Why You Should Retender Your Pest Control Contract During Lockdown

Tendering for your Pest Control contract can be time consuming and difficult at the best of times, and during the current pandemic may almost seem impossible. Many organisations have almost stopped procurement activity and have extended contracts during this uncertain time, even though they are desperate to save money.

Re-tendering your Pest Control service provides an opportunity to explore cost savings through different and flexible operating models, and if the exercise is properly structured, can be one of the easiest tenders to operate, and will leave you with a model in place ready for when the economy surges back in what many people expect will be a post-Covid boom.

Why should I tender my Pest Control?

There are many other reasons why you should be tendering your Pest Control contract.

• Whilst buildings are in limited use or activity is suspended, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the pests don’t know that. In October, 78 per cent of pest controllers polled reported increased rat sightings, with 63 per cent noting a rise in mouse-related incidents. Fast forward to the New Year and plunging temperatures around the start of the third lockdown will be certain to have had an impact on pest numbers too.

• Pest Control is a keyworker service, and so the best providers are very experienced in Covid-safe working, through their experience servicing and protecting high-risk organisations such as Care Homes and the NHS and through providing related services such as anti-viral deep cleaning and treatments.
• The risks of changing suppliers are less currently when buildings are less active than for some other sectors.
• Pest Control is a service that can be procured remotely
• You will get a better deal now because suppliers really need business to sustain employment
• You will get a better bid because suppliers have more time to focus on quality content
• You get a free alternative view of your pest control model if you are open to alternative proposals
• You can build in flexibility, and build in smart monitors for remote monitoring of closed or mothballed buildings
• Pest Control is one of those services that can more easily be tendered without site visits, if the right information is provided
• You get the opportunity to take a fresh approach to managing risk by different models and focussing on outcomes rather than focussing on KPI’s related to inputs

All this makes the case for making sure your Pest Control is fit for purpose and that the right Pest Risk Management model is in place ready for when the economy surges back in what many people anticipate will be a post-Covid boom.

Pre-Tender

• Consider a PQQ tom produce a small shortlist of companies, rather than going straight into a full tender.
• Pest Control works best when the client and the supplier develop a great working relationship with a shared and common goal of achieving the lowest pest risk profile possible for your sites. A PQQ helps both parties see if they are on the same page, and if they have confidence in you as a client, you will probably get better prices.
• When providing a PQQ, provide an outline of the specification and terms, asking not for prices, but for comments and suggestions, and you can take the best of them to include in your tender.
• Ask for innovations on remote smart pest monitoring models, which could be used in buildings with access restrictions or those moth balled.

The Tender

Provide clear and detailed tender packs that include the following pieces of information.

• Site plans if there are large differences between site profiles
• Square meterage details, plus the number of buildings spread over and numbers of floors
• Details as to the risk profile of your estate, such as numbers of free of charge extra visits completed in the last year, and an export of helpdesk records on reactive requests, by pest type. If this is not available, an estimate of the demands at a best, typical, and worst-case site is helpful.
• TUPE if applicable
• An accurate specification with precise detail of the pests and services covered
• Contract terms and conditions including invoicing ant payment. A simple system and prompt payment will get you better prices.
• Precise details as to how the administration process flow works and any system integrations.
• If you do not already have paperless reporting, considering a purely online system. Most leading pest control companies manage their operations through online systems, which allow for real-time reporting and pest risk management advice. If they must complete paper reports as well, it increases their costs and your prices.
• You get the opportunity to take a fresh approach to managing pest risk by focussing on outcomes rather than focussing on KPI’s related to inputs, so ask for alternative pragmatic models. You will probably get better prices and a better outcome.
• Sample photos or a video tour of a typical site highlighting typical problem areas
• Telephone or video conference calls so suppliers can hear your requirements and ask clarification questions on the content of the tender documents.
• If you have presentations as part of your assessment criteria, then carry these out as online video conferences, or award without conducting presentations – does your tender really need this stage?         

Conclusion

In these unprecedented times, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to solve an organisation’s financial challenges.  Inaction is the guaranteed route to failure.  Working with your supply chain to find cost savings, and more efficient working models will help your organisation reduce some of the financial burden caused because of the pandemic and ensure that a fit for purpose Pest Risk Management model is in place ready for when the economy surges back in what many people anticipate will be a post-Covid boom.