Page 1 of 20 Open tender Reference: 2012-BB-SALES-13 Marketing Birmingham Lead Generation Chinese Market Project description and tender October 2012 Marketing Birmingham Baskerville House Centenary Square Broad St Birmingham B1 2ND T: +44 (0) 121 202 5115 W: www.marketingbirmingham.com
Page 2 of 20 CONTENTS SECTION ONE - Tender information Background Contract information Tender specification and value 3 3 4 SECTION TWO - Tender process Tender response requirements 9 Evaluation criteria 10 Process and timescales Conditions of tender 11 12 Appendix A (for completion as part of the tender application process) Appendix B (for completion as part of the tender application process) Appendix C Supplier information (for completion) Supplier financial information (for completion) 14 Business Birmingham project overview 13 15 Appendix D (for use if submitting by post) Envelope label for submission by post 19
Page 3 of 20 SECTION ONE tender information 1.1 Background Marketing Birmingham is the area s strategic marketing partnership and operates the leisure and business tourism programmes, Visit and Meet Birmingham as well as its inward investment programme, Business Birmingham. These programmes promote Birmingham and its wider area, including the Black Country and Solihull. Marketing Birmingham and ERDF partners (The Association of Black Country Authorities Consortium, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Birmingham International Airport, DanceXchange and Southside BID) have been awarded European Regional Development Funding for the period up until 2014. This tender aims to appoint a lead generation agency to fulfill all ERDF lead generation requirements as outlined in this tender until the end of September 2014. This document contains: (1) Contract information - for reference only - Background to Marketing Birmingham and the programme area - Project briefing (2) Tender specifications - response required - You will need to respond to the requirements listed, considering the evaluation criteria specified and - You will need to respond via the process and timelines as indicated 1.2 Contract information This contract will be procured and managed by Marketing Birmingham and includes requirements from other project partners. The company is public/private funded by Birmingham City Council and the European Regional Development Fund as well as a number of private sector partners from across the area s visitor and wider business community. Business Birmingham is contracted to deliver specific job creation targets for the city region. It is our aim that the successful bidder owns the collective target for the company relative to the geography represented by the agency partner. Success will therefore be predicated on the joint achievement with the sales team in Birmingham of the overall target. ERDF programme outputs include: Job creation Value of inward investment Business support to SME s Increase the volume and value of visitors
Page 4 of 20 1.3 Tender specification The purpose of the tender is to appoint a supplier for the services related to lead generation to support requirements for Marketing Birmingham and ERDF partners (The Association of Black Country Authorities Consortium, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Birmingham International Airport, DanceXchange and Southside BID) for the period up until the end of September 2014. Marketing Birmingham has a number of funding sources; for the purposes of clarity this contract only relates to ERDF programme activity. The scope: The scope of the project focuses on lead generation activity for Business Birmingham aimed at potential investors for Birmingham and/or Solihull and/or the Black Country, specific to CHINA. The lead generation activity includes the role of Business Birmingham s strategic business development partner as well as front end sales partner in the above geographical areas by: Building a sustainable pipeline of prospects Attending selective trade shows and sales missions (please see appendix C) Interacting with multipliers such as UKTI Representing Business Birmingham to potential leads Building programmes and setting up meetings with sales ready leads via: o Meeting programmes at or around trade shows (see Appendix C for an events calendar). o Meeting programmes around Business Birmingham s own promotional sales activity, such as dedicated country missions. Arranging the following support related to the above meetings and programmes: o Provide lead qualification information for each proposed meeting (for a breakdown of required information see below) o Set up meetings between Business Birmingham and leads o Support the Business Birmingham team with timely follow-up, management and support of leads Providing market research and intelligent targeting of potential investors Providing market intelligence on trends and developments related to this project Providing a high level of account management and detailed, regular reports
Page 5 of 20 Value: The anticipated spend for this contract is up to the value of 87,500 excl VAT. The current budget allocation set per year = December 2012 November 2013 50,000 December 2013 September 2014 37,500 Project duration: The project duration is for the period from December 2012 to the end of September 2014. Annual reviews will take place to ensure that the agreed high levels of services are maintained. Marketing Birmingham reserves the right to terminate this agreement should any of the requirements fail to be met, providing 3 months notice in all other than exceptional circumstance and the same notice from the successful applicant is required. Contract structure and outputs: All outputs from the above scope of the contract are to focus on providing qualified leads. The definitions of leads and projects are provided below. The contract consists of a retained element and success element. The structure for this is not prescribed. Agencies are requested as part of their response to provide competitive and compelling proposals in terms of: o o o o Measurable outputs in terms of number of generated qualified leads Cost Approach Available resource (see also 2.1 tender response requirements).
