The event manager should critically examine all that is needed for each event, and what resources and provision the customer really values. Is the item or service to be purchased absolutely essential for the event, either indirectly or directly? What exactly
Reflective practice 9.3 Consider Case study 9.2.
1. What benefits are there for each party to the ten-year agreement?
2. Chief Executive Paul Zilk says this agreement will allow adoption of a long-term strategy.
What might this be?
3. Who are the stakeholders?
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is required, and where can it be sourced from – internally or externally? If it can be pre- pared in-house, what is the cost of this provision and the effect on other activities within the organization? Is the product or service that is required needed for the smooth running of the organization or for a forthcoming event?
Silver (2004) believes that the event organizer should consider the time, money and human resources available. She gives the examples of having sufficient budget but very little time or few personnel to handle certain aspects of the event; or that there may be plenty of volunteers but very little money. The situation may therefore dictate whether products and services are provided from in-house or sourced externally.
Whatever the decision, it must ensure that the appropriate resources are sourced effec- tively and efficiently.
2. Prepare a specification/brief
O’Toole and Mikolaitis (2002) describe a specification as the written description of the required product or service. The suppliers use the specification document to estimate a price and to bid for the contract. However, many of the services required by an event manager are unique and non-standard products, and are not just bought ‘off the shelf’.
Thus the specification may only act as a guide. Indeed, it may be written only in terms that the organizer understands rather than those that the supplier is more accustomed to.
O’Toole and Mikolaitis (2002) believe that the specification can be described in three ways:
● By function, i.e. what it is supposed to do – for example, the caterers should provide a choice of dishes, the meal should be themed to the evening’s entertainment, and enable the customers to serve themselves.
● By technical description – for example, the caterer will supply sufficient food for 100 guests, all food and hygiene laws should be observed, hot food should be served at a minimum temperature of 72°C and cold food held at a maximum temperature of 5°C.
● By performance – for example, the food should be laid out in a buffet style and cleared within 45 minutes, and during this time staff should be on hand to keep the buffet tidy and replenished.
The technical specifications can be very detailed to prevent any misunderstanding. It is very difficult to compare bids from different companies where they are quoting against seemingly different specifications. Diagrams, floor plans and site maps are essential.
The invitation to bid must ensure that the quotation will contain all costs associated with the delivery and implementation of the service (Silver, 2004).
Other useful information for the potential suppliers could include the context and details of the event, the budget limitations, the selection criteria that will be used to select the supplier, and whether references are required (Silver, 2004).
Getz (1997) lists desirable items to be included:
● Specification liability clauses – i.e. who is responsible, and insurance requirements
● Future options for renewal
● Termination and amendment procedures
● Subcontracting rights
● Compliance with appropriate laws
● Penalties for non-fulfilment
● What is NOT covered.
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3. Lists of preferred suppliers
The selection of possible suppliers can be very time consuming, and it is therefore use- ful to have a list ready. Where the event management is part of a larger company, as in British Waterways, it may be beneficial to have agreed lists of suppliers or to share experiences with other organizations. O’Toole and Mikolaitis (2002) list some of the attributes that should be looked for:
● Reliability
● Suppliers’ experience with events of a similar size and scope
● The ability to focus on your event, and assurance that you are of the same impor- tance as other customers
● Guaranteed quality of the product or service
● History in the event industry
● Discounting for large orders.
4. Approaching and locating suppliers for a specification
As well as using the lists of preferred suppliers, event managers can use the Internet, membership directories, trade magazines and industry publications for recommended suppliers. Networking with other colleagues can guide the event manager to different and reliable sources. Prior to sending out the specifications to different suppliers, it is important to ascertain that they will be able to achieve your objectives. You must also make certain that the supplier is legally and ethically able to supply what you need. By providing an evaluation instrument at this stage you could reduce the number of sup- pliers you contact. This evaluation instrument should include price, number of staff required from the supplier or your own organization, and other critical success factors related to this part of the service.
In Chapter 10 we present an evaluation instrument. In the example shown there, it is used for selecting an ideal venue for your event. However, exactly the same prin- ciples can be used for any supplier. The main essence is that the criteria used to evalu- ate a service, location or product cannot just be measured by using equally weighted criteria. Price would be just one criteria; reputation, proximity, speed of delivery and creativity might be others. Each criterion should be weighted in its importance for that particular product or service, and consequently the event manager will be able to select suppliers and their services more appropriately.
Approaching specialists must be done carefully, and some specialists may need booking a long time in advance, and require a deposit and arrangements in the case of cancellation by either party (Shone and Parry, 2004).
5. Examination of the received quotations and fitness for purpose
In some situations, all the quotations received should be opened at an agreed time and place. This avoids any criticisms or charges of unfairness. All ‘quotes’ should be opened and considered as presented without having prior knowledge of their contents, and without giving one company a potentially unfair advantage over another. When the quotations are received, it should be ascertained that the companies are capable of ful- filling all the requirements of the activity for which they were asked to quote.
6. Comparison of in-house and external provision
The evaluation instrument described above and in Chapter 15 will serve to differenti- ate between the different tenders received. The purpose of this stage is to assess the capabilities of the supplier and the in-house provision, and to compare the strengths
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and weaknesses of the different quotations. You should be able to demonstrate that your choice of supplier is devoid of personal preference and prejudice. Your objective is to select reputable, dependable and competitive suppliers for a particular product or service – in short, the best that fits your purpose (Silver, 2004).