Hudson Discover Archives - Tender Consultants

How to Secure Government Contracts Without a Huge Bid Team

Charlotte Jarvis — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 07:00:19 +0000

How to secure government contracts if you don’t have unlimited resources

Wondering how to secure government contracts without the resources of Amazon, Capita or Deloitte? Well, we have good news! You don’t need endless resources to win government contracts. You just need to be:

Smart with your bid or no-bid decisions
Resourceful with your team
Knowledgeable about the tendering process.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at:

How to be smart with your decisions, using a bid or no-bid checklist
What you can do to prepare before you bid for work
How to break down the question
How to get the evaluator on your side with your writing
Where you can find support.

So, let’s get started!

5 boxes to tick for smarter bid decisions

Before bidding for work, you should set out a list of questions to ask yourself before diving in. These questions will form your bid or no-bid questionnaire. They will help you make quick and smart decisions and keep you on the right path.

By making better decisions, you’ll save yourself from wasting resources further down the line. You don’t want to write 10,000 words, then realise you’re not eligible because of an accreditation requirement on page 50.

*Can you tick ‘yes’* to the following?**
Do you turnover more than half the contract’s value?
Is the contract deliverable in your location/can you travel to the location?
Is the contract going to be profitable?
Do you have experience with delivering the services/goods required and can you evidence this?
Can you demonstrate how you will add value to the buyer?

There are plenty of questions to consider but these five are a good starting point.

If you tick ‘no’ to even one of these questions, you need to seriously consider whether you can win. Essentially, we’re saying don’t waste your time and resources on bids you can’t win.

4 things you can prepare before you bid on government contracts

Assign roles in your team

With a smaller team, it’s important that everyone understands the role they play in the wider project. We recommend assigning:

Someone who makes the bid or no-bid decisions
The project manager
Someone who designs the solutions
Someone who will write the bid responses
The person who will compile the pricing document
The person who will sign off the final bid.

Compile your policies and procedures

Even before you start bidding for work, you can pre-empt the policies you are likely to be asked for. For example, in the healthcare industry, it’s sensible to assume you will be asked to provide:

A safeguarding policy
A whistleblowing policy
Your business continuity plans
A risk management policy
And an infection control plan/policy.

You can see here how we have made this assumption based on the industry. You and your team can do the same.

Create consistent, branded company CVs

In the public sector, buyers often ask to see the CVs of the team who will be delivering the contract. We advise spending some time on preparing these CVs and trying to keep the design consistent. It’s easier for buyers to read and digest the information if they’re all formatted the same way. Take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on each member of your team and demonstrate their capabilities.

Create/compile case studies

And more importantly…relevant case studies! When tendering for work in the public sector, you need to evidence your previous experience. This is usually done through providing two or three case studies from the last five years. The projects in the case studies should be similar in size and scope to the tender at hand.

How to break down the question

So, you’ve found a tender, it passes your checklist and you’ve prepared your documents. How do you now breakdown the questions and answer them effectively?

Firstly, don’t just jump straight in and start writing…as tempting as it might be. Sit back and examine the question. Let’s look at an example question:

Please explain your risk management procedures, including what risks you feel are vital to overcome as part of this contract, as well as monitoring and mitigation approaches you would use. Please detail who will manage said risks and provide examples of where you have overcome similar risks.

Does it seem like there’s a lot to answer within this one question? There is! We would tackle it bit by bit, breaking the question down into subheadings, such as:

General risk management procedures – this would include risks, monitoring and mitigation.
Risk lead – risk management experience.

Under each subheading, you can address that section of the question.

How to get the evaluator on your side

When considering how to secure government contracts, it’s not just about what you’re saying, it’s how. Here are our top 5 tips for getting the buyer on your side:

Be definitive. Swap phrases like ‘we aspire to’ with ‘we have’ and ‘we could’ for ‘we will’
Stay positive, focusing on the benefits of your service/solution/goods and the advantages
Back up all your claims with indisputable evidence
Be confident in your writing and write with conviction
Keep your language simple and sentences short. For example, instead of ‘has been proven to be’ use ‘is’.

It might seem like these tips are too simple…what’s the catch? There really isn’t one.

Empathise with the evaluator. You’re reviewing 30 submissions; they all contain very similar information, but they’re written differently. The simple, definitive answers will stand out because they are easy to follow and understand.

Also consider that the evaluator is likely not an expert in your industry or service/goods. Therefore, avoiding the use of too much technical jargon will go a long way. The evaluator needs to understand why they should award you the contract. If they don’t follow your explanations, you’re unlikely to win.

Where can you find government contracts?

Hopefully, you now have a better idea of how to secure government contracts. So where can you find the opportunities in the first place?

There are hundreds of websites across the UK that are updated daily with opportunities. The government has its own tender tracking website called Contracts Finder. The website is free to use but be prepared to spend a long time scrolling through irrelevant tenders.

That’s because the website uses CPV codes to categorise the opportunities which are often incorrectly used.

To speed up the process and make opportunity tracking more efficient, we created our Hudson Discover portals.

Hudson Discover houses our 11 sector-specific tendering portals. As well as being dedicated to one sector each, they’re manually updated by our Opportunity Trackers. They scour over 600 sources to identify new tendering opportunities and tag them with industry-driven keywords.

Visit your industry’s portal to book a free live demo:

In summary…

So, we’re at the end of our blog on how to secure government contracts. Hopefully you’ll take something away with you that you can apply to your next bid. If you need a quick recap, here you go:

We provided a list of five questions to help you form a bid or no-bid questionnaire. This will help you make more informed, smarter decisions and mitigate wasted resources. We understand that smaller businesses need to be smart with their resources. Assessing the bids before diving in will help you do just that.
We provided our top four tips for bid preparation:
1. Assigning roles to your team
2. Pre-empting the policies and procedures you’ll likely be asked to provide
3. Creating company CVs for everyone in your team who will be delivering the contract
4. Compiling three case studies from the last five years that will be relevant to the contracts you bid for.
Together, we looked at a sample question and thought about how we could break it down. We made sure to split the answer into subheadings so that we addressed every part of the question.
We provided five tips to help you get the evaluator on side with your writing:
1. Be definitive with your language
2. Stay positive, focusing on the benefits and advantages
3. Provide evidence to back up your claims
4. Write with confidence and conviction
5. Keep it simple! Short sentences and simple language will go down well with the buyer when they’re reviewing multiple bids at once.
We provided guidance for finding government contracts and recommended our Hudson Discover portals.

Still wondering how to secure government contracts?

Our team of consultants are here to help you. They have a thorough understanding of the tender process and government contracts, knowing exactly how to respond.

By outsourcing to professionals, you can improve your chances of winning contracts.

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 government tender, send it over to us. One of our Bid Writers will write the tender response for you. We’ll provide a full Tender Writing break down and even submit the bid on your behalf.

Tender Mentor

Tender Mentor can give your tender response a once-over before you submit it. 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 government tenders?