Page 6 of 20 Lead qualification To ensure we contact the right companies, the following criteria should be met when filtering potential opportunities: Companies must be foreign owned (over 51% ownership) Existing trade (import/export) with UK or Europe The contact list must contain the following information as a minimum: Filters described above Company name Sector Address Website (URL) Contact name and title (senior executive likely to have an influence on the decision to invest, expand or retain foreign direct investment) Telephone contact details (switchboard number/direct dial) Email address (where possible) The contact list should also be supported by the following information: A valid business reason for approaching the company based on research into the company Information or research that will support the contact activity Lead definition A LEAD describes a contact that is sales ready. The definition of a LEAD is: A company that is, or will be, evaluating/considering the establishment of a new physical presence outside of their home market where Europe/UK is a potential location for this investment. The timeline for the investment is 24 months or less and the company has expressed an interest in speaking with Business Birmingham. Specifically a Sales Ready Lead must meet the following criteria: - A company that is evaluating/considering the establishment of a new physical presence outside of their home market (Inward Investment) and in addition a company who may be evaluating/considering growing an existing investment in Birmingham. - Where Birmingham is a potential location for this investment. - The timeline for the investment is 12-24 months or less
Page 7 of 20 - The company has expressed an interest in speaking with Business Birmingham to discuss the investment. Lead qualification process In order for the relevant Business Development Manager at Business Birmingham to review the quality of the proposed lead, the following information must be confirmed and submitted to Business Birmingham to be reviewed for acceptance/rejection in advance of the proposed meeting: Lead qualification criteria: As specified above Problem: What problem or opportunity will be solved by international expansion in Birmingham/UK/Europe? Budget: Are funds available for international expansion? o Yes Budget/funding available o No Budget/funding required Authority: What influence does the contact have over the decision? Need: What stage are the company at in the decision-making process? o Not started o Early days o Short listing alternatives o Decision made Timescale: When does the client want the international expansion to be completed? o < 6 months o < 12 months o < 18 months o < 24 months o > 24 months Competition: What alternative locations are they considering, if any? Engagement: How can Business Birmingham add value? o Business case and set-up o Property o People o Networks
Page 8 of 20 Project definition A PROJECT describes a sales ready lead that meets the minimum requirements of a lead as outlined above and has been progressed through direct handling by a Business Birmingham Business Development Manager to the point at which it enters delivery phase. A project enters delivery phase when at least 2 of the following has been confirmed: An investment will be made within 12 months Details of at least two out of the following are known: o Potential employment; o Property requirements. o Production of a business plan Agency support by Business Birmingham Business Birmingham will help the lead generator determine the most effective contact tactics. This will include: Proposition: a review of the proposition you will be approaching the client with Collateral Questions: relevant questions to help the lead generator uncover opportunities and qualify sales ready leads Objection handling: how to handle common objections (i.e. cost) Materials: relevant content and information to support dialogue and engagement
Page 9 of 20 SECTION TWO tender process 2.1 Tender response requirements Interested parties are asked to provide the most competitive proposal in terms of the structure and approach of the scope of this contract, and to provide the following information as part of their response: 1) Contribution to tender elements - Provide background with the elements. 2) Understanding of tender scope - A brief understanding of the tender scope, as well as a demonstrable understanding of the potential scope of the project and those issues that will be critical to the implementation, development and long term sustainability of the project 3) Business activities - Your history in the sector(s) tendered for. In the case where consortia are tendering then details of all parties should be supplied. 4) Evidence of experience - Evidence of your experience and success in similar projects identifying inward investment leads and enquiries for IPAs. This should include a) details of approach, b) results / investments generated c) details of how the project handover process was managed with the IPA. 5) Three relevant case studies with references - These will demonstrate the quality of relevant expertise, outcomes of these projects, evidence of your experience of working with UK-related inward investment projects and demonstrate your knowledge of current UK inward investment drivers and trends. 6) Project management How you will manage the account with Business Birmingham. This should include a timetable of events to be attended in China and associated costs of travel and subsistence. 7) Account team The qualifications, experience, expertise and skills of the individuals assigned to the tender scope. In the case where consortia are tendering then details of all parties should be supplied. 8) Cost a) A competitive and detailed breakdown of costs of the project, to include all management, service, research, travel, expenses and accommodation (if applicable) and further related costs. b) A competitive structure for the contract which offers the opportunity for; i) a retained element - of which the value is payable upon appointment of the agency. The agency is to supply as part of their response a proposal for the value of this retained element. ii) a measurable success element of which the value is payable upon successful delivery of a specific number of qualified leads delivered by the agency.
