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Art and Culture Tenders: Where to find them, and how to win them!

Posted on by John Hudson

6 tips to help you win art and culture tenders

In this blog, we’ll share our top tips for finding and winning art and culture tenders.

So, you’re looking for art and culture tender opportunities? This blog will show you how to easily find art and culture tender opportunities. Our expert Bid Writers have 6 quick tips to help you create a winning bid! If you want to know more, keep reading…

Where can you find art and culture tender opportunities?

When looking for art and culture tender opportunities, most businesses will go straight to a search engine. They might use Google, which will find hundreds of websites with opportunities available. However, it will take hours to dig through each website looking for suitable contracts.

Additionally, you may find that the opportunities just aren’t suitable. They may omit key details, leaving you to read the lengthy tender documents just to find out you’re not eligible! Or, the deadline date is very soon, and you won’t complete the bid in time. This process is not only tedious but can be very frustrating. Luckily, there are better solutions available…

Creative Tenders simplifies the process of finding tenders. Using this portal, you’ll be able to easily find art and culture tender opportunities. The portal displays key information for each tender, such as:

  • Tender location
  • Deadline date and time
  • Budget.

This information will help you decide whether the opportunity is right for you!

To make the search even easier, you can use filters to narrow down your tender search. Doing so means you can select a budget, location, and other keywords to help find the right opportunity for you. The portal is updated every day by our Opportunity Trackers. They search for opportunities manually, without using CPV codes to find tenders either. This vastly reduces the possibility of missing opportunities we don’t reply on these often incorrect codes. Government sites use CPV codes, and as such, can be much less accurate.

Winning art and culture tender opportunities

 Now that you’ve found art and culture tendering opportunities, the next step is winning work! To help you achieve this, our expert Bid Writers at our sister company, Hudson Succeed have six tips for you:

  1. Don’t go over the word count! By ignoring this instruction, you will lose marks.
  2. Try not to use too much technical jargon as this may confuse the buyer.
  3. Ensure your bid response is clear, concise, and easy to read. This will help the buyer understand your ideas and will keep them engaged.
  4. Make sure you proofread and edit your bid before submission. Any mistakes left in your response will make you look unprofessional.
  5. Consider using bid management tactics to stay organised, helping reduce stress and making the whole process easier.
  6. Hire a Bid Writer to manage the entire process for you. Be assured that they have the experience and the knowledge of what makes a winning bid!

Still have questions about art and culture tender opportunities? Why not contact us? Our team are always happy to answer any questions you may have!

Upgrade to Discover Elite and never miss an opportunity

If you want to take your tender search one step further, look no further than Discover Elite. By signing up to Discover Elite, a dedicated Account Manager will search for live bids for you! You’ll have weekly phone calls to discuss opportunities, which is especially helpful for those with busy schedules. By upgrading to Discover Elite, you’ll make sure you never miss another tendering opportunity.

Discover Elite offers:

  • An annual subscription for up to two of our Discover portals.
  • Up to five or seven bid breakdowns per month, depending on the package you choose. This will help you decide which bid is right for you.
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss tendering opportunities.
  • Award and pre-market engagement notice monitoring.
  • Public and private buyer portal management including registering, password management, downloading documents and accessing viability based on your bid strategy.

Some of the tenders have previously sources on our portals include:

Programme Development – North-West – £ 48,000

Council seeking qualified and experienced individuals/consortiums/organisations to help develop their Art and Culture Programme.

Support Services – West Midlands – Budget: undisclosed

The Council requires a supplier for the provision of focus groups.

PR – North-West – £80,000

To provide renowned museum with PR services in the lead up to the opening a new museum.

Too busy to write a bid response?

