Supply Chain Small and Medium Enterprise Engagement
A scheme intended to ensure greater opportunities by removing barriers which may be perceived when engaging with larger companies.
Liaise, Innovate, Network & Collaborate (LINC)
This initiative was set up by Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) to encourage SMEs to collaborate with each other at a local and national level to deliver innovative solutions that support the Dounreay decommissioning programme. The scheme is intended to ensure greater opportunities by removing barriers which may be perceived when engaging with larger companies (risk of staff/expertise poaching, intellectual property etc).
SMEs have been invited to self-register on the DSRL website, providing information about their company, areas of expertise and contact details. Work packages are identified, focussing on the various challenges faced across the site and details are sent directly to all the companies who have registered. Since its launch, over 230 SME companies have registered, 7 opportunities have been offered, 4 contracts have been awarded, all won by SMEs, and 3 are still to be announced.
A winning company has since progressed to work with one of DSRL’s main subcontractors and has now completed a large on-site cladding job.
The initiative has subsequently been adopted and further developed by Sellafield Limited to meet its own local requirements. 465 suppliers (including 366 SMEs) have registered and 45 contracts have been awarded with a cumulative value of £1.85 million.
Business and Technical Solutions Marketplace
Low Level Waste Repository Limited (LLWR Limited) introduced a simplified electronic purchasing system, known as the Business Services Marketplace, to particularly help local businesses and SMEs to pursue opportunities that may have previously been unavailable or too difficult to access due to the time and scale of framework opportunities (see Socio-Economics).
150 suppliers registered for the Business Services Marketplace and contracts with a cumulative value of £17.5 million were awarded under the scheme.
The system was updated and relaunched as the Business and Technical Solutions Marketplace in January 2020 to deliver professional services in 13 categories across all business areas. Since the relaunch, 76 suppliers have registered for the new scheme, including 45 SMEs (60%). 11 contracts have been awarded (4 to SMEs) and there are another 4 current opportunities.