16 April 2009 | Adviser Q&A

I am keen to find new suppliers to my company for services we require. What is the best method of identifying potential candidates and attracting them to tender?

Supplier relationship manager, Milton Keynes

David Henderson, supply chain ombudsman, Sellafield
There are lots of different ways of finding new suppliers who are active in the area you are concerned with. The things you need to do will depend upon the size of your business, the sector you work in and the size of your budget.

Start with general searches on the internet, subscribe to trade directories, or join the relevant trade associations and access their membership lists - sometimes these are free online.

Local and regional business support and development agencies often run "meet the buyer" events to encourage new contacts. They can put you in touch with relevant local companies.

Running "supplier open days", where you invite interested parties to meet you and explain your requirements in an open forum, is also often a successful way to generate interest within the supplier community.

But remember: getting people to tender can be affected by the current economic conditions, the amount of work around, their perception of you as a client, your terms and conditions and your reputation.

Nigel McKay, head of supply chain management, Bovis Lend Lease
This is very much dependent on the type of service and the location of the end delivery. The best way to ascertain new suppliers or contractors is to engage with the relevant trade bodies. An internet search engine can help you locate these.

Each trade association will usually have a full list of members, and in most cases they will also have some kind of assessment of the overall competency of the member - ranging from "one man bands" to the multinationals.

This will also help identify the geographical areas that each would be willing to supply to. Many local authorities have procurement departments who have lists of local companies offering a range of products and services, and they would be more than willing to help you source a local company to provide tenders to you, again usually with some kind of assessment.

Lee Kitchen, category consultant, Metropolitan Police
I have developed the following tool list as "triggers" of the two elements in question - first identifying suppliers, and then attracting them to a tender process.

To identify potential suppliers: • Examine previous internal records when the requirement was last tendered. • Benchmark with other organisations. • Attending supplier exhibitions and "meet the buyer" events. • Search the internet, catalogues, brochures, industry magazines and trade journals. • Record suppliers expressing an interest, before and after the tender has been awarded. • Establish an ongoing electronic database of suppliers' details. And to attract suppliers to tender: • Place prior indicative notices in the OJEU. • Forward copies of OJEU/trade journal advert and PQQ documents to all suppliers held on record, in case they are not aware of it. • Breaking a requirement into lots helps medium and small companies to bid.

Key points

• Join the relevant trade associations. You can find them through an internet search.

• "Meet the buyer" events are useful ways to get contacts in local companies.

• Make sure these potential suppliers are aware of your tender, so they can bid