A subscription to one of our sector-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 free 20-minute phone consultation with a Bid Writer every month. Our expert Bid Consultants will chat with you about anything tender related.

Upgrade to 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.

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

The post How to Secure Government Contracts Without a Huge Bid Team appeared first on Tender Consultants.

How to Become a Government Supplier in the UK

Charlotte Jarvis — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 07:00:21 +0000

How to become a government supplier in the UK…if you’re an SME

Many SMEs wonder how to become a government supplier. They recognise the advantages and prospects of listing government bodies as clients and climbing the contract ladder.

It’s true that listing previous contract experience with government clients will help you to secure larger contracts. However, this is a bit of a chicken and egg situation, isn’t it? How can you win a contract in the first place to gain the experience you need? We all remember struggling to land our first job straight out of education, without that all-important experience. Well, this is similar.

In this blog, we’ll explain how to become a government supplier if you’re a small business. We’ll cover:

How to find the opportunities.
How to prepare and ensure you’re tender ready.
3 ways to make sure you meet the brief and have a good chance of winning.
How the government helps small businesses bid for work.
Social value – what is it and how to prepare in advance.
Our top 9 tips for how to become a government supplier.

Firstly, how do you find opportunities in the first place?

We’re not going to get very far without identifying an opportunity, are we! In the UK, there are hundreds of websites that publish new tendering opportunities, including the government’s own website, Contracts Finder. The problem is that these websites are not that easy to navigate and they’re not efficient to use.

Why? The main culprit is CPV codes (common procurement vocabulary). An eight-digit code, used for categorising opportunities into ‘subject matter’…in theory.

CPV codes are often used incorrectly by buyers due to the vast number of codes available. A study by the European Commission sampled 405 contract notices. They found that 23% had the wrong code associated with the scope of work tendered. This results in an inefficient sourcing process for you, the prospective supplier.

That’s why we created our own tendering portals, housed under Hudson Discover. We removed the use of CPV codes or algorithms and replaced them with manual opportunity tracking. Not only that, but the portals are also sector-specific, making them even more tailored to the user. More information about our portals can be found here:

How to make sure you’re tender ready before you begin

If tendering is new to you, becoming tender ready is an important step. In any tender, you will be required to provide certain documents and evidence. The savvier tenderers will spot that the same, or similar, documents are required by each buyer. Therefore, you can get a step ahead by preparing these documents in advance.

From our experience, the most commonly requested documents are:

Company CVs
Case studies – usually three from the last five years
Policies and procedures
Methodologies.

For help with getting tender ready, visit our dedicated Tender Ready service page.

3 ways to make sure you meet the brief

Before you jump into writing your tender responses and working out your pricing, we recommend:

Checking your economic financial standing

As a general rule of thumb, we advise against bidding for contracts with a value greater than half your turnover. This is your economic financial standing. For example, if a contract has a value of £50,000, you should be turning over at least £100,000. This is because you may struggle to prove that your resources meet the requirements. Often, buyers will ask to see your financial accounts during the tendering process.

Making sure you can evidence your experience

As we mentioned above, government buyers will often ask to see three case studies. They should be from contracts you have delivered within the last five years, in a similar field to this scope. If you can get testimonials from your previous clients, this will help to further demonstrate your capabilities.

Thinking about how you can evidence value for money

Government buyers are accountable for their spending. They have to demonstrate how they have delivered the best value for money because they’re spending public purse. This means that to become a government supplier, you need to evidence added value. It’s not just pricing that buyers consider to be good value. It’s a combination of quality and price throughout the life of the contract. So, make sure you highlight how and why your approach is cost-effective and helps the government make savings.

How to become a government supplier if you’re an SME…will the government help?

Becoming a government supplier is beneficial for both you and the government. The UK government is targeted with spending £1 in every £3 with small businesses. So, how are they helping small businesses secure contracts?

Lower value contracts

Since leaving the EU, there is more flexibility for lower value government contracts to be reserved for SME bidders. There is also more flexibility for Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs).

Introducing the prompt payment code

The prompt payment code offers suppliers peace of mind. It states that public sector buyers must include 30-day payment terms in their contracts. They also need to ensure that this is passed down the supply chain. If this is not happening, businesses are encouraged to raise this directly with the Public Procurement Review Service.

If this was the case, interest becomes liable as set out in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. This means that businesses can claim interest on any late invoices.

The Small Business Commissioner

The Small Business Commissioner is a free service that ensures fair payment practices for all small businesses in Britain. The body supports businesses to resolve payment disputes with larger businesses.

Social value – what is it and how can you prepare?

When SMEs research how to become a government supplier, they sometimes overlook social value. The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 became law on 8^th March 2012. It requires public sector organisations to consider the supplier’s potential to deliver services that benefit the local area and people.

In January 2021, new measures came into effect. Any public sector organisation procuring goods/services with a value of over £180,000 is obliged to ask bidders about social value. A 10% weighting has been placed on these questions in tenders and PQQs. Therefore, it’s worth considering how your business aligns with the aims of the social value measures, which are:

Creating new jobs and promoting skills
Encouraging economic growth
Supporting Covid-19 recovery
Tackling climate change
Levelling up the UK.

Our top 9 tips when tendering for work

If you’re wondering how to become a government supplier, read our top 10 tips:

Invest in the sourcing process

Allocate someone in your team to keep on top of new tendering opportunities. If you’re using the government’s website, they should allocate at least 15-30minutes per day to check for new tenders. If you’re using our Hudson Discover tendering portals, they’ll just need to keep an eye on their inbox. Either way, they need to take action immediately when they identify an opportunity. The rest of your team needs plenty of time to read the documents and write the responses.

Don’t rush in, weigh up the opportunity

Check our top three tips above and answer those questions before diving in. You should also assess the competition and how the new business would impact your current workload. Make sure that you have experience, and that the bid is realistic for you to win.

Familiarise yourself with the buyer’s portal

The portal will be used to:

Register your interest and download the tender documents
Ask clarification questions
Submit the final bid.

Make sure you know your way around and don’t leave it until the last minute to submit your bid. If you miss the deadline, the buyer doesn’t have to grant you an extension or even look at your bid. Even if you missed it because of technical difficulties – the buyer doesn’t have to make allowances. Don’t take the risk!

Make a bid plan

Break down the bid requirements and assign people in your team to take charge. This could be collating your policies, answering specific questions, or keeping your time management in line. Give each team member a clear role and deadlines for any input they will have.

Research the buying organisation

To make an impression on the buyer, it’s important that you understand them and their core values. This will help you demonstrate how your values align with theirs in your responses. If there is an incumbent supplier, you can try to find out who they are and how they are performing. Then, structure your responses around what the buyer is looking for.

Always refer back to the question and provide evidence

When you start writing your responses, always refer back to the question and make sure you’ve answered it. Use the buyer’s exact wording from the question to directly address their requirements.

