Supplier Self-Score Handbook

Contents

  1. introduction to the handbook
  2. background
  3. the improved procurement process
  4. the capability assessment toolkit (CAT)
  5. the CAT self-score process
  6. the CAT validation process
  7. the CAT capability development plan
  8. summary

Appendices

Supplier Self-Score Handbook

Introduction to the handbook

1.0 introduction to the handbook

The purpose of this handbook is to provide information and guidance on the key aspects of the Capability Assessment Toolkit (CAT) in particular:

The guidance contained within this handbook is designed to give the suppliers required to undertake a CAT self-score exercise sufficient information to make informed decisions. This handbook should be read in conjunction with the electronic self-score and next steps templates that outline aspects to be considered when undertaking a self-score exercise.

It is not intended to give all the answers, but to encourage suppliers to use their own judgement and to help ensure a consistent approach.

application

Data obtained from the CAT will initially be used in major highways procurement exercises, but will be applied to other work categories in due course.

who should read it?

In addition to providing information and guidance for suppliers that are required to return a completed CAT electronic self-score template, this handbook will be a useful reference document for:

Introduction to the handbook

Background

The Agency's procurement vision is to be recognised as a client at the forefront of best procurement practice, by working in partnership with a sustainable supply chain, to deliver best value solutions and services.

We deliver the overwhelming majority of our services through third parties, in particular through contractors and consultants. It is essential, therefore, that we fully understand the capability of our supply base and engage with those organisations that are best suited to deliver our requirements.

The CAT has been developed to help us identify the suppliers that are most likely to deliver best value solutions and services. Using a framework of capability indicators, the CAT measures the approach and potential effectiveness of individual companies.

Background

The improved procurement process

3.1 implementing the procurement strategy

The Agency's Procurement Strategy was published in November 2001 and outlines the overlying principles that the Agency will apply in developing detailed policies and processes.

As part of the ongoing implementation of the Procurement Strategy, the CAT has been developed by the Agency's Supply Chain Management Team to:

The CAT has been developed in consultation with the construction industry and incorporates feedback gained from across the Agency's procurement practices.

3.2 the new approach to selecting tenderers

Under the new approach, tenderer selection will be a high-level company assessment that will exclude detailed project issues. The aim will be to allow the best and most appropriate suppliers the most tendering opportunities.

The new process will use standard selection criteria to pre-qualify suppliers (step 1) and then capability, past performance and strategic overview information to arrive at a tender list (step 2).

This process has been designed to reward the most capable and best performing suppliers, whilst maintaining competition in our supply base. It systematically increases the likelihood of success, by ensuring that the best and most appropriate suppliers are placed on the Agency's tender lists. The process is consistent and transparent and allows suppliers to develop realistic and relevant improvement plans that respond to the feedback that they receive.

Data obtained from the CAT will initially be used in major highways procurement exercises, but will be applied to other work categories in due course.

3.3 how does the CAT fit into the procurement process?

The new two step process will be used to select suppliers for tender lists following receipt of expressions of interest.

step 1 pre-qualification

During this step, suppliers expressing an interest are assessed as to their financial and economic standing and their technical capacity, including a strong focus on health and safety issues. Suppliers must exceed acceptability thresholds to pre-qualify.

step 2 short-listing

A single set of validated capability scores will be held for each company on the Agency's procurement database. The scores will relate to the entire company and will normally be valid for a period of 12 months.

The validated capability scores will be used together with past performance and strategic overview information to arrive at the tender list.

This approach will:

The Highways Agency procurement vision

The Highways Agency procurement vision (18KB PDF)

The improved procurement process

The capability assessment toolkit (CAT)

4.1 structure of the CAT

The CAT has been developed using the well-established principles that underpin a number business excellence models. Other sources of information that guided its design and development include:

The CAT considers what it is that companies need to do to be effective. It is structured as follows:

CAT Structure

A CAPABILITY ATTRIBUTES
  1. Direction and leadership
  2. Strategy and planning
  3. People
  4. Partnering
  5. Processes
  6. Internal resources
B CAPABILITY INDICATORS

For each attribute, three indicators describe features of the capability that could be demonstrated.

C CAPABILITY LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS

For each of the indicators there are five levels of capability, 0 to 4.

The documentation making up the toolkit (CAT) is in two main parts:

The full framework of capability attributes, indicators and level descriptions is given in appendix III.

4.2 the CAT process

The capability assessment process has two distinct stages:

An overview of the key stages involved in the CAT process are shown above.

4.2.1 self-score stage

Companies are asked to score themselves using a CAT self-score framework and guidelines and return those scores to the Agency's Supply Chain Management Team.

