bid consultant Archives - Tender Consultants

Public Sector Contracts

John Hudson — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 09:00:52 +0000

Public Sector Contracts: Everything You Need to Know!

What are Public Sector Contracts?

Public sector contracts are legal agreements between a public sector body and an organisation, such as a company, individual or consortium. These contracts are used to provide goods and services to the public sector.

Public sector contracts can vary in size and complexity, from large projects such as construction or IT systems to smaller contracts for services such as cleaning or catering. Public sector contracts are subject to strict rules and regulations, as well as the Freedom of Information Act and other legislation.

The public sector body will have specific requirements for the contract, and these must be adhered to. When bidding for a public sector contract, it is important to research the requirements of the contract and ensure that you can meet them. It is also important to ensure that the bid is competitive and that you have the resources and capabilities to complete the project.

In order to be successful in securing a public sector contract, it is important to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the requirements, as well as the ability to deliver on time and to budget. A strong track record of successful projects is also beneficial. Public sector contracts are an important part of the UK economy, providing jobs and services to the public. As such, they should be taken seriously, and all the rules and regulations should be followed to ensure a successful outcome.

Are public sector contracts hard to win compared to private sector contracts?

Public sector contracts can be more challenging to win compared to private sector contracts. This is because public sector contracts are subject to stricter rules and regulations, as well as the Freedom of Information Act and other legislation. Public sector contracts also require more detailed bids, as the public sector body will have specific requirements for the contract. As such, it is important to ensure that the bid is competitive and that you have the resources and capabilities to complete the project.

Where do I find public sector contracts?

Public sector contracts can be found on websites such as Contracts Finder & Public Contracts Scotland. At Hudson, We have 11 sector-specific portals to help you track all Public sector contracts in the UK.

10 things to consider when bidding for public sector contracts!

Research the requirements of the contract and ensure that you can meet them.
Ensure that the bid is competitive and that you have the resources and capabilities to complete the project.
Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the requirements.
Demonstrate the ability to deliver on time and to budget.
Have a strong track record of successful projects.
Understand the rules and regulations surrounding public sector contracts.
Understand the Freedom of Information Act and other relevant legislation.
Have a robust complaints procedure in place.
Utilise the latest technology to increase efficiency.
Have a clear plan for how you will deliver the project.

Our services include:

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect bid for your business, send it our way. Our Bid Writers can take care of the whole thing for you they’ll even submit it on your behalf. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready 4-week programme is perfect for businesses that have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully. Tender Ready offers your business:

A 12-month subscription to one Hudson Discover
Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals.
An Organisation-wide Bid library, including 3 case studies, 5 CVs and policies.
Additional flexible benefits.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts, our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents. They will work with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to a Hudson Discover portal and additional tendering development services.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your tender response and need it double-checked for errors, Tender Mentor can help. A Bid Writer will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar, or spelling mistakes. They will also ensure it’s in line with the specification before you submit it. This is a great way of improving your skills and understanding of how to polish your tender.

Contact us:

Additional support:

Do you only require assistance with PQQs or SQs? We can help!

Submit the relevant information regarding the work you need, and we will provide a quote for the work agreed upon.

We provide support at all levels of the bid writing process, so if you simply need it proofread before you submit it, we can also help with that!

Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can optimise your tendering efforts!

Our two new time-saving tools can improve competitor awareness and success rate when bidding for a contract:

The Ultimate Time Save Package (for those on the go!)

Five tender breakdowns per month.
Annual subscription to two sector-specific portals.
Dedicated account manager.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package

All of the above.
Seven tender breakdowns per month.
Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager (minimum five years experience). Our Global Bid Director will manage the bid strategy.

Our other divisions:

Vocal

Wanting to impress a buyer? Our creative content agency Vocal is always on hand to help!

Our Vocal team are never afraid to be heard – we’re a loud bunch!

From micro-businesses to large organisations, we provide ways to make your business stand out from the crowd. We can transform your bid into a professionally designed tender document!

Vocal specialises in:

Alpha

Our online virtual learning environment for Education, Enterprise and Home Learners is currently being used to power our platforms – Tender VLE and Procure VLE (Coming soon).

We believe in learning at your own pace, wherever you are!

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

The post Public Sector Contracts appeared first on Tender Consultants.

How to get a bid consultant?

John Hudson — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 09:00:38 +0000

How to get a bid consultant!

What is a bid consultant?

A bid consultant, also known as a tender consultant, is a professional who manages your tender submissions on an ongoing basis.

This typically involves:

Tender writing: One of the major aspects of tender submissions is, of course, tender writing. Bid consultants can work alongside your business to develop high-quality, detailed responses that help you stand out from your competitors. Here at Hudson, we have a team of expert Tender Writers who operate across multiple different sectors and can work alongside your business to create stand-out detailed and technical content.
Opportunity tracking: Bid consultants can also take the strain of hunting for opportunities off your hands. Bid consultants can work alongside your business to understand every key aspect of your operations and track opportunities that are relevant to you.
Managing tenders: Bid consultants can help you with managing your tender submissions on an ongoing basis. This involves organising all of your company literature, developing detailed case studies, tracking opportunities, writing responses and assessing strategic growth. Outsourcing this can provide your business with the breathing space to carry on with its normal operations safe in the knowledge that all your tendering endeavours are being looked after by experts.

Why do I need a bid consultant?

We understand how running a business can be relatively time-consuming. You do not necessarily have the time or resources to write winning responses in-house. The tendering process is long and complex and tendering for contracts can be confusing for a beginner.

If this is the case, outsourcing to bid writing experts can help you win your next contract. Here at Hudson Succeed, we pride ourselves on being tender writing experts.

We have over 60 years of collective bid writing experience and hold an 87% success rate. We offer four levels of bid writing support to suit every business need. If you are completely new to tendering or need a response proofread before you submit – we can help!

Do I need a bid consultant for the public sector?

Tendering can often be a difficult and daunting prospect for any business looking to venture into the public sector. With tenders ranging from numerous different scopes and sizes they can also be presented in the following formats:

PQQs
ITTs
RFPs

Tenders can often be in excess of 10,000 words, with multiple documents needing to be attached and sometimes designed.

Standing out from the crowd can be difficult in tendering. Having a bid consultant on hand to guide you through this process can be very beneficial for your business growth.

Managing tender submissions and searching for opportunities whilst handling your business’ daily operations can be difficult. Having a bid consultant to alleviate this stress can be one way to ensure growth when public sector tendering.

What do we do?

As global providers of bid writing consultancy, we provide support across the board!

Hudson promises you two things. Firstly, we will always write to win, maintaining commercial awareness across multiple industries to ensure our clients have the best chance of success. Secondly, we will continue to innovate to meet the changing needs of your business.

We offer four packages:

Tender Writing

Once you have found the perfect contract for your business, send it our way. Our Bid Writers can take care of the whole thing for you, and they will submit it on your behalf. They will let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown.

Tender Ready

A 12-month subscription to one Hudson Discover
Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals.
An Organisation-wide Bid library, including 3 case studies, 5 CVs and policies.
Additional flexible benefits.

Tender Improvement

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your tender response and need it double-checked for errors, Tender Mentor can help. A Bid Writer will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They will also ensure it’s in line with the specification before you submit it.

What can we bring to the table?

