclude: there is never a problem too big or small for a consultant. That I can confirm from experience. Your bill, including expenses, is attached. Good luck. ■
Read more from Bartleby, our columnist on management and work:
