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| 31/01/2008 |
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EBB for Industry Contract Opportunities - A new business portal for Industry-to-Industry |
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31 January 2008
European Defence Agency
A new business portal – Electronic Bulletin Board on Defence Contract Opportunities (EBB) - offering European companies of all sizes the chance to take advantage of increased cross-border sub-contracting opportunities in defence procurement has been launched by the European Defence Agency on the 29th of March 2007 with the backing of Europe’s defence industry.
July 2006 saw the launch by the Agency of the EBB on Government Contract Opportunities (EBB 1) to enable subscribing Member States[1] to advertise national defence contracts falling within the scope of the Code of Conduct on defence procurement. This was a crucial building block in the development of a single European defence market and signalled a major commitment by Member States to open up their internal markets.
Building on this and to facilitate the application of the Code of Best Practice in the Supply Chain, the Agency - in collaboration with industry - has developed EBB on Industry Contract Opportunities (EBB 2) (http://www.eda.europa.eu/ebbweb/), which now co-exists with EBB 1 under an integrated portal environment approach. This will enable defence-related companies located in the subscribing Member States to:
- Play their part in helping develop the European Defence Equipment Market by centrally advertising defence-related sub-contracting opportunities.
- Further promote and advertise their sub-contracting opportunities to a wide industrial supplier base located in the 24 sMS
- Gain access to a wide range of sub-contracting opportunities derived from European defence Prime Contractors and 1st/2nd Tier Suppliers, through a reference one-stop shop electronic tool
- Expand the market research capabilities of Defence related suppliers (especially SMEs), with limited resources to reach out to the potential requirements of European buying organizations.
 
Welcoming the launch, Cent van Vliet, Managing Director of the Dutch National Defence Industry Association said: “The new e-portal provides Europe’s defence-related industry, especially SMEs, with a much needed central service for announcing and identifying procurement opportunities.”
 
Miroslav Tieff, CEO of B.O.I.S–FILTRY, a Czech defence-related SME, said the new tool will give his firm the information it needs to identify, compete for and win new contracts and to be better integrated in the supply chain of the European Defence Equipment Market. “This could change the way we do business. Until now, finding export opportunities can be so complicated that it is often just not worth the effort,” he said.
Currently, the portal advertises more than 130 defence contract opportunities provided from the procurement / sourcing departments of some of Europe’s major defence companies (41 currently participating), with a total estimated value of 128 M €.
Feedback and experiences gained so far from the portal’s operation have resulted in a number of ‘success stories’, where buyers have encountered a strong interest from European defence-related suppliers from a number of countries, which in some cases were new potential bidders for their contracts:
- QinetiQ – through EBB received a very valid response from a French supplier. ’As a consequence of this, we are now able to pass from a single source to a competitive tender scenario. This beneficial outcome has raised the profile of the system within the subcontracting community within QinetiQ and we plan to publish further opportunities and to use it more intensively’
- SAAB Microwave Systems – ‘the responses we received from a number of suppliers on one of our contract notices already published on the system, was estimated to save our procurement manager approximately six months of research and identification efforts’
- Nexter - ‘we found an immediate application and positive return from publishing contract opportunities on EBB, even from the early stages of its operation. For one of our notices we received a response from a Polish land-based systems company. What made us really appreciative of the added-value offered by the system, is that even though we had attempted in the past to reach such supplier through the official national channels, we had not managed to do so in such a short time'
- Patria – ‘our procurement managers are highly appreciative of the added-value and potential benefits of EBB, having already received a good response to their contract notices’
- Thales Alenia Space - 'Several new bidders, unknown to us until that point in time, responded to a number of our SPIN types of notices published on the portal'
In the immediate future, the EBB team will primarily focus on further promoting and expanding the use of the system by:
- Increasing the awareness about the existence and potential benefits from the use of the EBB portal (both the Supply and Buying side), to the industrial base located in the 24 sMS.
- Enlarging the Buying community, starting from the already participating companies both internally (involve more business units / procurement departments), as well as extending to their 1st / 2nd Tier defence-related suppliers.
Such actions will ensure the required sustainment and further expansion of the use of EBB on Industry Contract Opportunities, needed for the delivery of added-value benefits to equally Buyers and Suppliers within the European defence related industry.
For further information about EDA’s Regime on Defence Procurement, the Code of Conduct (CoC) and the Code of Best Practices in the Supply Chain (CoBPSC), please visit the following addresses:
- CoC:
- http://www.eda.europa.eu/genericitem.aspx?area=Organisation&id=154
- CoBPSC: http://www.eda.europa.eu/genericitem.aspx?area=Organisation&id=159
[1] Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom |
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| 12/09/2007 |
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Time might do it for business |
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19 April 2007
By ILANA BET-EL
© 2007 European Voice
Summary: Before its creation in 2004, many were sceptical about the chances of the European Defence Agency (EDA) to succeed in its challenging tasks. In particular, it seemed obvious that no member state would make concessions with regards to article 296, which exempts from applying EU competition rules on the ground of national security.