If you lack the resources or time to dedicate to writing a winning bid, you could always outsource it! Hudson Succeed, our sister company, has an 87% success rate and over 60 collective years of bidding experience. You have the choice of four bid writing packages, ensuring you can always find a service that suits you. Whether you’re new to tendering, or just need someone to check your response, Succeed can help. Their packages include:

  • Tender Writing – if you’ve found the right tender for you but don’t know where to begin, we can help. Just send the specification to us and our Bid Team will take it from there. They’ll let you know what you need via a breakdown, and even submit on your behalf. This gives you more time to focus on your business.
  • Tender Ready – this programme is designed for those who have no tendering experience. Over the four-week programme, Succeed will work with you to ensure you have everything in place for a successful tender.
  • Tender Improvement – this programme is for those who are currently tendering but are struggling to see success. Bid Writers will assess your previous work and supporting documents, giving feedback and guidance on how to improve.
  • Tender Mentor – have you written a tender and need someone to proofread it? Tender Mentor is for you! A Bid Writer will review your work, making sure your grammar and spelling are correct, and it meets the specification.

For more information about any of these packages, please get in touch.

We also source opportunities for sectors including:

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow.

Why not check out some of our other blogs? 

The Keys to Finding & Winning Publishing Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

Here’s how to find and win publishing tenders

Looking for publishing tenders? You’re in luck! At Creative Tenders, we know all about publishing tenders. So, if you have questions, we will be happy to answer them. In this blog, we will cover what publishing tenders are, where to find them, and how to win! Keep reading, you don’t want to miss out…

What are publishing tenders?

For those that are unsure, publishing tenders are contracts that require some form of printing and publication services. A company or organisation may require the following to be printed/published:

  • Magazines
  • Books
  • Articles
  • Newspapers
  • Leaflets
  • Brochures
  • Posters
  • Invitations
  • Academic works
  • Electoral supplies.

Do you offer any of these services? Do you want to bid for contracts to expand your business? There are plenty of opportunities out there, which is why it’s so beneficial to tender for work. Looking for contracts allows your business access to opportunities you wouldn’t know about otherwise. Keep reading if you want to know where to find the perfect publishing tenders for your business…

Finding publishing tenders with Hudson Discover’s Creative Tenders

Most of us will turn to a search engine such as Google when we need to find something. It is the wizard that has all the answers to our questions. But when you search for ‘publishing tenders’, you’ll find yourself swamped with countless sites to visit. Each site will feature information differently. Most will not make it easy for you either.

You’ll likely have to read lengthy tender documents to get to the key details of each tender. This could be the deadline date, location, budget, or perhaps an element that dictates whether or not you are eligible. Imagine reading over 50 pages to find out you aren’t eligible for a tender, or the deadline is too soon. That is a lot of time wasted!

There are easier ways of finding publishing tenders…

What is Creative Tenders?

As one of Hudson Discover’s 11 sector-specific portals, Creative Tenders makes it easy to find opportunities.

These portals were designed to make it simple to find tenders suitable to your preferences. For example, you can use filters to search for tenders based on location, keywords, dates, and budget. You may be familiar with tender portals, so what makes ours different?

Well, each of our portals are updated daily by Opportunity Trackers that don’t use CPV codes. These codes are used to identify contract opportunities, but they can often have errors. This means that we will never miss a tender due to the wrong code.

Every day, we will send you a tender notification of all the new opportunities you may be interested in.

Want to save even more time looking for publishing tenders? Try Discover Elite

What if you could streamline the process even further?

The good news is – you can!

Sign up to Discover Elite via your chosen portal where a dedicated Account Manager finds live bids on your behalf. They’ll speak with you weekly to discuss opportunities that may interest you. This is especially helpful for those with little time to spare due to busy schedules.

Upgrading to Discover Elite will ensure you never miss a tendering opportunity even when you’re busy!

The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool offers your business:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Discover portalsof your choice.
  • Up to five bid breakdowns per month to help you make your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager to discuss viable leads and tendering opportunities.
  • Award and pre-market engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Public and private buyer portal management including registering, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid strategy.

Examples of publishing tenders found on our portal

Publications Production with End-to-End Print Services

Swansea University – Wales – Budget: £1,000,000

 

Contract for Publishing Guidebooks

National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool – South East – Budget: £85,000

 

The Provision of a Publications Dispatch Service

Department of Social Protection – Republic of Ireland – Budget: £200,000

 

The Provision of NIHR Journals Library: Production Services

University of Southampton – South East – Budget: £7,000,000

 

South Devon College ITT for the Design of Publications

South Devon College – South West – Budget: £60,500

4 tips to win publishing tenders from expert Bid Writers

  1. Make sure your answers are clear, concise, and relevant
  2. Don’t use technical jargon as this can confuse the buyer
  3. Ensure you proofread your proposal before submission, so it is of the highest standard
  4. Use writing and language skills to keep the buyer engaged with your bid.

