News
Meet the Buyer 2020 Round-up: South Ayrshire Council
On 2 June, the Supplier Development Programme (SDP) organised virtual activities to mark the occasion of what would have been the 12th annual Meet the Buyer event. While the face-to-face event was postponed, SDP carried out a “Twitter Takeover” of its account with buyers from Fife Council, East Renfrewshire Council, South Ayrshire Council and Scottish Government Procurement. This social media activity was complemented by two free SDP tender training webinars on Dynamic Purchasing Systems and Frameworks with Scotland Excel, and a “how-to” interactive session on using Public Contracts Scotland, the national public sector tender portal for Scotland. This round-up outlines what was said during South Ayrshire Council's Twitter Takeover of the SDP Twitter account as part of Meet the Buyer 2020: Live Virtual Event activities.
South Ayrshire Council used the time on the SDP Twitter account to discuss the topic, “Exploring Quick Quotes with South Ayrshire Council.” Gavin Cockburn, Acting Service Lead for South Ayshire Council Procurement, was joined by Meghan Bryden, Procurement Assistant and David Moore, Procurement Support Assistant.
Opening Tweets
Good Morning, I am Gavin Cockburn, @southayrshire's Procurement Acting Service Lead and I am joined by my colleagues Meghan Bryden and David Moore for the next hour! #MeetTheBuyer2020 pic.twitter.com/enHqV3OgAi
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
Right away, there was a question about Quick Quotes from a supplier.Today we aim to talk to you about Quick Quotes, and how they work within our procurement processes! Be sure to use the #MeetTheBuyer2020 hashtag, and you can reply to our tweets or send directly to @sdpscotland.
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
Read our blog on the SDP website: https://t.co/uaZ6xKG6dA pic.twitter.com/NVK77BFIzr
Really, the only planned opportunities we have coming up at South Ayrshire Council on Quick Quotes can be found in this document on the SDP website: https://t.co/SoAWkUqACe #MeetTheBuyer2020
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
Top Tips from South Ayrshire Council
Looking for hints and tips on how to make your PCS profile more appealing to public sector organisations? @southayrshire has drafted a document which provides pointers on how you can do so. Check our website: https://t.co/gR3krxHpjt #MeetTheBuyer2020
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
Suppliers were also pointed to join the afternoon webinar with the Supplier Development Programme.If you would like to view your own Supplier Profile to see what improvements could be made, please visit the 'Supplier Area' on the Public Contracts Scotland website: https://t.co/a3v6J0bzxH #MeetTheBuyer2020 #PCS
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
Great advice- it is really important to get this right. Join our webinar on #PCS, https://t.co/7n1YHdu7m8 #MeetTheBuyer2020 https://t.co/rySfW3SfVs
— Gillian Cameron (@GillianSDP) June 2, 2020
Exploring Quick Quotes
Gavin, Meghan and David then turned to the finer details involved in bidding for Quick Quotes with South Ayrshire Council.
Quick Quotes @southayrshire are issued by the centralised Procurement team and follow a standardised process. For information on the benefits of this process, please check our website: https://t.co/gR3krxHpjt #MeetTheBuyer2020
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
The team received a question from a supplier about how Quick Quotes are evaluated, and whether this was solely on price and quality, or if there was other criteria.You can view @southayrshire’s Quick Quote template on our Procurement website: https://t.co/pmgtWoXwsn #MeetTheBuyer2020
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
A follow up question was on the inclusion of criteria that requires a product demonstration. South Ayshire Council was quick to point out that a demonstration can be included within the evaluation criteria of the Quick Quote document for any public sector buyer.Hi there, depending on what's required other criteria such as a product demonstration or supplier presentation can be used to evaluate tenders. However, the majority of Quick Quotes are evaluated on price and a methodology statement.
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
No problem at all. Any buying authority publishing a requirement which includes a demo should publish their evaluation criteria with the Quick Quote document. However we can provide examples of these from a previous tender. I will follow up shortly with some details.
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
Upcoming Quick Quotes with South Ayrshire Council
Suppliers were then given useful, time-saving information on where to find out more about upcoming Quick Quote opportunities with South Ayrshire Council.
There was even a question from a potential new supplier about the Supplier Finder Profile!💥 Want to know what Quick Quotes are in @southayrshire’s pipeline? Please follow the link to view our forthcoming opportunities on the SDP website: https://t.co/SoAWkUqACe #MeetTheBuyer2020
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
Hi Kate, yes that's correct but it's also really important to make buying authorities aware of what services you provide. You can contact us at the South Ayrshire Council Procurement Service using the following e-mail address procurement@south-ayrshire.gov.uk
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
You can also access free webinars on Quick Quotes from @sdpscotland if you're a Scottish-based SME or supported business, and ask any questions you may have: https://t.co/i49rbNqrPa #MeetTheBuyer2020
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
Examples of Previous Quick Quotes Awards
The South Ayrshire Council Procurement team was eager to include examples of previously awarded Quick Quotes, so suppliers could see some of the reactionary, low value and low risk procurement that had previously been sought. The local authority is always looking for new suppliers to invite to Quick Quote, especially SMEs and supported businesses!
2/4 We tried to pick out a few stand-out previously-awarded Quick Quotes to feature during this #TwitterTakeover. One was QQ-86-19 – Prestwick Library Boiler Replacement. #MeetTheBuyer2020 pic.twitter.com/tHp49es9Md
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
4/4 A final example of a past Quick Quote was QQ-58-19 – Supply and Erection of Street Signs 2019. #MeetTheBuyer2020 pic.twitter.com/7fpxTOYpBA
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
Final Tweets
South Ayrshire Council asked for any final questions, and promoted the upcoming free SDP webinars on Quick Quotes Made Easy, which are open to Scottish-based SMEs and supported businesses.
We're going to finish our bit of today's #TwitterTakeover from @southayrshire in 15 minutes, so please send any last minute questions directly to @sdpscotland or respond to our tweets and we will be sure to provide as much information as possible. #MeetTheBuyer2020 pic.twitter.com/xKkeQAyUWx
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
Don't forget that @sdpscotland offers free webinar training on Quick Quotes Made Easy, available to SMEs and supported businesses in Scotland: https://t.co/i49rbNqrPa and this can definitely help suppliers hone your Quick Quotes skills for @southayrshire. #MeetTheBuyer2020
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
Thanks for joining us during our part of the #TwitterTakeover during SDP's #MeetTheBuyer2020: Live Virtual Event. Be sure to follow the @southayrshire Council account after today for more information, and we hope to see you in person next year! #SupportScottishBusiness pic.twitter.com/TVspfqM2Gy
— SDP Scotland (@sdpscotland) June 2, 2020
Analytics
During one hour of the Meet the Buyer 2020: Live Virtual Event, South Ayrshire Council sent 19 tweets from the SDP Scotland Twitter account. The tweets earned 4,643 impressions (the number of times users saw a Tweet on Twitter) and 276 engagements (total number of times a user interacted with a Tweet). South Ayrshire Council's tweets earned five retweets, 33 likes and eight replies.
Further Information
The 2021 Meet the Buyer event is scheduled to take place on 8 June 2021 at the EICC. For more information, contact the Supplier Development Programme by email at info@sdpscotland.co.uk.
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