Executive Summary
Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) compliance is a process and should be viewed as long-term as opposed to a short-term once off event. At EconoBEE, we offer various solutions to assist clients achieve a compliant BEE Status.
This document seeks to provide an in-depth explanation as to how the process of implementing B-BBEE for your organization will be rolled out.
The Problem!
BEE is a complex business task which consumes a considerable amount of time and resources. It needs a strategy planned with commercial logic, which is then properly implemented and monitored in a way that makes complete business sense.
Choosing the appropriate competitive B-BBEE strategy is a sophisticated endeavor requiring knowledge and familiarity with the minute intricacies of the B-BBEE Act and Codes of Good Practice. The lack of expertise in many companies countrywide hampers the successful implementation of the B-BBEE Codes in their operations.
Objectives
Through our partnership ...
Generate business opportunities, access new markets and maintain existing business - Your BEE Scorecard is required by customers for their BEE Scorecard. A good BEE Scorecard will help them achieve highly on their BEE Scorecard which in turn often results in additional business with existing customers or new business opportunities being generated. The Government tender Act now fully amended will award government tenders based on a good BEE Status. Your good BEE Status will give you a major advantage!
Your time on your business activities - Our consultants will calculate your entire B-BBEE Scorecard for you. Once complete we will prepare a comprehensive BEE Scorecard report which can then be sent through to directors during management meetings or customers who are interested to see your progress.
You do not need to contact any of your suppliers because our comprehensive BEE Scorecard Database will contain your suppliers' BEE Certificates. Where the data is not available our contact centre will gather this data on your behalf.
Once we know how many points you have earned we will implement a tried and tested procedure which speeds up data collection and ensures your verification is quick easy and convenient. Since we know what is required we will only gather what is needed for your verification so you can continue working on your business activities.
Convenience and piece of mind - Our consultants work for you. In this way you know while you are not working on your BEE Scorecard we are! If you have queries or need assistance our contact center will answer any and all of your BEE queries or schedule a meeting for a detailed discussion.
Receive regular reports so that you know your status all of the time or check on the status of your BEE Scorecard using our high powered BEE tools which are conveniently located online giving you a real time scorecard available 24/7 - EconoBEE V3 and BEE Procured provide instant data availability, reports and updates.
Fast Response - Our large team has a high capacity to ensure any work required is handled quickly. A report is then sent through together with an analysis of the impact and a strategy to improve your BEE status.
Consistency - Work on your BEE Scorecard throughout the year and not once a year just before the verification. BEE is a process and requires a small amount of effort each month to become successful. This also builds up a knowledge base of activities or allows management sufficient time to implement strategic decisions.
Affordability - One of our key tasks is to ensure that you are earning points in the most cost effective manner. We help you find the most effective and beneficial aspects to earn BEE points. Some BEE spend can be recoverable, we help you recover that spend.
We know how to earn points without restructuring your business or adding any complications. We help collect data that is often missed which enhances your BEE points without any additional spend.
Credibility - A BEE Scorecard will improve your business profile. However using the right verification agency and consultancy will add familiarity to your scorecard and create a sense of trust. EconoBEE is a high profile consultancy who has received radio, TV and press coverage on BEE related topics. BEE Verification agencies know the EconoBEE Reputation and their high success rate of appeals. We have developed good relationships with government departments and accreditation agencies with regard to interpretations, consistency and fronting.
Improved scorecard measurement and optimization - A goal in any business is to make a higher profit or gain customers. In BEE terms the higher your points the better. We assist you to gain value out of BEE by showing you how to earn more BEE points, providing a comprehensive strategy to earn those points and help you implement those strategies effectively.
Intensive Strategic Planning - Through a consultative process and by using past results we will help you gain a better understanding of what can be done in the future to better your BEE scorecard. This process will streamline your business by providing clarity on what has to be done, by whom, when and how.
Avoid the BEE Distraction - While you are spending time on BEE you are not working on your own business. Our team is trained to handle all aspects of BEE compliance. Your BEE distraction is another day at the office for us.
Future planning - A successful scorecard is based on activities done within the rating period. Our view is to prepare a scorecard report on the latest/past financial year end to gauge the level of compliance. We then focus primarily on the current period to proactively assist you in improving your BEE status. In so doing we are able to provide a "live as is" report on your current status. Our advice is based on real scenarios which can be implemented successfully before time runs out.
Salient Tasks and strategic approach
Plan of Action
EconoBEE's Managed Services offers a high quality streamlined step-by-step approach to becoming BEE Compliant. These 10 steps to becoming BEE compliant form the foundation for future development and improvement on your BEE scorecard while ensuring optimal success is reached from the start.
