Bridgeway receives The Queen‘s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development – 2017
In this case study we speak to Business Development Specialist Tom Foster to find out more about Bridgeway Consulting Ltd and their experience of using Tenders Direct.
Background
Formed in 1995, Bridgeway Consulting Ltd provide a multi-disciplinary portfolio of engineering services with extensive experience working on small, medium and large projects across the UK and internationally. Priding themselves on an exemplary safety record and acknowledging that safety, productivity and business performance go hand in hand, their company ethos is “the 3(E)S”: Exceeding, Expectations, Everywhere, Safely.
Services
- Structural Examinations (including confined spaces, rope access and diving)
- Infrastructure Services (including Signalling, Design and PWay)
- Geomatics (including BIM, Monitoring, Topographical Surveys, Aerial Surveys, Utility Detection and CCTV Surveys)
- Site and Ground Investigation (including Slope Drilling and Ecology)
- Railway Track Access (Possessions, AC/DC Isolations)
- Railway Training and Assessment, HSQE & Assurance Services.
Recent awards
- The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Sustainable Development – 2017
- London Stock Exchange Top 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain – 2016 & 2017
- Nottinghamshire’s Top 200 Companies – 2016 & 2017
Q&A
Bridgeway has become a leading contractor since it was founded in 1995. In terms of your business strategy, what has contributed to this growth?
Offering high quality services and ensuring that we have a diverse client base has been key. We are principle contractors for Network Rail so much of our work comes via their supply chain, but we also work with a wide variety of other clients including local authorities such as councils in Durham, Bradford, Rotherham, Lancashire, and Nottingham to name a few.
As a company we put a premium on safety, quality, community, and sustainability. This approach has put us in a strong position when bidding for new work and helped us develop long lasting relationships with clients. With changes in our industry over the years, we’ve also learned to be ready to re-invent ourselves and adjust our focus if need be.
How did you find relevant public contracts before you subscribed to Tenders Direct?
We were registered with various free websites like Sell2Wales and Public Contracts Scotland. We’d regularly monitor around five or six main websites, but we found that we’d often be duplicating the information. With so many different sources, we were also concerned that we may have been missing out on opportunities.
Tender notices that we picked up from these sources were often displayed in different formats which made things that bit more difficult. A great deal of effort had to go into giving ourselves full coverage, so we’ve cut out a lot of admin and saved a great deal of time since we subscribed.
Is business development more straightforward since you subscribed?
It’s more streamlined now that all our public sector leads are pulled into one place and displayed in the same format. We provide 20 different services so making sure we have full visibility of relevant opportunities in any given region is very important.
The way our alert profile works is an advantage, with separate keyword categories relating to each of our services and the ability to filter the notices by service and region. Numerous team members have access to the platform, so having a dedicated account manager responsible for updating our settings prevents changes being made to our coverage without being authorised by the named administrator.
What advice would you give to companies trying to win their first public contract?
Try to establish where you sit in the market and take the time to understand the structure and processes involved. Don’t take a scattershot approach to which contracts you bid for. There’s no point investing large amounts of time and resources in a bid when the odds are stacked against you, so don’t just dive in. Select your targets carefully and make sure you’re offering a high quality service, not just a cheap one.