Unique writing skills

Bid writing consultants have a unique skill set that is, obviously, tailored to producing successful bids. They know exactly how to convey an organisation’s strengths and use those to answer questions on specifications. Tenders will usually be unsuccessful for those who have not scoured the requirements and detailed how their company is suitable. Bid writing consultants have done this countless times, so they know precisely how to hit those points. Over time, they have developed their craft and understand how to write winning bids. Yet, they can also use their creativity to really make the company stand out. These skills are likely not held by anyone who is not experienced in bid writing.

Professional process

Since bid writing consultants are experts in tendering, they will have a professional process. This process allows the bid writers to keep on track with the goal. They can ensure the quality of the documents and that they are completed within the timeframe required. Since they are experts, they understand how important these contracts are. They know that they provide income for your company and help it to expand and grow.

Remote work

Another benefit of hiring bid writing consultants is that they are able to work efficiently with you remotely. This means there is far less time spent on travel and meeting times. Therefore, they can be done quicker but still in the most productive manner. This time saved can go towards work on something else! Given recent events, this is also incredibly beneficial as there is no risk of jeopardising anyone’s safety. Being able to quickly and efficiently contact and discuss with your bid writing consultants online is a massive convenience.

Understanding documents

There are many documents bid writing consultants are familiar with. These documents may be more of a task for those with less experience. For example, Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PPQs) and tenders can be confusing and complicated. Bid writing consultants understand exactly how to respond to these. If you do not fully understand what is required, you risk failing to secure contracts and wasting time and resources.

Higher chance of success

As you can imagine, bid writing consultants vastly improve your success rate. This can be expected as bid writing consultants have the experience and structured process to write winning bids. They also have the right writing skills to make your company stand out. Knowing you have a strong chance of winning can improve your confidence in bidding for more contracts. It is better to leave it to someone with the desired experience, rather than to a sales team. This is something many businesses do. They may not have the skills or understanding necessary to win contracts. Again, this is a waste of time and resources.

Cost-effective

Tendering takes time and resources, so you want to be sure you have a good chance of success. Otherwise, all that time and those resources go to waste! The chances are your company does not have in-house resources or the time to complete bid responses. Since bid writing consultants do, you will be saving yourself time and money in the long run.

The professional process saves time as you’ll have bid writing consultants writing documents and also proofreading and making adjustments. Whilst they are busy doing this, you and your team can be focused on running your business.

Experience

Since most bid writing consultants are highly experienced, they have had the time to learn from previous bids. This is great as it means you don’t have to waste resources doing the same! Bid writing consultants will know exactly how to approach your tender. They will also have enough experience to recognise precisely what the contracting authority is looking for. They can then ensure your company meets the contracting authority’s requirements.

Okay, so I need a bid consultant… Where do I find one?

Additional support:

Do you only require assistance with PQQs or SQs? We can help!

Simply submit the relevant information regarding the work you need and we will provide a quote for the work agreed upon.

We provide support at all levels of the bid writing process, so if you simply need it proofread before you submit it, we can also help with that!

Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can optimise your tendering efforts!

Our two new time-saving tools can improve competitor awareness and success rate when bidding for a contract:

The Ultimate Time Save Package (for those on the go!)

Five tender breakdowns per month.
Annual subscription to two sector-specific portals.
Dedicated account manager.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package

All of the above.
Seven tender breakdowns per month.
Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager (minimum five years experience). Also, the bid strategy will be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Our other divisions:

Vocal

Wanting to impress a buyer? Our creative content agency Vocal is always on hand to help!

Our Vocal team are never afraid to be heard – we’re a loud bunch!

From micro-businesses to large organisations, we provide ways to make your business stand out from the crowd. We can transform your bid into a professionally designed tender document!

Vocal specialises in:

Alpha

Our online virtual learning environment for Education, Enterprise and Home Learners is currently being used to power our platforms – Tender VLE and Procure VLE (Coming soon).

We believe in learning at your own pace, wherever you are!

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

The post How to get a bid consultant? appeared first on Tender Consultants.

CPV: meaning, how it works and examples

John Hudson — Fri, 23 Dec 2022 09:00:51 +0000

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV): meaning, how it works and examples

Want to find out about CPV meaning, how it works and discover examples? Keep reading this blog to find out everything about CPV!

CPV Meaning

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) is a system created by the European Union (EU) to standardise the classification of goods/services. It was designed as a tool for promoting and increasing transparency and efficiency in the public procurement process.

CPV Structure

Now you know the meaning of CPV, what does it look like?

Every CPV code relies upon a nine-digit structure, with each digit or group of digits defining a category for classification. Generally, if a code has many zeros, it identifies a less specific product/service. If more numbers from one to nine are involved, it is more likely to be a specific or niche product/service.

Nine-digit structure of identifications:

1st two digits: Divisions

Three digits: Groups

Four digits: Classes

Five digits: Categories

Next three digits: Extra details

The ninth digit: Verifies the previous digits

Example:

Structure	Codes	Specification
Division	33000000	Medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
Group	33100000	Medical equipment
Class	33110000	Imaging equipment for medical, dental, and veterinary use
Category	33111000	X-ray devices
Item	33111100	X-ray table

Note: eight digits form the main code.

Here, you can see that by identifying your chosen division and progressing to the individual item, you can narrow down your search and gain an accurate CPV code. However, it must also be noted that is a simplified version.

Main Vocabulary and Supplementary Vocabulary

The CPV system uses the main vocabulary which defines the contract type and supplementary vocabulary which adds extra information about the contract. Supplementary vocabulary consists of an alphanumeric code with additional wording allowed to provide extra information regarding further product/service specificity or its destination upon purchase. The alphanumeric code may be formatted as a single letter (corresponding to a section) and four digits (defining its parts).

How to use CPV?

To gain access to business opportunities, you must be registered to receive them. Then, when an opportunity is broadcast across the UK, registered companies interested in code 45221115-1 (construction work for steel bridges) for example, will be notified.

However, in 2022 CPV codes have somewhat complicated the tendering process. This is because UK procurement is so vast, there is a CPV code for every product/service you can think of that is mainstreamed in the UK/EU. Also, it is apparent that a lot of buyers are either not aware of this, are using codes incorrectly or not using them at all.

Is CPV important?

CPV can make sourcing opportunities for your business easier. It can help suppliers across the world to find projects that meet their abilities.

However, at Hudson, we NEVER rely on CPV codes, so you can be sure to find legitimate opportunities in the right place. Once you find the right opportunity, you can look at the documents and see if you are eligible. If you hire a bid writer, they’ll be able to do this for you.

Furthermore, we filter through all opportunities in many sectors across hundreds of notification platforms daily to ensure our customers receive the bespoke opportunities that apply to THEM!

The majority of national portals have electronic algorithms that scour and publish opportunities based on CPV codes alone, meaning that a quarter of these are not being publicised as effectively as they can be.

Is CPV still used after Brexit?

The short answer — Yes. CPV is a recognised framework used in the procurement process. Therefore, while CPV was mandatory within the EU and although EU laws no longer apply in the UK, it is still a much-used system.

How can we help?

Now you’re a bit more familiar with CPV meaning and what’s required for the tendering process, you may be looking for some writing support. Outsourcing a bid you’ve found to bid writing specialists can help you secure that next contract!

Here at Hudson Succeed, we pride ourselves on being bid writing experts. We have an 87% success rate and over 60 years of bid writing experience. We offer four levels of bid writing support to suit every business need. You may not need the whole bid written for you; you may simply need it to be proofread before you submit it.

We can help with that.

