SDP Sparks Business with Perth & Kinross Council

E W Edwardson (Electrical Contractors) Ltd accessed training and support through the Supplier Development Programme that has helped win public sector contracts with Perth and Kinross Council and other public sector organisations.

E W Edwardson (Electrical Contractors) Ltd supplies electrical contracting services, including repairs and maintenance, design, inspection and testing.  Long used to supplying to the public sector, the medium sized business has worked with local authorities such as Angus Council, Dundee City Council, Fife Council, and Perth and Kinross Council for some 15 years. However, the company decided to take a proactive step towards refreshing its approach to tendering through the Supplier Development Programme in 2019.

E W Edwardson (Electrical Contractors) Ltd first engaged with the Supplier Development Programme (SDP) in May 2019 at a Planned and Reactive Maintenance Tender Supplier Engagement Event with Perth and Kinross Council.  In June 2020, the company was named as a successful supplier for Lot 2 - Inspection and Testing of Electrical Installations - which has an estimated value of approximately £15.6m over the seven years of the framework.

“We first engaged with SDP to improve our knowledge in the ever changing procurement processes of local authorities, and dynamic demands of local authorities and buyers,” said Lewis Farrow, Contracts Director at E W Edwardson.  “After the training event with Perth and Kinross Council, we decided to try a variety of the courses available, which allowed us to apply a modern approach to our submission and offered the chance to meet guest speakers and other companies attending. We realised that some of our competitors were already doing this, and SDP helped us compete.”

Staff from E W Edwardson (Electrical Contractors) Ltd have attended around a dozen engagement events, including the TayCities Meet the Public Sector Buyer, and tender training events and webinars through the Supplier Development Programme.

“SDP allowed us to take a diverse approach to our tendering process, focus on key areas of tendering such as community benefits, and understand the requirements of local authorities and public purchasing bodies. We have since been inspired and are now developing a student training programme within our key business areas – we put this forward at tender stage which we feel may have been advantageous to the selection process,” said Billy McWilliams, Managing Director at E W Edwardson.