Olympic Gold

For athletes, the 2012 Olympic Games is a chance to take their place on the podium and bask in glory as the medals are handed out. And for the rest of us?

Well, UK London Olympics will certainly provide the most impressive spectacle that we’ve witnessed for a considerable time, if ever – but there is also an unparalleled commercial opportunity.

While all eyes are currently on Beijing, the preparations for 2012 are well underway, and that will mean a bonanza for UK companies.

The headline figures are mouthwatering. According to research published by Lloyds TSB Business, the London Olympics will boost the British economy to the tune of £21bn between now and 2012. And while the early stages of the project will mostly benefit the construction, transport and telecoms sectors, the nature of the work required will become much more diverse as the countdown to the event continues. Interior fittings, stationery, promotional merchandising, marketing, accountancy – name the product or service and London 2012 will need it. The upshot is that whatever sector your business operates in, there could be a chance to sample a slice of
the Olympic pie.

The question is, of course, how do you book yourself a place at the table? Well the good news is that the Olympic Delivery Agency (ODA) has made a real effort to ensure that the work on offer will not be distributed exclusively to a handful of major corporates, and even now businesses like yours are beginning to reap the rewards.

“Of the contracts awarded so far, more than half have gone to small and medium-sized companies,” a spokesman for the ODA told Growing Business.

If size is no bar to winning Olympic gold, then neither is geography. As Stephen Pegg of Lloyds TSB Business points out, the economic benefits of the Games will spread far beyond the South East, with contracts awarded on the merits of the businesses in question rather than their proximity to East London.

“The tendering process is open to companies from anywhere in Britain – indeed, anywhere in the world,” he
says. “What really matters is whether or not your company has prepared itself and is in a good position to win Olympic contracts.”

Identifying opportunity

Gill Thorpe, managing director of promotional merchandising company The Sourcing Group, agrees. She is also vice chair of the British Promotional Merchandising Association (BPMA), a trade organisation that has been advising its members on how best to exploit the 2012 opportunity. She stresses the importance of making an early start on grooming your company for the tendering process. “Don’t wait,” she says. “If you’re considering pitching for work, you should be preparing now.”

Part of this process involves identifying the opportunities that are relevant to your business. On the face of it, this is no easy task. The ODA itself has a relatively small number of contracts (around 7,000) to hand out, and most of these will go to big players. However, the agency estimates that once the top tier contractors get their own Olympic work in motion, the resultant web of supply chains will amount to around 75,000 business opportunities.

“It’s all about getting on this supply chain,” says Ruth Nightingale, partnership manager at Business Link in London, which offers help and support to growing businesses. “You have to remember that the economic opportunity is not just about the event itself, but also about supplying those who are making it happen.”

All well and good, but amid this frenzy of activity, how do you pinpoint the niche that your business can fill?

Nightingale advises that your first port of call should be the London2012.com website, which provides a timetable of contracts on offer, and the companies they’ve been awarded to. The next step is to make your own business visible to the main contractors. “The simplest way to do this is to register on the companion site Competefor2012.com,” Nightingale adds.

The registration process involves answering a number of questions about your company, and once you’ve done that, the site will match the services that you offer (based on the profile you’ve posted) with any work that is either already out to tender or coming on stream. While you can see the relevant contractors, they can also see you, and either party can then approach the other.

“Once contact has been made, you will be asked to place an official tender on the ODA system,” says Nightingale.

 The good news is that this matchmaking process appears to be working. For instance, ecologically friendly work surface manufacturer Glasseco has been determinedly chasing Olympic contracts. “We’ve registered on the ODA site,” says director Bill Bradley. “We check every day and proactively approach companies that have been awarded contracts.” The result so far has been a number of positive meetings with contractors (notably architects and construction firms), all of which are possible buyers for Glasseco’s products.

“We began preparing to pitch for Olympic business around 18 months ago – from observing the contracts market and keeping an eye on who is being awarded what,” says business development manager Colin Bensley. “We are currently tendering for business with some of the major players. The tender process takes around six months, and if we’re successful we’ll be on site within eight months from now.”

The indirect approach

That’s the official route, but it’s not the only way to win Olympic work. Television services provider Portland TV is pitching its Olympic bid at media organisations, arguing that it is ideally placed to provide studios and satellite links once coverage of the games is underway.

“We view it as a real opportunity,” says managing director Paul Dunthorne. “We have access to every satellite in the world, and because we’re based in Docklands, we are much closer to the event than the official media centre.”

Portland is aiming its offer at second-tier broadcasters – those that don’t have the rights to cover the event live, but who will still be reporting on it – and it is contacting potential customers directly rather than registering with the ODA. This has been possible because Dunthorne and his team know the industry well, and can use events, such as the annual television festival at Cannes, to publicise its service. “We’ve already generated interest,” he adds.

Are you READY?

In many respects, pitching for Olympic work is not dissimilar to tendering for a contract from any large organisation. First and foremost, buyers will want to be assured that you can deliver on time and at the volumes required.

“They will be looking at your people and your expertise,” says Gill Thorpe, “but most of all they’ll be looking for evidence that you’ve successfully handled projects of a similar size.”

So even if you have the skills and the financials in place, its well worth ensuring that you can offer case studies and client testimonials.

Compliance with best practice is also a prerequisite. “Once you tender, you will be asked about your policies and you will be expected to meet the criteria of the buyer,” says Ruth Nightingale.

Most of these criteria will be familiar to any company that has bid for work from a large organisation. In addition to must-haves such as public liability insurance, evidence that you have achieved ISO standards or won Investors in People accreditation will certainly help your cause, as will a commitment to sustainable business practice.

“Our advice is to make yourself the best company you can be,” adds Nightingale.

Finally, be prepared to demonstrate that your business has the finances and resources in place to handle an Olympic contract. As Stephen Pegg points out, the sheer scale of the event means that, for some companies, this could represent the biggest influx of work yet experienced. “You need to think about investment and cash flow issues,” he says.

There is also the question of capacity. “If we get work on the scale we’re hoping to, we won’t be doing anything else but the Olympics for around three months,” says Paul Dunthorne.

He doesn’t see that as an insurmountable problem as high summer tends to be a quiet time for his company, but many businesses will be faced with the problem of handling a major one-off contract, while keeping existing customers on side. Others, particularly in the construction sector, may have problems recruiting sufficient numbers of skilled staff.

Denis Hird, chief executive of training provider JTL, observes: “It is important for employers to review their future workload and plan accordingly. Especially in terms of having the qualified staff available to undertake both new and existing business.”

So, if necessary, seek advice from your bank, business advisor or, indeed, Business Link. “We are here to help businesses deal with the planning issues thrown up by the Olympics,” says Nightingale.

Onwards and upwards

You’ve won the business, the games come and go, so what’s next? According to Nightingale, there is real potential to use the Olympics as a means to go on to better things. “London 2012 is intended to have an economic legacy, and companies should think of working on the games as a springboard,” she says.

Gill Thorpe agrees that you should think beyond the event. “The tender process will help you create a better company, and once you win a contract there is great case study and testimonial opportunity,” she says. “In addition, there are huge networking possibilities. All of this means that winning Olympic work should be a very positive thing.”

Indeed, as Bill Bradley observes: “It’s a global showcase. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?”