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Module 9

Finding the Right Bidding Opportunities for Your Company

This module describes where to find current bidding and contracting opportunities for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (and beyond) that match your company’s capabilities.

You know the main players in the 2010 Winter Games and the kinds of products and services they are looking for.You understand how the purchasing process works, how to evaluate and respond to Requests for Proposals, and how to make the best of lost bids and deal with the challenges of winning. Now it’s time to get specific:

  1. How do you find the current bidding opportunities that best match your company’s capabilities?
  2. How do you promote your company’s specific capabilities to key purchasers?

Increasingly, governments and other organizations are using the Internet as a tool for advertising bidding opportunities.You may still find some opportunities advertised in the newspaper, and word of mouth is helpful, but the Internet is probably your main channel for finding contracting opportunities with governments, large businesses and, certainly, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games.

The good news is that almost all of the business opportunities associated with the 2010 Winter Games will be available to businesses via websites that have been established by VANOC, the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada. This means that it’s easier than ever for businesses to find opportunities related to the 2010 Winter Games. Through these same websites, you can register your company to receive notification of upcoming bidding opportunities that match your company’s profile.

If you’re looking for direct and related business opportunities with the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, you’ve got three key resources:

Vancouver 2010 Website

The official website of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games is maintained by VANOC. It provides news and information about the 2010 Winter Games and the many ways to participate. The latest procurement opportunities are posted on the home page.

The Vancouver 2010 website provides a specific “Business Opportunities” section (under “Organizing Committee”) that explains opportunities for sponsorship, licensing and procurement. The procurement information pages provide a valuable description of VANOC’s procurement process and objectives, including a list of VANOC’s core purchasing practices and an explanation of the restrictions on the use of the Olympic brand. All current VANOC procurement opportunities are listed, along with instructions for obtaining detailed bid information about these opportunities. The way in which VANOC procurement opportunities are issued may change over time, so businesses that are interested in supplying goods or services to VANOC should continue to monitor this website regularly.

The procurement information pages also provide a complete list of VANOC bid results to date, with the name of the successful bidder and the date awarded. This is a valuable resource for businesses that are looking for subcontracting opportunities.

As noted in Module 1, the Vancouver 2010 website also provides information about the current construction status of all Games venues. This information will be important, not only for businesses looking for construction contracting and subcontracting opportunities, but also for potential suppliers of any of the numerous elements of the “overlay” required for the venue to serve its Games function.

The Vancouver 2010 website has an extensive section on sustainability. As mentioned in Module 2, VANOC’s sustainability objectives, which include provisions for Aboriginal participation, social inclusion and accessibility as well as environmental performance, are reflected directly in their purchasing policies and practices. The specific purchasing guidelines and processes related to sustainability may change over time, so businesses should review this website from time to time.

Finally, the Vancouver 2010 website tells you how to be included in VANOC’s procurement database or licensing database. Once you are registered, VANOC will attempt to notify you when an opportunity to bid arises in your field or product category. Take advantage of this feature to make sure VANOC purchasing staff know about your company’s specific capabilities and interests.

2010 Commerce Centre

The 2010 Commerce Centre website was established by the BC Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Secretariat. Its goal is to ensure that businesses and communities throughout the province of British Columbia are able to maximize the economic opportunities associated with hosting the 2010 Winter Games, and to assist British Columbia companies in leveraging the Olympic experience to develop new skills and new business relationships that will lead to increased trade and investment activity prior to, during, and long after 2010. The 2010 Commerce Centre’s website is a comprehensive tool that provides access to Games-related business opportunities and information to help you make the most of these opportunities.

The 2010 Commerce Centre lets you find bidding opportunities not only from VANOC, but also from all 2010 Winter Games–buying organizations, related infrastructure projects (such as the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre expansion and the Richmond Airport Vancouver Rapid Transit — the Canada Line), other national and international sporting events, and others.You can register online at no cost with the 2010 Commerce Centre to receive email notification of future bidding opportunities that match your company’s capabilities. The site also posts the winning bidders for these opportunities so you can identify potential subcontracting opportunities.

The 2010 Commerce Centre website provides a range of useful tools and resources to help businesses understand the business environment of the 2010 Winter Games and the procurement process being used in order to improve their chances of success. These include:

  • a 2010 business guide prepared by the Province of British Columbia and the RBC Financial Group
  • a sample VANOC RFP
  • a contractor’s guide for responding to RFPs issued by the Government of British Columbia
  • an e-Bid guide for submitting a bid through the BC Bid system
  • a series of success stories with best practice advice
  • notices of upcoming workshops and seminars on Games-related business opportunities

The website tracks the latest news related to the 2010 Winter Games, and you can register online to receive a copy of the 2010 Commerce Centre Newsletter.

If your business is based in British Columbia, you’ll find the 2010 Commerce Centre to be an invaluable resource. Even if your business is based elsewhere in Canada, you may find the information to be of interest. The 2010 Commerce Centre could be a particularly useful resource for exploring partnership opportunities with businesses in British Columbia.

