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Signage Tenders: The Secrets to Success!

Posted on by Charlotte Jarvis

Here’s how you can find and win signage tenders

How to find signage tenders

When you search for signage tenders, you’ll likely start off by using a search engine such as Google. This is understandable, and you’ll find a lot of results! However, the challenge will be narrowing it down to signage tenders that are suitable for you. For example, you may be looking for tenders in a certain location or within a particular budget.

The sites you search will have tenders listed in a variety of ways, and all will be different. It will take hours to go through these to find a tender right for you. They won’t feature the key details on some results either. This means you’ll have to scour through lengthy tender documents. Once you get through these, it might not be a suitable contract, so you’ve wasted all this time!

The good news is that there are helpful solutions available to you.

Creative Tenders

At Creative Tenders, we are one of Hudson Discover’s 11 sector-specific portals. These portals are specifically designed to make the tendering process easier. This is done by listing tenders based on selective filters. You can see tenders based on location, deadline dates, budget, and keywords.

Our Opportunity Trackers add new signage tenders to the portal daily. So, they are always up to date. Plus, we don’t use CPV codes, which can result in missed opportunities. It is what sets us apart from other tender portals.

You can also receive tender notifications when tenders are uploaded that may be of interest to you. It couldn’t be easier! Or could it?

Discover Elite

If you want to streamline the process even further, you can sign up to Discover Elite. With this service, a dedicated Account Manager will find 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.

Examples of signage tenders found on our portal

Creative Enterprise West (Hounslow’s Creative Enterprise Zone) – Wayfinding

London Borough of Hounslow – London – Budget: £50,000

National Signage Framework

Forestry Commission – South West – Budget: £1,200,000

Signs

ESPO – East Midlands – Budget: £25,000,000

GB-Braintree: Wayfinding Signage at Horizon120 Business Park

Braintree District Council – Eastern – Budget: £100,000

Production and Installation of Signage (To Promote the Level of Investment Underway By Hull City Council)

Hull City Council – Yorkshire and Humber – Budget: £35,000

How to win signage tenders

To win signage tenders, there’s a few tips you should know. We sat down with our Senior Bid Writers to see what their top tips are for winning signage tenders!

1.     Don’t use technical jargon

The buyer is likely to be unfamiliar with your industry. So, to avoid confusing them, make sure you don’t use any technical words that they won’t understand.

2.     Be clear and concise

Similar to our previous point, you don’t want to confuse the buyer. Keep your bid proposal as clear and concise as possible. Focus on answering the questions and don’t ramble about anything irrelevant.

3.     Express what makes you different

You should always showcase your unique selling point (USP) in your bid. This gives the buyer an idea of what you can bring to the contract that other suppliers can’t. It is also a great way to help you stand out.

4.     Showcase your experience

The buyer wants to see that you have evidence of completing signage tenders. You should include three to five case studies that detail similar projects that you did well.

5.     Proofread and edit before submission

Before you submit any bid proposal, not just ones for signage tenders, you must proofread them! If you don’t, you are almost certain to have left mistakes and errors that the buyers are likely to notice. This will give them the impression that you do not thoroughly check your work. If you don’t do this, they won’t trust you to handle their contract well.

6.     Use bid management to stay organised

You should use bid management to stay on track when working on a bid proposal. It can be easy to become overwhelmed with the workload. By breaking it down, you separate it into manageable chunks.

7.     Don’t submit the bid last minute

One of the worst things you can do is submit proposals for signage tenders at the last minute. This is often a recipe for disaster. You may come across technical issues or find that there is further information to submit. If you are already close to the deadline, it will get extremely stressful. If you submit your proposal even a minute late, you won’t be considered.

Who can help you win signage tenders?

Worried you don’t have enough time to dedicate to writing a bid? Help is available! Professional Bid Writers are at hand to support you with your bid proposal. They can take all the stress off of your hands and handle the entire process on your behalf. This is ideal for organisations or individuals that do not have the spare time.

Summary

Here’s a summary of everything we covered in our blog on signage tenders!

To find signage tenders, you should use tender portals such as Creative Tenders. You can upgrade to Discover Elite to have an Account Manager do it for you!

To win signage tenders:

1.     Don’t use technical jargon

2.     Be clear and concise

3.     Express what makes you different

4.     Showcase your experience

5.     Proofread and edit before submission

6.     Use bid management to stay organised

7.     Don’t submit the bid last minute.

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.

