The Vendor Who Knows Too Much
Your integrated facilities management provider has run the building for six years. They hold the CMMS, the vendor list, the warranty register, and most of the institutional knowledge about the plant. The contract expires in nine months and the procurement team wants to competitively tender. The incumbent has hinted that a transition will be 'difficult' and has been slow to supply asset condition data requested by your analyst. Two of your own staff have been offered jobs by the incumbent. The building has 1,400 assets, a $3.2M annual operating budget, and a statutory lift-servicing obligation that cannot lapse for a single day.
1. Identify the risks in this situation and set out how you would structure the tender and transition.
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The core risk is knowledge lock-in: the incumbent controls the data and the relationships, which gives them leverage to make re-tendering costly and to influence the outcome. The slow data supply and the 'difficult transition' hint are commercial pressure tactics, not operational facts.
Structural responses:
Contractual data rights. Check the existing contract for data-ownership and exit-assistance clauses. Asset registers, CMMS data, and warranty records generated in service of the building are the client's property. Issue a formal written demand with a deadline, citing the clause.
Tender design. Separate the statutory lift-servicing scope into its own lot or contract so it can be awarded early and never lapses, independent of the main IFM award. Build the main tender with a mandatory transition plan and a data-handover obligation as a scored criterion.
Independence. Commission your own condition survey of critical plant so you are not dependent on incumbent-supplied data for the specification. Rebuild the asset register from your own survey and OEM records where necessary.
People. The recruitment approaches to your staff are a conflict-of-interest and retention risk; address retention and confidentiality now.
2. How do you handle the staff-poaching approaches and the lift-servicing continuity through the transition?
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Staff poaching: the incumbent is entitled to hire, but not to use your team as leverage or to compromise your position. Meet the two staff individually, confirm their intentions, and remind them of confidentiality obligations regarding building data and tender information. If either intends to leave, plan the knowledge capture now - have them document systems, contacts, and procedures before departure. Do not retaliate; that damages morale and may be unlawful. Consider retention measures if their knowledge is critical.
Lift servicing: this is a statutory safety obligation and must not be exposed to the tender timetable. Options: novate or assign the lift-servicing subcontract to the client directly, or award a short bridging contract to the lift specialist that runs past the IFM award date. Confirm in writing with the lift contractor that service continues uninterrupted and that records transfer to you. Schedule the lift contract award at least 90 days before the IFM contract expires, so there is no gap even if the main tender slips.
Overall: run the tender on your data and your timetable, keep statutory services ring-fenced, and treat the incumbent's transition threats as a commercial issue to be managed, not a reason to cancel the tender.