All businesses exist to overcome some sort of challenge on behalf of their clients. At Tenders Direct, we specialise in helping suppliers find – and win – public sector contracts. But aren’t public contract notices in the public domain? Surely this information is easy to find? Well, much like a needle in a haystack, relevant tenders for your business are out there but locating them is another matter.
The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has announced a new version of the public sector contract with revised terms and conditions designed to make public work more accessible to smaller companies. Crown Representative for Small Business Emma Jones was quoted as saying:
“The new CCS contract is shorter and easier to understand and takes a more standardised approach. This should save SMEs time and money when deciding to bid for CCS deals and I welcome the approach.”
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.
Looking to learn but too pushed for time? With our free webinars you can join us on your lunch break or watch previous recordings at your leisure. Lasting no longer than an hour, we cover a variety of topics relevant to suppliers. Our next live sessions explore different types of tenders, why they are important, and how to find and win them.
Finding and Winning Low Value Tenders – Tuesday 17th July 1.00pm – 1.45pm
Low value tenders can be of huge value to suppliers of any size, but are not subject to the full raft of regulatory requirements and can be difficult to find. This webinar provides:
Frameworks and DPS – Wednesday 18th July 1.00pm – 2pm
The use of Frameworks and Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) is on the rise, but many suppliers are unsure of exactly what they are and how they work. This webinar provides:
In his poem Calmly We Walk Through This April’s Day, Delmore Schwartz observed that “Time is the fire in which we burn”. Anyone familiar with tender submissions will probably have sympathy with this sentiment. After finding a promising contract, it can be quite a struggle to prepare a bid within a limited time-frame while staying on top of existing commitments.
Many suppliers tell us that racing to meet tight deadlines while wading through piles of bid documents only to be rebuffed after all their efforts makes them less inclined to bother bidding at all. This kind of “reactive tendering” can be both exhausting and futile, so what can you do differently?
Try giving yourself a head start by scoping out your targets in advance. Is there a particular buyer you’d like to contract for? If you can build even the most modest relationship with them you can gain useful intelligence about their specific needs and procurement strategy. When they go out to tender, this can help you make your bid as bespoke as possible.
Is there an existing contract that you missed out on or are now in a position to go for? If you establish when it is due for renewal and start your preparations months ahead, you’ll have much more time to perfect your pitch without feeling pressurised. This will leave competitors who only became aware of it when the tender notice was published rushing around while you calmly put the finishing touches on your submission.
Most of us are familiar with this quote widely attributed to Albert Einstein: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” It transpires that there is no record of Mr Einstein saying this, but there is truth to it regardless.
Suppliers struggling to win public contracts should keep this maxim in mind when considering their next move. If your bid has been knocked back, it is crucial that you find out why and take corrective action. Where did you fall down? What were you unaware of? How can you improve?
We find that one of the more common missteps made by aspiring contractors after unsuccessful bids is failing to seek as much feedback as possible from buyers and not conducting a detailed assessment of what they could have done better. Instead of allowing your efforts to be wasted, why not use them to your advantage?
Once a contract is awarded, suppliers are entitled to feedback from buyers including a breakdown of their scores and the characteristics and advantages of the winning bid. Conducting a thorough review of your submission with the information available can provide a wealth of applicable knowledge about your strengths and weaknesses.
Persisting with the same stale strategy may not be insanity, but it is certainly not sensible. If you learn lessons, hone your skills, and adjust your approach, you’ll be a much more powerful presence in the next competition.
One of the most common pieces of feedback we receive from subscribers trying to win their first public contract is that they are tired of being knocked back from promising opportunities, with many minded to give up entirely and focus their efforts exclusively on the private sector.
This is entirely understandable when time and resources are minimal and the workload involved in bidding so substantial, but companies in any industry need diverse revenue streams in order to prosper and grow. Winning your first tender is not so much about the here and now, but about the future: once you have your foot in the door, many more opportunities will open up to you.
In our experience, it pays to be pragmatic when selecting your target. Larger contracts are unlikely to be awarded to a supplier with no previous public sector experience, so below-threshold procurements should be your focus; they may not be worth millions, but winning just one can prove to be a vital stepping stone for any company aspiring to win large government contracts.
In other words, don’t try to run before you can walk. Be selective about your bids and focus on winning one of the more modest contracts in order to give yourself the best chance of success. Your first win allows you to demonstrate your capabilities and gain vital references, which will be invaluable when making your pitch for a larger and more lucrative contract.
The majority of companies we work with are stuck in the trap of reactive tendering. By reactive tendering I mean that you simply wait to see what contract notices come out day to day and then tender for the ones you want to win.
What’s the problem with that? The problem is that your competitors may well have been engaging with the buyer for months beforehand, showcasing their product or service, influencing the specification and moving themselves into a favourable position to win the bid. Continue reading “Take control of your tendering activities – create a strategy that works for you”
Are you ready for ESPD?
Join us at 1.00pm on Thursday 19 April for a free webinar to find out more about how to create an ESPD request. We’ll also explain more about the different versions of ESPD as well as what impact Brexit will have on the document.
Small businesses could miss out on over £33 billion worth of UK Government contracts in the ten years to 2022, according to procurement specialists Millstream.
The Government has set itself a target of spending £1 in every £3 on SMEs by 2022 through both direct and indirect spending as part of a drive to re-balance the economy. It procures around £50 billion worth of products and services a year.
However, according to Millstream analysis*, in the last five years direct government spending on SMEs has only grown by one percentage point from 10% to 11%.
The firm estimates that, if spending on SMEs increases at its current rate, the SME community is likely to have missed out on £33.5 billion worth of government contracts in the ten years to 2022 – at precisely the time that the government is hoping to attract more tenders from them.
Penny Godfrey, General Manager of Millstream, said: “This could be a real missed opportunity for the SME community. Despite a major push to redistribute spending amongst a larger number of smaller firms, current trends suggest that not enough SMEs are tendering for and winning government business.
“This is not itself a criticism of government: the target is there to encourage smaller businesses to apply for contracts. Doing so would spread risk for the government and improve its access to specialist businesses. Of course, it should also redistribute investment around the UK.”
According to Millstream, it’s not all doom and gloom, the UK government is on track to double the proportion of funds it spends directly on SMEs by 2022. In 2009, just 6.5 per cent of total government expenditure went to SMEs, but Millstream predicts it will hit 13% by 2022.
However, the government’s target is not exclusively based on the direct contracts it offers to SMEs, but on the total overall benefit to SMEs, which includes indirect contributions to the SME supply chain. By this definition, government spending on SMEs is actually decelerating.
Penny Godfrey added: “More must be done to encourage tender submissions from SMEs. Businesses must appreciate that the process needn’t be arduous. Buyers really want to see more small businesses getting involved. It is vital that we stimulate tendering for government work – SMEs must understand that the opportunities outweigh the risks.”
* UK government official data on SME spending available here (2009-14) and here (2014-16). 2016/17 data not yet available.
Millstream made the following presumptions in its calculations:
Anisha Patel
David Law
Fiona Stevenson
Kim Postlethwaite
Noel Vassallo
Line Olsen