Search

We Have a Bid Team – Why Do We Need an External Bid Specialist?

When a company has an existing bid team, can there be value in bringing in an external bid specialist? Yes, there are many occasions when a bid specialist can add value for existing bid teams. Bid specialists also help organisations who have no bid team of their own to identify opportunities, review the bidding documentation, gather the required information, structure

Read More »

How ISO Certification Helps Bid Qualification

How ISO Certification Helps Bid Qualification Industry recognised standards certification is increasingly important and is often mandatory when bidding. Certification provides buyers with assurance that your business has robust management systems in place and evidences your consistent delivery of high-quality services. Annual audits to retain certification assess timely identification of non-conformities and tracks that they are resolved. In the bid

Read More »

Laying the Foundations for a Winning Construction Bid

There are many opportunities in the private and public sectors to tender to deliver construction services. Similar principles apply to both, and following these tips will increase your prospects of success. Passing the qualification stage The first hurdle you need to negotiate safely is the qualification stage, which looks back at what you have achieved and where you are now.

Read More »

How SMEs Can Overcome Challenges When Bidding to the Public Sector

The public sector in the UK spends an incredible £290 billion per annum with third party organisations. Most of this spend is awarded through competitive procurement exercises. Some organisations, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SME businesses), are reluctant to engage with competitive procurement processes for a variety of reasons. In this article, I will be discussing eight reasons why some

Read More »

8 Sound Reasons to Consider Bidding for Public Sector Contracts

The public sector in the UK spends an incredible £290 billion per annum with third party organisations. Most of this spend is awarded through competitive procurement exercises. In the current economic climate some existing markets are no longer viable or sustainable. This is causing many organisations to consider bidding to the public sector. In this article, I will focus on

Read More »

To Create a Better Bid … Put Yourself in Their Shoes!

You’re spending a lot of time and putting considerable thought into that significant, personalised bid. You’ve honed in on your USP, what only you can offer that others can’t, and you’re thinking about how to articulate it. Before you put pen to paper, stop!  Research into evaluation panels for bids suggests that there are 5.4 people on an average panel.

Read More »

The Challenges and Benefits of Being the Incumbent Supplier

You’ve done a great job as the provider of services to your client for four years. You’re feeling confident about being reappointed; your past work will speak for you! You don’t feel that you need to put as much time into the tender response as you did to win it last time. Right? Research shows that less than 50% of

Read More »

Understanding the Buyer to Improve Your Bid Win Rates

Thinking about the buyer’s aims when you respond to a tender opportunity will increase your win rates. Directly addressing their objectives, whether stated in the tender documents or not, will help your proposal stand out from the crowd. Behind most public sector tenders is a procurement team or professional and a well-developed business case for the tender. This business case

Read More »

How to Prepare for a Bid

If you’re expecting a bid or tender to be released soon, you might be inclined to wait for it to arrive before you start committing time and resources to it.  However, there are a few things that you should do ahead of time, to increase your prospects of success: Understand the buying organisation. Browse their website for useful sources, including

Read More »

How to Tackle Pricing Within Bids

All bids are evaluated on two key criteria: Price and Quality. Whatever the split between these criteria, you need to be clear how they are being evaluated and take action to maximise your overall score. This does not automatically mean you need to be the cheapest, or offer the most comprehensive solution. Having determined your positioning compared to other bidders,

Read More »