I’ve learnt a lot over the last 15 years of tendering. I’ve made all the mistakes you’re likely to have made and I’ve read hundreds if not thousands of pieces of feedback, both good and bad.
I’ve also sat on both sides of the table. Both as a buyer and a supplier, which allows me a unique perspective on what you should and shouldn’t do when tendering.
During 2018 I will be providing you with thorough tender help in the form of a monthly ‘Top 5 Tips when Tendering’, passing on my knowledge of how to keep on track when bidding for work, in both public and private sectors.
Mastering the art of tender writing is complex. It isn’t something which can be achieved overnight, but once you have a solid foundation, you will be set to achieve significant growth in your business.
With that in mind, my top tips for March 2018 are:
Number 1 – Be realistic
If you turnover £100,000 you’re not going to win a million-pound contract. If you only set up your creative agency two months ago, you’re not going to win London Fashion Week. Start small and build up.
Number 2 – Set realistic goals
Don’t expect to win the first tender you submit. If you win it, then it is a bonus. Put a value on what you would like to generate in the first year and be sensible with the effort you’ll have to put in to reach that target.
Number 3 – Don’t be afraid to ask questions
If something is unclear, then ask the question. This is usually via the dedicated tender system or email address provided, but make sure you follow their process for clarifications.
Number 4 – Can you make a profit?
If you can’t, bin it. You need to be ruthless and move on.
Number 5 – Ask yourself. Do you have the time needed to give it your all?
If you don’t feel like you can, don’t even start the tender. Don’t forget, there are other businesses that will put their best resource on winning this tender. You need to compete and assume you’re up against the best. Go for it and give it everything you have.
I hope these tips are useful. If you’re looking at a tender, ask yourself these questions. If you’re still unsure take a look at some other blogs on our website and stay tuned for our Tender VLE website for more response-specific videos we have created.
Or better yet, get in touch with our Tender Consultants for professional tender help.
CPV Codes – the abbreviation most people assume is Complex, Problematic, Valueless.
In actual fact, the term stands for Common Procurement Vocabulary – although the prior may still apply.
What are they?
CPV codes are used to categorise tenders into a ‘subject matter’. This allows for buyers to classify a criterion of what they want to procure and helping suppliers source these business opportunities more efficiently and effectively.
Or so we had hoped.
CPV Codes are 8-digit signifiers, followed by a classification number (for e.g. 12345678-1). This is to electronically source tender/business opportunities and publish them in front of the eyes of the right businesses that offer the required service.
Basically – when a Council needs to tender for a Security contract (for example) over 5 years costing approximately £700,000 per annum, they have to post this on OJEU (due to the high value amount). They publicise this to both UK and European companies (due to the value) and list the code in order for it to be recognised by relevant Security Companies nationally and internationally. In this case, the code is 79710000-4.
This opportunity is then broadcast on various websites across the country specifically appealing to those companies who are registered on various platforms to receive opportunities with the code 79710000-4.
Following so far?
Now, the initial concept of CPV codes was destined to be the answer to buyers and supplier’s prayers nationally, as procurement moved closer toward the digital age over a decade ago. However, somewhere along the line, things got a tad confusing and more complex.
Because UK procurement is so vast and wide, there is literally a CPV code for every service and product you can think of that is mainstreamed in the UK/EU. It’s apparent that a lot of buyers are either not aware of this, are using codes incorrectly or not using them at all.
Want to find out about CPV codes and love a little light reading? Feel free to read this 375-page document – it tells you every code from the supply of Petroleum jelly (09221100-5) to the supply of Beetroot (03221111-7).
In 2016, there was a large piece of research carried out by the European Commission which stated that out of the sampled 405 contract notices tested. 23% had the wrong code associated with the scope of work tendered. That is nearly a quarter of notices not being sourced and published in the correct way through using these codes, making it HARDER for buyers to get their opportunities in front of the right businesses. Now imagine if they had tested 1000 contract notices. How many of these would have been seen by a minority and not the majority.
A recent example of this (from Feb 2018 – below) shows a DPS for the Provision of One-to-One Tutors.