Our services include:

Tender Writing

Tender Ready

A 12-month subscription to one Hudson Discover
Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals.
An Organisation-wide Bid library, including 3 case studies, 5 CVs and policies.
Additional flexible benefits.

Tender Improvement

Tender Mentor

Contact us:

Additional support:

Do you only require assistance with PQQs or SQs? We can help!

Simply submit the relevant information regarding the work you need and we will provide a quote for the work agreed upon.

We provide support at all levels of the bid writing process, so if you simply need it proofread before you submit it, we can also help with that!

Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can optimise your tendering efforts!

Our two new time-saving tools can improve competitor awareness and success rate when bidding for a contract:

The Ultimate Time Save Package (for those on the go!)

Five tender breakdowns per month.
Annual subscription to two sector-specific portals.
Dedicated account manager.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package

All of the above.
Seven tender breakdowns per month.
Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager (minimum five years experience). Also, the bid strategy will be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Our other divisions:

Vocal

Wanting to impress a buyer? Our creative content agency Vocal is always on hand to help!

Our Vocal team are never afraid to be heard – we’re a loud bunch!

From micro-businesses to large organisations, we provide ways to make your business stand out from the crowd. We can transform your bid into a professionally designed tender document!

Vocal specialises in:

Alpha

Our online virtual learning environment for Education, Enterprise and Home Learners is currently being used to power our platforms – Tender VLE and Procure VLE (Coming soon).

We believe in learning at your own pace, wherever you are!

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

The post CPV: meaning, how it works and examples appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Strategic Bid Management: Everything You NEED to Know to Succeed!

John Hudson — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 08:00:23 +0000

Here’s what you should know about strategic bid management

Got questions about strategic bid management? You’re in the right place! Here at Hudson Succeed, we thrive off teaching you anything and everything about the tendering process. Part of that process is strategic bid management. So, do you want to know what it is and how to conduct it successfully? Keep reading and you’ll learn our secrets!

What is strategic bid management?

Strategic bid management is a way of staying organised and on track when you embark on a bid. Producing a bid proposal is no easy task. There is a lot of work involved. This includes a lot of different stages and processes that can easily become overwhelming. Those that don’t value strategic bid management are likely to struggle during their tender writing process.

Tips from our experts for strategic bid management

We sat down with several of our Bid Writers to see what goes into bid management and planning for success.

1. Check you are eligible for the opportunities you source

One of the first stages of strategic bid management is checking you are eligible for opportunities. You would be surprised how many businesses ignore this factor. Read ALL of the tender documents thoroughly. Note down any key details that stand out.

If the buyer states they want the supplier to have a certain qualification, then pay attention to this. If you don’t, but you bid anyway, you’re very unlikely to win. You’ll be wasting both yours and the buyer’s time, and this won’t leave a great reputation on your part.

2. Consider exactly what the buyer requires

When you read the buyer’s documents, you need to show you have a grasp of what they’re asking. Plan out your answers to their questions. This way, you can ensure you don’t ramble and go off topic. If you do this, the buyer will grow bored and believe you can’t focus on what’s important.

3. How to create your strategic bid management plan

When you are creating your strategic bid management plan, you should consider the following:

Who will be responsible for developing responses?
How is the work to be submitted? Some buyers require physical submissions as well as online.
What format do they require your responses in?
What do you need to attach for each question?
Where is the response to be submitted and with what deadlines?
How long will each individual question take?
Do you need to create case studies for responses?

Having the answers to these questions ensures you are as prepared as possible. This also means you’ll complete the bid on time and have enough time for proofreading and reviewing. Remember: it is essential to have your bid in on time. If it is late by even a minute, you’ll lose your chance of being considered. So, create your strategic bid management plan and you’ll be set to win tenders!

Summary

Here’s a summary of what we covered:

What is strategic bid management?

To ensure your bid process runs smoothly, you need to be prepared. Bid management is the key to ensuring this. You’ll be able to stay organised and no small but essential details will go unacknowledged.

Tips from our experts for strategic bid management

Check you are eligible for the opportunities you source
Consider exactly what the buyer requires
How to create your strategic bid management plan
- Who will be responsible for developing responses?
- How is the work to be submitted? Some buyers require physical submissions as well as online.
- What format do they require your responses in?
- What do you need to attach for each question?
- Where is the response to be submitted and with what deadlines?
- How long will each individual question take?
- Do you need to create case studiesfor responses?

Want to learn more about strategic bid management? Contact us to speak with our experts and we will answer your questions!

Need help searching for tenders?

You may be wondering where you can find a tender for your business. There’s no shortage of websites offering multi-sector tendering opportunities and leads. Ideally, you should be searching for a sector-specific site that posts all unique, public and private sector opportunities.

Our sister company, Hudson Discover, has 11 sector-specific tendering portals. One centralised and easy-to-navigate portal can help you save time, streamlining the process.

Once signed up, you’ll have access to your own dedicated Account Manager. They’ll be able to answer any questions you may have about public sector contracts. You’ll also get an email alert when new and relevant tenders are uploaded to your sector.

A subscription to one of our industry-specific portals will include:

Unlimited portal access. You can browse your industry’s portal to your heart’s content. See the hundreds of opportunities that are available, intuitively categorised, and easily accessible.
A daily email bulletin. When you sign up to a portal, you’ll receive an email alert when new tenders are uploaded.
A dedicated Account Manager. They’ll handle any questions or queries you may have about the portal.
A free 20-minute phone consultation with a Bid Writer. Our expert Bid Consultants will chat with you about anything tender related.

What opportunities can I expect from a tender search on a Hudson Discover portal?

We host all kinds of tenders in both the public and private sectors. These are inclusive of, but aren’t limited to:

Open tenders
Restricted procedure tenders
Competitive dialogues
Negotiated tendering procedures
Innovation partnerships
Single supplier contracts
Framework agreements
Dynamic Purchasing Systems.

What we can do for you

We have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or aren’t seeing results – they can help. There are four bid writing packages available:

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found a tender you’d like to go for, send it over to us. One of our professional Bid Writers will write the tender response for you. They’ll provide a full Tender Writing breakdown and even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Mentor

Tender Mentor can give your tender response a once over before you submit. The Bid Writing Team will analyse your response, notifying you of any errors and opportunities for improvements prior to submission.

Tender Ready

During the Tender Ready service, our team will create professional policies, procedures, and case studies in your company branding. If you already have this content, we will review everything carefully to ensure that nothing is missed. This service also helps businesses who are new to tendering with terminology and industry knowledge.

Tender Improvement

The Tender Improvement package can help those who have tendered before but aren’t seeing results. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous responses and work with you to develop improved content.

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Vocal

Our support doesn’t end there! Our creative content agency, Vocal, are on hand to help.

The Vocal Team are not afraid to stand up and be heard. And we make sure our clients aren’t either! From small, micro businesses to large organisations, we are vocal about the things that make your business unique.

Our creative service is dedicated to growing your business through striking and thought-provoking content. Our team specialise in six areas, including:

If you’d like to know more about what we can do for your business, introduce yourself to the team!

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

The post Strategic Bid Management: Everything You NEED to Know to Succeed! appeared first on Tender Consultants.

8 Tips for Submitting Electronic Tenders

John Hudson — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 09:40:38 +0000

Electronic tenders: 8 tips from bid writing experts

Electronic tenders have become standard practice in the procurement industry, with more buyers adopting online processes.

