Firm closing

[HiVibes]

32 minutes ago, Non-Believer said:

I don't know how long this particular business has been in existence but it would be interesting to know and what previous business it has tendered for and won or lost. Surely it would have a feel for being competitive in its own marketplace?

There are quite a few of these drone services companies that have sprung up in recent years it's the midlife crisis business start-up of choice for fleece wearers.

[woolley]

Another danger in winning government work is to be lulled into a sense of false security by believing it's going to be there forever. I know a few firms that fell into that trap, neglected other business and then lost the government contract. Squeaky bum time.

[Roger Mexico]

1 hour ago, Ativa said:

They didn’t ignore it.  They gave it the relevant weighting in the tender process.  If the local firm is super expensive a weighting won’t bring it back in their favour.

Anyway.  This was all discussed three days ago

But we didn't really discuss one point in the post, which is about the alleged way the local weighting operates:

3 Manx companies and 2 UK companies submitted their tenders. There was a section 'Local Economic Factors' which is weighed 10% towards the final tender. All 3 Manx companies scored 3 / 5, the UK company which won the tender scored 4 / 5!

If this is true it suggests a system that isn't working.  Or maybe 'Local Economic Factor' just translates into 'How much money will the Sefton get out of it?'.

[Ativa]

9 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said:

But we didn't really discuss one point in the post, which is about the alleged way the local weighting operates:

3 Manx companies and 2 UK companies submitted their tenders. There was a section 'Local Economic Factors' which is weighed 10% towards the final tender. All 3 Manx companies scored 3 / 5, the UK company which won the tender scored 4 / 5!

If this is true it suggests a system that isn't working.  Or maybe 'Local Economic Factor' just translates into 'How much money will the Sefton get out of it?'.

Or it suggests the three local businesses didn’t put much of any substance in their application and just assumed being local would be enough.

Maybe the off island company spent time detailing how they would be using local subcontractors, putting bums on seats on the ferry, using local bars, restaurants and hotels while they were here?

You don’t just submit a quote, you have to evidence why you should get the work.

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Ativa

[Happier diner]

11 minutes ago, Ativa said:

Or it suggests the three local businesses didn’t put much of any substance in their application and just assumed being local would be enough.

Maybe the off island company spent time detailing how they would be using local subcontractors, putting bums on seats on the ferry, using local bars, restaurants and hotels while they were here?

You don’t just submit a quote, you have to evidence why you should get the work.

 

That's possible. But like @Roger Mexicosays, it's a bit weird.

[Ativa]

2 minutes ago, Happier diner said:

That's possible. But like @Roger Mexicosays, it's a bit weird.

Why is it weird?

Take an example of five blokes working for a week.  Who is going to spend most locally?  The five who drive to work, do the job then go home to their wife and have some food they got from Tesco, or the five who come on the plane pick up a hire car, do their work and spend their nights staying in a hotel and eating and drinking out in Douglas.

For whatever reason his application wasn’t good enough.  The same as loads of others every week.

[Gladys]

We don't know why the tender was rejected, or the content of the tender so hard to make a judgement whether it stood up well.   

Local is only given a 10% weighting so if they got 60% (3/5 presumably), they would compare 50% to the marking of 80% for the successful tender, if you exclude the local preference.  That is if I have interpreted that correctly.

 

[Passing Time]

1 hour ago, Ativa said:

They can’t anymore, due to the competitive tender process that offers a weighting to take into account their additional expenses and benefit to the local economy, but stops them taking the piss.

This guy has been through the process and lost, and is now bleating because he is a local business.

Unlucky.  Put a more attractive offer to them in the future.  The process is open and is used day in and day out for government procurement on projects much bigger than this one.  He is the only person I have seen moaning lately because he (and a few on here and FB) seems to think being local should dump everything else.  If it did then people would take the piss which is exactly what happened years ago.

I have seen firms win government work in the past at 40 percent plus of what they would charge anyone else just because they were local and had the skills.  That is what this process is trying to stop.

We have won and lost work through this scheme.  In my experience there is normally meaningful feedback available if you miss out.

You have two options.  Take the feedback and act on it next time, or throw your toys out of the pram because someone else pitched a better proposal.

Spoken like a true government shill...

[x-in-man]

"does not want to support local high-tech companies"

Drone company - saw what you did there.

[Non-Believer]

Much "clarification" and debate on FB, with Claire Christian MHK vowing to take up the case. Rob Callister MHK "declining" to have any involvement...

The work related to flood management apparently.

Edited April 16, 2023 by Non-Believer
Extra bit

[Ativa]

19 minutes ago, Passing Time said:

Spoken like a true government shill...

Absolutely not.

I have been on both ends of many tenders over the years.

[x-in-man]

A local Manx company spends the same on island as they do every other day.

A company coming over registers as passenger numbers, hotel nights, food and drink sales as well as fuel and other bits OVER AND ABOVE the local manx company.

THATS how the tender process works.

If anyone thinks otherwise they are fools.

Edited April 16, 2023 by x-in-man

[Non-Believer]

6 minutes ago, x-in-man said:

A local Manx company spends the same on island as they do every other day.

A company coming over registers as passenger numbers, hotel nights, food and drink sales as well as fuel and other bits OVER AND ABOVE the local manx company.

THATS how the tender process works.

If anyone thinks otherwise they are fools.

But apart from those expenses "locally recouped", surely the money paid for the contract's fulfilment goes off the Island? And unless they're coming on the Steamie, air passenger costs will go to off-Island concerns such as Ezy or Logan too?

[Blade Runner]

11 minutes ago, x-in-man said:

A local Manx company spends the same on island as they do every other day.

A company coming over registers as passenger numbers, hotel nights, food and drink sales as well as fuel and other bits OVER AND ABOVE the local manx company.

THATS how the tender process works.

If anyone thinks otherwise they are fools.

Are you thick?

FFS

[A fool and his money.....]

In my experience you're completely wasting your time trying to decipher Government procurement decisions.

It doesn't matter how much they try and clean it up and make it transparent, vested interests are always the biggest factor, along with egos and personal relationships. Value for money for the taxpayer and quality of the resulting product are about as far down the list as it is possible to get.

Any feedback asked for is invariably vague and meaningless, usually rushed together after the event and completely contradictory.

No one will ever persuade me that a majority of government tenders aren't decided before any tender process starts.

I know this sounds a little bit conspiracy theory, I would have thought that myself before being involved. Having seen how things work first hand though, they are anything but fair or in the best interests of the people funding them.