Summary

We have reached the end of our blog on publishing tenders. Here is a recap of everything we covered:

What are publishing tenders?

Here are some examples of products needed as part of a publishing tender.

  • Magazines
  • Books
  • Articles
  • Newspapers
  • Leaflets
  • Brochures
  • Patient identification bands
  • Posters
  • Vouchers
  • Product packaging
  • Invitations
  • Academic works
  • Electoral supplies.

To find publishing tenders, you can use the Creative Tender’s portal. By upgrading to Discover Elite, an Account Manager will find tenders on your behalf.

4 tips to win publishing tenders from expert Bid Writers

  1. Make sure your answers are clear, concise, and relevant
  2. Don’t use technical jargon
  3. Ensure you proofread your proposal before submission
  4. Use writing and language skills to keep the buyer engaged with your bid.

Need help writing your next tender?

If you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next tenders.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

We also source opportunities for sectors including:

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow.

Contact us for more information.

Check out some of our other blogs:

3 Things to Expect from Public Affairs Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

Public affairs tenders explained

Winning public affairs tenders can be a great way to grow your business. They can help secure a pipeline of work for your business and guarantee pay (depending on the sector). Businesses will issue public affairs tenders in order to procure public affairs services.

If you’ve never submitted a response for public affairs tenders before, you may be wondering how to begin. Or, if you aren’t seeing success from your current tendering effort you may be looking to improve. Luckily for you, we can help. This blog will explain how public affairs tenders work and what to look out for.

3 things to expect from public affair tenders

  1. Proof of experience

Buyers will often expect to you have a bank of experience of past successful contracts. Often, they will require 2 – 3 case studies within the last 3 – 5 years. These case studies must be similar in scope and complexity to the contract you’re applying for. They should demonstrate your capabilities to work on the proposed contract.

Depending on the word count, you should include how you overcame and challenges on these projects. This will strengthen your response demonstrating your problem-solving skills and flexibility. Some buyers may require you to detail the contact information of previous clients. So, it’s best not to over exaggerate on the example as you might be caught out.

  1. Added value

A winning bid for public affairs tenders will include how they will bring added value to the contract. Buyers want to get the most value for their money. Therefore, you will need to demonstrate how you will add value.

If you’re tendering in the public sector, this is referred to as social value. There is now a mandatory weighting of 10% on social value for public sector contracts. Here you must detail the environmental, social and economic aspects while fulfilling the contract. You should consider how your business will:

  • Support COVID-19 recovery
  • Encourage economic growth
  • Tackle climate change
  • Create new jobs and skills

  1. Framework agreements

Public affairs tenders may be a part of a wider framework agreement. A framework agreement is a multi-supplier agreement typically used within the public sector to procure a good or service. Securing a place on a framework can be a lucrative opportunity for your business. They can run for years at a time with the possibility of extension.

Framework agreements are often split into lots, with each lot representing a specific good, product or service. They can also be split into geographical locations. They allow suppliers to apply for specific lots they specialise in. Public affairs services can often be found as part of a wider agreement for other creative services. For example:

Lot 1 – Public Affairs Services

Lot 2 – Public Relations

Lot 3 – Digital Design Services

Lot 4 – Events Services

So, now you have a bit more of an idea of what to expect from public affairs tenders. You want to be clear and concise in your response. Make sure you adhere to the formatting guidelines in the specification and answer every question. You should be persuasive in your response and demonstrate why you’re the best business over your competitors.

Need assistance writing your next public affairs tenders?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offer four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

Where can I find public affairs tenders for my business?

Running your own business takes up a lot of your time. The last thing you want to be doing is trawling hundreds of websites searching for public affairs tenders. Most websites post multi-industry opportunities and filtering them with CPV codes can produce unreliable results. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Enter…Creative Tenders

Creative Tenders is an easy-to-navigate, centralise portal hosting live creative tender opportunities from across the UK.

