OCTOBER | FEATURE
24
product of service that will give
them a competitive advantage.
This means there is always a
chance you will be recognised.
“Government tenders are
another matter. They made
a big ‘hoo-ha’ a few years ago
about improving the chances
and fairness in tendering. It was
promised that 40% of business
would be going out to SMEs but I’m
not sure that’s been realised.
“In reality, civil servants are used
to dealing with big four companies
in our sector. I can understand that
it is harder to consider another 50
new SMEs and that they are not
really equipped for that. It’s all a
government narrative.”
Others are seeing
improvements. April Trasler,
managing director of Neptunus,
says: “At Neptunus we have
recognised a significant
improvement in general terms
issue
solutions
“Tendering can be a
fools errand but it’s
tricky to come up
with any solutions ”
tendering
T
endering is a necessary evil
for event agencies, venues
and suppliers. How should
you pick the right ones to apply for,
and how can you be sure that the
application will even be considered
in the first place?
“It is always difficult. When
you tender you never know if it’s
real, and if it’s open to new people
or if they are going through the
motions. We spend a lot of time
and money on tendering and we
are often successful,” says Stadium
Group’s managing director David
McAtamney.
“But there’s always that question
as to whether it is worth it. Do
I spend time, money and effort
to go after this, or is this just in
existence because current provider
is coming to an end?
“Tendering can be a fools errand
but it’s tricky to come up with
any solutions to this. Certainly
I encourage more transparency.
SMEs are not asking for favours,
but they are all looking for a