It is not only buyers who yield benefits from this technology, but suppliers too. This online process presents easier access to tendering opportunities and a clear, structured procedure to follow. Here we run through the e-tendering process, along with some core benefits for suppliers.

The digital transformation towards electronic tendering

As technology continues to evolve, e-tendering processes now dominate the procurement industry. With this move to online processes, the question is no longer “is e-tendering right for my company?”. Suppliers must now adapt to the digital transformation of procurement.

Software solutions are now no longer exclusive to larger, more resourceful companies. Small to Medium Enterprises are now able to access these electronic procurement solutions and reap its benefits. This transformation typically aims towards goals such as cost savings, greater efficiency, and improved strategic and competitive decision-making.

Like all digital transformations, electronic tendering also has its share of advantages and disadvantages. Despite its cons, it is rapidly taking over paper-based solutions. It is important for suppliers to not only understand the benefits this yields, but how to successfully navigate them.

The e-tendering platform

There are a number of online portals that are used for submitting your tender online. These portals provide a secure online platform that improve the speed and efficiency of submissions. Such portals include but are not limited to: ProContract (Proactis), YORtender, DELTA eSourcing, and Oracle iSupplier.

Once you are registered on one of these portals, there are multiple utilities at your disposal. You can:

Express interest in opportunities
Complete and submit a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ)
Complete and submit a tender proposal
Access the tender documents, such as the buyer’s specification
Ask the buyer clarification questions
Receive notifications of any changes to the tender requirements
Upload any appendices to support your bid.

What are the key advantages for suppliers?

The electronic tendering process provides a structured approach to submitting bids. While each portal may have different formats, they often abide by a sequential process. For example, when taking you through the tendering process you will often be required to complete parts before moving on. This mitigates the potential for error, such as accidentally missing out important parts of the proposal.

Depending on the tender portal used, there are also the following structural benefits:

Formatted text fields

Not all online portals require you to submit your bid in the form of Word documents. Portals such as ProActis provide text boxes for question responses. This removes the burden of formatting from the supplier, putting all of the focus onto the content. This also means that no bidder can be at an advantage due to unique formatting or design.

Clarifications and post-clarifications

Electronic tendering systems have processes in place to allow both buyers and suppliers to seek clarification from each other. If a requirement in the specification is unclear, the buyer would be able to clarify this in a timely manner. Buyers often get in touch with suppliers for clarifications post-submission. This reduces the chances of the submission quality being marked down automatically due to error. Additionally, all communications are within a clear, legally binding trail.

Easy-to-use interface

While the online procurement process can take some time to adjust to, most interfaces are user-friendly. This greatly simplifies the submission and information acquisition process for suppliers. Not only is the paper-based alternative more costly, but it is also more tedious in general. Using this interface, it is also easier to manage documents for submissions and make edits where necessary. This is something that would be far more tedious with the paper-based option!

Fool-proofing

As touched upon previously, the e-tendering process is usually fool-proofed to reduce error. This is achieved by dividing the proposal up into mandatory sections, requiring you to complete each section. Using an e-tendering portal also means that it is much easier to pick up where you left off. This is typically done with a completion tracker or visual cues indicating which fields still require responses.

8 tips for submitting electronic tenders

Electronic tendering improves access to opportunities with a structured format. However, it is still worth noting these e-tendering tips:

Don’t wait too long to submit clarifications

There is typically a deadline for submitting clarifications to the buyer before the official submission deadline. By getting your clarifications resolved early, the sooner you can submit your bid. You should aim to be clear about which part of the tender you are referring to. Taking too long to seek clarifications also means there is less time to make the amendments in question. It would be ideal to get these sooner rather than later.

Try not to submit your tender at the last minute

Leaving the submission of your bid to the last minute can run you into problems. If there is something wrong with the portal or the submission, you may not have time to resolve this. It is always good to submit the tender a decent length of time before the deadline. When it comes to the submission, if you do run into problems, it is important to evidence this. This can be done in the form of screenshots relayed to the buyer or portal administrator. It might also be worth submitting different parts of the tender when they are completed – instead of in one go.

Don’t forget your login details

While it may be obvious, losing access to your account can cause you to miss looming deadlines. Some electronic tendering systems will put a lock on your account after too many incorrect attempts. If you anticipate going on leave, it would also be worth passing these details over to colleagues. Losing access to your portal account would also mean any opportunities curated need to be found again. Avoid the unnecessary stress by keeping your login details handy!

Monitor your system notifications

Online portals will send you system notifications for various reasons. You will receive notifications when clarifications are responded to, or the buyer has relayed an update. You will also receive responses to clarifications made by other bidders for fairness reasons. It is important to keep on top of these so you don’t miss any crucial information. If you miss a notification about amendments to specification criteria, you may then be at risk of rejection.

Check grammar before you submit

Consider drafting your responses up in MS Word before pasting them into the text boxes. This yields the advantage of a visible word count, and a spellchecker. This will also ensure you have access to your proposal drafts should a problem occur with the portal. Have a look at our Tender VLE video for information on the editing process and proofreading tips!

Be careful of timeouts

Most electronic tendering systems have an automatic timeout system. This logs the user out after a period of inactivity (typically 10-20 minutes). While many portals have an auto-save feature, you should ensure your progress is saved before leaving it for this long.

Double-check portal submissions

Before you click that “submit response” button, it is definitely worth checking over your response to ensure accuracy. It may also be worth handing over to another team member to check over with a fresh pair of eyes. This reduces the chances of something being missed or completed incorrectly. Take note of the submission requirements in line with the documents you have attached. If something is out of line with the specified requirements, this can result in automatic rejection.

Opt-in to notifications for relevant opportunities

Many online tender portals boast a feature that automatically presents you with opportunities in your industry of choice. This is typically based on inaccurate CPV codes, and it is not always sector-specific. If you’d like more help finding tenders that are right for you, get in touch with the Hudson Discover Team.

Developing technologies in e-tendering

At Hudson Outsourcing, our goal is to help every business we engage with grow. We aim to propagate this by using innovative procurement technologies and smarter methods of working.

Currently in development is our Procure Smart software. This is a prospective technology and compliance solution that uses Artificial Intelligence to bolster procurement efficiency. Procure Smart will use this AI to not only improve the procurement process, but keep in adherence with regulations. The end-goal is to equalise the procurement process and make it more accessible for both suppliers and commissioners.

Need help with electronic tendering?

Many of the mentioned tender portals can be difficult to understand at first. It can take some time to get used navigating them comfortably without detrimental mistakes.

For help and support with the electronic tendering process and writing persuasive bids, contact our Bid Writers at Hudson Succeed.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found a tender you’d like to go for, send it over to us. One of our Bid Writers will write the tender response for you. They’ll provide a full Tender Writing breakdown and even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Mentor

Tender Ready

Tender Improvement

The Tender Improvement package can help those who have tendered before but aren’t seeing results. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous responses and work with you to develop improved content.

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

The post 8 Tips for Submitting Electronic Tenders appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Scenario-Based Questions – 6 Reasons Why Buyers Are Asking These Questions

John Hudson — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 07:00:23 +0000

Senior Bid Writer shares their insights on how to respond to scenario-based questions

If you are familiar with bid proposals, you may have seen that scenario-based questions are making a regular appearance. But are you aware of what the buyer is asking, and how to answer the questions efficiently?

We caught up with one of our Senior Bid Writers, Robyn Crawford, to pick her brain on scenario-based questions.