Avoid empty or cliché statements such as ‘our people are at the heart of everything we do’. Fluffy statements like this are fine for marketing, but not bidding! Make sure you have evidence to back up every claim you make and demonstrate added value throughout.

Avoid jargon

The evaluator is most likely not an expert in your field. Using overly complicated jargon will only make your bid difficult to understand, and in turn, to evaluate. Keep the language simple and the sentences short – around 20 words per sentence is enough.

Don’t skip the proofing! Check for grammatical and spelling errors – they raise red flags with buyers for a lack of attention to detail.

Use clear formatting and design (where appropriate)

Some bids will follow a more rigid approach. The buyer will stipulate the font and point size for your responses and/or provide boxes for you to fill in. Others will follow a free-flowing proposal layout where you are given creative freedom to present the information. If this is the case, we always recommend having your bid professionally designed. It’s a great way to stand out amongst your competitors and make your bid easy to follow.

For help with Bid Design, see our sister company, Vocal.

Get feedback and carry on!

Unfortunately, you won’t always be successful in every tender. It’s important to not be too disheartened and use this as a learning opportunity. Ask the buyer for feedback if it hasn’t been provided and review it with your team.

If you’re losing multiple bids, it might be time to bring in a professional to assess how you could improve. See our Tender Improvement service for more information.

Summary

We’ve reached the end of our blog on how to become a government supplier. We hope our information was helpful. If you need a quick recap, here you go:

Choose an easy-to-use platform to help you identify opportunities quickly and make sure you never miss out.
Spend some time getting ready to tender for work before you dive straight in. Get your company CVs, case studies and policies in order and file them away so they’re ready to go.
Make sure you meet the brief. Check your economic financial standing, ensure you have evidence and that you can offer value for money.
The government needs to work with smaller businesses to meet their targets. They offer support through:

The prompt payment code
Making interest liable if the terms aren’t met
Offering free support through The Small Business Commissioner.

Do your social value research and make sure you can provide examples of how you meet the aims.
Review our top 9 tips for how to become a government supplier:

Invest in the sourcing process
Don’t rush in
Familiarise yourself with the buyer’s portal
Make a bid plan
Research the buying organisation
Refer back to the question and provide evidence to back up your claims
Avoid jargon
Make your bid easy to read through formatting and design
Get feedback and carry on!

Need help with becoming a government supplier?

Our team of consultants are here to help you.

They have a thorough understanding of the tender process and government contracts, knowing exactly how to respond.

By outsourcing to professionals, you could improve your chances of winning contracts.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found a government 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 the bid 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.

Need help with searching for tenders?

A subscription to one of our sector-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 free 20-minute phone consultation with a Bid Writer every month. Our expert Bid Consultants will chat with you about anything tender related.

Discover Elite

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

The post How to Become a Government Supplier in the UK appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Received a PIR CQC invitation? 5 things you should know

Charlotte Jarvis — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 08:42:50 +0000

What the PIR CQC form means for registered businesses & how to complete it

The PIR CQC form refers to a Provider Information Return. It’s issued to registered managers annually by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to make sure they’re aware of:

Any changes your organisation has made
How you are making sure the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

In this blog, we will:

Explain the timeline from receiving the PIR CQC form to submitting your response.
Detail what you should do if your registered manager has changed
Explain how the questions are divided by service
Advise how long the form could take to complete
List a few questions you’re likely to be asked
Offer a solution for support to complete your form.

When should you receive your PIR CQC form and what’s the deadline?

If you are the registered manager of a CQC registered business, you will receive an invitation to complete a PIR. This invitation will be sent annually, during the anniversary month of your first CQC inspection. Once you receive the invitation, you will have four weeks to complete and submit the PIR form.

If you miss the four-week deadline, you run the risk of your well-led rating being limited to ‘requires improvement’.

That being said, the CQC does allow you to contact them if you need more time to respond.

What if your registered manager has changed since last year?

If the registered manager in your organisation has changed, you will receive a link to update their details. It’s worth bearing in mind that the new manager will not be given extra time to complete the form. The quicker you update their details, the more time they will have to complete the PIR form. There is also a statutory notification form to complete that tells the CQC about the new manager.

How are the questions divided?

The questions will vary depending on the services your organisation provides. Service types are broken down into four categories:

Residential
Community
Shared lives
Specialist.

To help you prepare your responses, you can find the questions by service type on the CQC website.

How long does the PIR CQC form take to complete?

Depending on the services you provide and your in-house writing capabilities, the resources required will vary. The questions require a mixture of yes/no and 500-word responses (about a page of A4 each). Consider this when planning how you will use your time to write your answers. You don’t want to suddenly realise that you need to produce 8,500 words in one day!

What are you likely to be asked?

The questions will change depending on your service category, but there are a few similarities. You should expect to be asked for the following information:

Location – location number, name, address, provider number (or organisation number), provider name and organisation type.
Respondent – your name, phone number, email address and website address.
Details about your successes and barriers to good care.
Information about people who use your services – this is an extensive and detailed section.
Information regarding the services you provide, your staff and carers, commissioners, quality assurance and risk management.

While most questions are limited to 500-word responses, the inspector will contact you if they require more information.

Summary

So, to summarise, you can expect to receive a PIR form on the anniversary of your first CQC inspection.

Failing to return the completed form within four weeks could result in your well-led rating dropping to ‘requires improvement’. So it’s not worth the risk!

Has your registered manager has changed since last year or since your initial inspection (if this is your first PIR)? You will need to complete another form that gives their details to the CQC. The new manager will not be given extra time, they will still have four weeks to complete the PIR. They can’t receive the PIR form link until the additional form has been received by the CQC.

Before scheduling in your time to write the responses, take a look at the questions you have been sent. They could require 8,000+ words as many of the questions ask for 500-word responses. Don’t give yourself a few hours to produce your answers and risk the consequences.

Some of the questions will only require a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response. However, it’s still important to check how long your registered manager will need to complete high-quality answers.

The questions you will be asked will vary depending on the services your company provides. However, there are a few recurring questions you should be prepared for (we have listed these above).

Need help with writing your PIR CQC responses?

We understand that writing 8,000+ words can drain resources and you may not even have that resource in-house.

If you need support with writing your PIR CQC form responses, our writers are here to help. They have extensive experience in the healthcare industry, having worked with over 90 healthcare businesses.

Our writers work with you to blend your technical knowledge with their exceptional writing skills. This enhances the quality of your responses whilst alleviating the pressure on your team to produce this lengthy content.

To get a free quote simply send us your PIR form invitation link. Our consultants will take a look at the questions and provide a quote for writing the 500-word responses.

Growing your healthcare business?

If your business is growing, you will need new contracts to take the next step. But where can you access these opportunities?

Enter Healthcare Tenders!

Healthcare Tenders is a sector-specific opportunity tracking portal, compiling tenders from over 600 sources in one place.

No complicated CPV codes or algorithms! The tenders are sourced manually by a team of opportunity trackers.

The portal sources business opportunities for services including:

Take a tour and see how the portal can help your healthcare business grow. Book a free live demo.

