 "Winning Ways Win Tenders")
Where do I find Public Sector Contracts to bid on?
Most suppliers will start with a google search (other search engines are available!). They get instant results but may have to wade through pages and pages of web data until they find what they are looking for. Adding key words such as what they supplier may help but there is still a lot of reading to do.
They may have to spend a great deal of time and download to read through many contract or tender documents to confirm if the tender is what they want to bid on. There are ways to speed this up.
They can use tender portals that monitor and track Public Sector tenders and Prior Information Notices (Pre informing of intention to tender) when published. These portals are great for speeding the process up, time is saved through searching all the published contracts by alerting suppliers of available and suitable opportunities but doing the searching and selecting for them.
We are pleased to announce, to support our clients and grown their business and their bottom line, we are launching our own Portal. Here you can register you information, determine the keywords and locations where you want to offer your services and then sit back and allow the tenders to come to you via email notifications, every time a suitable Public Tender is released!
What happens when you have an alert?
Once an opportunity lands in your email, you can then bid and increase your chances of winning. Knowing about the tender in the first place is half the battle! If tendering for Public Sector contracts is new to you, it can feel daunting and even overwhelming. There is a lot to understand, it looks difficult but in fact as with anything, a little tender practice and you can increase your chances of returning a successful bid!
We have previously covered what a tender or bid is, that a contract is for the goods or services that are required by a contracting authority. What happens is simple, a Contracting Authority, releases a contract for suppliers to then submit proposals. They will typically receive numerous bids, from many suppliers, so they must then evaluate the responses through a transparent evaluation process.
Public Sector contracting authorities must follow rigorous processes (Public Contracts Regulations) and will go with the supplier that’s offers the best price, otherwise known as MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender). This ensures fair competition, and a supplier isn’t disadvantaged for not having an existing relationship with a Buyer. They can’t choose their favourites!
What do I need to do to win?
Check out some of our previous blogs for great tips but to summarise follow these 6 tips to win!
1. Do Your Research!
2. Read all documents Twice. And then again!
3. You can never Prepare Enough!
4. Value wins Business, let them know yours!
5. Review and Review Once More
6. Submit the bid before time
Consider a professional Bid Management company such as ours to increase your opportunity of growing your bottom line.