Olympic 2012 tendering opportunities for Welsh businesses
Plenty of
opportunities for Welsh businesses aiming to secure Olympic 2012
contracts, say business experts.
18 I 03 I 11
Over 100 business people attending
a conference in Cardiff this week were told that it’s still not too
late to win work relating to the 2012 Olympic Games. The
conference, a joint event between Venture Wales, Lloyds TSB and law
firm Hugh James, aimed to reassure Welsh companies that there are
lucrative contracts still to be won for next year’s global sports
event, but more help is needed in identifying the
opportunities.
The event, hosted and facilitated
by Janet Harris of Your Voice, was designed to provide a realistic
picture of how Welsh companies can win work relating to the 2012
Olympic Games as well as providing an overview of the broad range
of contracts still being sourced throughout the supply chain.
It looked at how opportunities could be identified and how
contracts can be financed, as well as looking at successful case
studies.
The speakers encouraged delegates
to take a fresh and realistic look at the ‘CompeteFor’ website and
see it more as bank of market intelligence that could help identify
their company’s ‘sweet spot’ in the supply chain, rather than a
portal for directly winning ‘Tier 1’ contracts. Sean Hamill of
Venture Wales was quick to dismiss some of the negativity
surrounding the website and insisted that it is crucial for Welsh
SMEs to register to engage with successful contractors and become
aware of supply chain opportunities.
Delegates heard from Welsh
businesses that had already succeeded in winning Olympic tenders,
including Mabey Bridge Ltd and Euroclad and Eurobond, as well as a
step-by-step guide to registering on the Compete For website from
Sean Hamill of Venture Wales.
An overview of financing contracts
was given by Craig Baldwin of Lloyds TSB, whilst Hugh James
Partner, Shaun Jamieson, gave an outline of procurement and
contract issues. Shaun says he was heartened by the level of
interest among Welsh businesspeople in the tendering
opportunities:
“The high turnout for this
event is testimony that businesses in Wales are keen to get
involved in the supply process for the 2012 Olympics. I’m
sure that this conference has given delegates the information and
confidence they need to take these opportunities forward. As
with the competing athletes, SMEs in Wales need to be prepared to
win, but also prepared for the legalities that surround the
tendering process.”
Craig Baldwin was similarly
positive:
“Lloyds Banking Group were
responding to direct feedback from customers regarding information
provided about the Olympics at previous events. We wanted to ensure
that this event gave businesses a real insight into how to go about
successfully tendering for business through Compete For through a
real time demonstration & from actually hearing from successful
companies. The partnership with Hugh James & Venture Wales
ensured that all aspects of the minefield of tendering were covered
& we look forward to working with these excellent companies in
the future.”
The main conclusions/messages of
the conference were:
- There has been significant bad publicity about few contracts
being awarded to Welsh businesses, but the reality is that there
are still opportunities available and it might be a case of Welsh
SMEs acting as suppliers for larger organisations.
- Welsh SMEs need to actively and positively engage with
successful ‘Tier 1’ contractors and find their place in the supply
chain.
- Once on the Olympic Park, the opportunities for further
business appear to escalate – as evidenced by successful Welsh
businesses
Delegates were also treated to an
appearance from Olympic swimmer, David Davies. David shared
his ethos of ‘keeping it simple’ as the mantra which has led his
successful career, and confirmed that he plans to ‘go for gold’ in
London in 2012.
For businesses keen to tender for
2012 Olympic Games contracts, more information can be obtained from
Venture Wales: http://www.venturewales.com/