The 'London 2012 Business Network' launched

The ‘London 2012 Business Network’ was launched today to help companies across the UK compete for thousands of business opportunities helping deliver the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The ‘London 2012 Business Network’, is accessible at www.london2012.com/business and aims to help help businesses of all types to compete for London 2012 business opportunities direct with London 2012 or with its suppliers.

The London 2012 Business Network has three component parts: essential information on upcoming opportunities and how to supply London 2012; business events; and the new ‘CompeteFor’ service, a business ‘dating agency’ that will match companies to thousands of opportunities supplying London 2012 contractors. Up to a fifth of London 2012 supply chain opportunities are expected to go through the CompeteFor system.

Competing for £6billion worth of London 2012 contracts

It's expected that over £6bn of work as part of an estimated 75,000 future business opportunities will be up for grabs over the coming years.

LOCOG Chairman Seb Coe said: 'Delivering the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is a massive logistical operation, requiring goods and services from a large number of firms. Businesses the length and breadth of the country will win contracts.

'The London 2012 Business Network will will enable companies to compete for the thousands of contracts that will be available and make sure companies the length and breadth of the country are aware of and can prepare for the opportunities that staging the Games in London in 2012 will bring.'

ODA Chairman John Armitt added, ‘The ODA has already let contracts worth over £1 billion, most of these opportunities have been won by small and medium sized companies and around half are based outside of London.

How ‘CompeteFor’ works

The ‘CompeteFor’ service will give businesses throughout the UK the opportunity to access contracts related to London 2012.

ODA and LOCOG will advertise their direct contract opportunities online through ‘CompeteFor’ and companies at every level of the London 2012 supply chain will be encouraged to advertise their supplier opportunities through ‘CompeteFor’.

After registering basic company information on the CompeteFor website any interested business can view the opportunities advertised. Companies can then complete a business profile, which involves answering a series of simple questions, to be able to compete for opportunities.

A company’s business profile is automatically tested against a small number of minimum standards in areas such as health and safety. If these requirements are not met the company is automatically referred to tailored business support to help improve their performance. This service is provided by Business Link in England, and the support services in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Once a company’s profile is successfully published on ‘CompeteFor’ they are automatically matched to opportunities that suit their business and invited, by email, to apply for them by filling out a short, tailored application form. The buyer advertising the contract then selects a shortlist of companies and invites them to formally tender through the buyer’s own procurement system.

Details of the winning bidder(s) are published on ‘CompeteFor’ and unsuccessful bidders receive feedback from the buyer. Throughout the process local business support agencies are on hand to help companies maximise their chances of success.