The submission is required in two parts:

This information is required to plan the validation exercise:

Part 2 submission

electronic self-score and next steps templates

These comprise:

Further details of this stage are provided in section 5.0 of this handbook.

Please note that detailed submission requirements will be notified separately.

4.2.2 validation stage

A team of fully trained and briefed client CAT practitioners will spend time with the companies to validate the self-scores. The validated scores will be held on the Agency's procurement database and will be used in conjunction with past performance and strategic overview information to determine tender lists.

Further details of this stage are provided in section 6.0 of this handbook.

The overall CAT Process

The overall CAT Process (1MB PDF)

The capability assessment toolkit (CAT)

The CAT self-score process

There is no single, best way to carry out the CAT self-score activity. However, the more rigorous the approach, the more likely it will be that the self-scores and opportunities to focus on further development will be accurately assessed.

the CAT self-score process

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5.1 deciding on the approach

The approach chosen will depend on factors such as:

The diagram below provides an illustrative self-assessment process for consideration. For each of the stages, guidance is offered on the following pages.

Remember that the self-score exercise has two parts:

Cat process

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5.1.1 develop commitment to CAT self-score exercise
5.1.2 plan CAT self-score exercise
5.1.3 select and brief team(s) to carry out CAT self-score exercise

Select people on the basis of:

This type of team is often known as a 'diagonal slice'. The advantage of using such a team is that it allows the application of policies and approaches to be widely tested.

Briefly, the team members need to know that they will be examining and scoring:

5.1.4 communicate plan for CAT self-score exercise
5.1.5 conduct CAT self-score exercise

Some ways of collecting information and evidence include:

Some ways of analysing and scoring information and evidence include:

It is important to keep in mind that the CAT self-score activity requires a team view of the company. It is vital that the assessment is realistic and can be supported by appropriate evidence. Therefore, with any approach adopted, it is important to allow sufficient time for the team to get together to:

5.1.6 return CAT electronic self-score templates to the Agency

5.2 appointing a CAT champion

The CAT self-score activity needs to be sponsored by a senior member of the company. It must be led and managed carefully, so that the outcomes are implemented through action plans and improved results are owned by all.

The self-score activity should be led and managed by the CAT champion. They should ensure that people and teams are fully briefed and need to encourage maximum participation during the self-score exercise.

It is suggested that they are responsible for drawing up the capability development plan based on the responses provided on the CAT electronic self-score templates (the CAT self-score framework).

The role demands:

The champion must be able to keep the self-score initiative at the top of senior managers' priorities and to devote sufficient time to the process. They must not be seen as influencing the self-score results towards their own views. This is a demanding job and it is important that the champion is well trained and well supported.

In a large company it may be necessary to have more than one champion depending on structure and geographical spread. That will have the additional benefit of ensuring that there is a supportive network of people with similar roles who can share successes, discuss difficulties that may arise and provide mutual encouragement and motivation.

The CAT champion will also play a key role during the planning and execution of the validation exercise.

The CAT self-score process

The CAT validation process

Validation teams will visit companies following the return of CAT electronic self-score and next steps templates. Each validation team will typically comprise three client CAT practitioners, including a senior client CAT practitioner, all of whom will be fully briefed and trained in the operation of the CAT.

The client CAT practitioners will carry out their own assessment of the company's capability, normally over a period of three working days.

The aim of the visit is to collect positive, recordable evidence that demonstrates the capability of the company. The process for the validation visits is shown below.

CAT Validation Process

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6.1 approach to validation

During the validation, members of the team may:

In order to gain a full picture of company capability, the validation team may also make contact with the company's trading partners including:

Once the validation team have completed their visit, they will meet to review the evidence and agree their scores for each of the capability indicators. The senior client CAT practitioner will then generate a validation report and will meet with senior representatives of the company to present the findings.

It is anticipated that the final capability marks will stand for a prescribed period of 12 months. The Agency will reserve the right to carry out a revalidation exercise of the company at any time. For example, if a company's approach in practice appears to be out of step with its validated CAT score.

6.2 preparing for the validation exercise

The CAT champion may be used as the validation project manager to work closely with the senior client CAT practitioner, to plan and execute the validation exercise. The senior client CAT practitioner will require quite detailed information in order to carry out the validation exercise effectively.

During the scoping and planning discussions, the senior client CAT practitioner will provide an outline timetable so that travel and hotels can be planned and key staff can be booked for interviews. He or she may however, want to leave some flexibility, particularly towards the end of the validation exercise to follow up unforeseen issues that arise during the visit. It is also legitimate to ask whether there are any particular areas of interest that the validation team wishes to cover. The senior client CAT practitioner may only be able to provide a brief outline of this, but nevertheless, this is likely to prove useful.