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

The post Received a PIR CQC invitation? 5 things you should know appeared first on Tender Consultants.

MOD Tenders Explained

Millie Newbold — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 07:00:15 +0000

MOD tenders: Everything you need to know and more

Do you want to know how to win MOD tenders for your business? Or perhaps you’d like to know how to actually find them. No matter what you’re looking for, the team at Hudson Succeed are on hand to help.

In this blog, we’ll tell you everything there is to know about MOD tenders. From sourcing the contracts to writing a winning bid, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading to find out more!

What are MOD tenders?

MOD tenders are also known as Ministry of Defence tenders. In the UK, the Ministry of Defence is one of the largest buyers. As a result, there are plenty of opportunities for SMEs to win work.

The types of tenders available from the Ministry of Defence are vast. They cover a range of products and services, from ammunition and vehicles to ICT and manufacturing services.

How to win MOD tenders

Plan ahead

To win MOD tenders for your business, you need to plan ahead. After all, a winning tender response is all in the planning!

It’s easy to tell the difference between a well-thought-out response and a rushed, last minute one. It will be obvious to the buyer, and that won’t do your business any favours.

Once the ITT (invitation to tender) has been released, you could work backwards from the submission deadline. You could try setting internal deadlines for each step of the tendering process. That way, everyone in your team will be prepared for every stage, well ahead of the deadline.

Use relevant evidence

Our next piece of advice is important for any and all tenders you submit – including MOD tenders. To showcase your experience to the buyer, you need to include relevant case studies in your tender response.

Typically, the buyer will expect to see two to three case studies from the past three to five years. It’s also important that your contract examples are similar in size, scope and complexity to the contract you’re bidding for. If it doesn’t demonstrate your relevant experience to the buyer, then it’ll do nothing for you. In fact, it could actually work against you.

Make sure you have the correct qualifications and accreditations

When you’re tendering for contracts, the buyer might ask you to provide evidence of your relevant qualifications and accreditations. These can vary from contract to contract, but if they’re included in the specifications, they’re crucial to your success.

To ensure you don’t fail at this hurdle, check your qualifications and accreditations before proceeding with the bid. If you don’t meet these criteria points, you should find another tender for your business.

Show added value

Another way to increase your chances of success when bidding for MOD tenders is to show added value.

In the public sector, contracts are awarded to the most economically advantageous tender, or the MEAT. Therefore, when producing your tender response, you need to show how you’re going to add value to the buyer. What can you offer that your competition don’t? This could include anything from innovation to sustainability.

Proofread your response

Finally, you need to proofread your response before submitting it to the buyer for review. This is crucial – if you submit a response full of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, the buyer won’t be impressed.

However, we know it can be difficult to proofread your own work, especially when you’re producing lengthy documents. To combat this, you could try the following:

Proofread your tender response in stages, leaving gaps between each one
Asking someone else to proofread your response for you
Outsourcing the work to professional Bid Writers.

Where to find MOD tenders

Now you know how to win MOD tenders for your business. But how do you actually find them?

With our sister company, Hudson Discover, it’s easy to find new contract opportunities for your business!

There are 11 sector-specific tendering portals to choose from. One centralised and easy-to-navigate portal can help you save time, streamlining the process.

These consist of:

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. Finding MOD tenders for your business has never been so easy!

In summary

So, now you know all about MOD tenders! When you produce your next tender response, remember our tips for success:

Plan ahead, leaving plenty of time to complete the bid before the submission deadline
Include relevant case studies and contract examples
Make sure you have the correct qualifications and accreditations
Show added value in your tender response
Proofread your response before submitting it for review.

How Hudson Succeed can help

Have you considered bid management consultancy? Enter Hudson Succeed, and our team of Bid Writers. We’re always happy to help!

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. 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.

Need help searching for tenders?

Now you know about MOD tenders, 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-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.

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. 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 MOD Tenders Explained appeared first on Tender Consultants.

City of London Bids and Tenders: Everything You Need to Know

Georgie Morgan — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 07:00:03 +0000

City of London bids and tenders explained

Applying for City of London bids and tenders is a great way to grow your business. Local London authorities spend approximately £9billion annually on a wide variety of goods and services.

As an SME, you shouldn’t be missing out on City of London bids and tenders. If you’re thinking that these contracts are only awarded to big companies, you’d be mistaken. As a matter of fact, 23% of government contracts up for bid are awarded to SMEs. This gives you a good chance of competing if you’re a smaller business.

The City of London bids and tenders target outcomes are:

Sustainable cost assurance guaranteed for the future
Key people across the organisation being upskilled in commercialism, contract management and procurement
Their services provide what’s needed and are easy to use
Opportunities to leverage responsible outcomes are maximised

There can be many advantages when applying for City of London bids and tenders. Below are just three ways tendering for contracts can benefit your business:

Prompt Payment

If you become a supplier to the City of London, you will have guaranteed and prompt payment. This is because The City of London takes part in the Chartered Institute of Credit Management’s (CIMC) Prompt Payment Code. That means they pledge to:

Pay suppliers on time

The City Corporation aims to pay undisputed invoices that quote a purchase number within 10 days of invoicing. This applies to the invoice arriving anywhere in the City Corporation for SMEs.

Give clear guidance to suppliers

All invoices should be attached when contacting the Accounts Payable team and include the following information:

An identifying number
The supplier’s name, address, VAT number
Time of supply
Date of issue
Type of supply (E.g. sale, hire, loan, etc.)
Description of the goods or services supplied
Customer’s name (or trading name) and address

The City of London prefers to pay their suppliers via BACS. It’s encouraged that as a supplier, you include your bank details and valid email address on all invoices for remittance.

Secure a pipeline of work

Bidding for City of London bids and tenders can help you secure a pipeline of work for your business. Particularly if you secure a place on a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) or framework agreement. These tendering processes are often used within an array of sectors including construction and healthcare. The benefit of these is that they can run for years at a time. Some even have the possibility of an extension.

Build experience

City of London bids and tenders are a great way to gain experience as a business. Buyers will require 2 – 3 case studies of past contracts you have delivered. They need to be within the last 3 – 5 years. They should be similar in scope and style to the one you’re applying for. Securing smaller contracts can help you build up that experience. The more experience you have, the bigger the contracts you can go for. The bigger bids you can go for, the bigger your business can grow. Securing a place on a DPS or framework is a great place to start.

Where can I find City of London bids and tenders?

So, you now know some of the advantages of City of London bids and tenders. Next, you may be wondering where to find them. As they’re offered for pretty much every sector it can be hard finding the right one for your business. This is where a sector-specific portal could help optimise your search.

Simply relying on CPV codes could result in you missing out on up to a third of relevant opportunities. This is because we researched that up to a third of them are mislabelled.

Our sister company, Hudson Discover, hosts 11 sector-specific tendering portals. You are able to filter the results and search by keyword, budget, location and more. This streamlines the process, making it easier to find government contracts.