Canada 2010 Marketplace

The Canada 2010 Marketplace website was established by the Government of Canada to provide businesses all across Canada with information on the business opportunities related to the 2010 Winter Games. Accessible in both official languages, it is operated as a special service of SourceCAN.

Through collaboration with VANOC and the 2010 Commerce Centre, SourceCAN offers convenient access to business opportunities related to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. In the Canada 2010 Marketplace you can browse or search current opportunities (and view previous opportunities and bid results) from VANOC and other Games-related sources.

To help you make the most of these opportunities, the Canada 2010 Marketplace also provides information on how to bid for 2010 Winter Games opportunities, and offers a library of related resources (including an electronic version of this handbook). For Aboriginal-owned businesses and Canadian companies interested in partnering with Aboriginal businesses, there is a special section on Aboriginal business opportunities.

With the Canada 2010 Marketplace you have the option of registering online for the full range of SourceCAN services, including email notification of bidding opportunities — from the entire range of SourceCAN international procurement partners — that fit your particular profile. (See the SourceCAN description below.)

Wherever in Canada your business is, you’ll find the Canada 2010 Marketplace to be a key resource for finding and capitalizing on 2010 Winter Games opportunities, and 2010 opportunities are just the beginning.

Other Online Sources of Bidding Opportunities

SOURCECAN

SourceCAN (www.rfpsource.com), a free e-marketplace operated by Industry Canada in partnership with other federal departments and agencies, matches Canadian products and services with thousands of business opportunities posted by domestic and foreign corporations and governments. International partners include the U.S. Department of Commerce, the European Union’s Tenders Electronic Daily, and numerous international financial institutions (such as the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the European Commission, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme). Through an international tender system, small and medium-sized Canadian companies can source bids, post opportunities and pursue strategic partnerships, all within a secure online trading environment. The Canada 2010 Marketplace is a special service of SourceCAN.

MERX

MERX is described as the most complete source of public tenders and private construction available in Canada. It strives to level the playing field so that businesses of any size can have easy and affordable access to billions of dollars in contracting opportunities with the Government of Canada, participating provincial and municipal governments, and the private sector. MERX is operated by a private company, and there are fees to use some of the advanced features of the system.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS AND AGENCIES

Provincial governments, agencies and Crown corporations also use the Internet to solicit bids for supplying goods and services. For example, BC Bid is an electronic network that gives you “one-window” access to information about selling to government. It offers information on Government of British Columbia bidding opportunities, as well as providing links to other purchasing departments, such as the Government of Canada, most other Canadian provinces, and many U.S. Pacific Northwest states. BC Bid also offers electronic notification of bidding opportunities.

Other public agencies such as federal Crown corporations, municipalities, universities and schools may keep source lists, so it is worthwhile to contact each agency individually to find out how it buys and whether it maintains its own source lists. Many organizations publish supplier brochures for companies that want to sell to them. All of this is available free of charge. However, for additional fees, you can sign up for more sophisticated features such as electronic notification of particular bidding opportunities.

MUNICIPAL WEBSITES

For Games-related opportunities at the municipal level, you may want to visit the individual municipal websites. While you are on their sites, you can check for similar or related opportunities of interest for your business. Some websites for municipalities that are directly involved in the 2010 Winter Games include:

SUMMARY OF KEY ONLINE SOURCES OF BIDDING OPPORTUNITIES

Here again are some of the main Internet-based resources for finding contracting opportunities:

Opportunity Area Source Website
Vancouver 2010 Winter Games VANOC www.vancouver2010.com
Vancouver 2010 Winter Games 2010 Commerce Centre www.2010CommerceCentre.gov.bc.ca
Vancouver 2010 Winter Games Canada 2010 Marketplace Canada 2010 Marketplace website
Government of British Columbia BC Bid www.bcbid.gov.bc.ca
National Public Sector MERX www.merx.com
National/International SourceCAN www.rfpsource.ca

Other Ways to Find Bidding Opportunities

Although websites have become the primary means by which government and businesses advertise their bidding opportunities, they are not the only way. Consider some of the other options as well.

Newspaper advertising is still a popular (and in some cases required) form of notification for bidding opportunities. Often, large bidding opportunities (those valued in excess of $500 000) are advertised in major national and French-language newspapers. Check out local, provincial or national newspapers and read the business section to see what is available.

Word of mouth is still sometimes the only way you will find out about an opportunity. Some small-value contracts may not be posted or advertised.You might come to know about the bid only by keeping in touch with purchasing managers and your business network, and by making your products and services known to organizations that you wish to do business with. Networking is priceless!

USE YOUR LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES

Start locally by tapping into the tools and services available from local or regional economic development groups. Their role as economic development agencies is to help you make your business successful. They can help with identifying opportunities for business, providing advice on potential strategic alliances and acting as channels for receiving new information on 2010 Winter Games-related opportunities. It can’t hurt to let other business people know of your interest to supply the Games — get them working for you!

Some of the key groups to include in your network are:

  • Canada Business Services for Entrepreneurs (www.canadabusiness.ca)
  • Community Futures Development Corporations (www.communityfutures.ca)
  • Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité (rdee.ca; in French only)
  • local or regional economic development offices
  • chambers of commerce

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Date Modified: 2009-12-15

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