Bid Management Services' Managing Director, Joanne Gillen was delighted to be invited to address today's National Procurement Service Conference in Dublin Castle, on the subject of "SME Perspectives on Public Procurement".  She drew attention to the many positives of procurement in Ireland, including the centralised eTenders and procurement websites, as well as the increased openness of tenders to SMEs since the issue of Circular 10/10 last August. 

She offered some suggestions to public buyers:

• Firstly, to consider the accessibility of their requests for tender – maximising the exposure of contract opportunities to the widest range of suppliers. 
• Secondly, to specify selection and award criteria that are relevant to the specific contract and objectively measureable.  Be open to innovation and reflect this in the award criteria.
• Thirdly, to be clear in published tender documentation, right from the eTenders listing through the ITT itself and to any clarifications issued.   
• Finally, in the interest of improving the quality of future tenders, provide constructive feedback to successful and unsuccessful tenderers.  

Buyer feedback at the event was very positive, with both the delegates and the National Procurement Service expressing significant interest in the perspectives of SMEs on the public procurement process in Ireland.