In January, UK Government released an initiative which has to be good if you are a small firm wanting to win public sector contracts - but only if you are willing to do some measurement writes Malcolm Gallagher.

From the Spring of 2010, pubic procurement officers will have to show the OGC (Office of Government Commerce) the value of the contracts they have placed with small and medium sized enterprises. But they will also have to monitor and measure how many apprenticeships have been created through public procurement and the absolute number of suppliers who agreed to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, suppliers (vendors) will be asked to sign a new Supplier Charter which places voluntary commitments on both the procurer and supplier side take forward the policy priorities that are in the new Policy Through Procurement Action Plan (PtP).

If all this sounds a bit complicated then can you imagine its implementation!! But the message to all suppliers is clear. If you want your share of the near £200 billion UK Government annual spend on goods and services, you are going to have to embrace the aspects of compliance, including inclusion, health and safety and environmental matters, much more than ever before. within our Biz-Pulse.com programme.

In the SpotLearn.com Suppliers Academy are all the videos that you need to help you be a compliant suppliers and we are soon to launch a new Compliance Scorecard that will help you measure and manage these challenges. E-mail if you want to get early details.

If you want a copy of the Policy Through Procurement Action Plan please e-mail kim@bizvision.co.uk and she'll e-mail you it. Improve your knowledge, embed compliance and sharpen your ability to compete to win has to be key goals for 2010 if you want your share of those lucrative public procurement contracts.

I'm writing this from Uttoxeter Racecourse where around 600 businesses are coming to-day to heare my seminars for HMRC. I came here a
early this morning when there was still a mist over the course. Whilst there's no racing to-day, you could just imagine the thundering of the horses coming down the track. Which made me think about  YOUR need to watch out for Thundering Hooves. In this time of recession, your competitors may be even more hungry and chasing after your customers. So ring fence your customers by keeping in touch with them.

Do you know how close your competitors are behind you? How will you keep ahead and go on past the winning post?
And, interestingly, how can you worry your biggest competitors and be their thundering hooves?

Now is a great time to test the relationship your competitors have with their customers? Are they letting them down? What should they be doing better? What can you do for them?