What are scenario-based questions?

Scenario-based questions are included within a tender and are issued by the buyer. This is so they can learn how you, the supplier, will respond to a hypothetical situation in the future. This is a great way for the buyer to learn about the supplier’s values, ethical standards and thought process.

Scenario-based questions ask for a practical-based application of the supplier’s working practices. This is a good test to see what a supplier’s priorities are. But also, how they will adapt to unfamiliar situations. They’re looking at what processes you have in place and whether they are sufficient for dealing with potential problems.

What type of scenario-based questions can occur during bid proposals?

When issuing scenario-based questions, buyers will pose potential situations that they’re looking for a response to. Here are some examples that Robyn has seen when working on tender responses, across a range of industries:

Scenario 1: Supported Living

Your Support Workers have noted a young person, placed at your service, is regularly making excuses to stay out of the placement. The young person is respectful, polite, and gentle to the Support Workers and to other tenants. The Support Worker has also noted that the young person is bringing expensive gifts back with them when they do come home. For example, new clothes, a smart phone, and they have a lot of excess cash.

What are the identified concerns and how will you safeguard the young person and address the issues?

Scenario 2: Construction

Please explain how you would manage the safety and wellbeing of residents, in the event of a sudden failure of power supply to part of the building whilst carrying out the installation.

Scenario 3: Healthcare

Betty has end-stage dementia and has been cared for a number of years in her own home. She requires all care and is nursed in bed. Betty has an Advance Care Plan and a ‘Do Not Attempt to Resuscitate (DNAR)’ recommendation in place, written and witnessed prior to her losing mental capacity. Betty’s wish is to die in her own home, although her daughters do not agree with this decision. Neither daughter lives with Betty.

Betty’s GP has made a number of anticipatory medications available within the house and there is an associated current drug chart in situ.

Over the past week, your staff have reported that Betty appears a bit more frail but still appears comfortable.

A member of your staff has visited this morning and Betty appears distressed and unsettled, is crying in pain upon movement, and is cold to touch but appears flushed in the face. The night Carer reports that Betty has been like this all night.

What action would your staff take?

These are just a handful of questions that you could find in bid proposals. Scenario-based questions will be unique to each buyer. If you have the right policies and procedures in place, you will be able to answer the questions with ease.

But why do buyers seek answers to scenario-based questions?

There can be many different reasons as to why a buyer would be looking for a response to these questions. From experience, these are the most common reasons why:

Predicting future performance

Scenario-based questions are a great way for the buyer to assess and predict a supplier’s future job performance. Furthermore, it allows the buyer to draw a conclusion about how the supplier will solve problems, handle challenges, etc. They are also used to assess soft skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, adaptability, and decision making.

Problems in the past

The scenario asked may provide an insight into previous failings by an incumbent provider. Therefore, the buyer will be looking to proactively address these issues. Your answer should therefore provide reassurance to the buyer – how will these problems be mitigated?

This is shown in example three. The buyer will be looking for the supplier to address how they would handle this shortfall in service. Whilst also showing how they will mitigate its reoccurrence.

Common occurrence

In some cases, there will be common occurrence within reactive maintenance. Through your response, you should breed confidence on how you will deal with these day-to-day tasks. E.g., how performance will be monitored/managed, how response times will be maintained, health and safety measures in place, etc.

High–risk occurrence

Example one refers to a young person at risk of Child Sex Exploitation. Which in supported living, is a high-risk occurrence. Here, the buyer will want you to demonstrate how your staff are trained to identify this risk. Along with the steps that you will take to keep this young person safe. The buyer will also be looking for any preventative measures. This is what the supplier is putting forward in order to prevent this from ever occurring whilst delivering the contract.

Easier for the evaluator

This type of question can be easier for panels who aren’t necessarily experienced/skilled at reviewing information or are non-specialists. For example, consider this question:

‘Can you describe how you would react if a service user was found to be under the influence of alcohol?’

This will be more accessible to a Care Assistant on the procurement panel and easier for them to assess.

Getting the best out of bidders

Scenario responses are usually easier to respond to – especially for those who are not specialists in tendering. It ensures the buyer is drawing out the best from bidders.

What are your tips when it comes to answering scenario-based questions?

After seeing scenario-based questions become a regular occurrence within bid proposals, I have become adapt in answering the questions. Here are my tips to help you with your own responses:

Use a step by step, methodical approach. This will demonstrate logic and critical thinking.
Draw on experience. If you have experience with the scenario being presented and have successfully managed this, ensure you make this clear. For example, a response for scenario two could start with:

“COMPANY have dealt with NUMBER of power failures during installation and have successfully resolved this issue by…”

Be factual. Although the question is hypothetical, it is important to think critically and respond as though it is a real occurrence. What exactly would you do?
Add value – feed innovative methods/technologies into your response. For example, training or IT systems. It is important to constantly demonstrate where you can go above and beyond the expectations of the buyer.

In summary

Scenario-based questions are issued by the buyer to establish if you, the supplier, can adapt easily to unpredicted situations.

They will issue questions with hypothetical scenarios, where you’ll be expected to respond with how you will handle the situation. They will be looking at what policies and procedures you have in place when reacting to issues. The six main reasons why buyers will be issuing scenario-based questions are:

Predicting future performance of the supplier
Identifying solutions for problems they have had in the past
Common occurrence
High–risk occurrence
Easier for the evaluator
Getting the best out of bidders.

When responding to these questions, whilst they may be hypothetical, treat them as if they were really happening. Answer in full detail how you would handle the scenario posed to you. To ensure your response is of the highest quality, here are Robyn’s tips to follow:

Use a step by step, methodical approach
Draw on experience
Be factual. As yourself, what exactly would you do?
Add value – feed innovative methods / technologies into your response.

How Hudson Succeed can help

Now you know what scenario questions are, and why the buyer is asking them. You can begin to improve your bid response. However, our Bid Writers have great experience in answering scenario-based questions. If you feel you lack the ability to respond to these questions, let us help.

We have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or aren’t seeing results – we can help. There are four bid writing packages available:

· Tender Writing

Once you’ve found a tender you’d like to go for, send it over to us. One of our Bid Writers will write the tender response for you. We’ll provide a full Tender Writing breakdown and even submit it on your behalf.

· Tender Mentor

Tender Mentor can give your tender response a once over before you submit. Our Bid Writing Team will analyse your response, notifying you of any errors and opportunities for improvements prior to submission.

· Tender Ready

During the Tender Ready service, our team will create professional policies, procedures, and case studies in your company branding. If you already have this content, we will review everything carefully to ensure that nothing is missed. Once the programme is complete, you’ll have access to three days’ worth of bid consultancy. This can be used for bid writing, tender reviews, or general advice and guidance.

· Tender Improvement

The Tender Improvement package can help those who have tendered before but aren’t seeing results. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous responses and work with you to develop improved content.

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Need help with searching for tenders?

Now you know about scenario-based questions, you might be curious about finding tenders for your business.

There’s no shortage of websites offering multi-sector tendering opportunities and leads.

Ideally, you should be searching for a sector-specific site that posts all unique, public and private sector opportunities.

Our sister company, Hudson Discover, has 11 sector-specific tendering portals. One centralised and easy-to-navigate portal can help you save time, streamlining the process.

Once signed up, you’ll have access to your own dedicated Account Manager. They’ll be able to answer any questions you may have about tendering for work. You’ll also get an email alert when new and relevant tenders are uploaded to your sector.

