29th November 2011

In September 2011, 40% of government contracts were agreed with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), compared with only 5% in January, according to John Collington, the government’s chief procurement officer. SMEs are truly on the rise and the NOA are determined to ensure that they have the events, opportunities and resources to stand out throughout the upcoming year.

The NOA SME steering committee was chaired by Bharat Vagadia, NOA Representative for SMEs, who steered the committee through the following agenda items:

 Key issues facing UK SMEs with respect to the use of outsourcing

 Key issues facing UK SMEs with respect to the supply of outsourcing services to the SMEs

 Top priorities for the industry

 Top priorities for the NOA

 Key themes that should be covered at the seminar

It was agreed that a standard definition of a SME would be useful. Attendees discussed which organisations could help the NOA which included the European Union of Business, Federation of Small Businesses and the Chambers of Commerce.

Outsourcing as a term should be broken down and become more user friendly for SMEs. Smaller organisations believe they don’t have the capability to organise outsourcing requirements however a series of ‘checklists’ and ‘guides’ may prove them wrong and be helpful for start-up companies. SMEs primarily want to know if they are getting a fair deal and where they can get more information.

Key Issues facing UK SMEs with respect to the use of outsourcing

 Knowledge of outsourcing process – where to start

 Expertise in outsourcing – how to manage successfully

 Expertise of contracting and managing the diet

 Lack of skills – e.g. programme management

 Tools and templates – what to outsource, legal templates etc

Key Issues facing UK SMEs with respect to the supply of outsourcing services to SMEs

 Marketing channels – how to get to potential customers

 Sales – how to engage potential buyers

 Educating the customer – benefits of outsourcing

 Gaining trust – against the larger players

 A specific issue in the public sector

The steering committee concluded with suggestions for the NOA to make itself more SME friendly. The following points will be discussed at a board level and fed back at the next meeting:

NOA Suggestions

 SME / NOA Linked in forum

 SME Checklist / FAQ

 Public Sector / SME case studies and speakers

 Briefing papers on a variety of outsourcing topics

 SME focus on NOA website – focus on education

 Tool and templates

 Informal networking events

 BSI sponsored events

 Online survey to all SMEs

 Summit SME focus – breakfast briefings and breakout

To view the slides from this event, please visit http://www.noa.co.uk