Get in touch to find out more information.

Want to save even more time?

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.

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.

 

3 Things to Note When Applying for BBC Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

BBC tenders: what to expect

Winning BBC tenders can be a challenge if you’re not familiar with tendering practices. Supplying to the BBC is rife with competition and you should want your bid to stand out from the crowd.

The BBC have five top priorities when it comes to suppliers and procurement. It’s worth bearing in mind that their strategic priorities include:

  1. Supporting the supply of distinctive, British ideas to the BBC from across the UK.
  2. Strengthening production ecologies, talent and the creative pipeline outside London.
  3. Maintaining a range of supply in the UK enabling smaller producers to not only survive but grow.
  4. Strengthening progress on diversity and representation both on and off-screen.
  5. Strengthening progress towards environmentally sustainable production in the UK.

3 things to bear in mind when applying for BBC tenders

  1. Various methods of procurement

Open tendering procedure

BBC tenders may also be an open tendering procedure. This often involves an invitation to tender, known as an ITT. An ITT will usually include the following:

  • Specification of requirement
  • Service level agreement
  • Commercial, operational, corporate social responsibility
  • Pricing schedule.

Restricted procedure

A restricted tendering procedure will feature a two-stage bidding process. It will first have an initial pre-qualification questionnaire, known as a PQQ or SQ. This is a pass/fail stage and is often used when more complex goods or services are being procured. It’s to ensure potential suppliers meet a minimum eligibility criterion and have the necessary ability to fulfil the contract.  After a supplier passes the PQQ or SQ, they will then receive an ITT.

Framework agreements

BBC tenders are often procured via framework agreements. Framework agreements are multi-supplier agreements used by a buyer to procure goods, works and services. They often benefit SMEs as there are more places available to supply a good or service. Securing a place on a framework is a great way to grow your business.

Framework agreements divide work into lots. Each lot typically represents a specific good, service or location. This means a supplier can apply to the specific lot(s) they can deliver. They aren’t required to supply the whole contract.

The type of tendering procedure used will be specified in the tender documents.

  1. Value for money

The BBC are expected to achieve and deliver maximum value for money. In order to do this, they will award the bid to the most economically advantageous tender, known as the MEAT. A MEAT is assessed on multiple aspects, not just price. It’s important to note that the cheapest bid does not win. BBC tenders will be evaluated on a range of things including, but not limited to:

  • Innovation
  • Environmental considerations
  • Accessibility
  • Ability to deliver on time
  • Quality
  • Price
  • Technical merit
  • Sustainability

The award criteria will vary depending on the type of contract and will be noted in the tender documents.

  1. Diversity, representation and inclusion strategy

Diversity and inclusion are imperative for BBC tenders. The BBC has pledged to commit to hardwiring diversity into everything they do. They are committed to growing diversity across the board via the programmes they make and the people that make them. It’s important to note that there are two commitments that come into effect on 1st April 2021.

  • A commitment for the BBC to invest £100 million in diverse production and content.
  • A requirement for producers to have 20% off-screen diversity on new TV commissions.

The commitments are independent of each other, but both focus on underrepresented groups.

20% diversity in production teams

The BBC are looking for those:

  • From Black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds
  • With lived experience of a disability
  • From lower-income backgrounds i.e. social economic diversity (SED).

£100 million commissioning spend

Newly commissioned titles must have at least two of the following diverse characteristics:

  • Stories and portrayal on-screen
  • Production leadership
  • Company leadership

It’s worth bearing these new commitments in mind when applying for your next BBC tenders.

Need help writing your BBC tenders?

The BBC care about the quality of your written response for BBC tenders. We understand that writing isn’t everyone’s strong suit and that’s ok. Your business shouldn’t have to suffer as a result of this. Outsourcing a tender to a bid writing service can help you win your next bid and grow your business.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, have an 87% success rate and over 60 years of bid writing experience. They offer four bid writing support services that can help you win your next BBC tenders. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or need your response proofread before you submit – we can help.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect BBC tender for your business, send it our way. Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you and they’ll even submit it on your behalf. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready 4-week programme is perfect for those who have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to make sure you have everything you need in place to tender successfully. The Tender Ready programme offers your business:

  • A 12-month subscription to Creative Tenders
  • Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals
  • An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
  • Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you aren’t seeing the desired results from your tendering efforts. The Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to Creative Tenders and additional tendering development services.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own BBC tender response and need someone to double-check it for errors, Tender Mentor can help. Our Bid Team will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also ensure that it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

Where can I find BBC tenders?

