Tips and advice on improving your bid process to reduce time input and produce higher quality and more effective bids.
When you are asked to describe your methodology in a bid, it can be tempting to provide extensive detail about your processes. Remember, the evaluators may not all understand what you are delivering. If you describe the benefits of your methodology as well as giving evidence of what it has achieved in the past, you are more … Read more..
A good bid process is easily understood by all staff and is adhered to in all departments. It should capture the steps needed to take the bid from initiation through production and approval, on to the final wash-up and tracking. As with all processes, it should be reviewed annually to ensure it is fit-for-purpose and … Read more..
Writing bids and tenders is time consuming and can be quite stressful. If you project manage the process, you will reduce the likelihood of unwelcome surprises regarding availability of resources. It helps to know how much time each task will take e.g. drafting a four page reply or reviewing a method statement, so that you … Read more..
If you are producing a proposal for which there is no given structure, spend time planning before you start writing. You need to decide on the sections you will use, the order in which they will appear and the relative length of each. These decisions will save a lot of restructuring time later on and … Read more..
Before deciding to proceed with a tender, it is sensible to review the scoring criteria and think about the likely competitors. Buyers often weight the scoring towards the areas they feel are most important. This gives you valuable information which can link to your likelihood of success. If you are not as strong as your … Read more..
If you think of innovation as a new idea, device or method in this situation, you will find it easy to identify examples which can be written into a bid. In the context of tendering, ‘new’ means not expected, or not the normal. It does not have to be newly created or invented. A good … Read more..
The quality section of a bid usually includes areas such as methodology, H&S, sustainability, people, credentials and experience. When writing these it is important that you make it non-generic, consider different reader types, describe benefits, include proof and ensure it is a pleasure to read as well as encompassing a win theme. Above all though, … Read more..
The Quick Quote facility allows buyers to ask for quotes for low value/low risk procurement without the need to go through a full tendering process. To be considered for a Quick Quote invitation, you need to register with Public Contracts Scotland as a supplier. This is open to suppliers from all countries. Pay particular attention to … Read more..
It can be frustrating to be asked slightly different versions of similar questions by different clients in different tenders. While the temptation is to use a standard response which covers all aspects of a topic, you should approach each question as if it is the first time it has been written. Ask yourself what has … Read more..
ISO certification such as 9001 (quality management), 14001 (environmental management) and 27001 (information security management) used to be seen as an added value item when tendering and gained additional marks. As more companies gain these certificates, many clients now expect them and deduct marks from those which do not have them. To maximise the impact … Read more..
