Sizewell C Supply Chain Part 1: Tender Process & Credentials

We talk to Suffolk Chamber to find out everything you need to know about the Sizewell C supply chain.

As you know, we’re always working hard to update you on the latest news and insights that might impact your bus or coach business. As road transport consultants, we’re here to help you with everything you need, from training and development to contract negotiations and outsourced transport management support.

From our headquarters here in Great Yarmouth, we’re seeing firsthand how the East of England is becoming a thriving hub for passenger and freight transport operations. It's exciting to see how huge projects such as the development of Sizewell C are having a positive impact on the local region.

With Sizewell C in mind, we know you have many questions about how to get involved with the supply chain. You’re wondering what credentials you need, what training is needed, and what the chances are of you being able to benefit from new contract wins as the project continues to develop over the next 5-10 years.

That’s why we have spoken directly with Ashley Shorey-Mills, Supply Chain Engagement Director at Suffolk Chamber of Commerce. Ashley kindly gave up his time to answer the questions that you’re most interested in.

Here’s part 1 of our exclusive Q&A about the Sizewell C supply chain, where you can find out more about the tender process itself, including the mandatory credentials your business will need to have in place.

Don’t forget to read [part 2 of our Q&A], where we’ll talk more about how bus and coach companies can get involved and [part 3 of our Q&A], where we talk more about staffing implications and contractual information.

Hi Ashley, thank you so much for talking with us. We really appreciate it. We know that there are a lot of questions about the Sizewell C development, and so many of our clients are hoping to get involved in the process. We want to start from the very beginning. Could you tell us what the first step-by-step process is for anyone who wishes to get involved in the project?

That’s not a problem! The first step for any business that wants to be involved in the Sizewell C project is to register on the local and regional supply chain portal. This is what we are running through the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce. It is specifically for businesses in the six counties of the East, so that's Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire.

The purpose of the portal is to be the first place where businesses can register and tell us that they’re interested in the project and want to be part of it. The data gathered within the portal is used by us, and also Sizewell and its Tier One contractors, to find which local and regional businesses are suitable for the various packages of work moving forward.

The portal is a useful way of seeing what opportunities are available locally. As a Chamber, we can identify the range of businesses interested in helping the project, learning what skills we have here in the region, and making sure that everyone is given the support that they need to prepare for a Sizewell contract.”

Presumably, there must be specific certifications and mandatory requirements that businesses need to have in place before they can even start thinking about the tender process. Can you tell us anything more about those, and whether there are any specific fast-track routes for suppliers who might already be working on public sector contracts, or those with nuclear credentials?

“This is something that we’re working on right now, and we’ll soon be able to publish the essential standards that businesses will need to work on Sizewell C. But, to give you an idea of what’s involved, it’s focusing on best practice standards.

Businesses must have accredited certifications in place, or at least be able to show that they are working towards those accreditations. We want to see businesses with accreditations such as ISO 45001, which is the standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS), or ISO 14001, which is the standard for environmental management systems (EMS).

Every sector is going to have its specifications, and we will communicate those in due course. But what we want to make clear is that if a business doesn’t have their specific accreditations from the outset, it doesn’t mean they can’t be included within the supply chain.

What we’re looking for is an accredited system or policy that is proven and auditable with clear plans in place to show that those accreditations are monitored, managed and reviewed. That way, once the business continues the journey through the contract process, the progression is there to see.

Within the transport sector specifically, businesses need to be FORS-accredited and meet the CLOCS Standard. If we look at the FORS accreditation, a bronze level might get you through the door, but ideally, you want to be able to demonstrate your silver or even gold capabilities.

If you don’t have that at the moment, that’s fine, but as I just mentioned, you need to be able to show that you are on a journey of growth and progression and taking active steps to improve your credentials.”

What happens if you’re falling short in some areas? Is there time to work on these requirements?

“Ultimately, everything needs to be designed to show that you can work on time and within budget, according to best-in-class practices. There are going to be a lot of standards that will be expected from the supply chain, and this will naturally differ and depend on what sector you’re working in. The portal itself will help you to see where you’re potentially falling short and what you need to do to strengthen your application, and as a Chamber, we’ll be looking at those areas to see what we can do to help.