BBC tenders are published on the BBC website, but why limit and stop yourself there? There are hundreds of creative tendering opportunities going live every day with a variety of buyers. By limiting yourself to just the BBC you could be missing out on the perfect creative contracts in the UK for your business.

You may think that searching for creative tenders can take up a lot of your time, and you would be right. Wouldn’t it be great if you could use a time-saving tool that alerted you when new tendering opportunities are published?

Creative Tenders is one, easy-to-navigate centralised portal that hosts all live creative tendering opportunities from across the Creative Industry. There’s no reliance on inaccurate CPV codes!

Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload unique, private and public sector opportunities. You’re able to filter and search the results by keyword, budget, location and more. This streamlines the process, allowing you to find the perfect BBC tenders for your business.

Previous BBC tenders sourced on our portal:

BBC Audiences – Social Media Listening Services

BBC- London- Budget: £350,000

BBC Bitesize Scotland – 2nd Level Curriculum for Excellence

BBC Bitesize- Scotland- Budget: Undisclosed

Factual Commissioning Opportunity for Welsh Suppliers

BBC Wales- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

BBC Wales New Documentary Directors’ Initiative

BBC Cymru Wales- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

Culture in Quarantine Commissioning Strand – Disabled Artists Commissioning Opportunity

BBC Arts- Northern Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

We also source opportunities for sectors including;

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

A subscription to Creative Tenders offers your business: 

  • Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities across the Creative Industry.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about finding BBC tenders.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new creative tenders are uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free bid management consultancy each month.

Want to save even more time?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you identify 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 BBC tenders for your business.

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.

A Guide to the Bidding Process in Event Management

Posted on by John Hudson

10 Top tips for the bidding process in event management

Would you like the bad news or the good news?

The bidding process in event management comes with both good and bad news. Event management is an incredibly underrated industry in terms of the complexity and effort it takes to thrive. Many people outside of the industry may feel that managing an event is an easy task. However, as you will likely know, there is a lot more to event management than meets the eye. Planning, budgeting, and logistics are just a few of the hidden skills you need to thrive.

The bad news: nothing worth having comes easy. Starting the bidding process in event management is not something your business should take lightly. You will need to put in some time and effort to see results.

The good news: the bidding process in event management isn’t all that bad. You may find you already have the skills needed to submit successful bids. Once you have some basic knowledge, tendering can become your organisation’s best friend.

What is the bidding process in event management? 

The bidding process in event management can feel like a daunting challenge. From finding the perfect tender to writing the bid, it can be tricky to know where to start.

A basic process within procurement is where the buyer will release an invitation to tender (ITT). This ITT will detail a project the buyer requires support with. It is then the supplier’s job to submit a bid to demonstrate their company’s capabilities. The bidding process in event management often requires details from suppliers which demonstrate their ability to organise a successful event.

When a business begins its tendering journey, the first hurdle is usually understanding the above process. The next task is to develop a bidding process in event management.

Top 10 tips to consider within the bidding process in event management

  1. Read the ITT

One thing to consider when entering into the bidding process in event management is reading the ITT documents. This step is severely neglected and can cause critical time and effort to be in vain. Make sure you have noted the location and budget to ensure you are suitable for the project. Have the key dates handy so you can see if the work will affect other commitments. By properly digesting this information you will have both the confidence and competence to succeed.

  1. Do your research

Often within an ITT, the buyer will include some background information about their organisation. It doesn’t hurt to go the extra mile and find out more about the buyer. Businesses often want their employees to be passionate about the business and align themselves with their values and goals. The relationship between buyers and suppliers is no different. Knowing more about who you are requesting to work with will give you a greater insight into their decision making. This way, you will know precisely why and what the buyer is asking.

  1. Be realistic

As previously mentioned, it is important to understand the scope of work for your desired tender. It can be easy to lose sight of reality when you see an attractive opportunity. The job itself may suit your business but the location may be too far afield. You may be attracted by the budget but have other commitments in the start and end date periods. If you find yourself not meeting any requirements you must take a step back and be realistic. Don’t waste time on a bid which you cannot feasibly secure and complete. You are making life harder for yourself and wasting time that could be used securing the perfect opportunity.

