Local procurement is more than a submission trend post-Coronavirus.

There always seems to be a ‘flavour of the month’ in submissions that transcend the waves of new local, State, and/or national political drivers. We can hear the echo of these promises in tender returnables to address budding social, economic, and future-focused outcomes as newly appointed political candidates dictate their objectives.   

For years, submissions have been underpinned by efforts to enhance the liveability of our ever-growing population. Pre-2020, we were fixated on better builds for better futures. For our children’s children and a chain of generations that we don’t have naming conventions for.  

So, what changed our submissions from focussing future populace to a pandemic, from calm to Coronavirus? Melbourne endured 263 days of lockdown. People lost their jobs, their lives, and their ability to look to the future.  

Resultantly, we looked local. We looked at how we could support local businesses and residents. 

The questions in our tenders changed. Suddenly, we were being reactive, not proactive. We didn’t have time to look ahead, we had to look locally to survive and help others do the same. Our submissions started to focus on having a strong foothold in the region of the proposed works. If we have a local supply chain and local presence to leverage. If the majority percentage of our project team is on-site and local, not FIFO. Opportunities to bolster the skills of the region via traineeships, apprenticeships, and otherwise engaging local subcontractors and suppliers without relying on interstate resources and workers.  

Looking local is an important opportunity to replenish our local and/or State economy and society post-pandemic. It isn’t a trend or a new industry eye roll, it is a chance to genuinely give back to local companies, suppliers, subcontractors, and communities who experienced hardship during the pandemic. Unfortunately, we have witnessed a series of Tier 1 and 2 contractors take social procurement opportunities for granted to genuinely give back to the recovering communities and economies post-pandemic. Oppositely, we have seen Tier 3 and 4 contractors struggle to demonstrate their local presence and commitment to providing local employment, upskilling, or traineeship opportunities.  

It is natural for our Struber Tender team to focus on larger societal needs vs individual needs. That's what creates real legacy and positive impact for the longevity of client portfolios. For our Struber Tender team, it is easy to package this up into a compelling response because, well; we want to help your organisation find ways to better the local community, workforce, and economy. We want all the residents in the vicinity of the proposed works to ease back into having construction noise around them. We want people to feel capable, skilled, and confident again in revisiting their trade or feeling liberated in building a new one with skills transference.  

With the additional smarts of our own caring and passionate team of Stakeholder and Communications Experts (SMEs), Struber provides a special touch in unlocking the true potential of these returnables. A key differentiator of ours is that we can provide early engagement strategy and implementation, social impact assessment and planning, and communications and stakeholder engagement, to only name a few of our leading services. This is integral to informing your future social procurement returnables and shapes the uniqueness of our tender support offering. Ultimately, we have the smarts to advise on countless opportunities to demonstrate how you intend to give back to the community and to make this a truly personable piece.   

Every Struber tender comes with a cohort of bright Consultants and our genuine commitment to leaving the community of your future successful projects brighter than you left it. And if local procurement is the flavour of the month, Struber will be tasting it for years to come.  

Looking to get the Bright taste of Struber tender services? Let's chat! connect@struber.com.au