But of course, there will be some things that are non-negotiable within the vetting and induction process.

• You will have to have a diversity and inclusivity policy.

• You will have to have an anti-bullying and harassment policy.

• You will have to have an employee code of conduct, anti-slavery policies and have policies in place for anti-bribery and corruption.

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Things like this, all businesses should have these as commonplace.”

What about cybersecurity and data protection? Presumably, that will also be a big thing to think about as a mandatory requirement?

“Considering the scope of the project. If you’ve got Cyber Essentials, then you’ll be deemed as ‘almost’ ready. What we need to see is that suppliers have Cyber Essentials Plus, or preferably, ISO 27001 accreditation. If they don’t have anything at all, their application will be rejected.

We know we have to take cybersecurity and data protection extremely seriously. Hackers will almost certainly be trying to target businesses within the supply chain, so every single business working on the Sizewell C project must be adhering to the strictest possible standards.”

How should companies use the regional supply chain portal (managed by the Chamber) and the CompeteFor portal to spot upcoming transport contracts and tailor their profiles for maximum visibility?

“The most important thing is that there will be two different platforms, and I think it's important that we've got the clarity of what each one does.

The first portal to register for is SizewellCsupplychain.co.uk, which is the platform that we run entirely as the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce. This is for local and regional businesses. It’s where we’re generating interest in the project and making sure that we know who has the skills and expertise to bring in, as the development progresses.

CompeteFor, in comparison, is specifically for all competitively tendered opportunities. This is where the start of the procurement process starts, and the expression of interest comes in.

In the transport and logistics sector, Sizewell will be appointing the lead logistics provider very, very soon – hopefully the announcement will be made this summer.  Businesses on both platforms need to make sure that their portal entries and company registrations are accurate and up to date, because both platforms are used, and will be increasingly used, regularly.

The more accurate you make them, the easier it is for people like us to find you. And when we're approached to say there is an opportunity here, we need a provider who is good at XYZ. We use the platforms to help at first showcase and potentially invite those businesses to events and make those connections.”

Can you walk us through a typical tender lifecycle, and what can everyone expect in terms of timelines and expectations?

“The tenders themselves are going through a four-stage process.

It will start with the expression of interest, which is where businesses are, in simple terms, putting their hands up and saying, ‘we’d like to be involved’. The procurement leads will look at everyone who has submitted interest and then decide who to move forward into the PQQ stage, which is the pre-qualification questionnaire.  Typically, this process will take between 1-2 weeks.

At the Pre-qualification stage, there will be very little detail about the technical delivery of the package of works. Instead, it’s more about looking into the details of who each potential supplier is from the perspective of Sizewell C or a Tier One contractor.  It’s critically assessing whether they think the potential supplier is someone they can work with? Are they ready for the role? Can they work safely? Are they financially viable? This process can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks. 

After that, there will be a process of evaluation, which can take many weeks before that list gets drilled down further to go to the invitation to tender stage. The number of businesses invited to tender will depend on the expectations of the workload and the quality of the PQQ submissions. It’s only when you get to the ITT stage that you need to clarify the technical details of how you would deliver the work itself. This is where you tell us about everything from your prices to your routes, your commitment to ESG, your social value and everything else that matters.

As you can expect, that process can take weeks and even months. The evaluation will be re-evaluated over and over again, which means that the overall tender process could be anywhere from 9-12 months.

What does this mean for the transport and logistics sector in particular?

“That’s an interesting question to ask, because the main Tier 1 contracts are very soon going to be appointed. Those companies have gone through almost a year of questioning and re-questioning to ultimately identify the right provider. That Tier 1 contractor now needs to have their supply chain, which will work for them. That’s why our work in identifying local and regional support is so important. The good news is that the route to working with them will be much quicker, and they’ll all have their own way to go to market. But within their tender submissions, they will have made their commitments to using local and regional firms.”