  1. Don’t put yourself down

On the other hand, it is also crucial you do not put yourself, or your business down. It is easy to feel that, as a small or medium enterprise (SME), you will not stand out against bigger suppliers. The UK government currently has a target to spend more with SME’s. Their target is to spend £1 in every £3 with small and medium businesses. This means that public sector buyers are looking to establish relationships with smaller organisations. So, you still have every chance to secure work, even if you’re a small business.

  1. What is your USP

Having a unique selling point is essential. You must relay to the buyer what makes your business stand out from the competition. What makes you unique and what can you offer the buyer that no other supplier can? Perhaps it’s the experience in that particular type of event or your specialist resources. You may even have better working relationships with suppliers and vendors compared to your competition. Having some knowledge of your competition can be used to your advantage. Try and think from the buyer’s perspective. If you were making the decisions, what would you value in an events company?

  1. Create a bid library

Each tender you submit a bid for will be unique. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t keep your bid documents for future use. Supporting documents such as health and safety policies and case studies can be used multiple times. Keep these filed away as part of your “bid library”. Some documents may need adjusting to suit the tender but having the outline can save a lot of time. This will ultimately result in a more efficient bidding process.

  1. Be methodical

Tendering is a structured process. You must set yourself tasks and deadlines to complete the work needed. It may be worth having an internal checklist of deadlines if more than one department is involved. Make sure to give yourself plenty of breathing space for errors or delays. Many events have an aspect of complex time management, scheduling and coordination. Use these skills to your advantage within the bidding process in event management.

  1. Social Value

Social value is becoming an increasingly important factor which buyers are evaluating in their tender scoring. Our Hudson Insight Series has revealed a stronger emphasis on social value within the procurement world. At the time of writing this blog, the UK has very recently left the European Union. With this change came a change in procurement procedures. The government’s green paper gave an in-depth look at the changes which were being made. Buyers will now be encouraged to consider social value more within their bid evaluation. This means your bid should have a focus on how you help your employees, as well as the wider community. As of January 2021, government buyers have placed a 10% weighting on social value within your quality response. Make sure you stay ahead of the curve and have your social value responses prepared.

  1. Reflect on previous feedback

If you have previously submitted a bid and have not been successful, don’t feel disheartened. Ask for feedback on the unsuccessful bid and use it to your advantage. Your feedback will clearly show your bid writing strengths and weaknesses. It may be that your pricing was too high, or your quality response lost some marks. Take the time to study this feedback and make sure you learn from any mistakes. This will ultimately improve your bidding process in event management.

  1. Get a second opinion

Whether you are solely responsible for your bid or you’re working within a team, mistakes can be made.  When you work closely on a project it can be hard to take a step back. You may not notice spelling or grammar mistakes, or you could have even left out important information. For almost two decades our team of bid writers at Hudson Succeed have been responding to tenders. They know better than anyone the importance of taking a step back to make sure your bid is error-free. Make sure you leave enough time to ask for a second opinion and make the necessary changes. Whether this is through a team of professional bid writers, or a colleague, you will benefit from their feedback.

Can I get support with my bids?

With all of these factors involved with the bidding process in event management, it is natural to need some support. You may want a professional to guide you through the process. You may also look to completely outsource this process. At Hudson Succeed, our team of bid writers thrive in creating successful bid responses. Our team also hold an 87% bid success rate. Last year alone, they secured direct contract wins totalling over £300million for our clients. So, next time it comes to working on your next bid, why not consider a bid management consultant to support you in the process?

Is now the right time to get involved with the bidding process in event management?

Due to the current climate, it is easy to feel disheartened within your business. At the time of writing this blog, the UK has gone into another national lockdown. Many organisation’s plans for expansion and growth have been pushed back and put on hold. Events have been cancelled and income has been lost. You may find yourself wondering if it is worth investing any more into your business.

To set your mind at ease let’s look at the facts. In 2017, UK spending on events was £39.1 billion. This contributed 35% to the UK’s visitor economy. As one of the largest industries in the UK, it is impossible to ignore the significance of the events sector.

The Scottish Government have recently released a guidance plan which reiterates the importance of the events sector.