These sectors consist of;

Before you apply to any tender, you should ask if your business:

Is able to deliver the work
Meets the economic and financial standing
Have the resources and time to fulfil the contract
Has the necessary experience
Is able to write a winning response before the submission deadline

Remember to be the MEAT

Like all government contracts, the contract will be awarded to the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). The buyer will be looking for bids that provide the most value for money while delivering the contract. The MEAT means that the buyer is looking at more than just the price. The cheapest bid does not win here. You should consider a range of factors including, but not limited to:

Cost
Quality
Innovation
Accessibility
Sustainability
Technical ability
Customer service
Environmental benefits
Ability to deliver on time.

Each buyer will be wanting something different depending on their needs. This will be outlined in the specification. You should demonstrate added value in your response. This is because government authorities want to be assured that they are getting the most for taxpayer’s money.

Don’t skimp on social value

There is now a minimum mandatory weighting of 10% on social value for public sector contracts. In some cases, it can be as much as 30%. This means it is not something you should consider as an afterthought.

The promises you make in City of London bids and tenders are contractually binding. Therefore, you should be making promises you can keep. Social value is the social, economic and environmental aspects that you’ll consider while fulfilling the contract. It was launched with five key themes in mind that should be addressed where possible. These are:

Supporting COVID-19 recovery
Tackling economic inequality
Fighting climate change
Improving equal opportunities
Showing commitment to health and wellbeing.

Social value is an opportunity for SMEs to differentiate themselves from their competitors, adding commercial value to their bids.

So now, you should be more aware of what’s expected from City of London bids and tenders. Following this advice should help you get on the path to success and winning your next tender.

Need assistance when writing your next City of London bids and tenders?

Now you’re a bit more familiar with what’s required, you may be looking for some writing support. Writing isn’t everyone’s strong suit and that’s ok. 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 hold an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of collective 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 proofread before you submit. We can help with that. 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 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.

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. Our Global Bid Director will manage the bid strategy.

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

The post City of London Bids and Tenders: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Tender Consultants.

How to Respond to Government Contracts for Bid

Georgie Morgan — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 07:00:18 +0000

Where to find government contracts up for bid

Last updated: Dec 17, 2021 @ 9:44 am

You may be wondering how to respond to government contracts for bid, and you wouldn’t be the only one. The public sector spends roughly £290 billion annually through public procurement. From schools to hospitals, and from universities to the police force there are plenty of opportunities to tender. It’s not surprising that as an SME you’re wanting to get in on the action.

However, if you’re new to the game, government contracts up for bid can be a confusing field to navigate. Luckily for you, we’ve contained some helpful tips on how to succeed. We’ll also detail where you can find government contracts for bid.

Advantages of tendering for government contracts

There are many advantages when responding to government contracts for bid. If you’re unsure about whether it’s worth investing the time and effort, here are some points to consider:

Guaranteed pay

One of the most significant advantages of securing a government contract for bid is you are guaranteed payment. This is because the public sector is bound by rules and regulations to ensure a fair and transparent procurement process.

Upon winning a contract, you are guaranteed payment within 60 days of invoicing. This is because the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has to comply with the Prompt Payment Code. This can give suppliers piece of mind when tendering for work in the public sector. The same can’t be said for tendering for the private sector. This is because they aren’t bound by the same rule and regulations.

Secure a pipeline of work for your business

Responding to government contracts for bid can help you secure a pipeline of work for your business. Particularly if you secure a place on a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) or framework agreement. A benefit of this is that they can run for years at a time with the possibility of extensions. It’s not unheard of some DPS’ running for 10+ years. These are two types of tender processes that are frequently used by public sector organisation. They are especially used within construction and healthcare.

Gain experience

Having a bank of experience is essential in order to secure government contracts for bid. This is because the buyer will usually ask you to prove 2 – 3 case studies of previous contracts you’ve fulfilled. They should be similar in scope and complexity to the contract you’re going for. The more case studies and experience you have, the bigger contracts you can go for. The bigger contracts you can go for, the more your business will grow. Securing a place on a DPS or framework for a government contract is a great place to start.

A third of all contracts must be awarded to SMEs

The government has a target to spend £1 in £3 with smaller businesses. This means they’re actively looking to award 23% of all government contracts for bid with SMEs. You may have thought that only bigger businesses could secure government contracts, but you’d be wrong. The government wants to invest in SMEs and secure a more local supply chain that can be relied upon.

Where to find government contracts up for bid

So, now you know some of the advantages of tendering for contracts. You now may be wondering where you can find them. There’s no shortage of websites offering multi-sector opportunities and lead. Ideally, you should be searching for a sector-specific portal.

If you’re just relying on CPV codes, you could be missing out on up to the third of relevant opportunities. This is because CPV codes are often mislabelled. Our sister company, Hudson Discover, hosts 11 sector-specific tendering portals. You are able to filter the search results by keyword, budget, location and more. This streamlines the process, making it easier to find government contracts for bid.

These sectors consist of;

3 Tips for winning government contracts for bid

So, now you know where to find government contracts for bid and the advantages of securing one. Now, you might be wondering how to win a tender:

Make it easy to read

Put yourself in the buyer shoes, if you have 50 tender responses to read through which would you favour: the one that’s clearly laid out and broken into subheadings with bullet points? Or a 30-page document of block text?

I think we can agree that you’d pick the nicely formatted, clearly laid out response. When writing bids clearly formatting your response will earn you bonus points with the reviewer. Break the question down into subheadings. This can allow you to ensure that you’ve answered every aspect of the question. Including bullet points can allow you to include more points without going over the word count.

An example question may state: “Please provide your strategy for sourcing and recruiting subcontractors and for ensuring that you can effectively monitor, measure, and exercise executive control.”

For this, you would break the question down and respond by providing your strategy for:

Sourcing subcontractors
Recruiting subcontractors
Ensuring effective monitoring
Ensuring effective measuring
Exercising executive control

Stick to the word count

Word, page, or character counts are there for a reason. It levels out the playing field to all competitors. It also demonstrates the level of detail the buyer wants you to go into. If they are expecting a 1,000-word response, simply putting a couple of bullet points won’t suffice. They are there for a reason and it’s best to try and get as close to them as possible. Going over will not reflect well on you as you will be ignoring instructions.

Avoid rambling and overly technical jargon

A strong response to government contracts for bid will avoid rambling and overly technical jargon. You shouldn’t assume that the buyer knows anything. Leaving room for assumptions and lead to the wrong assumptions being made. This could jeopardise your response as a buyer may not understand what you’re talking about leading to a misunderstanding. However, you should be persuasive in your bid response, demonstrating your business’ capabilities.

Need assistance with writing your next government contract bid response?

It can be daunting applying for government contracts; however, we can help. We understand that writing isn’t everyone’s strong suit. But this doesn’t mean you should miss out on work because of it.