Page 10 of 20 The agency is to supply as part of their response a proposal for the number of qualified leads to be delivered and the value of the (proportional) payment for delivery of (part of) these leads. 9) Company and financial information - Please complete Appendices A and B. 2.2 Evaluation criteria How do we select from the response received? We will check each submission and rank contractors according to the following criteria: Criteria 1 Financial stability and quality of response (all requested information is listed under 2.1 tender response requirements) 15% Criteria 2 Methodology, planning and management 25% Criteria 3 Cost 20% Criteria 4 Relevant experience and demonstrated understanding 40%
Page 11 of 20 2.3 Process and timescales Step one advertise tender brief Step two tender brief deadline Tuesday 6 th November 2012 Companies must respond to tender brief and proposal requirements and submit their proposal to be received by Marketing Birmingham no later than 12:00 noon on Monday 26 th November 2012. Specify your company name, lead contact person and email address to be used for correspondence throughout the whole procurement process. You have a choice of two response methods, either: 1- By post: OR Please send your response in a neutral and plain A3 or A4 envelope. Use the label provided in appendix D and add the tender reference. Attach the label securely to the plain envelope avoiding any other distinctive markings. 2- By email: Compile your response in ONE digital document, either Word or PDF. This document can not be larger than: 10 MB. In the subject matter please put: o (a) The tender code and o (b) your company name. If this is not included and/or the response is not provided as one digital document we cannot guarantee your response will be processed. Email to: tenders@marketingbirmingham.com
Page 12 of 20 Step three - evaluation of proposal and interview stage Notification of successful tender All responses will be evaluated against pre-identified criteria. Notification of the results of the tenders will be made on Monday 3 rd December 2012. Successful companies will be shortlisted to interview stage. This will be undertaken via a small panel and completed by Tuesday 11 th December 2012 Notification of successful tender will be made and the successful company will be notified by Tuesday 11 th December 2012 Project Initiation Wednesday 12 th December 2012 2.4 Conditions of tender This project is (partially) funded via the European Regional Development Fund, and follows the ERDF public procurement procedure as outlined on http://europa.eu. Marketing Birmingham reserves the right to split the contract and award different elements to multiple suppliers. All intellectual property rights relating to the above described deliverables will be assigned to Marketing Birmingham. Marketing Birmingham has a number of funding sources; for the purposes of clarity this contract only relates to ERDF programme activity. Additionally, it should be noted that the corporate commercial programme sometimes involves contra deals which would remain outside this contract. A review will take place place after 9 months to ensure that the agreed high level of service is maintained and thereafter annually. Marketing Birmingham reserves the right to terminate this agreement should any of the requirements fail to be met, providing 3 months notice in all other than exceptional circumstance and the same notice from the successful applicant is required.
Page 13 of 20 APPENDIX A SUPPLIER TO COMPLETE Supplier information - Please complete the following form: a. Name of the company (Prime or single contractor) in whose name the tender would be submitted: b. Contact name: c. Address: d. Telephone number: e. Fax number: f. E-mail Address: g. Company Registration number: h. Date of Registration: i. Registered address (if different from above): j. VAT registration number: k. Website address:
Page 14 of 20 APPENDIX B SUPPLIER TO COMPLETE Financial information - Please complete the following financial form and ensure you provide the requested information as part of your submission: a) i. A copy of the most recent audited accounts for your organisation that cover the last two years of trading or for the period that is available if trading for less than two years. ii. If the company has been trading for less than a year management accounts to date are required. iii. In addition to (ii) forecasted management accounts are also required. NB. If you have been trading for less than a year and are therefore unable to provide point i and ii, please ensure that you submit point iii, as no information will result in loss of scoring b) If the organisation is a subsidiary of a group, the above information is required for both the subsidiary and the ultimate parent. Where a consortium or association is proposed, the information is requested for each member company. Please provide only if applicable. c) Where appropriate it may be necessary to request inter-company guarantees. Please provide consent. d) The name and address of your banker.
