Actions before bidding or tendering

There are a number of actions you should consider before bidding or tendering for a contract.

1. Identifying the right opportunity

Finding the right contracts for your business is critical for the future success of the contracts themselves and your business.

Knowing where to find the right contracts is therefore crucial.

There are many ways to find contracts and identifying these should be one of your most important actions before bidding or tendering. This will ensure that you are aware of the different contracts available and that you direct your time and resources to the most appropriate ones for your company.

Tenders are advertised in a variety of places, usually dependent on the size of the contract and the sector that your business or organisation works in.

We can help you identify where to look for relevant tenders and contracts.

2. If a tender is about to be advertised - what can you do to prepare?

Before bidding or tendering you should consider whether your organisation is "bid ready" - do you stand a good chance of being successful?

Completing a tender takes time and costs money - it is therefore important to carry out a pre-bid check to decide whether to go ahead with your bidding.

3. Is your business ready to bid or tender?

Asking yourself whether your business is ready to bid can help prevent spending money before you are ready.  Actions that you take now can save you money during the bid process itself and during the performance of the contracts you win.

Questions to consider include:

• Is your business able to manage the contract if you win it?  Do you have the right staff in place?  Do you have the right equipment to provide the goods or services?  Will you need to put new processes in place?
• Do you have the staff and resources available to carry out completion of the bid?  Some bids and tenders require a lot of time and input.  Use of an organisation like Heku to help project manage and complete the tender can help when you are very busy.
• What skills and experience does your business have for the completion of tenders?  Many tenders ask for detailed 'quality' information describing how you will carry out the contract, evidence of your previous or current experience and references from other customers.  The way that this information is presented can make or break your tender submission.

4. How to improve your chances of success

Early identification of contracts that will best fit your business or strategy will enable you to prepare.  For example, some customers or industries will require certain qualifications that may take time to obtain.  These may include quality standards such as ISO 9001.  If your business does not hold these, then identifying this need and taking action before bidding or tendering will enable you to put relevant qualifications or standards in place.

Research into your competitors is vital.  Understanding the trends within your marketplace will help you develop a tender that is relevant and up-to-date for your customers.  As a minimum you will generally need to match what your competitors are offering.

5. Help with a pre-bid check

If you would like help carrying out a pre-bid check to identify the stage that your organisation is at, then Heku can assist.

We can work with you to determine your "bid readiness".  We will help identify what policies and procedures you may need and work that you may need to do to put these in place if necessary.

We will also check what your organisation may need to be able to deliver the final contract work.