We want a strong events sector to help drive Scotland’s economic recovery and future prosperity. Event organisers should therefore use this guidance to look forward and engage with trade union or workforce representatives early in their plans for restart to develop workplace specific plans for a managed transition away from current restrictions”

A new campaign is also being launched in the UK to support the events industry. #WeCreateExperiences aims to raise awareness of the importance of event management to the UK economy. The campaign will set the scene for the return of live events in 2021. Simon Hughes, the co-founder of the #WeCreateExperiences campaign, says:

Live events will return in 2021 and there will be pent-up demand. Businesses who commit budgets to events in 2021 will reap the rewards and steal a march on their competitors”

Perfect your bidding process

Over any event management life cycle, you will face unexpected difficulties. Your business has likely seen a shift in security measures following the increase in the national threat level. You may have also had to shift to a more digitally focused approach to events. Social media is now widely used to safeguard events and has given more visibility to smaller events. Having to change and adapt to the current climate is not unusual for an events company.

It is vital to note there are still events opportunities out there. You may need to shift from a word of mouth approach to a tendering process. The current situation may be the perfect time to perfect your bidding process in events management. Keep evolving your business with the times to make sure you have a steady stream of work in your pipeline.

Where do I find tenders?

If you are struggling to find event management opportunities, then Creative Tenders offers the perfect solution. We have been uploading record-breaking numbers of opportunities to Creative Tenders, even throughout lockdown.

As a member of Creative Tenders, you will have access to:

  • All the available events tenders within the UK, without needing to understand CPV codes.
  • A dedicated account manager.
  • 20 minutes of free consultancy every month with our bid experts.
  • The ability to filter by keyword, location and budget.
  • Discounted bid support with Hudson Succeed.

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

We source creative contract opportunities for sectors including;

Recent events management tenders we sourced include:

Provision for the service of Managed Open Access (MOA) for Winter and Summer Solstice at Stonehenge
English Heritage- Stonehenge visitors centre- South West- Budget: £480,000
21-12-2020

Provision of Management, platform hosting and delivery of virtual events
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland- International- Budget: Undisclosed
16-12-2020

Grimsby Creates: Festival Director – Grimsby Festival of the Sea 2021
North East Lincolnshire Council- East Midlands- Budget: £10,000
07-12-2020

Visitor Programmes Production Company Framework
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – London- Budget: £ 450,000
18-12-2020

Events Tender
Ordnance Survey- South East- Budget: £ 300,000
18-12-2020

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. 

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!

In Development – Tender VLE

Posted on by John Hudson

In Development – Tender VLE

Wouldn’t it be fantastic to have a one-stop shop for all your tender needs?

How about a shop that doesn’t charge and provides access to ongoing training, advice and guidance weekly?

3 words: LOOK NO FURTHER.

Here at Hudson Procurement Group we are proud to announce the launch of Tender VLE. 

A fantastic and engaging virtual learning environment which provides ongoing support, both with bid writing and procurement, TO EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, FOR FREE!

With hundreds of subscribers already established on our innovative sector-specific platforms, one thing has become well known to us. This is that the majority of our customers require additional tender support from time to time. Our platforms currently allow customers to view opportunities that are not only specific to their sector, but specific to their exact service. We do this through daily bulletins manually created by internal staff, meaning opportunities are scoured across the country daily to ensure exact matches are ALWAYS listed.

This is proving extremely successful and highly desired by all clients. But, now it’s time to start acting on these opportunities and dealing with what most would describe as the ‘pain of procurement’ – writing a tender!

Screen Shot 2018-01-16 at 17.02.35

ENTER Tender VLE

Tender VLE is a video-based e-learning platform that allows YOU to get up to speed with how tendering works. It also runs you through how YOU can maximise these opportunities by developing knowledge further in this field. It’s important now, more than ever to develop your skillset and embrace tendering rather than shy away from it.

We understand that video content is at its height, and there is a surprisingly low amount of knowledge-based tendering information available online. For these reasons, we will be using highly engaging video material in all learning sessions. This will be accompanied by a written ‘how-to’ guides so that we cater for the masses.

We’ve invested in the development of this product because our customers need it. We act quickly on customer requests and believe the easiest way to share knowledge far and wide is via online video master-classes. We’ve also decided to provide this content for free!

We won’t charge to grow and develop the UK economy. We hope that within the next couple of years we are able to develop an accredited version of our training to widen opportunity routes into writing for businesses, allowing a structured landscape for tender education.