A subscription to one of our industry-specific portals will include:

Unlimited portal access. You can browse your industry’s portal to your heart’s content. See all the opportunities that are available, intuitively categorised, and easily accessible.
A daily email bulletin. When you sign up to a portal, you’ll receive an email alert when new tenders are uploaded.
A dedicated Account Manager. They’ll handle any questions or queries you may have about the portal.
A free 20-minute phone consultation with a Bid Writer. Our expert Bid Consultants will chat with you about anything tender related.

What opportunities can I expect from a tender search on a Hudson Discover portal?

Hudson Discover hosts all kinds of tenders in both the public and private sectors. These are inclusive of, but aren’t limited to:

Open tenders
Restricted procedure tenders
Competitive dialogues
Negotiated tendering procedures
Innovation partnerships
Single supplier contracts
Framework agreements
Dynamic Purchasing Systems.

Discover Elite

If you want to streamline the process even further, you can sign up to Discover Elite via your chosen portal. With this service, a dedicated Account Manager will find live bids on your behalf. They’ll speak with you weekly to discuss opportunities that may interest you. This is especially helpful for those with little time to spare due to busy schedules.

Vocal

Our support doesn’t end there! Our creative content agency, Vocal, are on hand to help.

Our creative service is dedicated to growing your business through striking and thought-provoking content. We’ll take your bid and give it a complete makeover. With professionally designed tender documents, you’re sure to make an impression on the buyer!

Our team specialise in six areas, including:

If you’d like to know more about what we can do for your business, introduce yourself to the team!

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

The post Scenario-Based Questions – 6 Reasons Why Buyers Are Asking These Questions appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Capture Management Expert Reveals All: Q&A With a Senior Bid Writer

Millie Newbold — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 06:00:43 +0000

Learn about capture management with our Senior Bid Writer, Robyn Crawford

Are you ready to learn about capture management? Here at Hudson Succeed, our Bid Writers utilise this process day in, day out. It’s safe to say, it’s an important part of the tendering process!

If you don’t know what it means just yet, then you’re in luck! We sat down with Robyn Crawford, our Senior Bid Writer, to ask some questions about the capture management process. Here’s what she had to say…

What is capture management?

Capture management gives the client an advantage when they tender for work. Through this process, we capture key information about the buyer, including their objectives and requirements.

We’ll also look at the client’s experience. We extract information from our clients about their organisational experience and any previous or current contracts they’re working on. Once we have this information, we develop three case studies that are specific to the opportunity they’re bidding for.

A key part of capture management is competitor analysis. For example, at Hudson, we support our clients by identifying competitors within their industry. This is helpful, as they’re most likely to be tendering for the same contracts. With this information, we complete a SWOT analysis. We look at the competitor’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

After evaluating the potential competition, we work with our clients to develop at least three win themes and their USPs.

What do you do with this information?

Once we have this information from our clients, we start to develop a written solution. This can involve, but certainly isn’t limited to:

The end-to-end service they’ll provide
Supply chain experience
Skillsets of any key personnel
Training
Service delivery
Benefits
Risk management
Quality assurance
KPIs and performance measures
Social value
Innovation.

Alongside this, we also identify and explain any risks that our clients might face if they proceed with the tender. This could be areas that require improvement in order to see success.

Does it have a purpose?

Capture management is designed to help the client prepare for bid release and enhance the quality of the submission. Ultimately, we want to do everything we can to improve their chances of success.

What are the main benefits of capture management?

First and foremost, capture management will raise the overall win probability. It allows us to enhance the quality of our client’s tender responses, giving them the best chance of success.

However, there are certain benefits that are often overlooked, but they’re just as important for our clients. Capture management allows for clear opportunity clarification. With this process, our clients can assess whether a tender opportunity is right for them. For example, we can use the information gathered during capture management and evaluate it against the tender specifications.

The pressure of working on a live bid reduces by using this process to prepare for the bid. This is because we already have everything in place to produce a high-quality submission.

Not only that, but it provides an opportunity to develop high-level solutions, including supply chains and sub-contract agreements. The extra time is also useful for submitting any questions within the clarification window.

Finally, capture management is a great opportunity to build strong, long-lasting relationships with the client. By learning about their business experience, they can rest assured that we’re fully prepared to produce a winning tender response. As a result, they’re more likely to trust us with future bidding opportunities.

What is a Capture Manager?

A Capture Manager is the person responsible for the research, analysis and strategy involved in the capture management process. However, this role will look different in every company, and generally depends on the size of the organisation. Some businesses might have a dedicated Capture Manager that works on every project. On the other hand, in some companies, Bid Writers or Bid Managers will be responsible for this process.

Generally, a Capture Manager’s responsibilities could include:

Researching the tender opportunity
Researching the contracting authority
Competitor analysis
SWOT assessments
Solution planning
Risk analysis
Capture and Bid Team coordination
Overseeing the bid strategy, pricing and review process
Creating and executing a capture plan
Reviewing the final tender proposal.

When should capture management start?

Ideally, capture management will start as soon as the client identifies an opportunity they’d like to go for. It’s important for making the bid or no-bid decision and can streamline the entire tendering process.

Capture management is a long and detailed process and should be used for complex and must-win opportunities. It’s particularly common for government and public sector contracts.

That being said, capture management is still a useful tool for smaller, routine tendering opportunities. Generally, for these contracts, we can adopt an abbreviated capture management process, if that’s what the client requires. However, we spend as much or as little time on the process as is necessary to increase the client’s chances of success.

It’s recommended to start the process as early as possible, as this gives the client the best chance of winning. Starting the process too late could mean there isn’t enough time to capture all the necessary information. So, wherever possible, it’s important to get ahead.

What steps are involved in the capture management process?

Generally, the capture management process can be broken down into five steps. These include:

Identifying the opportunity

The process begins with the client approaching us about a tender opportunity they’re interested in.

Exploring the client’s needs

Next, we evaluate the client’s needs and goals. It’s important to do this early in the process, as this will inform the next step.

Determining if the opportunity is suitable

After we’ve assessed the client’s requirements and goals, we’ll look at the opportunity in more detail. This will involve researching the buyer, reading through the tender documents, and evaluating the client against the criteria. We’ll also perform a competitor analysis to see which other businesses are likely to be bidding for the tender. With this information, we can inform the client about whether we believe the opportunity is suitable or not.

Win themes, USPs and case studies

Next, we’ll work with the client to identify at least three win themes and their USPs. Basically, at this stage, we use the information gathered during capture management to assess why they’re better than their competition.

Using the client’s contract examples, we’ll also produce relevant case studies that will demonstrate their experience.

Produce a tender response

Finally, using all this information and with the client’s technical input, we can produce a winning tender response.

What do you think is the most important part of the capture management process?

The most important part of the process is the beginning stage, when the client identifies an opportunity. After all, this decision influences the rest of the process. It defines what the client needs to capture, audits what they already have, and helps design the capture remit.

In summary

Capture management gives suppliers an advantage when they tender for work. Ultimately, it gives them the best chance of achieving success with their tendering efforts. During capture management, our Bid Writers look at:

Buyer objectives and requirements
Client experience
Competitor analysis
USPs
Win themes
Solutions
Risks.

The main benefits of capture management are:

Increases win probability
Enhances tender responses
Reduced pressure
More time
High-level solutions.

Ideally, successful capture management will start as soon as the client identifies an opportunity. The earlier you can get into the process, the better!