CPV Codes
Please also see ‘DPS – What is a Dynamic Purchasing System?’ for more information on this type of opportunity.
The buyer AND online portal in question have used the following code – 80000000-4 Education & Training Services, and probably unbeknownst to the buyer, there is a more specific code available for use – Tutorial Services 80590000-6. This is a prime example of how opportunities aren’t filtered across sub-sectors and are typically kept general and as a supplier (for let’s say ‘Business Enterprise Training’, who don’t offer 1-2-1 tutorials to children) you are either inundated with irrelevant opportunities or depending on what codes are used and which portals you are registered with (as not websites use CPV coding) – receiving no opportunities at all.
Now, what if the buyer had only used the code Tutorial Services 80590000-6 and the supplier wasn’t receiving notifications due to them clicking an incorrect code upon sign-up or if the portal doesn’t use the CPV code option all at.
WE HOPE YOU’RE STILL WITH US!
It’s worthy to note that a contract for the ‘COLLECTION OF KEY QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION ON THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S MERGER DECISIONS’ was never awarded due to the code for ‘market research’ being used, when in fact, something more appropriate like the code for ‘economic research’ or ‘research services’ could have been used.
We NEVER rely on CPV codes and through using procurement specialists, we filter through all opportunities in the Creative Sector across hundreds of notification platforms daily to ensure our customers receive the bespoke opportunities that apply to THEM!
The majority of national portals have electronic algorithms that scour and publish opportunities based on CPV codes alone, meaning a quarter of these are not being publicised as effectively as they can be.
With our services – If you are a website/digital agency, a design agency or an events management company, you’ll receive individual tenders that apply to you.
We also provide Full Service Agencies a range of opportunities that are specific to them too!
Please see our ‘Why use Creative Tenders’ blog for how this works in full.
Or for more information about our Creative Tenders portal CLICK HERE.
WHAT IS A DYNAMIC PURCHASING SYSTEM? The DPS in Tendering!
Here we go again – another term which is not well known in all industry sectors across the UK – a Dynamic Purchasing System.
As always, we are here to help you understand all these ‘niggly’ bits to tendering, to ensure you are prepared to undergo some serious business development planning across your sector and beyond!
In a nutshell – a Dynamic Purchasing System (or DPS for short) is basically a supply chain list where tenders or other bidding opportunities are published to specific members that have been successful in maintaining a position on that list.
As quoted in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, “[a] DPS should be set up for identified types of requirement, which may be divided into categories of products, works or services.”
This could be any organisation or group of organisations, who wants to outsource work in either one or more service areas [or LOTs] and rather than having 50-100 applications come through for the [potentially many] tenders they publish, they start by narrowing down a set-list of applicants onto their own DPS.
Differences between Dynamic Purchasing System & General Tender processes
The main differences from the typical tender process are that a DPS is to:
be run as a completely electronic process (no paper or posting required here)
allow new suppliers to join at any time (meaning that if you have been unsuccessful at securing a place – you can always try again in the future)
and show longevity in its run (we’ve come across DPS’s which are open for 10 or more years)
All that suppliers would need to do, is register their company onto this DPS online, click which service area they are interested in delivering and undergo a Stage 1 submission in order to secure a place. Once secured, Stage 2 is the actual tendering of the works in question.
For example – A Housing Association could create a DPS for their outsourced Creative activity, which includes a range of service areas/LOTs – i.e. Branding, Printing, Website Hosting etc. They would publish this DPS opportunity to all and then undergo multiple stages to narrow down the process of awarding the work via the ‘most economically advantageous tender’ (MEAT).
Stage 1
In the average UK tender process, a lot of suppliers may be asked to complete a Pre-qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) to help the buyer narrow down their list of Invitations to Tender (ITT). This is now being taking over by a ‘Selection Questionnaire’ on many portals. It’s similar with a DPS – the supplier has to get onto the DPS in order to be Invited to Tender for works and they do this by completing a Stage 1 application process that heavily resembles a PQQ, with maybe a few additional questions thrown in.