Three years onwards, EDA has succeeded in creating a new reality: its Electronic Bulletin Board allows for the publication of government and, since the end of March 2007, industry (Business-to-Business) defence contract opportunities.
The new portal has brought a de facto sharing of defence contract opportunities among member states, and is an important step to enhance the SMEs`ability to participate in crossborder contracts.
The resulting increased competition will greatly benefit European citizens. The process will not happen overnight, but the start is promising. |
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| 17/04/2007 |
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Marchés de défense : l'AED lance un nouveau portail pour les contrats publics |
12 April 2007
Europolitique Transport
© 2007 Europe Information Service All Rights Reserved
Summary: The European Defence Agency has launched a new industry-to-industry portal for defence contracts opportunities. Twenty-eight companies, including BAE Systems, Thales and EADS participate in this project, and 80 notices have already been published with values ranging from 20 000 to 50 000 euros each.
ASD President Charles Edelstenne underlined that the initiative would enhance the SMEs` ability to bid for defence contracts.
Industry, he said, supported the new integrated portal, publishing both government and industry defence contract opportunities, as an important instrument for putting Europe on an equal footing with the United States, not only in terms of competition but also of cooperation.
He added that companies worldwide could bid for the opportunities advertised through the portal, but preference should be given to those located in the 22 countries adhering to this initiative. |
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| 17/04/2007 |
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| 17/04/2007 |
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| 17/04/2007 |
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EU: Smaller Cos. Get Help on Contracts |
27 March 2007
By PAUL AMES Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press
BRUSSELS, Belgium — The European Union will join major defense companies this week to launch a new system to make it easier for smaller firms to compete for armaments contracts across the EU, officials said Tuesday.
This article was published by Associated Press, following a Press Conference of EDA's CEO Nick Witney. The full article can be found in the following web address:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4664589.html
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| 17/04/2007 |
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Contrats militaires:l'Agence de défense UE ouvre son portail aux entreprises |
27 March 2007
© 2007 Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Summary: As of 29 March 2007, the new EDA portal will promote promoting defence sub-contract opportunities from the major European companies in the defence sector, EDA`s CEO Nick Witney said Tuesday. Established and operational since 2006, until now the EDA Electronic Bulletin Board has been publishing only government contract opportunities - 140 notices after 8 months of operation for a total value of approximately 7 billion euros.
ASD President Charles Edelstenne, from Dassault Aviation, will participate in the launching of the new portal to underline the support of industry to this initiative.
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| 13/12/2006 |
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Birth of European Defence Equipment Market with Launch of Code Of Conduct |
Brussels, 30 June 2006
A new era for defence procurement in the European Union begins on 1 July with the introduction of a regime designed to increase transparency and competition in the European Defence Equipment Market, offer armed forces and taxpayers better value for money, broaden business opportunities for defence companies and strengthen the global competitiveness of the European industry. “This is a remarkable achievement,” said Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and Head of the European Defence Agency. “For the first time ever, European countries have committed to procure defence equipment from each other if the offer is the best available, instead of automatically contracting with a national supplier.” The new market framework is a voluntary, inter-governmental regime managed by the European Defence Agency that will operate on the basis of the Code of Conduct on Defence Procurement, which was approved by Defence Ministers last November. It covers defence equipment purchases which governments choose to exempt from EU public procurement rules under Article 296 of the EC Treaty and which therefore usually do not involve any cross-border competition. Helping to underpin this regime is the Code of Best Practice in the Supply Chain, approved by Ministers in May, which is intended to extend the benefits of greater competition to smaller companies who may not be able to bid for contracts directly but could act as sub-contractors. This set of principles has been developed in close consultation with industry. The Code of Conduct commits subscribing Member States to maximise fair and equal opportunities for all suppliers by setting from the outset transparent and objective criteria for selecting bidders and awarding contracts, and by publicising procurement opportunities through a new Electronic Bulletin Board, accessible via the EDA’s website at http://www.eda.europa.eu/ebbweb The Code applies to contracts worth at least one million Euros (exclusive of VAT). “There is a common realisation that none of us can any longer afford to go it alone in the business of defence,” Solana said. “If we want to sustain a globally competitive defence technological and industrial base in Europe, we simply have to pool efforts and resources.”The Agency’s reporting and monitoring system will help to ensure mutual transparency and mutual accountability among subscribing Member States, so that they can be confident that the regime is working as intended. Data will be collected for contracts awarded under the Code. For cases where Member States decide to invoke permitted exceptions, an explanation will have to be provided. The Code will be applied by 22 of the 24 EDA Member States: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and United Kingdom. Only Hungary and Spain exercised their option not to join initially, although both have indicated the possibility of doing so later. Denmark, which has a general opt-out on European Security and Defence Policy, is not part of the EDA. “Member States have already demonstrated their trust in each other and their confidence in the Agency by agreeing to this new regime. The same commitment will of course be needed to make it a success now that it is operational,” said EDA Chief Executive Nick Witney. “The Agency will do everything it can to support the Member States in this bold but essential new initiative.” --- ENDS --- Related info Background Reference |
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