Here at Hudson Succeed, we pride ourselves on being bid writing experts. We have over 60 years of bid writing experience and proudly hold an 87% success rate for our clients. We have four bid writing support packages to suit your needs. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or simply need a response proofread – we can help. 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

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.

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

The post How to Respond to Government Contracts for Bid appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Why the National Procurement Policy Statement is Good News for SMEs

Charlotte Jarvis — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 07:00:16 +0000

The National Procurement Policy Statement in a nutshell

Last updated: Dec 17, 2021 @ 9:46 am

The National Procurement Policy Statement was recently released to the public, following the Queen’s Speech in May 2021. The policies require contracting authorities to follow processes in accordance with the priorities of public procurement.

Why should suppliers care about the new changes?

It might not be the most thrilling read, but the National Procurement Policy Statement is crucial for suppliers. At first glance, you might think the information is only aimed at contracting authorities. You would be partially correct. However, suppliers need to also understand the procedures that buyers must adhere to. Understanding how buyers operate and what they want to see will help suppliers formulate winning tender responses.

Any business that is already tendering or looking to grow through tendering should read and understand the policy.

Tendering prior to the National Procurement Policy Statement

In the past, many businesses didn’t embark on the tendering process. They believed that they wouldn’t stand a chance against the larger businesses competing. This is a fair assumption and there are many myths surrounding tendering. But this has caused many organisations to miss out on growth opportunities.

While many tenders require a minimum financial threshold, there are also ways for SMEs to get in on the action. For example, framework agreements, DPS opportunities or even seeking smaller contracts are all methods to beginning your tender journey.

Additionally, the UK Government has a target to spend £1 in every £3 with SMEs. This means they are actively seeking to award contracts to smaller businesses. This is just one of the main advantages of tendering. There are many other reasons why organisations implement tendering in their new business strategy.

Even before the new National Procurement Policy Statement was released, buyers were encouraged to award contracts to the MEAT. The MEAT stands for the Most Economically Advantageous Tender. To decipher which supplier offered the MEAT, buyers would evaluate more than just their quote alone.

Social value and tendering

In recent years, we have seen social value become more prevalent in tendering. In 2020, the pandemic sparked new evaluation criteria which placed a 10% (or higher) weighting on social value responses.

Simply stating that your organisation complies with mandatory environmental and employment policies would no longer be sufficient. Now, public sector buyers need to look for suppliers who go above and beyond. This ensures the maximum value for money for the taxpayer.

An overview of the National Procurement Policy Statement

Who does it apply to?

All contracting authorities as defined in section 39(3) and (4) of the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. This includes:

Central government departments
Executive agencies
Non-departmental public bodies
Local authorities
NHS bodies and the wider public sector.

What will public sector bodies need to consider?

In their procurement activities, public sector contracting authorities will need to consider the following:

Creating new businesses, jobs and skills
Tackling climate change and reducing waste
Improving supplier diversity, innovation and resilience.

This is again another step to ensure that public sector buyers consider more than just pricing in their evaluation process. This helps to level the playing field between large, more established organisations and SMEs competing for contracts.

Has Brexit impacted procurement?

Public sector procurement after Brexit was a point of discussion long before the UK left the EU. After the transition period, the UK now has the opportunity to overhaul how public money is spent. To do this, the previous public procurement regulations have been revisited to create a simpler process.

Lord Agnew, Cabinet Officer Minister, said:

The public sector across the UK, from hospitals and schools to central government, police force and universities spends about £290 billion a year through public procurement.

The huge power of that expenditure must support us in tackling some of the most important issues we face today, from generating economic growth and helping out communities recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, to support the transition to net zero.

With the new statement published today, procurement teams will have to consider those issues as well as making sure they deliver top-quality services that are good value for the taxpayer.”

Need help with responding to a public sector tender?

Whether you’re brand new to tendering or a seasoned expert, we all need additional support now and then. With new regulations and considerations to make, outsourcing your bids to experts can increase your chances of winning.

How can we help?

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is perfect for businesses that have never tendered for contracts before. The package includes:

A 12-month subscription to one Hudson Discover portal.
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 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 Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect public sector contract 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.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need it double-checking 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.

Discover Elite

Discover Elite will ensure you never miss a tendering opportunity, even when you’re busy. There are two packages to choose from.

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 Technology and Healthcare, 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.

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

The post Why the National Procurement Policy Statement is Good News for SMEs appeared first on Tender Consultants.

What is Tendering in Business?

Georgie Morgan — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 07:00:57 +0000

What is tendering in business and how can it help my company grow?

Last updated: Apr 18, 2023 @ 11:36 am

You may be asking yourself, what is tendering in business? It’s a common question if you’re new to the world of procurement. This blog will explain what tendering is, how it can benefit your business and the different types of tendering procedures. There are a lot of similarities across multiple industries in the way they do business in the public sector.

So, what is tendering in business?

Essentially, tendering in business is a formal process where a business is invited to bid for contracts. These tenders can be released by either public or private organisations. Potential suppliers will then complete a tender response and buyers will evaluate the responses and select a preferred supplier.

A tender response should be persuasive and convince the buyer that you’re the best company for the job. Buyers will often have a minimum eligibility criterion that hopeful suppliers will need to meet in order to progress. This varies depending on the tendering procedures selected by the buyer.

Before you begin

Before you begin tendering in business, you should set your business expectations. Being realistic about what contracts you’re going for can help optimise your chances of success. Before you begin, ask yourself:

Does my business meet or exceed the technical skills required?
Do I have the necessary experiences?
Does the contract fit into my business strategy?
Can my business afford to spend the time and resources on the application?
Do I have the time and resources to actually supply the contract?
Will this contract help my business grow?

The tendering process

There are a number of tendering processes depending on the buyer’s needs. They can choose how to procure a good or service. There are two main processes that are used. They are as follows:

Open tendering procedure

The open tendering procedure is frequently used within the public sector. It’s used to procure fairly ‘simple’ goods or services. For an open tendering procedure, buyers are allowing any business to bid for their contract. The process looks like this:

An ITT is released

A buyer would release an invitation to tender (ITT). Any prospective supplier can respond with how they intend to fulfil the contract. In their response, they are persuading the buyer that they’re the best business for the job.

Once the responses have been evaluated, the contract will be awarded. If you are tendering in the public sector, the award will go to the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT).

Restricted procedure

A restricted tendering procedure is used for more complex commodities. As they are usually of a higher contract worth, a buyer implements a vetted procedure. This is to ensure that prospective suppliers are qualified to carry out the work.

They set eligibility criteria that suppliers have to meet in order to qualify. This stage can be referred to as a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) stage. It also can be known as a selection questionnaire (SQ) or PAS91 (specifically used in the construction industry).

The PQQ/SQ stage involves a business being asked for their company:

Turnover
Insurance policies
Non-collusion
Qualifications and accreditations

After this has been passed, the supplier will then be shortlisted and progress to an ITT. Once again, they will respond in line with the specification. They’ll detail how they intend to deliver the contract and why they’re the best business for the job.

Once they’ve been evaluated, the contract is awarded.