Like a typical PQQ-to-ITT process, securing access to the DPS reflects a ‘weed-out’ procedure, with the buyer ensuring they progress all applicants who demonstrate greater strengths in their financial, technical and professional capabilities.
Stage 2
Once you are successful and Stage 1 is complete – it is complete. You do not have to re-do any capability and competency-based questions. Every time a tender is published in relation to your service area, as part of this Dynamic Purchasing System, you are automatically invited to tender and answer all questions specific to that service!
Once on the DPS then a range of tenders will then ensue (as and when required), allowing the buyer to streamline a more technically-focused evaluation on the responses collated.
Where we stand in all of this!
Our Tender Connect platform, which will be launching within the next 12-months, has many traits of a Dynamic Purchasing System, in that a buyer, let’s, for example, say a Design agency on our Creative Tenders portal, seeks a professional company who can support their financial/accountancy needs. All that the Design agency would do is:
Log on to Tender Connect
View a list of our Professional Tenders subscribers, which encapsulates a large list of Accountancy firms
Publish their ‘private opportunity brief’ to a filtered list of suppliers
Receive responses, evaluate and award
The reason we filter this list is to avoid publishing opportunities that bare minimal relevance to our suppliers. And to streamline the process for our buyers, helping them publish specific competitive opportunities to the most competent suppliers.
So, if you ever come across a DPS that contains services specific to your offering – get on board.
WE HAD TO GOOGLE THE VISION OF OUR OWN COMPANY! – Making sure you have consistent marketing messages!
Businesses can often feel like they’re losing their way, especially when producing tender documents and relaying their ‘spirit’ and clear marketing messages across on paper. Competition is growing with the increase in entrepreneurial mindsets and innovating youngsters in Universities, who are now encouraged to master their talents and develop start-up new businesses with help from mentors and growth coaches.
For those of us who are already trading and focused on either sustaining or growing our businesses, we need to make sure we remain valid and innovative to stand the test of time and fulfil client requirements using innovative tools and techniques that make it easier for our buyers to use our services.
You wouldn’t be the first if you’d admit that you had to google the vision of your own company. We all lose our way from time to time, but the most important thing is, that it remains consistent in the public eye. If you’re writing one thing in your tender documents but your website, marketing materials and employees are saying another, it only reduces the confidence that buyers have in your ability to deliver a consistent service.
Our vision…
We thrive on the vision of our Company – to become the next Billion-pound company to come out of the UK, and we plan to do that with our headquarters in County Durham. It’s a simple vision that no one in this company will ever forget. Yes, we have sub-ambitions about innovation and employee development, but they all work towards our billion-pound vision and we write it absolutely everywhere. It’s consistent, it’s daring and it’s a powerful message for anyone who wants to work with us.
The core focus of this article is to encourage consistency. If you do one thing after reading this article, try reading your website and your marketing materials and then ask each of your employees (separately) what they believe your vision is, mark a percentage of how many of them are right. From that, you can fix one thing today – you can ensure your team are working toward the same goal.
Standout by being consistent. Discover your vision to allow you to succeed when tendering. Procure the best and invest
in innovation.
We’re happy to help you ensure your vision and marketing messages are all conveyed clearly across
your Tendering efforts.
WHY CHOOSE CREATIVE TENDERS? Helping you discover Creative Bids!
Creative bids can be difficult to find, so we have put together a short guide to demonstrate how Creative Tenders can help you!
Creative Tenders is an online platform which ensures all UK-wide contracts and tender opportunities (both private and public) are captured from the excessive number of national portals. These are categorised through specific sub-sectors, and uploaded on a user-friendly website – daily!
That’s ‘what’ it is – now let’s go to the ‘why’ you should be using it.
Are you registered to a platform where you receive opportunities regularly?
If so –surely, you’ll have noticed that you receive opportunities that are not relevant to you. Or, sometimes receive the opportunity one week after it is posted, OR do not receive any opportunities at all.
These are a few of the many key issues we have recognised in our procurement/tendering experiences. Where electronic algorithms based purely on CPV codes hinder any efforts of receiving tender opportunities. We don’t mean to confuse you – but for a lot of SMEs that’s exactly what this is – confusing!
