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Free national trial connects business with buyers
Source: BiP,
12 August 2008
More than 19,700 businesses have taken advantage of a free
three month trial linking firms with thousands of public
sector contract opportunities.
Small and medium-sized businesses have been gaining access
to more than 3000 new contracts available each month from
nearly 5500 public sector buyers through a free trial of
the www.supply2.gov.uk portal.
The trial, which was launched in May and closed on 31 July
2008, has proved especially popular with small businesses;
86% of new registrants have fewer than 20 employees and 73%
have a turnover of less than £1 million.
The scheme is part of the Department for Business, Enterprise
and Regulatory Reform’s Enterprise Strategy, released
in March 2008 alongside the Budget, which outlines new measures
to increase the amount of government business that is won
by small firms.
90,000 contracts have been advertised on the Supply2.gov.uk service
since it was launched in 2006. The portal, which is hosted
by BiP Solutions, is specifically aimed at helping smaller
firms benefit from tenders typically valued at £100,000
or less.
To date, 71% of buyers are from local government illustrating
how the service can connect businesses to contracts in the
public sector – including sub-contracting opportunities
linked to the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Business Minister Shriti Vadera said: “Many
smaller businesses are more innovative, have lower costs
and present better value for taxpayers than larger firms.
We need to ensure they have better access to government
procurement to give them the opportunity to grow.”
Registration for public sector buyers is free, and buyers
with an existing procurement website can link their service
directly to www.supply2.gov.uk
For further information on Supply2.gov.uk,
email interoperability@supply2.gov.uk |
