Although an excellent way of securing new contracts and clients, public sector procurement is complex, fast-paced and tricky to get right. There are normally various documents which need to be returned, stringent evaluation criteria and short deadlines to return your submission.
With over 7,000 submissions completed on behalf of clients and an 85% fully auditable success rate, Executive Compass are ideally positioned to provide an overview on the tender process and give an understanding of how to write a winning tender.
The tender process in simple terms
Public sector organisations must put all contracts over a certain value threshold through the tender process, to ensure the contract is awarded in a fair, open and transparent way. Prospective suppliers can then submit a bid for the contract, which is then evaluated on a split between quality and pricing.
The words ‘tender’ and ‘bid’ are used interchangeably and are essentially synonymous. Contracting authorities may also use ‘request for tender’ (RFT), ‘request for proposal’ (RFP) or ‘invitation to tender’ (ITT).
Although each document in the tender pack should be carefully reviewed and completed, the most time-intensive element of the tender process will typically be responding to the quality questions or method statements outlined by the authority.
Types of tender processes
Although the length, content and number of documents for each tender can vary greatly, public procurement regulations must adhere to the same basic types of tender processes.
Although there are niche tender processes used under certain circumstances (for example, for utilities contracts), public sector tenders are normally organised into two different variants:
- Open procedure: the SQ and ITT are returned concurrently, alongside pricing and any other mandatory return documents. This is the most common form of tender process employed by authorities.
- Closed procedure: the tender opportunity is split into two different stages, with the SQ returned first and a select number of bidders invited to the final ITT stage.
Starting from October 2024, changes introduced by The Procurement Act will amend the tendering process slightly. The new tender processes are the open procedure, which will remain largely the same, and the competitive flexible procedure, which gives buyers greater freedom to design a tender process which is ‘fit for purpose’.
Steps for submitting a high-quality tender
Every tender process is a competition, requiring you to present your organisation as the best option and value for money to win the contract. With quality questions often word- or page-limited, every word counts in a tender.
By following and applying the below points as part of your bid management strategy, you will ensure a consistent, high-quality tendering process and strengthen your chances of success.
Analyse the opportunity before deciding to bid
Crucial to each tender opportunity is the ‘bid/no-bid’ decision. Once the tender documents have been released, carefully review the following key elements:
- Minimum criteria or thresholds to participate, such as turnover or mandatory, industry-specific accreditations
- Anticipated volume of work and geographic location, ensuring you have enough resource to allocate to the contract’s scope of works
- Whether the contract will be awarded to a single supplier or multiple bidders, such as a framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
- The service or works specification, making careful note of any key or unusual requirements.
This step may take some time to review, particularly if the tender pack is significantly large. Ensure all relevant members of your team have reviewed the documents and provided input on whether the opportunity is viable – for example, whether sufficient resource is in place – prior to making the decision to bid.
Compile all the documents for the submission
Most tender opportunities will have a submission checklist or table which outlines all these documents in a single format. This is normally located in the Invitation to Tender document or equivalent.
Normally, documents to be returned will include:
- Pre-qualification questionnaires or selection questionnaires which typically contain ‘pass/fail’ elements of the submission
- Pricing schedules and rate cards, where bidders submit the cost they will charge for each element of the contract
- Quality questions or method statements which are typically forward-facing and centred around how you propose to deliver the service. Typical questions include approaches to mobilisation, health and safety, customer care and quality assurance, amongst others.
- Form of tender, certificate of non-collusion and various other ‘sign and return’ documents to certify a bona fide tender.
Each document should have a task owner and internal deadline for completion, ensuring a smooth submission timeline.
Schedule adequate time for writing quality responses
As above, writing the quality responses will often take the most time within a submission. Your bid team should review the total number of words or pages to produce, and assign multiple writers if this is required to complete the bid before the deadline.
Once drafted, responses should receive a review from another member of the team – for instance, a contract manager – to ensure they are accurate and suitable. An additional pair of eyes is also helpful in ensuring there is enough persuasiveness within tender responses, which we often refer to as the ‘why’ behind a response.
Following the review process, each writer should implement changes to their response based on feedback received – ensuring the strongest possible submission and best chance of success.
Check your submission is compliant before submitting
Bidders rarely get a ‘second chance’ at correcting a noncompliant submission, and the last thing you want is weeks of hard work to be spoiled by a missing document or attachment.
No more than 24 hours before submission, set time aside to go through all documents in detail, checking:
- There are no gaps or omissions within documents required for submission – for instance, a blank entry in the selection questionnaire
- Any proofreading errors or inconsistencies across responses, such as using two different job titles for the same individual
- Responses are within the word or page limits, mitigating loss of marks from the evaluation committee
- Appendices and attachments are completed in accordance with the requirements of the authority.
Once the outcome has been received, be sure to save and review any feedback to inform lessons learned and continuous improvement. For instance, if you have been unsuccessful but your response around mobilisation and implementation scores highly, you may still be able to repurpose the structure and approach for future submissions.