Our launch date is May 2018 – be prepared to grow, develop and stand out with the best tender training available!

Tendering doesn’t need to be complicated!

Posted on by John Hudson

Tendering doesn’t need to be complicated 

We’ll repeat … TENDERING DOES NOT NEED TO BE COMPLICATED!

There are so many factors to why people assume tendering is overly-complicated. This is usually down to the amount of time it takes to complete and how mundane the process is. Yes – there may be 5000 pages of specification but hey … who doesn’t love a bit of light reading!

The three things you MUST possess when tendering is PERSISTENCE, PLANNING & POSITIVITY!

Let’s get past the moaning and downtrodden attitude to how ‘complicated’ tendering is and break the process down to show how easy it actually is!

Please see our previous blog ‘the complicated tender process’ detailing a summary of the general tender process for added guidance.

In order to de-complicate the situation – let’s look at a few things that are deemed complicated when tendering. This includes:

1. Terminology

The number of abbreviations flying around is becoming increasingly common in the procurement world. Terms like RFQs, ITTs, PQQs, DPS, and RFPs seems like they are only used to confuse us into a state of literary decline. Let’s simplify:

PQQ Pre-qualification questionnaire – this is usually a stage-1 questionnaire asking about specific company details like insurance and similar contracts you’ve worked on etc., along with simple ‘yes and no’ questions making sure you’re not fraudulent and you pay your taxes etc.
ITT Invitation to Tender – we can sometimes forget out the PQQ and jump straight into an ITT, which is usually where your quality and costing ratio comes in. This is where you price the job at hand and answer several technical questions about your ability to undergo the work in accordance with usually detailed specification/scopes of work.
RFP Request for Proposal – very similar to an ITT where cost and quality are assessed however RFPs are used in situations where the client either can’t – or doesn’t want to – define the scope of work up front to an adequate level of detail, meaning you need to be very descriptive and state a clear proposal to what’s needed.
RFQ Request for Quotation – The RFQ is a lot like the Tender, however typically smaller in size and scope. They’re often more geared towards clients who are seeking pricing information for a defined scope of work or supply of materials or equipment. Detailed proposals are typically less often sought here.
Framework A Framework Agreement is an agreement between one or more businesses or organisations. If you enter into a framework agreement, usually you will be one of many suppliers contractually bound to deliver against buyer requirements.
DPS Dynamic Purchasing System – A DPS is similar to an electronic framework agreement, with two exceptions, new suppliers can join at any time and it is to be run as a completely electronic process. DPS is used exclusively by public sector organisations and can be considered as a ‘competitive supply chain’, where all chosen supply chain members regularly compete for work via ITTs and RFQs.

2. Opportunities

These are extremely broad with hundreds upon hundreds of opportunities released daily! Customers tend to wish to have one main platform to source the most relevant opportunities to grow their business. Wouldn’t that be great? Currently, opportunities are typically shared through typically problematic electronic algorithms across multiple platforms, either showing you irrelevant opportunities or no opportunities at all.

Keeping it simple – sign up with our industry-specific portals via Tender Connect to receive daily opportunities, sourced from the hundreds of UK tender portals. These are manually searched and published on a daily basis by a team of procurement-based staff, not computers. We are the first company to do this and the feedback we have is out of this world

3. Portals

There are thousands of online platforms, websites and communication systems that are evident across UK procurement. Some portals are outdated, complex and an all-around pain to navigate. Our team have used them all! Just make sure you know your key focus areas and process-knowledge for each website – these are working your way around:

  • Downloading all tender information;
  • Asking/monitoring clarification questions from other suppliers/the buyer;
  • Submitting the tender;

Every website should have a ‘help’ section – don’t be afraid to use it and/or contact the people who run it.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was one platform for everything? For every industry? For every buyer? WATCH THIS SPACE– we are working with national professionals to work on a user-friendly, affordable and globally accessible platform to condense UK procurement in a one-stop-shop fashion.

4. Writing

Not everyone can write in an engaging, concise and straightforward manner. It’s easy telling people what you do, but to put that on paper in a professional way, covering set criteria, is a major hassle for a lot of business developers. Don’t get stressed with it. Just remember 3 key focus areas when writing a response to any question:

  • WHAT: what you have done or what you are going to do?
  • HOW: how you have done this (methodology) or how you are going to do it?
  • EVIDENCE: hard-hitting proof that you have done it before- experience/ evidence is key!