1) Learn about BEE - Training and knowledge transfer.
Knowledge of B-BBEE will equip relevant stakeholders with the know-how required to properly implement BEE. Training will ensure staff actively become involved and identify existing BEE activities.
2) Internal Scorecard - Internal scorecard representing your current accurate BEE Status.
Our consultants will request relevant information pertaining to all aspects of the BEE scorecard from you. This will help us further understand your business activities while also allow us to start targeting key aspects on your BEE scorecard.
This step is designed to help drive organizational performance to higher levels. It will help affirm strengths and identify weaknesses.
3) Establish BBBEE Policies and Creating of a Document Pack - We will establish various BBBEE policies and present applicable documentation required by the B-BBEE Codes.
Documentation and proof is the fundamental principle used by a verification agency to award BEE points. Without appropriate documentation points cannot be awarded. This step introduces a comprehensive document pack which contains various documents - customized by our consultants. We also create a foundation for you to easily store and manage your BEE Documentation. This ensures all the relevant information is readily available and in a format that a verification agency understands.
In addition we will now begin offering you regular reports detailing current status.
4) Draft Scorecard - This step involves producing the initial BEE scorecard rating.
We will use our online software tools (EconoBEE Version 3 and BEE Procured) to help our consultants calculate an accurate BEE Scorecard. These tools will be accessible to relevant staff during the entire process giving you all access to all data throughout this process.
5) Gathering documents to support your claim on the scorecard - We now begin gathering source documentation or creating documentation that will be required. This will either involve our consultants requesting this information from the relevant stakeholder or attempting to gather documentation directly from the source. We will constantly monitor your BEE status during this process to ensure no points are lost.
The document pack will be very useful for storing internal company records.
We will also identify common aspects where companies have already invested in some, if not all of the 7 elements of empowerment but have difficulty in claiming those initiatives.
6) Scorecard Improvement - Write a report - Scorecard, Profiles and Strategies - display your scorecard level, how you achieved the points and identify ways to improve that.
Once a draft scorecard has been prepared and all documentation is gathered our consultants will assist you with a practical strategy. This strategy is aimed at increasing the number of points, reducing the time spent and reducing the overall cost of each point. We will revisit the scorecard to ensure that every single point has been accounted for and documentation thereof provided.
We will assist you optimise your points through strategic advice and practical thinking that ultimately makes complete business sense.
7) Development and implementation of the B-BBEE strategy by spending time and effort and earning the points
After the scorecard has been produced, our consultants will provide a plan of action to implement the B-BBEE strategy. This will provide an indication of what has to be done to improve the company's B-BBEE scorecard in the coming rating period.
8) Do a final assessment
The current year's BEE Scorecard rating is nearly complete. The current scorecard can now be inserted onto a company letterhead, signed and submitted to customers to show a commitment towards BEE. This scorecard will then be submitted to a verification agency for auditing. As this is the final self-rating phase, caution is used to guarantee no documented evidence is forgotten or overlooked.
9) Look for ways to find more points on the scorecard - BBBEE is a process, not a once off event.
At this point we will help you find additional points, prepare a scorecard for future years and check to ensure you have not left something out.
10) Verification - get an independent accredited organisation to audit your scorecard (Auditors or Verification Agencies)
This is the very last step and offers assurance that your scorecard is correct. The verification agency is there to provide an impartial, independent and detached measurement. They are not able to offer advice in the same way EconoBEE is not able to offer the verification.
Our consultants can identify suitable verification agencies and hold your hand during the process. The document pack prepared earlier will be used by the agency to verify information. If applicable our consultants will sit in during the verification agency meetings and final audit. They will also act on your behalf to "argue" your case to a verification agency to ensure you earn all the points you deserve.
More Details
Our managed service includes;
- Meetings, consulting time, email and telephone sessions
- All software systems
- EconoBEE V3 - scorecard calculation tool
- Project, calculate, score
- BEE Procured - BEE Scorecard database containing over 35000 BEE Certificates - Provides the enterprise access to a large database containing suppliers and their BBBEE credentials/scorecards.
- EconoBEE V3 - scorecard calculation tool
- Half day BEE Scorecard workshops can be attended in our offices by all employees
About EconoBEE
EconoBEE is a leading consultancy company in the BBBEE journey. We believe we can extend our services to your organization in an effort to provide the very much sort after competitive edge through improving their BBBEE profile.
Contact us on 011 483 1190 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to schedule an appointment with a consultant.