How Hudson Succeed can help increase your chances of success

Still have questions about the capture management process? Why not call our Bid Writing Consultants? We’re always happy to help!

Tender Writing

Tender Mentor

Tender Ready

Tender Improvement

The Tender Improvement package can help those who have tendered before but aren’t seeing results. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous responses and work with you to develop improved content.

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Need help searching for tenders?

Now it’s time to find a contract opportunity for your company!

You may be wondering where you can find a tender for your business. There’s no shortage of websites offering multi-sector tendering opportunities and leads.

Ideally, you should be searching for a sector-specific site that posts all unique, public and private sector opportunities.

Our sister company, Hudson Discover, has 11 sector-specific tendering portals. One centralised and easy-to-navigate portal can help you save time, streamlining the process.

A subscription to one of our industry-specific portals will include:

Unlimited portal access. You can browse your industry’s portal to your heart’s content. See the hundreds of opportunities that are available, intuitively categorised and easily accessible.
A daily email bulletin. When you sign up to a portal, you’ll receive an email alert when new tenders are uploaded.
A dedicated Account Manager. They’ll handle any questions or queries you may have about the portal.
A free 20-minute phone consultation with a Bid Writer. Our expert bid consultants will chat with you about anything tender related.

What opportunities can I expect from a tender search on a Hudson Discover portal?

We host all kinds of tenders in both the public and private sectors. These are inclusive of, but aren’t limited to:

Open tenders
Restricted procedure tenders
Competitive dialogues
Negotiated tendering procedures
Innovation partnerships
Single supplier contracts
Framework agreements
Dynamic Purchasing Systems.

Discover Elite

Vocal

Our support doesn’t end there! Our creative content agency, Vocal, are on hand to help.

Our team specialise in six areas, including:

If you’d like to know more about what we can do for your business, introduce yourself to the team!

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

The post Capture Management Expert Reveals All: Q&A With a Senior Bid Writer appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Bid Tender Writer: 3 Interesting Ways They Can Improve Your Chances of Success

Kathryn Wright — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 13:15:11 +0000

Looking for a Bid or Tender Writer? Here’s what you should know

Are you wondering how a Bid or Tender Writer can help your business? There’s plenty of ways they can win you contracts. You may assume they can simply write the bid for you. That is true, but it isn’t all they can do. Our Bid and Tender Writers are proficient in several skills. We also have a variety of expertly crafted services available to support you. At Hudson Succeed, we want to help educate and support anyone we can. So, continue reading to find out more on how Bid or Tender Writers can help you.

What is a Bid Writer?

To begin with, we want to address what a Bid or Tender Writer is. They are experts in the world of tendering and are there to support businesses with their bids. They can do this in a multitude of ways, but primarily they write compelling bids for their clients.

Why do businesses hire Bid Writers?

Many businesses will turn to a Bid or Tender Writer for several reasons. However, the most common is that it saves time. By hiring a Tender Writing Consultant, you can continue your usual work whilst they handle the tendering process for you.

Businesses prefer this as it means they are not wasting time and resources. Many of them would have to sacrifice their usual responsibilities to dedicate time to completing a bid. If you don’t have the time and resources to do this, it can be risky trying to complete a bid.

A Bid or Tender Writer can handle the entire process for you, and even submit it on your behalf. Therefore, there’s no stress involved and any last-minute panicking to get things done.

How will a Bid Writer improve your chances of success?

A Bid or Tender Writer can improve your chances of success in many ways. Here are just a few:

They have expert knowledge and experience

One of the greatest benefits of hiring a Bid or Tender Writer is that they are experts at what they do. So, they know exactly what is expected and how to write your bid responses to a high standard.

A Bid Writer has mastered writing and communication skills

These bid writing skills are essential for producing a winning bid. The aim of a tender is to showcase why your business should be awarded a contract. So, it is imperative that the bid is clear, concise, and communicates ideas to a high standard. If the buyer doesn’t understand your points, they will probably not award you the bid.

A bid also needs to be thoroughly checked for errors. You don’t want to give the impression you are lazy and rush your work without checking it.

Bid Writers understand the importance of bid management

Many people may believe a good bid is simply down to writing skills. This is not the case! Bid management is essential for ensuring the quality of your bid. A Bid or Tender Writer will use their bid management skills to breakdown buyer documents and make the workload manageable. It is key for ensuring nothing is missed and everything is done in time.

Summary

So, in summary, a Bid or Tender Writer is a professional that can provide services to help you win contracts.

Businesses turn to them for several reasons, but mainly because they save time and are experts at what they do.

They can help you in many ways, but some of those include the following:

They have expert knowledge and experience
A professional Tender Writer has mastered writing and communication skills
Tender Writing experts understand the importance of bid management.

Still got questions about Bid and Tender Writers? Why not contact us, and see how we can help you? We are always here to help!

Need help searching for tenders?

Our sister company, Hudson Discover, has 11 sector-specific tendering portals. One centralised and easy-to-navigate portal can help you save time, streamlining the process.

A subscription to one of our industry-specific portals will include:

Unlimited portal access. You can browse your industry’s portal to your heart’s content. See the hundreds of opportunities that are available, intuitively categorised and easily accessible.
A daily email bulletin. When you sign up to a portal, you’ll receive an email alert when new tenders are uploaded.
A dedicated Account Manager. They’ll handle any questions or queries you may have about the portal.
A free 20-minutes phone consultation with a Bid Writer. Our expert bid consultants will chat with you about anything tender related.

What opportunities can I expect from a tender search on a Hudson Discover portal?

We host all kinds of tenders in both the public and private sectors. These are inclusive of, but aren’t limited to:

Open tenders
Restricted procedure tenders
Competitive dialogues
Negotiated tendering procedures
Innovation partnerships
Single supplier contracts
Framework agreements
Dynamic Purchasing Systems.

Now you know how to accurately perform a tender search, you may be wondering how to write a bid. Well, luckily for you, our sister company, Hudson Succeed, are experts in bid writing.

They have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or aren’t seeing results – they can help. There are four bid writing packages available:

Tender Writing

Tender Mentor

Tender Ready

Tender Improvement

The Tender Improvement package can help those who have tendered before but aren’t seeing results. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous responses and work with you to develop improved content.

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Vocal

Our support doesn’t end there! Our creative content agency, Vocal, are on hand to help.

Our creative service is dedicated to growing your business through striking and thought-provoking content. Our team specialise in six areas, including:

If you’d like to know more about what we can do for your business, introduce yourself to the team!

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

The post Bid Tender Writer: 3 Interesting Ways They Can Improve Your Chances of Success appeared first on Tender Consultants.

What Can Bid Writing Companies Do for Your Business?

Kathryn Wright — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 13:21:52 +0000

Here’s everything you need to know about how bid writing companies can benefit you

Got questions about bid writing companies? Here at Hudson Succeed, we aspire to help anyone and everyone to learn more about bidding for work. Our blogs are produced to help those who have broad and specific questions about all things tendering.

When it comes to the services of bid writing companies, you may wonder what is to be expected. Ultimately, they are here to help! So, let’s get into how bid writing companies can benefit you and your business.

Bid writing companies save you time and money

This is perhaps one of the biggest benefits of bid writing companies. It’s also why so many businesses turn to them for help. Bid Writers take the stress out of the entire tendering process. The chances are that you are incredibly busy running a business and working on projects. You may not have the time or the skills to complete a winning bid. That is why it is so much easier to turn to professional Bid Writers. They can complete the entire bid whilst you focus on your usual work. Some will even submit the bid on your behalf.