The company should arrange for the validation team to have a private meeting room that they can use as a base during the visit. This should have a telephone and could be used to store copies of documents supporting the evidence recorded on the company's self-score submission. These may include any customer and employee survey results and any documents or brochures that describe the company's strategies and plans.

Validation teams might want to start the visit by meeting with senior managers. These opening sessions are best kept relatively short and there should be ample opportunity for the client CAT practitioner to ask appropriate questions. It is also legitimate here for the leader of the management team, to ask whether there are any particular areas of interest that he or she can tackle right at the start.

When the team of client CAT practitioners have completed the validation exercise, they may want to carry out a review of what they have seen and heard.

They will not be able at this stage to discuss or make any comment on how well the company has done.

Before they leave they will wish to offer their thanks, so a senior representative of the company might wish to be available.

The CAT validation process

The CAT capability development plan

One of the objectives of the CAT is to facilitate a programme of supplier development aimed at improving the effectiveness of Agency suppliers. The CAT assessment on its own will generate no measurable change or improvement to the way companies operate. The key to making this happen is to build upon the information recorded in next steps 'where we plan to be in 12 months' to:

During the self-score and validation activities a number of areas for improvement will have been identified. Prioritisation and focus are vital. It will be helpful to group the areas for improvement under common themes before deciding on relative priorities. This might be carried out by deciding on selection factors such as:

It is vital that the management team support the conclusions of the CAT exercise and the capability development plan, whether or not they participated in the CAT exercise itself.

It is sometimes helpful to encourage the team to reflect on their experiences of previous events involving change, ie, what has gone well in the past and what has gone less well.

This will help with the putting together of the capability development plan, as it will raise people's awareness of the importance of clearly defining and agreeing:

The CAT capability development plan

Summary

The CAT has been developed by the Agency's Supply Chain Management Team to:

It is based on well-established principles that underpin a number of business excellence models and incorporates observations gained from an industry-wide consultation and feedback from across the Agency's procurement practices.

The capability assessment process has two distinct stages:

When undertaking the self-score and next steps exercises you must take a realistic view when considering levels of capability and the actions to develop your capability. To attain a score, you will need evidence to demonstrate that the whole of the company operates consistently at that level and at every level below it.

During the validation exercise you should be open to suggestions for improvement and to use the feedback generated from the review session to help generate a meaningful and deliverable capability development plan.

Please take the capability assessment process seriously. It forms a key part of the improved procurement process that will help us to deliver best value solutions and services.

Summary

Appendix I questions and answers

After returning the self-scores, when can the supplier expect the validation visit?

The senior client CAT practitioner and the senior representative from the supplier company will need to agree this during the scoping planning conversations, but the visit will normally take place within 3 months of receipt of the self-score information.

What happens at the feedback meeting after the validation?

The senior client CAT practitioner will go through the validation report with the senior representatives of the company and give the reasons and evidence as to how the validation team arrived at their scores. They will also discuss 'next steps' information and the capability development plan.

What happens if the supplier does not agree with the validation scores?

The scores of the validation team will prevail, but areas of disagreement will be recorded.

What happens to the validation scores and the 'next steps' information when they are sent to the Agency?

These will be recorded against the individual company on the procurement database, along with other company data. This information will then be used during revalidation activities.

How is the validation team put together?

On receipt of the self-score information, the Agency's Supply Chain Management Team will pass the CAT self-score templates to the CAT programme manager. The CAT programme manager will then put together a team of client CAT practitioners who have the appropriate range of skills and experience to carry out the validation effectively.

How long will the validation take?

The validation exercise will normally take three working days.

How are the client practitioners selected and trained?

Potential client CAT practitioners will be required to attend a preparation and accreditation programme. Once they have gained accreditation, they will work as part of a validation team under the lead of a senior client CAT practitioner. All senior client CAT practitioners have had extensive experience of commercial organisations and the business environment.

When self-scoring the indicators, are half-marks allowable?

No. All scores must be whole numbers from 0 - 4. To score your level of capability you must have evidence that your organisation fulfils ALL of the criteria up to and including that level across the entire company.

Can more copies of the toolkit be obtained?

The CAT self-score framework will be available on the Agency's website in the Doing Business with Us section.

What happens if there is a variation in the individual practitioners scores for an indicator from different locations in the organisation? (e.g. if the head/regional office scores are high, but scores from a project site are low)?