Below are previous public affairs tenders sourced on our portal:

Public Affairs Consultancy

Stonewater Limited – East Midlands- Budget: £132,000

Provision of Public Affairs & Public Relations

St James’s Hospital- Republic of Ireland- Budget: £300,000

Contract for the Provision of Communications Support Services including Media Relations, Public Relations & Public Affairs

Health and Safety Authority- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Communications, Campaigns and Public Affairs Framework

Leeds City Council- Yorkshire and Humber- Budget: Undisclosed

AC/2020/09 – Public Relations, Public Affairs and Media Relations

Arts Council- Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

A subscription to Creative Tenders offers your business:

  • Access to all exclusive, private and public sector opportunities within the creative industry.
  • A dedicated Account Manager on hand to answer any questions you may have about public affairs tenders. They can help you understand the procurement process in general.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new, sector-specific opportunities are uploaded.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free bid management consultancy each month.

WE SOURCE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SECTORS INCLUDING;

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see what creative contracts in the UK can help grow your business. 

WANT TO SAVE EVEN MORE TIME?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for video and film tenders.

THE ULTIMATE TIME SAVER PACKAGE OFFERS YOUR BUSINESS:

  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Creative and Technology, for example.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable creative tendering opportunities.

THE BECOME A PRE-BID MASTER PACKAGE ALSO INCLUDES:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

 

 

Tendering Portals – Reimagined

Posted on by Charlotte Jarvis

Tendering portals reimagined by Hudson Discover

Hudson’s tendering portals were designed as time-saving tools to help increase efficiency in the tendering process.

How long does it take you to search through numerous websites and find the right opportunity for your business?

Tender tracking is a full-time job. We know because our team of opportunity trackers search through thousands of websites every day.

This year, we are modernising the tender tracking process by enhancing our ten sector-specific tendering portals, including Creative Tenders.

The new features

As the updated portal is currently in development, here is a brief overview of what to expect from the new system:

The look

As you may already know, we recently rebranded the Hudson Group. Our new look is sleek and modern – therefore, our portal will be redeveloped to match.

Dynamic inter-trading

Procuring services will be even easier. Buyers will simply upload their specification and select which tendering portal they wish to target.

For example, if an accountancy business needs a new website, they can upload their specification on the new ‘Post a Project’ section and simply tick a box to send the opportunity to ‘Creative Tenders’.

Team collaboration

The new systems will allow users to assign tenders to their colleagues. Once the bid is submitted, the team can mark the tender as complete in the new ‘My Tasks’ section. This will allow for consistency across teams and increase efficiency when bidding for contracts.

User details can also be managed in the ‘My Profile’ tab. This enables the user to add or remove colleagues in just a few clicks, change passwords and update business details.

Industry collaboration

At Hudson, we believe that everything is better when we work collaboratively. We know that our clients share the same belief. Our new tendering portals will allow users to ‘opt-in’ to collaborate with other businesses.

For example, a marketing agency could contact a freelance graphic designer to ask for collaboration on a large project that they do not have the in-house design resource to deliver.

Access to more tendering portals

Clients who require access to more than one portal will be able to easily swap between systems.

Simply selecting the ‘Change Portal’ menu will allow users to move from one tender portal to another without loading different websites.

For example, a software company may require access to both our Creative Tenders and  Technology Tenders portal. 

Stay in touch

The new dashboard page will not only display the recently uploaded tenders that match your criteria but helpful updates from the Hudson Group.

For example, the dashboard will make you aware of:

  • New Tender VLE masterclasses;
  • Bid Surgery date and location announcements;
  • System changes you should be aware of;
  • Hudson notices, such as seasonal opening hours.

Remaining features

The unique benefits of our tendering portals will remain the same. Here are just a few of the features and subscription benefits that you can expect to continue:

Manual opportunity tracking

We only use manual tender tracking processes – our research identified that a third of tenders uploaded using algorithms were tagged with incorrect CPV codes.

What does this mean?

For the users of these systems, this means that they could receive notifications for irrelevant opportunities. It also means that when the users search these portals, they will still have to sift through numerous, unrelated contracts.

Our fundamental objective at Hudson Discover it to save time for our clients. Our team of opportunity trackers manually search thousands of sites every day, uploading each tender and tagging the opportunity with relevant keywords. This means that our users can simply log into the portal and filter their search results by keywords – only to be shown relevant contracts.

My favourites

When you simply can’t decide which tender to bid for, add those that stand out to your ‘My Favourites’ page. Later, you can peruse through these opportunities and compare them more easily.

Bid writing support

Our Hudson Succeed team are still only a click away. We understand that some tenders can be daunting. Our clients don’t have an unlimited amount of time or resource to spend on writing and submitting tenders. That’s why our team at Hudson Succeed are there to help.

Last year alone, the team secured £300million in direct contract wins for our clients. They proudly hold an 87% success rate and they are trusted by more than 700 businesses, globally. More information about services and testimonials can be found on the Hudson Succeed website.

Account management

Tendering can be confusing and sometimes you need a little support. Our account managers are not going anywhere.

Every client on our tendering portals receives personal support from our expert account managers. Whether you need support with getting started or responding to a specific tender, our account managers are only a phone call or an email away.

Filters

Once you sign up, all you need to do is tell the system what you are looking for and anything matching your criteria will appear on your dashboard page.

Your criteria can be categorised by location, keywords, budget and sector. This helpful functionality will remain the same.

Do current clients need to update anything?

Our existing clients do not have to change or update anything. Your account manager will contact you to let you know when the new system will be live and what to expect.

If you have any questions about the system changes or your subscription, please contact Marie Fisher via marie@hudsonprocurementgroup.co.uk.

More information

For more information about what creative contracts in the UK are available, please get in touch with our team.

WE SOURCE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SECTORS INCLUDING;

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow. 

I’M IN COMPETITION WITH MYSELF AND I’M LOSING! – Tender Basics!

Posted on by John Hudson

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
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:

  1. Believe you can win it – ensuring you have the right credentials.
  2. Do your homework – research is key.
  3. Spend the time needed to write a winning submission.
  4. Don’t leave it until the last minute – this is how mistakes happen.
  5. Ensure you understand the point scoring mechanisms to ensure you are maximising your answers to the questions asked.
  6. 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

Posted on by John Hudson

“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
“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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

See our ‘Rules & Regulations when Tendering’ Blog for additional regulations that buyers must adhere to.

 Want to learn more about the tendering process? We’re here to help you Discover, Succeed, Procure and Invest.

DON’T WORRY ABOUT DISTANCE: We live in a Digital World! – International Tendering!

Posted on by John Hudson

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:

  1. Don’t eliminate any opportunity until you’ve assessed it properly.
  2. Ensure you can make a profit, taking into consideration traveling and shipping costs if this is a required part of the work.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.

Common Trends in Public Sector Tendering!

Posted on by John Hudson

Common Trends in Public Sector Tendering!

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 & Implementing Tender Feedback

Posted on by John Hudson

Understanding & Implementing Tender Feedback

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:

  1. 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.
  1. 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.)
  1. 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.
  1. 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!

The importance of RELEVANT Case Studies!

Posted on by John Hudson

The importance of RELEVANT Case Studies!

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!

GDPR – Understanding what’s expected!

Posted on by John Hudson

GDPR – Understanding what’s expected!

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!

Bid Writing – To bid or not to bid?

Posted on by John Hudson

Bid Writing – To bid or not to bid?

THAT is the question! … Right?

Many factors may affect your decision to either bid or not bid for a contract. Rather than making it a gruelling and drawn out tender process, keep it simple.

We have put together a few checklist points, which you can use to determine an answer to the age-old question of tendering – to bid or not to bid?

CHECKLIST
Have you got 3 ideal case studies?
These are to be similar in scope, value and scale etc.
Is it right for you?
Look at the size, scope, location, specification – carefully assess the work – don’t be bidding for work in Uganda if you can’t deliver there
Is it financially viable?
Is it worth it? – would you be making a profit?
Do you meet the financial standing?
The golden rule is that you shouldn’t bid for a contract that is worth more than 50% of your annual turnover
Do you offer something unique in the market?
Look at your organisation’s USPs– what can you do that your competitors can’t?
Does this fit in with a long-term strategy?
Will this help expansion and fit into key goals for your company?
Do you need to outsource any work?
If so, how much? If it’s more than 50% why should you be chosen over other prime deliverers?
Does your company have the ability to deliver the project on paper?
Check your team CVs – is the experience and capability there?
Do you have time?
Do you require support? Can you afford to commit the time, effort and cost?
Would you choose yourself for this?
Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes – would you offer your company the workload compared to your competitors? How good can you put your offering across on paper?