Bid writing companies produce high-quality bids

Another great benefit of turning to bid writing companies is that they can offer a unique skillset. They have experience in the industry and understand exactly how to go about the task. It is their job, after all.

Firstly, they’ll break down all the documents to note all key information. This will include dates such as the final deadline and any other requirements. They will manage the workload so that it is done on time and not rushed. Rushing a bid at the last minute will no doubt result in plenty of mistakes, and the buyers will not approve. If they get the impression that you are lazy, they will not award you the contract.

Summary

In summary, bid writing companies can do a lot for your business. They are able to execute expert level skills to create the highest quality of work. Relying on them also saves you time and money by increasing your chances of success and decreasing your workload.

If you still have questions and want a more direct answer you can contact us. We will be more than happy to help! We have only scratched the surface. For more information on the benefits of using bid writing companies, check out our other blogs.

We cover topics including:

Our services

Tender Writing

Tender Ready

A 12-month subscription to one Hudson Discover.
Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals.
An Organisation-wide Bid library, including 3 case studies, 5 CVs and policies.
Additional flexible benefits.

Tender Improvement

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need it double-checked for errors, Tender Mentor can help. A Bid Writer will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They will also ensure it’s in line with the specification before you submit. This can help you formulate a winning submission.

Additional support

If you only need the assistance with PQQs or SQs we can help. Send the information over to us and we can provide you with a quote for the work involved.

Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can help optimise your tendering efforts – even when you’re busy. Our two new time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and success rate when bidding for a contract.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers your business:

A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Healthcare and Technology, for example.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid strategy.
Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package also includes:

All of the above.
Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

The post What Can Bid Writing Companies Do for Your Business? appeared first on Tender Consultants.

How to Tender for Building Work: Tips from the Experts

John Hudson — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 07:00:58 +0000

Have you got questions on how to tender for building work? We have the answers…

When you’re looking for how to tender for building work, you may have several questions. The more you learn, the more questions may arise. Luckily, we aim to offer as much advise in our blogs as we can. If you have questions, we will use decades of experience and our 87% success rate to offer support.

Let’s get into how to tender for building work.

Finding building work opportunities

When you want to search for tendering opportunities, the easiest and best way is through portals. This is the first stage of how to tender for building work. There are several sites, ours included, that offer streamlined experiences to help make finding contracts easy. The UK has a contract finder, for example, that allows users to use filters. These filters can be selected to show results that are suitable for SMEs or from certain periods of time. You can also discover awarded contracts. It is a great tool for finding contracts.

As mentioned, there are lots of sites that host portals for tender opportunities. These portals make it much easier to find contracts. So, instead of going through dozens of websites and painstakingly searching, you can easily find the information you need. One aspect that sets our portals apart from the rest is that we don’t use CPV codes. This means we check all opportunities as we upload them to our portal, so no contracts will be missed.

Since we are focused on how to tender for building work, we recommend our Construction Tenders portal.

It is important when searching for opportunities that you check your eligibility. Many businesses will tender for work they cannot actually deliver. This is a huge waste of time, money, and resources. If you hire bid writing services, these experts will be able to help you breakdown a bid, checking your eligibility.

Writing the bid

Once you have selected the opportunity you wish to pursue, you can begin to write your bid. A lot of people may worry at this stage. A lot goes into bid writing, so it can be better to hire an expert. Professional Bid Writers can take the stress out of the process for you by handling the entire thing. They may even submit the bid on your behalf. Whether you choose to write it yourself, or hire an expert, here’s what needs to be implemented to ensure success.

Break down the documents

The first stage of writing your bid is to break down the buyer’s tender documents. This is important so you know exactly what is required. This is often done when checking for eligibility as you can see whether you can deliver the required work.

Use excellent writing and communication skills

Writing a bid does require excellent writing and communication skills. This is why so many businesses outsource to Bid Writers. It is their job to do it well. Your bid needs to be well written and communicate clearly your ideas and concepts.

Proofreading abilities

Your bid is your opportunity to stand out and impress the buyer. You won’t do this if your bid is full of errors. It gives the impression you are not thorough with your work. So, it is important to proof and edit your work, so it is as close to perfect as possible.

Time and project management

Since tenders often have several deadlines, it is important to be organised. This is why it is important to break down the tender. This way you can work out exactly what needs to be done, and when to do it by.

Summary

In summary, the process of how to tender for building work is broken into two parts:

Finding the opportunities
Writing the bid.

These are some of the skills needed to increase your chances of success:

Breaking down the documents
Using excellent writing and communication skills
Proofreading abilities
Time and project management.

If you still have questions on how to tender for building work, don’t hesitate to contact us. We aim to help however we can, and we are confident we can support you.

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

Our services

Tender Writing

Tender Ready

A 12-month subscription to one Hudson Discover.
Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals.
An Organisation-wide Bid library, including 3 case studies, 5 CVs and policies.
Additional flexible benefits.

Tender Improvement

Tender Mentor

Additional support

If you only need the assistance with PQQs or SQs we can help. Send the information over to us and we can provide you with a quote for the work involved.

Discover Elite

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers your business:

A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Healthcare and Technology, for example.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid strategy.
Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package also includes:

All of the above.
Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

The post How to Tender for Building Work: Tips from the Experts appeared first on Tender Consultants.

bid consultant Archives - Tender Consultants

Public Sector Contracts

Public Sector Contracts: Everything You Need to Know!

What are Public Sector Contracts?

Are public sector contracts hard to win compared to private sector contracts?

Where do I find public sector contracts?

10 things to consider when bidding for public sector contracts!

Our services include:

Tender Writing

Tender Ready

Tender Improvement

Tender Mentor

Contact us:

Additional support:

Our other divisions:

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

How to get a bid consultant?

How to get a bid consultant!

What is a bid consultant?

Why do I need a bid consultant?

Do I need a bid consultant for the public sector?

What do we do?

We offer four packages:

Tender Writing

Tender Ready

Tender Improvement

Tender Mentor

What can we bring to the table?

Unique writing skills

Professional process

Remote work

Understanding documents

Higher chance of success

Cost-effective

Experience

Okay, so I need a bid consultant… Where do I find one?

Additional support:

Our other divisions:

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

CPV: meaning, how it works and examples

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV): meaning, how it works and examples

CPV Meaning

CPV Structure

Nine-digit structure of identifications:

Example:

Structure

Codes

Specification

Main Vocabulary and Supplementary Vocabulary

How to use CPV?

Is CPV important?

Is CPV still used after Brexit?

How can we help?

Our services include:

Tender Writing

Tender Ready

Tender Improvement

Tender Mentor

Contact us:

Additional support:

The Ultimate Time Save Package (for those on the go!)

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package

Our other divisions:

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

Strategic Bid Management: Everything You NEED to Know to Succeed!

Here’s what you should know about strategic bid management

What is strategic bid management?

Tips from our experts for strategic bid management

1. Check you are eligible for the opportunities you source

2. Consider exactly what the buyer requires

3. How to create your strategic bid management plan

Summary

What is strategic bid management?

Tips from our experts for strategic bid management

Need help searching for tenders?

A subscription to one of our industry-specific portals will include:

What opportunities can I expect from a tender search on a Hudson Discover portal?

What we can do for you

Vocal

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including: