Seizing opportunities in the supply chain
Research into the opportunities for New Zealand suppliers in the global supply chain market found that there is the opportunity to increase Kiwi inputs by as much as 25%. This represents a significant opportunity for businesses in New Zealand – and the opportunities aren’t limited to large businesses. Small businesses, not large enough to tender on a large project by themselves, can still get a slice of action from these large tenders and contracts. This article explains how.
On this page:
- Get connected
- Become part of the supply chain
- Know what buyers are looking for
- Price versus whole-of-life procurement
Get connected
It’s impossible to take advantage of opportunities if you don’t know about them. The first step is to get connected. Aim to connect regularly with like-minded businesses in your industry to stay in the loop and find out what’s going on in the market place – and discover business opportunities that fall within the scope of the work you do. Register for free and paid-for tender services to find out about opportunities that might be of interest.
Here are some ideas you can try.
- Set up your company profile on the ICN Gateway and search for projects that might interest you.
- Join your local Chamber of Commerce or industry association and attend some of their business and networking meetings.
- Use this quick contact list to find organisations relevant to small businesses in New Zealand.
- Register with GETS, the free New Zealand Government Electronic Tender Service, to receive notice of tenders in your fields of interest.
- Consider paying to subscribe to Tenderlink to access the latest calls for tenders in Australasia. You can access the information via an online search or get email notifications in your inbox.
- Look for similar tender services in your target countries overseas.
Become part of the supply chain
If you don’t have the capacity or capability to tackle the tender on your own, that doesn’t mean you should shrug your shoulders and walk away. Look for opportunities to become part of the supply chain for that project. You might be able to do one of the following.
- Form a consortium with other companies and put in a combined tender for the project. You probably already know a number of businesses you could team up with to tackle larger projects.
- Approach bigger companies who will be submitting bids and ask to come on board as part of their tender submission. Chances are they’ll need to show additional capacity and expertise, and including your business as part of the team might improve their chances of winning the tender.
- Wait until the tender is awarded, then approach those suppliers and offer to provide a small portion of the contract.
Know what buyers are looking for
To increase your chances, it helps to know some of the key elements that buyers working on large projects will be looking for. The more of these boxes you’re able to tick, the greater your chances of getting work as part of these supply chains.
- Value and competitiveness: Buyers will be looking for competitive prices combined with good value for money. Try to discover previous pain points for the buyer and look for innovative ways to solve this with a focus on quality and continuous improvement.
- Performance and track record: It will be harder to get a tender without a track record or previous experience. Get experience by joining forces with other businesses or by supplying the company that won the bid to build up your track record.
- Experience working with major supply chains: If you don’t have direct experience, talk to people to get an understanding of what is involved and show you know what is expected.
- Necessary capabilities and skills: You’re unlikely to win a tender, or portion of the work, if you don’t have the necessary capabilities and skills. You might need to hire additional skilled staff or consider training to get work from larger tenders.
- Sufficient capacity: Similarly, you probably won’t win a tender or be asked to participate in a bid if you don’t have the capacity to deliver. You might need to invest in machinery or use the combined capacity of a consortium to meet the requirements for a project.
- Innovation and responsiveness: Buyers will want you to respond promptly to any problems and come up with innovative solutions. Find ways to demonstrate this or build your capacity to do this. Keep up with technology and the latest ways to increase productivity.
- Systems: For larger contracts or projects, you might need the ability to conform to the systems used by these companies, or to meet certain production, quality, safety and environmental standards. Find out what these are and start to implement the necessary steps as part of your preparation and planning. Things like ISO accreditation or reporting on your environmental impact might have additional marketing spin-offs for your business.
If you can’t tick all these off now, think of ways to get the experience, skills or technology to add to your capabilities and fill any gaps. This will improve your chances of getting work as part of the supply chain for major contracts and tenders.
Price versus whole-of-life procurement
A number of Kiwi businesses have stopped bothering with large tenders because they can’t match the low production costs of overseas competitors and feel they’re always beaten on price. The good news is that there is a strong move towards ‘whole of life’ procurement, with buyers not looking just for the cheapest price, but for the best value for money in the long term.
Your business might be able to compete against successful imports if you can show your offering has a better whole-of-life value proposition for the buyer. If you can demonstrate that your product only costs twice as much as a cheap import but will last five times as long, for example, the whole-of-life consideration means your product will present the buyer with better long-term value.
If applicable, draw attention to this in your bids and tender submissions or when talking to buyers and other businesses you might be hoping to supply.
