A public organisation will assess a tender response strictly on its merits. It is all about convincing them about your ability to deliver on your assurances. If you can back your claims with references to previous contracts of a similar nature and letters of accreditation, and if you reply appropriately to every point mentioned in the tender document, then you can be confident of winning the contract.
Public organisations have set tendering procedures. Whatever the requirement, they will follow a specified tendering process and expect applicants to make sure that their tender bids adhere to it. Regardless of whether you are filing a response to a national or a local tender, you need to make sure that you follow the points on the tender document to the letter.
When you decide to bid for a tender, read the document very carefully. If you need clarification at any point, you can contact the awarding authority. You should then constitute a bid team from your staff, holding regular meetings of the team to review progress. With the UK public sector spending close to 250 billion a year on goods and services, companies across the country have many opportunities to do business with government. What is more, it is the stated policy of the UK Government to encourage SMEs to participate in the tendering process. Their line of thought is that sustainable economic progress cannot be made if smaller businesses are not involved in the process.
Awarding authorities have to be satisfied that tenderers can deliver on their promises. They will see your track record; it is all about how you back up your claim to be able to provide them with a consistent supply of quality products or services. Contracting can be a lengthy process as authorities need to take their time to be sure of a companys ability before giving them the go-ahead.
Similar contracts which you have successfully undertaken in the past will play a role in getting you through the process. Any accreditations that you have received will also be important in progressing your business case. If you dont already have a track record of work with the public sector, you can mention the quality assurance processes your company employs. It may not be enough to secure a large public sector contract straight away, but somewhere you will get an opening.
You will need a strategy to succeed in your bid. So, before you begin framing your response, it is important that you are armed with all the information you need. This is where market intelligence comes in. You need to keep up to date about new public tenders and any recent developments in your sector. It will enable you to stay ahead of the market and be business-ready when the time arrives to tender. You cant prepare a successful tender response in a rush. It is your preparation work that will allow you to win through.
In fact all businesses, large or small, rely on market intelligence to prepare their bids. An informed business will be able to strategise accordingly and increase their chances of bagging public contracts. When two competing businesses are otherwise equal, it is the smarter use of market intelligence that will decide the winner.
Tracker advertises all types of tender opportunities, including TED Tenders published in the Official Journal of the European Union, distributed by Tenders Electronic Daily (TED).