Page 15 of 20 APPENDIX C Business Birmingham Business Birmingham aims to position the city and wider region, including the Black Country and Solihull, as a leading inward investment location. The programme aims to create a sustainable pipeline of projects from national and international markets that will convert enquiries into real investment and be responsible for attracting 12,000 new employment opportunities to Birmingham by 2015. Its specialist inward investment team helps potential investors put together a convincing case for setting up business in Birmingham. It aims to help investors benefit from the city s strong enterprise culture, provide a link to establishing or growing a presence in the city and act as the access point to Birmingham s business networks. Areas of competitive advantage Location Birmingham has a central location in the UK with excellent connectivity o the city is at the heart of the transport network, easy to get to/from, well connected both domestically and internationally o the city has an effective public and highways transport system More connections are being developed further such as the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street Station, High Speed II and Birmingham Airport developments. Scale - Birmingham offers a 1.3 million working population within a 30 minute drive, and a 4.3 million working population within 1 hour drive. The diverse local economy boasts 42,000 companies from a wide range of sectors from automotive and manufacturing to electronics and computing. Developments - Birmingham continues to evolve and has established a proven track record of delivery. Best practice examples include e.g. being the first BT Wireless City, the Big City Plan, Brindleyplace, Mailbox, the Bullring and the 35m Digital Plaza at Birmingham Science Park Aston. The ongoing regeneration of Birmingham provides differentiation compared to other cities and the planned developments will position the city ahead of competitors. Other key areas of the city s competitive advantage include the city s youth, talent pool and expertise. Further details can be found at www.businessbirmingham.com The Business Birmingham brand proposition = a city powered by the energy of youth, imagination, enterprise, cultural fusion and ideas, creating the perfect place for your business to succeed. This position comes from the concept of enterprising & energetic the diagram below outlines the brand temple, which will be used as a reference tool throughout all sales, marketing and communication activity. Page 15 of 20
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Page 17 of 20 Strategic priority Jobs Business Birmingham s performance is measured by the number of jobs created in assisting foreign businesses in their setting up/expanding into Birmingham. Therefore it is extremely important to focus on those projects that forecast a large number of jobs. Although there is no minimum number of jobs for which Business Birmingham would accept to work on a project, Key Accounts are priority targets for Business Birmingham and the relative success of a campaign will be measured on the ability to deliver this type of investment. Key Accounts must meet one of the following criteria: A company that has a high profile/demonstrated industry leadership Global employee count >1000 Global Revenues > 75m Potential to make an investment in Birmingham of >50 jobs Stakeholders Business Birmingham works with a number of stakeholders, including a mix of private and public sector partners, to help it deliver effective place marketing of Birmingham and the region. Its public and private stakeholder partnership aims to: Develop a unified approach to total place marketing in Birmingham and the region Create a clear vision and narrative for the city and the region Align public and private sector funds to ensure a more effective deployment of the resources spent on place marketing in Birmingham and the region Create alignment of place marketing campaigns within the city Provide added value to Marketing Birmingham s members Identification of the key public and private sector partners, and indirect influencers, involved in the delivery of place marketing within the city include, but are not limited to the following: Stakeholder Function Link Birmingham City Funder Council European Regional Development Fund Funder Birmingham City Council is the largest local authority in the UK and the largest council in Europe with 120 councilors representing 40 wards www.birmingham.gov.uk Birmingham Universities Foreign Embassies UKTi Joined up sales approach Commercial members Multiplier Intermediaries Multiplier Intermediaries Three universities, Aston University, Birmingham City University and University of Birmingham. Two university colleges: Newman University College and University College Birmingham. Relationships with key consuls at embassies and High Commissions of geographical target markets. UK Trade & Investment (UKTi) works with UKbased businesses to ensure their success in Page 17 of 20
Page 18 of 20 international markets, and encourage the best overseas companies to look to the UK as their global partner of choice. www.ukti.gov.uk CBI Lobbying The Confederation of British Industry's mission is to help create and sustain the conditions in which businesses in the United Kingdom can compete and prosper for the benefit of all. It is the premier lobbying organisation for UK business on national and international issues. It works with the UK government, international legislators and policy-makers to help UK businesses compete effectively. www.cbi.org.uk Page 18 of 20
Page 19 of 20 APPENDIX D Envelope label for postal response Page 19 of 20
TENDER CODE PLEASE INSERT: Procurement Marketing Birmingham Baskerville House - Ground floor Centenary Square Broad St Birmingham B1 2ND UNITED KINGDOM Page 20 of 20 Page 20 of 20