We offer Bid Writing services, using our procurement experts with over 25 combined years’ experience of writing tenders. Check us out – Tender Consultants.

5. Losing

What is the point of spending all this time on a bid for it to lose and you to go back hating the process, hating the tender and subsequently hating life itself! Don’t fret – USE THE FEEDBACK! If you didn’t win the work because you lack ISO accreditations (for e.g.)– you know what to do! As part of our provision at Tender Consultants, we have a tender readiness programme that you can use to make sure you maintain a good chance of securing key pieces of work.

All procurement-based processes that most people find difficult/complicated are exactly that because of the lack of understanding of key tender-management processes. We will be launching a FREE training environment (Tender VLE) in May 2018, which focuses on everything tender and procurement based, including profound topics that will completely eradicate the notion that tendering and procurement is complicated.

Let’s leave them procurement pains behind!

We’re here to help you grow, develop and standout!

Tender Writing – HELP! I need somebody – HELP! not just anybody

Posted on by John Hudson

Tender Writing – HELP! I need somebody – HELP! Not just anybody

HELP! I need somebody – HELP! not just anybody

The number one mechanism that puts off business leaders and development executives from getting help with bidding for work- is the sheer prices that many consultants charge for their expertise and support. We all have received that email from some portal, inviting you to attend ‘Bid Writing Masterclasses’ in a swanky conference suite, usually a million miles away for around £100 per ticket per day.

There was nearly £171 Billion spent within the UK’s public procurement sector in the last year alone. Why should companies pay for help in order to access this money? Who wants to pay over the odds for some helpful guidance? – especially when there are various options available … FOR FREE!

Tender VLE

In May 2018, we will be launching Tender VLE, a highly innovative virtual learning environment (VLE), where we will be sharing regular masterclass videos across a diverse range of procurement topics, including support and guidance around tender readiness, bid management and pretty much every procurement practice you can think of. This will be broken into various knowledge strands so that people with the most limited knowledge and those with advanced knowledge can receive the best help and guidance to succeed. The best part of all this – is that it comes at no cost to the learner/viewer. All videos will be made publically available on our VLE and onto the likes of YouTube, allowing unlimited access to ALL.

Tender Consultants

Additional to this online support, another one of our business development platforms, Tender Consultants, works with you on a more personal level to ensure a helping hand is always there when needed. Currently, procurement is far from being easy. Our mission is to de-complicate the sector so it remains simple for all buyers and suppliers across the country. Our firm is different from other consultancies, as we offer free impartial advice on your procurement strategy. Subsequent to our advice, you can then decide what kind of support you need. Whether this be our Tender Readiness Assessment? Tender Writing Service? and/or Guide and Reviews? etc. All services on offer are accustomed to your needs, meaning we do not overcharge or maintain bulk rates. We offer more than affordable consultancy rates that remain specific to your requirements and will only enhance your chances of winning.

Our upcoming Tender Bank system, launching within the next year, will also provide customers with a one-stop-shop for all of their tender needs, including templates, pre-established responses that are tailored to your sector and varying policies.

In the meantime, we are happy to provide whatever support you need. Contact us for free advice and consultations on your tendering efforts. Let’s get you some of that £171 Billion up for grabs! Don’t just use anybody – use the right body! Use Hudson Procurement Group!

New Facebook Business Update – How this affects you?

Posted on by John Hudson

New Facebook Business Update – How this affects you?

Can you hear that?

That’s the sound of creative agencies everywhere gasping at the recent news that Mark Zuckerberg wants to make Facebook’s news feed more ‘meaningful’ and ‘personal’.

One of Facebook’s biggest “focus areas for 2018 is making sure the time we all spend on Facebook is time well spent.”

This is the opening line in Mark’s latest monologue, posted on 11th January, where he states that consumer research has led them to the realisation “that public content — posts from businesses, brands and media — is crowding out the personal moments that lead us to connect more with each other”.

With changes already underway as of last year, Mark has promised all Facebook users that within a few months’ time “you can expect to see more from your friends, family and groups’ and seeing “less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media”.

Apparently, this research has resulted from various studies carried out, including that on mental health and social media, in which Mark states “when we use social media to connect with people we care about, it can be good for our well-being […] we can feel more connected and less lonely, and that correlates with long-term measures of happiness and health.”