Sector-specific requirements for tendering in business:

Depending on the sector your business is in there may be different requirements or expectations when tendering for contracts. Framework Agreements and Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) are more common in some sectors than others, for example.

Framework agreements

A framework agreement is a type of multi-supplier agreement that’s frequently used within the public sector. Frameworks can run for years at a time. They are a good way to secure a pipeline of work for your business, if successful. Some may even have the possibility of an extension. They are most frequently found within the following sectors:

They are split into lots with each lot representing a specific good, work, service or geographical location. This allows suppliers to apply to the specific lots they specialise in or the region they operate in. Depending on the tender agreement, a supplier may be eligible to apply for more than one lot. If this is the case, you’ll need to be prepared to provide evidence. You’ll have to demonstrate that your business has the capacity and resources to undertake the works across the selected lots.

Dynamic Purchasing Systems

A Dynamic Purchasing System is similar to a framework agreement in the sense that they are multi-supplier agreements. Again, DPS’ can run for multiple years at a time and are used by public sector organisations. We have seen DPS’ that have been open for 10 or more years. There are two main differences between a DPS and a framework:

Suppliers can a DPS join at any time while it’s open
It is a completely electronic process.

The following sectors often have tendering opportunities in the form of DPS’:

Healthcare
Facilities
Logistics
Technology
Creative.

The process often starts with a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) or selection questionnaire (SQ). This is done to narrow down those who will be sent an invitation to tender (ITT). The PQQ and SQ stage is mainly comprised of capability and competency-based questions. Buyers will likely ask for your company’s policies and statements of non-collusion and other box-ticking exercises. This includes stating any grounds for mandatory exclusion and so on. This is the initial stage of tendering for a DPS.

Once a business has passed the first stage, it will progress onto the ITT stage. This is when your business will answer more technically focused questions on how you will carry out the contract.

Successful suppliers will receive a place on the DPS and then a range of tenders will be released. This streamlines the process for both buyers and suppliers as they don’t need to resubmit a PQQ or SQ.

Spot provider frameworks

Spot provider frameworks are used within the healthcare industry and are a great way to help your business grow. Securing a place on the framework can guarantee income, secure a pipeline of work and enable you to gain experience. These are just a few advantages of tendering.

A spot provider framework is a great way for your business to gain experience if it’s relatively new. This is important as the more experience you have as a company, the bigger the tenders you can go for. This can help your business grow. Almost every tender will require you to demonstrate your capabilities via case studies. A buyer will usually require up to three case studies within the last five years.

Such case studies should demonstrate previous contracts your business has fulfilled. They should be similar in scope, scale and complexity and location where possible. They should be relevant to the contract at hand. Depending on word count, adding a testimonial from previous happy clients will strengthen your response.

Pseudo Dynamic Purchasing Systems

Pseudo Dynamic Purchasing Systems (PSPS) or pseudo-DPS, can be found within the healthcare sector. It is a type of online procurement tool used by NHS England. It includes a list of pre-approved GP providers that can be invited by local commissioners to deliver local GP services.

Where can I find tendering opportunities for my business?

Now you know what tendering is in business, you might wonder where you can find tendering opportunities. There’s no shortage of websites offering multi-sector tendering opportunities and leads. Ideally, you should be searching for a sector-specific portal that posts unique, public and private sector opportunities.

Simply relying on CPV codes can result in missed opportunities as they are often mislabelled. Finding a portal that uploads and categorises tenders by keywords, location and budget and more can streamline the process. Our sister company, Hudson Discover, hosts 11 sector-specific tendering portals. One centralised and easy-to-navigate portal can help you save time, streamlining the process.

These sectors consist of;

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

The benefits of tendering for work

Now you know what tendering is in business, you may be wondering what the benefits of tendering are. There are a number of advantages for your business. These can include:

Securing a pipeline of work. If you secure a place on a DPS or framework as mentioned above, you can secure a pipeline of work. This will ensure that you have business opportunities.
Guaranteed pay (in the public sector). The Crown Commercial Service must pay contractors within 60-days of invoicing to comply with the Prompt Payment Code. This gives suppliers peace of mind, especially for first-time winners.
Increased experience. The more contracts you win, the more experience you have. The more experience you have, the bigger contracts you can go for. The bigger contracts you go for, the bigger you can grow your business.

Need help when tendering for work?

No matter the sector you’re in, buyers care about the quality of your tender response. If writing isn’t your forte, then outsourcing to bid writing experts can help get you on the path to success. Not everyone has the time, resources or experience to write a winning response. Here at Hudson Succeed, we pride ourselves on being bid writing experts.

We hold an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of collective bid writing experience. They know how to win a tender. We offer four levels of bid writing support to suit every business need. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or need a response proofread before you submit – we can help. The services on offer 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

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.

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

The post What is Tendering in Business? appeared first on Tender Consultants.

The 5 Steps of Bidding for a Contract

Georgie Morgan — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 07:00:52 +0000

Bidding for a contract: How to succeed in 5 steps

Last updated: Dec 17, 2021 @ 9:52 am

Bidding for a tendering contract can be overwhelming at the best of times, particularly if you’ve never done it before. However, tendering for work is a great way to grow your business.

COVID-19 has changed the way in which company’s do business. Gone are the days of face-to-face meetings and traditional networking events. As we come out of the other side, tendering is a great way to secure a pipeline of work. We have devised five steps that can help you understand what happens when bidding for a contract.

Step 1: Find the right bid for your business

Once you’ve decided to tender for work, you’ll be wondering how you can find the right contract for your business. There’s no shortage of websites that post multi-sector opportunities and leads daily. Ideally, you should be looking for a sector-specific portal that posts unique, public and private sector opportunities.

One centralised and easy-to-navigate portal can help save you time. Simply relying on CPV codes can result in missed opportunities as they are often mislabelled. Finding a portal that uploads and categorises tenders by keywords, location, budget and more can streamline the process. Our sister company, Hudson Discover, hosts 11 sector-specific tendering portals.

These sectors consist of;

Once signed up, you’ll have access to an on-hand Account Manager. They’ll be able to answer any questions you have about contract bidding. You’ll also get an email alert when new and relevant tenders are uploaded.

Book a free live demo of your preferred portal.

Step 2: Planning and research

Planning and research are a couple of the most important aspects when bidding for a contract. You want to make a note of all the important dates and what documents you’ll need. These could include:

Final submission date and time
Clarification questions deadline
Site visits deadline
Documents that need attaching
Format of submission.

When bidding for a contract, you should double-check that you meet the minimum eligibility criteria. You don’t want to waste resources starting a bid only to realise you don’t qualify on financial standing, for example.

Check that your business:

Meets the economic and financial standing
Has enough experience
Meets the minimum turnover threshold
Has the resources to carry out the contract.

When bidding for a contract, you should aim to complete it with plenty of time before final submission. This can help ease the pressure and stress. Tenders can be long and complex at the best of times, so you want to allow for plenty of time. Unexpected delays may pop up and by planning ahead you can help safeguard your response in case this happens. Setting internal deadlines for you and your team can help with this.

