10 November 2011 | Helen Gilbert
A 30ft plywood dinosaur, dozens of mobility scooters and hand-held runway lights for a temporary airstrip in South America – these are just a handful of last-minute requests made to BBC purchasing professionals Paul Gryckiewicz and Tracey Morris.
Gryckiewicz, a senior category manager, and Morris, head of sourcing, work in the broadcaster’s 29-strong procurement department. While they are mostly responsible for arranging framework agreements in high-spend categories such as outside broadcast provision, studio space, lighting and cameras, they’re also prone to receiving last-minute calls from show production teams trying to track down particular items.
“We were once asked by The One Show for a very large number of mobility scooters for a feature they were running. We managed to hire them,” explains Gryckiewicz. “When production teams struggle to source something, they will come to us for help.”
Large shows such as Holby City and Strictly Come Dancing usually have their own buyers who sit within the production team, report to the production manager and buy what is required on set. Smaller productions, such as chat shows held in a studio, tend to rely on the studio resource manager to source items because it’s not necessary to buy in a lot of goods.
At the top of the tree is the procurement department. “We take a more strategic view on the sort of contracts we look after,” explains Gryckiewicz. “With every show, you’re going to need some sort of camera, or with post-production, you might need studio space, outside broadcast provision and lighting. We’ll often put in place preferred supplier lists. Our buyers can then buy directly and confidently from these framework agreements. We’ll cover off things like insurance levels and we’ll try to pull in all of the BBC spend. We’ll make the most of the economies of scale you can get as the whole BBC. Then it’s up to the productions to go to these companies and potentially negotiate a better rate.”
And no two days are ever the same. The procurement department is currently running a tender for outside broadcast provision for next year’s classical musical festival, The Proms, at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The BBC will cover the event on radio and television and the outside broadcast provision includes all the camera operators and live editing equipment, as well as the hire of an outside broadcast unit, known as the ‘truck’.
“It’s a big contract,” Gryckiewicz explains. “The camera operators, their cameras and all the feeds from the cameras come directly into the truck, where all the editors are making sure that it can all be broadcast live. It’s a big service – an all-inclusive package.”
Another tender that has just been completed is the set design and construction for the Sports Personality of the Year. The department is also working on a contract for ‘in-vision’ vehicles – the motors you see parked and driven around EastEnders’ Albert Square. The vehicles are essentially a prop, but because they are driven, the BBC must ensure the companies they use have the relevant mechanical expertise and licensing. The same firms also source the vehicles for specific characters in the soap.
Planning ahead
Then, of course, there’s the London 2012 Olympics. Some contracts for broadcasting the games were put in place earlier this year to ensure the BBC is not adversely affected by what Morris describes as a “massive pull on resources”.
“Part of what we had to do was make sure strategically that we’re set up for the year, two years ahead,” she says. “There are some relationships that we need to build and maintain, so it’s really important for the BBC that we can work closely with providers so that we will be able to cope at peak times.”
She says the main challenge for all broadcasters will be getting the right goods and services without being forced to pay a premium for them, on site and on time while contending with road closures. “Paul and his team spent a long time working closely with providers so that they have good working relationships with them,” says Morris. “That’s really important so they come forward with us on big things like the Olympics. We’re very lucky that we are a customer of choice.”
The annual Wimbledon tennis championships are another example. According to Gryckiewicz, the big spend is the outside broadcast capability. “We’ve got a large contract with them and pre-set discounts that cover that contract,” he says.
Does the BBC’s size and reputation help it negotiate better deals? “Although we are the BBC, they [suppliers] rely on us quite heavily – it’s not like they can just give us discounts. Because we are a big player, we have to be quite responsible in the way we purchase and we need to get the best deals. We shouldn’t underestimate our power in that marketplace and we shouldn’t abuse it,” says Morris.
She also points out that being a big name can, in some instances, work against the BBC – as a public company, it has to be particularly careful with the way it spends the public’s money. “With something like the Olympics, there are only so many suppliers out there. We’ve had to work very hard, long term, to secure deals quite far ahead because people will go where the money is.”
At the lower end of the purchasing scale, the department can be found buying in the make up services for BBC News and BBC Breakfast.
Contracts cover make up artists, 24-hour provision and the consumables they buy in as well.
Health and safety, too, is an important consideration. The purchasing department vets suppliers and draws up preferred lists for those working in areas such as special effects/pyrotechnics, diving, underwater and aerial shooting.
“If a show is going to need pyrotechnics, they may use somebody that we’ve already put through the vetting process. However, if they need somebody new, they have to be vetted in a stringent way and that takes time,” says Morris.
Interestingly, purchased props and costumes that are no longer needed are recycled on a BBC intranet site. Production teams list the items and if another spots something it needs they will reuse it. The site also enables staff to post requests. “There are some big ticket items,” Gryckiewicz says. “There was the studio used for the FIFA 2010 World Cup – a nice glass box. We’re going to be reusing that for the Olympic presentation area in the Olympic Park. It’s flat packed so we’re going to rebuild it and take it with us.”
The fast-moving and topical world of TV certainly appears to be an exciting place to work. As Morris adds: “It’s really quite diverse. You can be working on long-term projects, while other things come in overnight. Of all the buying departments in procurement, it’s the one that has to be the most flexible.”
TV procurement at a glance
☛Andrew Evans, media director of Deloitte, a business advisory firm that provides tax, audit, corporate finance and consulting advice to television companies, among others, shares his views
How is most TV procurement done?
Production companies have been slower to embrace the advantages that can be obtained from a procurement exercise, but with increasing pressure on margins it wouldn’t be surprising if this changes.
A lot of companies make a small number of shows so their ability to negotiate discounts is minimal. Additionally, production teams are often quite small, tight-knit groups that value reliability, long-term relationships and trust over marginal price.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of buying for big shows?
There are a few suppliers who can meet the demands of big shows and the demands of providers are getting ever more challenging – the fee, time to turn things around, the quality. Margins continue to be squeezed through the whole supply chain.
What changes have you noticed over the years?
A number of medium-to-large-sized production companies went through a phase of buying their own post-production equipment to try to improve margin from their own productions and rent them out to others. Few have been able to turn this into a profitable venture.
I have never understood why post-production companies are generally based in areas where rents are high. Do you really need sushi while you are cutting up your tape?
Does the element of glamour help negotiate better deals?
No. It’s a business that is getting harder to make money in. Organisations have therefore had to get more commercial as margins have been squeezed, so having a nice lifestyle has been replaced (to a certain extent) by the need to make a profit.