Facebook Business

So, how will you be affected?

The Creative Industry will undoubtedly be hit the hardest, due to many core services being the management of Social Media. Of course, we still have the likes of Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat. But Facebook, as many will know, is key into retaining new customers and serves a great platform for consumer interactivity. With less and less engagement toward Facebook by the end of 2018, is this the beginning of the end for Facebook targeted ads? Or are prices going to seriously rise in order to pull your content through to your engaged audience? This will become increasingly limited over the next few months!

Although millions of pounds have been spent by companies since Facebook’s ‘target ads’ launched have begun, it seems there will be a massive drop in the amount being spent to garner consumer and business leads through this platform going forward.

Thinking ahead…

Bad news for some businesses and consumers who don’t mind receiving the odd advertisement now and again. Engagement between businesses and audiences will be reaching an eventual all-time low by the end of the year. Mark warns us that time spent on the platform and “some measures of engagement will go down.”

It’s time to get your experts to think ahead on ways in which B2C and B2B engagement can be driven elsewhere. Make sure your strategies for both yourselves and your clients consider this vital update. Facebook goes “from focusing on helping [consumers] find relevant content, to helping [them] have more meaningful social interactions.

Creative Tenders on tour | Tender Support | Events Management Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

Creative Tenders on tour | Event Management Tenders

We are very excited to be launching our product in May. The time has flown since we first came up with the idea of Creative Tenders. The development team has steam coming off their fingertips and the sales team has been in, intensive training ready for its launch.

We are simply dying to showcase the product, so we thought what better way to do it, than to attend a couple of national conferences and exhibitions. The shortlist was hard, but our Marketing Director Jill and Development Director Andrew will be heading to London next week to attend 5 exhibitions, the B2B Marketing Expo at the Excel Centre in London, the Sales Innovation Expo, The Business Show, Business Start Up, Accountex, and Legal Ex on 11th and 12th May.

Upcoming Events

http://b2bmarketingexpo.co.uk

http://www.salesinnovationexpo.co.uk

http://www.accountex.co.uk

http://www.bstartup.com

http://www.legalex.co.uk

If that doesn’t make us busy enough spreading the word to both those interested in being a part of Creative Tenders and Creative Finder. Our MD John, is attending Thinking Digital in Newcastle to find out more about what new stuff we should be doing to make our system even more fantastic than it already is (http://www.tdcncl.com).

So that’s us covering two major cities, so we believe all good things come in threes, so we are heading to Leeds to the Buy Yorkshire Conference (http://buyyorkshire.com) on the 17th and 18th May. We’re ready for a lie down just thinking about it.

So, if you’re based on London, Newcastle or Leeds this is your chance to find out more about what we’re up too and even have a demo of our fantastic new product.

Look forward to chatting to you all more over the next couple of weeks.

WE SOURCE CREATIVE CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SECTORS INCLUDING;

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

Have you had a demo of the Creative Tender business development portal yet? Creative Tenders Reviews

Posted on by John Hudson

Have you had a demo of the Creative Tender business development portal yet?  What do you think? Creative Tenders reviews

We are so keen to hear people’s thoughts on the Creative Tenders portal. Have you had your demo yet? We are so pleased at how well the take up has been since we launched the product. It’s very exciting that people also see the value in our product from what has been a year’s worth of planning and development.

Our promise to our clients is that we will constantly develop this system to be the best tendering product on the market for creative businesses, but in order to do that we need your feedback.

Creative Tenders reviews

Feedback we have had so far has all been positive and includes the following reviews

“Amazing product, a good mix of public and private tendering opportunities”

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“We have the confidence that you are finding 100% of the public tenders we want to bid for, something we have not had from other systems we have used in the past”

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“Totally worth £12 per week, it helps our sales team dramatically and save’s so much time searching for opportunities”

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“So good we want to go for more tenders ”

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So basically we want to know the good, the bad and the ugly. If you have seen a demo but don’t think it’s for you, we definitely want to hear from you so we can create a product you want to use. If you’re a current client and think the product is fantastic, let us know why, we don’t want to change any features that work for you.

Please send any product feedback and to enquire more about tender writing support to John at john@creativetenders.co.uk.

Sign up for a free demo of Creative Tenders and review the following opportunities:

Event Tenders

Website Tenders

Printing Tenders

Video Production Tenders & many more.