Please see our ‘What are CPV Codes? The Pains of Procurement’ blog to understand what CPV Codes are all about.
Basically – we are the only company in the UK that has sector-specific RESOURCE who scours thousands of internet portals MANUALLY and sends sub-sector opportunities to customers DAILY! Meaning, when our team members come across either public AND/OR private opportunities for creative bids, such as ‘website design’ – this will be immediately published to our customers who identify as a ‘website agency’ (for example).
Creative Tenders offers daily notifications of the most up-to-date business / tender opportunities across the UK. This is filtered and broken down to the following sub-sectors:
Design
Digital/Software
Marketing/Communications/Advertising
Video/Animation/Photography
Events/Exhibitions
PR
Print
After careful research and the fact our Growth Director, Jill Hudson (nee. Newey), holds almost two decades worth of experience in the Creative Sector. We know the types of creative bids that YOU WANT to see!
This is one of the 10 platforms we offer, with others including:
Phase 1 of our growth plans is happening now, so you can discover business opportunities that is bespoke to your service offering.
Phase 2 is coming later in the year with the launch of our Tender Connect Service. This will be where customers from our alternative platforms (above) can post private opportunities across another specific platform. i.e. if an events company on Creative Tenders requires catering support they will publish the opportunity to our Hospitality Tenders platform, directly to our Catering customer.
Inter-trading at its finest!
“We have been using Creative Tenders for over 7 months now and have already gained two contract wins based on the private and public opportunities available on this website, that we didn’t come across anywhere else. We love it how all opportunities are in one place and dedicated to the service we offer. This has saved us time seeking these ourselves, which has allowed more time on developing the opportunities at hand.” Design Agency, CreativeTenders.
As some may say – the proof is in the pudding. We offer a FREE demo to anyone who is interested. Get in touch now to join the hundreds of customers who are receiving bespoke opportunities daily!
I’M IN COMPETITION WITH MYSELF AND I’M LOSING! – Tender Basics!
Tender Basics are the foundation of your bid writing success. Our Growth Director, Jill Hudson, has over 16 years’ experience with Tender Writing, so she knows how lonely it can get when you see rejection in the early days.
“I quite quickly went from a success record of <15% in my very early days of tender writing to >70% just by spending the time needed to digest feedback and eliminate silly mistakes. Mistakes I seemed to be making all the time without evening realising I was doing it.”
The thing you need to realise very early on is that feedback is the route to success.
No one really likes reading the feedback of how they’ve missed the point of the tender document, the response didn’t hit the mark – at all, or you’ve forgotten to proofread and your response to a question is littered with mistakes. Queue – kick yourself under the table and put the kettle on. It’s important to get back to the ‘Tender Basics’ every time you’re writing a bid.
Tender Basics
However, without this feedback, you will continue to make these mistakes. The most common mistake you will make is not understanding the time it takes to respond to a bid correctly. Assuming you’ll write a winning submission in 2-hours is unrealistic, whilst ABC Ltd. are throwing all their resource at this competitive contract to ensure they will win it.
You need to quickly realise that the only way you will start to win is to get back to the Tender Basics:
Believe you can win it – ensuring you have the right credentials.
Do your homework – research is key.
Spend the time needed to write a winning submission.
Don’t leave it until the last minute – this is how mistakes happen.
Ensure you understand the point scoring mechanismsto ensure you are maximising your answers to the questions asked.
Answer the question with the information they have requested, not the information you believe they should know about your business.
We’re sure you’ve established that our main piece of advice over the many blogs we have written, is to be sensible with your expectations. If you turnover around £100,000 per annum, you’re not going to win a £2,000,000 contract. Nor should you want to put all your eggs in one basket like that. So, if this is the course of action you’re taking you will continue to receive the rejection letters.
Tender writing is an art form, it isn’t for everyone but you will reap the rewards if you spend the time learning, building knowledge and correctly assessing what you need to do to allow you to win.
Jill states “I’m a firm believer that the only person you should ever be in competition with is yourself. That way you will always get better.”
Eliminate the noise and … focus!
If all else fails, give our Tender Consultants a call, we’re here to help you discover, succeed, procure and invest!