How we can help further…

These are just a few examples of what you can ask yourself when deciding to bid or not to bid for a contract in your sector. We can help you decide via a highly effective and simple tender-readiness exercise our company provides, along with writing services, tender/procurement training and the best opportunity tracking around via industry-specific portals!

We don’t just look at the fact whether you should bid or not bid for any project but take into consideration your current practices, policies and written documentation to see if this sufficient against tender-specific requirements. It’s all well and good deciding to bid for a project/contract, but if you don’t have adequate processes, manuals and method statements etc., this will undoubtedly be your downfall. Make sure you’re fully ready to go!

Take the hassle out of the bid decision-making process and go for what is right for YOU!

Let us help you get there and ultimately make you grow, develop and standout!

Get in touch!

The Rules and Regulations when Tendering!

Posted on by John Hudson

The Rules and Regulations when Tendering

Procurement: – The aspect of a business that many organisations wish was easier.

Buyers in the public sector, such as housing associations, councils, and other relevant government departments are dealing with public money. Our taxes! So, therefore, all that is procured must be done so in the fairest and most transparent ways possible.

If any conflicts of interest and/or other bias proceedings occur when tendering, there can be serious consequences to this. Especially with buyers paying massive fines and/or representatives facing prison time. The way in which procurement departments procure all works in the fairest way possible is called ‘sourcing the most economically advantageous tender’ (MEAT). This is usually established via an open process:

Open Process

 Open to all organisations to submit a tender. On large projects, this may involve a pre-qualification process (PQQ) that results in a list of suitable suppliers who will be invited to tender (ITT). This open approach usually results in a large number of responses of varying suitability (i.e. both large companies AND SMEs).

It has been noted that more needs to be done to ensure ALL organisations are familiar with the ‘open process’ of tendering and the rules and regulations behind it. Hudson Procurement Group are here to do just that! Our aim is to improve the nation’s understanding of the broad term that is Procurement and eliminate the worries and qualms of managing tender processes by providing lucrative guidance and advice to ALL.

Our focus here is purely based on how the rules of public sector tendering via an open process can affect you and what can be done to ensure you’re at the top of your game:

Each UK public sector buyer is obliged by EU law to:

  • publish the contract opportunity in the public domain – our industry-specific portals (incl. Creative Tenders, and Technology Tenders to name a few) are the first of its kind to have manual daily bulletins processed/disseminated by an efficient team of people, rather than [mostly] flawed algorithms via automated systems used by ALL our competitors;
  • inform all suppliers of how tenders are to be evaluated – 95% of the time this is split between a quality and a commercial ratio (sometimes including a presentation stage too) – outline your tender strategy/focuses here – is 80% of the mark purely based on cost – are your rates competitive?
  • ask for whatever they feel is relevant to the opportunity – this could be method statements, evidence of past work, policies and written procedures – are you up to date with all background content – you don’t want to spend another 2 whole days creating a new policy from scratch- this minimises time from your actual tender response;
  • not discriminate against businesses registered in another EU country– so currently you may be up against your French competitors or other EU companies that are trying to make their mark in the UK – know your market – how do YOU stand out?
  • clearly, state all deadlines – this includes deadline to ask clarification questions & deadline for submission etc. Organise your time wisely based on this!
  • provide at least a 10-day standstill period – this is the period between contract award notification and actual contract award, allowing other suppliers the opportunity to contest/dispute the decision[s] made;

What will change in the coming years?

As we all know, some sort of changes may likely occur over time due to the whole Brexit saga and we will be the first to update you on how this affects you! For now, there has been no immediate impact on the legislative position in the UK and all the provisions listed above continue to apply!

These are just a few regulations in a very large pond filled with procurement jargon. Our upcoming Tender VLE service will ensure this jargon is broken down and shared via understanding methods and practice. The days of wishing procurement were easier are now over! Watch this space!