The client CAT practitioners will discuss this as part of their consensus meeting to determine company scores following the validation exercise. The final score will reflect the highest capability level that can be demonstrated to exist across the entire organisation.

To what part of the company will the CAT scores apply?

The validated CAT scores will be deemed to apply to the entire company. Validation will concentrate on those parts of the company that provide the Agency with products and/or services.

Appendix I questions and answers

Appendix II glossary of terms

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

ad hoc
by chance, on occasion, unplanned

Agency (the)

the Highways Agency

assets

buildings, equipment, materials, technology, whether leased or owned

attendant behaviours

what people do to demonstrate the values they live by

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B

benchmarking

comparing our performance with leaders in the field, using external performance information to measure our performance

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C

competencies

the mix of people's skills, knowledge and behaviour and how they apply these to the job they do

comprehensive

complete and inclusive

contractor

the supplier who is contracted to build the scheme

culture

the total range of behaviours, ethics and values that are transmitted, practiced and reinforced by members of the organisation

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D

designer

the supplier who, working with a contractor, is responsible for the design of the scheme

E

EOI - Expression of Interest

response to an OJEC contract notice expressing an interest in tendering for work

ethics

the universal morals that the organisation adopts and abides by

excellence

outstanding practice in managing the organisation and achieving results based on fundamental concepts

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F

financial standing

the financial state, eligibility and solvency of a supplier

formal

as part of a specific procedure or process, planned

G

- No entries -

H

HA

Highways Agency

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I

informal

not as part of a specific procedure or process, unplanned

informal partnering

a collaborative environment with no contractual arrangements or integration of processes and teams

innovation

the practical translation of ideas into new products, services, processes, systems and social interactions

islands

separate, unconnected areas within the organisation

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J

JV - joint venture

two or more suppliers who have a formal agreement to combine resources and share risk to deliver a project

K

key partner

a partner organisation who is strategically important to the business (eg JV)

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L

leaders

anyone who is responsible for the performance of others

learning

the acquiring and understanding of information which may lead to improvement or change. Organisational learning activities include benchmarking, assessments, audits, and best practice studies. Individual learning activities include formal training, secondment, using mentors and coaches, etc

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M

Major Projects Directorate

the part of the HA which is responsible for delivering the major road schemes approved by the secretary of state. (ie those schemes in the TPI)

mission

a statement that describes the purpose of an organisation - why it exists

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N

- No entries -

O

OJEC

the official publication (published by the office for official publications of the european communities) to publicise public sector tender notices

opportunistic

as chance dictates, on occasion

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P

partner

an organisation with whom we work collaboratively

partnerships

a working relationship between two or more parties creating added value for the customer. Partners can include suppliers, distributors, joint ventures and alliances

performance management

a process of managing in which objectives are identified, agreed, monitored, measured and reviewed to bring about measurable improvement

performance measures


a range of measures used to monitor and evaluate individual, team and organisation performance in order to bring about improvements

planned

as part of a specific procedure or process, intended

process

a sequence of activities that adds value by producing required outputs from a variety of inputs

pre-qualified suppliers

those that have satisfied their eligibility to the HA in terms of their financial standing and technical capacity. These and other requirements are laid out by the EC procurement directive criteria

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Q

- No entries -

R

random

unsystematic

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S

Supply Chain Management Team

the department in the HA responsible for the CAT and selection policies

sponsor

to support and encourage by offering help and resources

stakeholders

people, groups, parts of organisations and organisations who have an interest in, and influence over our business

strategic overview

an exercise undertaken by the Agency to maintain the long-term competitiveness of the supply base and take into account exceptional circumstances when compiling tender lists

subcontractor

a supplier organisation with whom the main supplier has a subcontract

supply chain member

an organisation with whom our relationship is on an ongoing basis

sustainability

looking after the asset, ensuring long life

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T

tender list

final list of (minimum) five tenderers for possible selection

tender submission

written bid, which tenderers are required to submit within a given framework and timescale

technical capacity

the capacity of a supplier to handle the scheme(s) in terms of manpower, experience and competencies

top down, bottom up

two-way communication process which allows feedback to travel both up and down the organisation

TPI

the Agency's targeted programme of improvements

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U

- No entries -

V

values

principles and ethics which people in the organisation live by

vision

a statement that describes how the organisation wishes to be in the future

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W

- No entries -

X

- No entries -

Y

- No entries -

Z

- No entries -

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Appendix II glossary of terms

Appendix III the attributes and indicators

Supplier Self-Score Handbook

All 6 attribute tables (40KB PDF)

Appendix III the attributes and indicators