Going for gold
There are scores of companies from this region that have won contracts linked to the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Not that you’d know it as they’ve largely been banned from telling anyone about it. Something to do with preserving the Olympic ‘brand’.
That aside, though, it’s great news for the companies themselves and for our region. The contracts have been won by firms across a diverse range of sectors. Initially many of the contracts were linked to infrastructure and so construction firms from the Midlands filled their boots. But now contracts are being won in all sorts of areas from supplying temporary seating to putting up fencing and from supplying door handles to catering.
There’s one cracking Midlands contract win which is fundamental to the image of the games. I only wish I could tell you about it.
All will be revealed in time, of course, and when it is it will once again be demonstrated that the Midlands is still the place of a thousand trades.
The actual process of winning contracts is quite a complicated one and involves e-procurement to a certain degree. The Midlands companies that have gone through the process have largely found it arduous but have benefited from persevering.
E-procurement seems to be the way of the world now and I can’t say I’m a fan. It may make the process of cutting out the clearly unsuitable at an early stage easier but it allows no room for the expression of personality. Leftfield solutions are often the best ones, but box-ticking exercises can often play into the hands of the conservative and mediocre rather than providing opportunities for the genuinely radical and creative.
Many construction firms claim that the e-tendering process just doesn’t work in their field because there are just too many variables in projects.
But it is the way things are going, even if inevitable doesn’t mean right.
Whatever. Midlands companies have mastered the process and picked up Olympic contracts and the good news is that there are still plenty of contracts to be picked up. Our regional development agencies have plenty of advice and information on how you can throw your hat into the ring.
The other good bit of news is that whilst many of the initial contracts went to large companies, plenty of the contracts around now are intended for companies further down the supply chain – in other words, small businesses.
The general consensus is that public sector contracts are going to be harder to come by after the general election which, probably makes it a good idea to try and get stuck in to what’s available now.
It’s great to know that that London isn’t going to be the only winner in the 2012 games.
Any comments? Email Midlands Business Insider editor Andy Coyne.
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