“THEY ALREADY KNOW WHO THEY WANT TO USE!” – The Tendering Process
We’ve all heard stories about backhanded business deals and brown paper envelopes passed under the table for the decision making to go in favour of a specific business on a particular contract/opportunity.
This is drastically changing for the better, having analysed tender processes now compared to where they were 10 years ago. We’re not saying this doesn’t happen! We do still live in a world of human interaction (for now). However, things are getting better and we’re super confident that this will continue.
Here at Hudson Procurement Group we are focused on creating a fair bidding process for all. We’re working hard to make headway with government organisations. Especially into how and why decisions are made when marking tender documents. And also, how buyers issue tender notifications and how to produce a fair Invitation to Tender and Specification document.
“THEY ALREADY KNOW WHO THEY WANT TO USE!” – The Tendering Process
We like to advise our customers on how they can question the result of a tender notification and the tendering process if they believe they have been incorrectly scored. This does not mean that we’re going to back sore losers and encourage those who think they should have won when in actual fact the right company was awarded the contract. On occasion, we’re simply pipped at the post and the best man won and we need to take it on the chin and learn from it.
If you truly believe you were not given a good shot, there are a couple of things you can do:
Ask for thorough feedback, and if they don’t provide it then you can question ‘why not?’. If they’re spending public purse, they should spend the time needed to give you feedback against the winning submission.
If they will not provide feedback ask the process for putting in a freedom of information request, this should prompt them into giving you feedback.
If you are still feeling like you’re getting no response, you can contest the decision based on lack of feedback. This means that spending public-purse will be required to complete a thorough internal investigation into how they have purchased the required services/products.
The most important aspect of any ‘rejection letter’ is to look at it logically and ask for feedback, learn from it and make sensible decisions on how to move forward.
Things truly are changing in the world of procurement. We’re going to be central to making sure our customers are given a fair shot when investing the time needed to respond to an ITT.
We’re only ever a phone call away, and we would welcome your feedback on how you believe the procurement process should change to suit SMEs. If we hear your feedback, we can help shape policy for the better.
DON’T WORRY ABOUT DISTANCE: We live in a Digital World! – International Tendering!
This is an age-old debate here at Hudson Procurement Group. We’re constantly telling our customers to spread their wings when it comes to bidding for new business and succumb to International Tendering.
Historically, we used to take as much business as we could from our doorstep. It was, after all, deemed easier to deliver logistically and support with brand recognition. It was a major achievement to be a leading regional vendor.
But, things have changed drastically over the years and the government throws hundreds of millions into helping us SMEs to trade internationally. The world and its major cities are so much more accessible and connected with daily direct flights from the UK to the US, Dubai, Australia, China etc., especially for service and product-based enterprises.
We encourage our clients to eliminate any geographical fear when looking for business. We advise you to look at where the work is and look at the logistics of delivery. If it deems possible, then don’t put in place unnecessary barriers that will hinder your company growth. An international business development strategy should be a core activity for your executive/director team until you’ve established there isn’t any profit in trading overseas.
Here at Hudson Procurement Group, we have over 1,000 clients all over the world. None of which we’ve met face to face, but it’s not important to meet them. We speak with them daily over the telephone, Skype and email. We still deliver the same value-added service regardless if they’re UK based, operate in the US or have their headquarters in India. We too revel in International Tendering!
Our advice when looking at which tendering opportunities are right for you is:
Don’t eliminate any opportunity until you’ve assessed it properly.
Ensure you can make a profit, taking into consideration traveling and shipping costs if this is a required part of the work.
Take a risk! Sometimes these risks pay huge dividends. Just because you’re not based on their doorstep, doesn’t mean you’re not the right provider.
Don’t assume you won’t be chosen just because you can’t pop to their office for a cup of tea. You’ll find that more and more people try to eliminate the number of meetings they have, not increase them.
Seek advice and guidance from your local Department of International Trade. We’ve found them super useful during our research phase of opening our US office.
Give us a call, we’re happy to help and to answer any questions you may have about bidding for work overseas.
We’re here to help you discover, succeed, procure and invest.
So, the government launched Digital Market Place to support digital companies with sourcing government contracts and government buyers to source digital suppliers. Seems simple, right? Not exactly.
In theory, we totally love Digital Market Place, I mean who wouldn’t as a tender writer for digital businesses. Our main concern, however, is that the tenders are locked down to registered suppliers and it’s been an age since they’ve opened it up for new registrations. Great for our customers who are already registered, not so great for those who aren’t.
The types of tenders you will find on Digital Market Place range from day-rate development work to full-scale multi-million-pound software and web projects. In our opinion, budgets tend to be larger and contracts posted are for experienced digital agencies rather than start-ups/small agencies, but don’t let that put you off applying to be a registered supplier. Once you’re on, you’re on. You do however have to keep details up to date to ensure your registration remains live.
We will issue via our social channels and customer newsletters, information regarding Digital Market Place’s registration announcement, so keep an eye out in your inbox.
We think it’s safe to say that every year, something new happens in the world of procurement. This is due to the ever-changing landscape that buyers and suppliers constantly find themselves in. Here are, in our opinion, a small collection of common trends across UK Public Sector Tendering as of late:
1. BREXIT
The word coined to fill the hearts of many with either progressiveness or ultimate decline. The word in our opinion is met with uncertainty, especially in the way procurement will be running long-term. It has been recorded that “since Brexit, the total value of tenders has risen”. This implies that there is more work than ever before up for grabs. However, how long will it last? Well, there are no immediate changes due to the EU regulations being merged with primary UK legislation. However, we can expect a lot more focus on cost-effective supply chains that are held locally, given our potential departures from European partners. Risk assessments and the holistic management of contracts will surely be examined a lot more in technical questions based on the happenings of BREXIT.
2. Modern Slavery
Have you come across it yet? The question on an increasing amount of PQQs which ask if you abide by Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015? What you may not know is that the act contains a clause on ‘Transparency in Supply Chains’, which addresses the role of businesses and what they do to prevent modern slavery from occurring in their supply chains and organisation[s]. As per Section 54, it states that if your organisation has a turnover of over £36 million or more you must confirm adherence. You will then have to publish a ‘slavery and human trafficking’ statement annually on your company’s website. Mainly, to state what you are doing to prevent this. We find that SME’s tend not to worry about this, as it remains non-applicable 99% of the time, but still, it is something that is commonly being asked across the board.
3. Social Value
What are you doing for your community? what environmental aims does your company have? do you work with apprentices? – these are just a few of the questions that are becoming increasingly asked in public-sector tenders. Even if you are the smallest company around, we advise you to think of your corporate and social responsibility and how this is positively changing the world … or at least your local area. Every little helps! – we advise you do liaise with charities, apprenticeship providers, assess long-term goals and ensure that social value (aligned with a local authority and government initiatives) crops up one way or another, as this is becoming a key contribution to finalising scores in ongoing tenders.
4. SME Focus
By 2020, the UK government has promised “big opportunities for small firms” as they are set to spend £1 in every £3 with small businesses/SMEs. One thing a lot of SMEs DO NOT have that bigger companies DO HAVE is experienced and well-educated internal Bid Writing professionals. This means SMEs will see a surge of utilising external support functions to ensure their tenders are of the highest quality. We are one of those companies! Our aim is not to just write high-quality bids, but support you with understanding the procurement world. We’ll support you with:
opportunity tracking (using our elite and secure Hudson Discover platforms, related to each UK industry) tender training (using our upcoming FREE virtual learning environment with regular VLOGs) eventually
maintaining/developing your ongoing content for tendering (using Tender Bank).
The increased use of Framework Agreements and Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) and getting onto these, require rapid and high-quality responses to ensure longstanding work is won and sustained.
These are just a small list of current trends that are recognised as of late. If you need help with writing bids or anything further feel free to get in touch!
We are Hudson Procurement Group and we are here to help you grow, develop and standout!
Understanding and Implementing Tender Feedback – we all dread it, don’t we?
When the doomed ‘Contract Award’ notification hits our inbox with an attached letter titled ‘unsuccessful’ or ‘regret letter’. This can be one of the very few things that make our business-fueled hearts completely shatter!
To put it simply- we have never met a company who hasn’t had some sort of failure whilst tendering. It is very unlikely that you will win every tender you bid for – in fact – around 98% of well-established companies will tell you about a time they failed at tendering.
This could be down to a whole range of things that contribute to the evaluation of a typical tender. Bidding for a job is not just about putting your fingers on a keyboard and writing some profound content (or getting specialist support to do this for you)- there are other key factors that could let you down which you need to take control of and act upon, ready for the next tender!
Buying organisations (especially in the public sector) are now obliged to provide a decent amount of tender feedback as part of their evaluations. This is to support the supplier organisations better their chances next time.
How we approach it…
We are always advising clients to use this to their advantage and encourage them to receive as much detailed feedback as possible. If you only receive scores out of 100, ask for qualitative feedback to how the winner was successful and you weren’t. As mentioned, this is becoming increasingly provided as part of the Contract Award process.
Below is an example of what you should do when receiving the feedback and using this to your advantage towards future efforts.
EXAMPLE
Maximum Score Available
Your Score
Winners Score
Quality
60%
32%
52%
Costing
40%
40%
30%
Total
100%
72%
82%
Our 4 steps:
Understand the key area[s] to why you were unsuccessful- this will be translated clearly in numerical scores using a ratio of Quality & Pricing (and in some added cases, Interview/Presentation)- this will be your main focus to implement improvements; e.g. if you score 32% out of 60% for quality but 40% out of 40% for cost – this shows you were the cheapest supplier but lacked in your technical responses. It turns out you were only 11% away from beating the winner in total.
Once quantitative data is identified, source the qualitative feedback provided (if none has been provided- ask for further detail)- this should be broken down clearly on the contract award notification to enable stringent focus on where to improve; e.g. out of the 60% maximum score for quality, a major section of this was a ‘Contract Management’ question, which accounts for 30%- the score and feedback provided suggests your contract management arrangements lack innovation and fundamental traits compared to those of the winner (incl. lack of efficient MI system etc.)
Make sure an internal meeting is held with key members of your staff, in order to collaborate and discuss improvements where necessary; e.g. Assess all traits regarding Contract Management that was provided as feedback – research best practice – due to the lack of an effective management information (MI) system, it is best to find out which is the most affordable systems on the market- ask yourselves what are your competitors using? What was the winner using? – Companywide Idea generation sessions help massively to ensure a firm approach and wider understanding of what’s needed.
Undergo regular sustainability reviews to ensure improvements are fully established across your organisation; e.g. ask yourselves – do we have an effective MI system now? Have we implemented innovative approaches? How do we compare to our competitors? Can we write a better response to Contract management now?
One of the biggest things you SHOULD NOT do is operate a ‘blame culture’ within your organisation when trying to understand tender feedback. Not only will that upset staff and ignite resentment but will likely damage your efforts of improvements going forward. We are strict believers that when tendering, if you win together, you have to lose together also. One of the most important things about tendering is making sure your colleagues are proofreading and checking EVERYTHING before submission. The more eyes, the better! If you find that a mistake was made by a member of your team which had huge effects on your succession of the work, then this should be an issue that was missed by the whole team and treated with solidarity, to effectively improve.
Remember- we offer a Tender Consultancy service to support the development and even review your work prior to submission. Get in touch if you need further support with managing those all-important opportunities!
Tenders these days (especially in the Public sector) are extremely structured in that they all feature the same legality clauses and requests, based upon EU legislation and procurement law. One other majorly structured trait to a tender and something the buyer definitely wants to know is how you’ve delivered your services in the past!
The age-old question of – “Please provide 3 examples which demonstrate your technical capability in the market” – is now something of common-request in national tenders. And rightly so! Of course, buyers want to know who you currently work with, how much work you’ve done and what great results your company boasts.
They need to make sure you have undergone scopes of work, similar to what they are procuring. Experience is key to winning every contract and as part of our writing tutorials at Tender Consultants. We always state that evidence is needed to back up the majority of the responses. Usually, this evidence comes from your experience. This makes the buyer/evaluator feel at complete ease, knowing you have completed something similar before.
We are not saying that you shouldn’t bid for work you haven’t delivered before (especially if you’re a new business). You may have better tools, better ideas and more cost-effective solutions at your disposal that other businesses (with experience) lack. It’s all about assessing the relevancy of your experience and using this to benefit the contract at hand. This is where Case Studies will support your tendering efforts going forward.
A few Do’s and Don’ts to building case studies include:
DO – get in touch with your current clients and ask for testimonials. These can be added to support a strong case for why the buyer should choose you. E.g. The CEO of ‘Company X’ has stated we are “an impeccable & efficient company, who has not only delivered the most engaging content with brochures but has supported our marketing efforts overall”;
DON’T – just pick a client and submit ‘static’ material already developed. Always make sure you adapt your content and client to align with the specified requirements of the buyer. Ensure similar scope, nature and size is used every time, where possible. E.g. if you need to supply 500 brochures to a hospital, the buyer probably won’t care if you supplied 5 to a retail store previously- this is way different in size AND scope;
DO – use the STAR format when developing your Case Studies to clearly outline the Situation (brief context), Task (the work you faced), Action (what you’ve done) and Results (what were the results etc.). E.g. this helps to break down each case study. You may do this several times depending on the requirements within the tender. However, it is a very good start to show the buyer/evaluator what needed to be done, what & how it was done, along with success rates and statistics outlining benefits/improvements to the client;
So now you’re up-to-date…
This will be one of the most important elements you use as part of your tender submission and almost 99% of Stage 1/PQQ submissions nowadays have the experience and/or contract example requests embedded.
We encourage you to start working on your case studies as soon as your contract with a client begins. Therefore, you can at least get the basic information gathered using the STAR format and then adapt these case studies to align with future buyer’s requirements as part of tenders!
Need further help? Get in touch and let us help you grow, develop and standout!
As I’m sure you’re well aware by now, May 25th sees the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (or GDPR for short). This will be the new term used for the storing, processing and management of personal data. Basically, DPA and confidentiality processes have a new broader term to ensure all data is withheld in the most secure ways possible. GDPR is a vital update on what you currently do. We are assuming that what you currently do is best practice and of course abides by current DPA law.
I know what you’re thinking ‘we always operate confidentially – what’s new?’
What’s new are the heightened processes every organisation must undergo when handling data. With GDPR, there are more serious consequences if you are found to be using data incorrectly. With the majority of our subscribed clients on our various platforms, they all handle customer and/or public data in some form or another. It’s vital to understand the key points to this national legislation change and ensure this is adhered to fully.
Some of the key aspects your company must focus on is ensuring that all data is identified and assessed in line with new and specific protocols. Processes are structured, data is mapped and constantly improved upon, as well as being stored electronically and in traditional filing systems.
With implementing data governance best practices, you’ll not only comply with the GDPR but you’ll now be able to create more business value with confidence. This will ensure success when contracting with future parties.
We have now found many public and private tenders are increasingly asking suppliers if they are GDPR compliant via the multiple processes above.
Such questions have become apparent in a recent public tender within the creative sector (for e.g.):
Please confirm that you are GDPR compliant (detail relevant technical & organisational security measures)?
Are you maintaining Data Processing Records?
Do your standard contract terms include the new GDPR mandatory provisions?
Do you have a documented Breach Notification Process? Etc.
To maximise your scores, you would need to answer more than a simple YES!
Please see ICO’s brochure which provides further helpful information on preparing for and applying GDPR principles in your organisation[s].
We encourage all clients to take this information provided. Mainly to ensure any future tendering efforts aren’t spread thin merely by the lack of compliance against GDPR. Going forward, it is becoming quite clear that GDPR may soon become part of the normal questions asked in PQQs and ITTs.
Over the next few months, we will be analysing common requirements (as above) that are starting to come into effect with the changes and updates that GDPR will pose. Watch this space and remember to take a look at the brochure attached to begin what is needed for you to excel with upcoming tenders.
We’re here to help you grow, develop and standout!