Step 3: Price your services right

Pricing your services right is a crucial aspect of contract bidding. You don’t want to price your services too low as it may result in the contractor questioning your legitimacy. The evaluation criteria of every contract is different and depend on the buyer’s needs. The weightings will differ, but generally speaking, you can expect a split between two or three aspects:

Price
Quality
Social value (for public sector contracts).

The private and public sector differ in how they award contracts. The private sector isn’t bound and constrained by the same rules and regulations the public sector is. If a private organisation wants to award a contract on price alone, they can.

However, the public sector has certain rules and regulations they must meet to award a bid to a supplier. Public sector organisations will award bids to the most economically advantageous tender, known as the MEAT. The MEAT seeks to achieve the most value for money from a contract. A buyer will take into account a range of factors that will be specified in the tender documents. They’ll evaluate them both individually and in combination. They might include the following:

Accessibility
Technical ability
Ability to deliver on time
Innovation
Environmental considerations
Sustainability
Customer service
Quality.

Step 4: Write a high-quality bid response

Writing a high-quality bid response is crucial. As mentioned above, even if the weighting on quality is less than cost, buyers care about the quality. You want to be persuasive when bidding for a contract. You want to convince the buyer that you are the best business for the job. When writing bids it’s worth considering:

Format

Clearly format your response with subheadings and bullet points. Often you will be able to break down the question and use these as subheadings. This can help ensure that you are covering and answering every aspect of the question asked. Bullet points can also help keep your response ordered. This will help you get in the buyer’s good books. Put yourself in their shoes. If you’re having to evaluate tens to hundreds of bid responses, you’ll favour those that are clearly laid out. This helps you outshine your competitors as opposed to submitting a chunk of text.

Assumptions

Furthermore, don’t allow the buyer to make assumptions from what you’ve written. Leaving room for assumptions can allow for the wrong assumptions to be made. Clearly explain everything and avoid overly technical jargon. Don’t assume they know anything about you, your business or your bid.

Word count

When bidding for a contract, you should aim for your response to be as close to the word or page counts as possible. They’re there for a reason. If a buyer expects a 1000-word response, simply writing one paragraph won’t do. Keep answers relevant, clear and concise.

Sector-specific contract bidding tips

Before going ahead with any tender, you must analyse your business and determine the contract values you’re eligible for. This helps ensure you can remain competitive while still making a profit.

Often the contract value will be stated in the tender specification. If it’s not, there’s a simple way you can figure it out. As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t be bidding for contracts that are more than half your annual turnover. For example, if your turnover is £100,000, you shouldn’t tender for contracts that are more than £50,000.

Contract bidding in the creative sector

The creative industry can cover many different services such as:

Marketing and PR
Design
Digital works
Event management
Videography.

Tender proposals in the sector are usually a lot more free-flowing, allowing suppliers to demonstrate their creativity. If successful, a buyer will likely require a supplier to do a presentation before the contract is awarded.

Contract bidding in the facilities management industry

Contract bidding in the facilities management industry is booming, with the cleaning sector, in particular, being flooded with opportunities. SMEs can tender for contracts that have values ranging from anything from £2,000 to upwards of £100,000.

The cleaning sector covers areas such as:

Commercial
Corporate
Education
Private and/or domestic
Local government
Industrial.

The contract bidding process is typically a two-stage process:

A contractor will release a selection questionnaire (SQ) or pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ).
Once completed, successful suppliers will be sent an invitation to tender (ITT).

This is when an interested supplier will submit their tender response. Each has the aim of convincing the buyer that they are the best company for the job.

In our experience, cleaning contracts are typically evaluated with a larger weight being placed on price. For example, 60% price and 40% quality. However, in the public sector, it’s worth bearing in mind the 10% minimum weighting on social value. Therefore, although it’s important to remain competitively priced, it isn’t the only thing to think about when contract bidding.

Contract bidding in the construction sector

The construction industry is one of the biggest industries that tender for work. Billions of pounds are being invested in the construction industry by both the UK government and the private sector.

Within construction, although you do find open tendering procedures begin used, you will more likely come across a two-stage process. Similar to the facilities industry, as mentioned above, suppliers will likely have to complete a PQQ for larger contracts. A fairly recent type of PQQ, used within the construction industry, is the PAS91.

PAS91

The PAS91 was developed by the British Standards Institute to save construction companies from filling out multiple PQQs. Although a PAS91 is slightly longer than a PQQ or SQ, it has the same ‘what have you done’ mentality. The main benefits are that once completed, you are:

Exempt from completing some core sections if you possess certain accreditations
Able to develop a standardised response to the standardised questions
Save you time the in long run.

If you’re a member of Constructionline you will automatically be exempt from completing the most time-consuming parts of the PAS91. The PAS91 demonstrates to the contracting authority that you meet the necessary requirements. Construction PQQs and PAS91s usually require the following:

Supplier and identity contract information
Financial standing
Business and professional standing
Health and safety
Equal opportunity and diversity policy
Environmental management policy
Quality management

After completing the PAS91, and the minimum eligibility criteria is met, the supplier will receive an ITT.

Contract bidding in the healthcare industry

Understandably, the healthcare industry has boomed over the last two years. The global pandemic and an ageing population have led to billions being invested in healthcare services.

There are two things to consider when undertaking contract bidding within the healthcare sector:

Experience

Providing evidence of contract experience is one of the most important aspects when tendering in the healthcare sector. This is because buyers want to be reassured that they have the experience to carry out the contract. They want to see evidence you have the resources to provide the good, service or works you are applying for.

You may be required to demonstrate up to three previous case studies within the last five years. These must be similar in scope, scale and complexity to the contracts you’re bidding for. Remember to keep the case studies relevant.

The more experience you have, the bigger contracts you can go for. The bigger contracts you go for as a business, the more income you’ll get, the bigger your business will grow.

Qualifications

Having the relevant qualifications is vital for contract bidding in the healthcare sector. Having relevant qualifications and accreditations can strengthen your tender response. Internationally recognised certifications will convey that you are experienced and safety competent. Relevant qualification could include:

CQC registered
ISO 9001; 13485; 14001; 23001; 27001
NVQs (level 3 and above)
CyberEssentials
RMADS

3 trends within procurement

Innovation

Innovation is seemingly a new trend throughout multiple industries in procurement. Buyers are wanting to see the latest innovative solutions when procuring goods, works or services. This may be innovative environmental solutions or innovative and collaborative working. Research, technology, healthcare, construction and creative are just some of the sectors that look for innovation in tendering responses.

Sustainability and environmental considerations

Sustainability and environmental considerations are taken a lot more seriously within procurement. Contractors like to see how your organisation is tackling carbon emissions, reducing waste and encouraging recycling to name a few.

This is evident within the public sector with their mandatory social value weighting. However, the private sector is also looking at the way they do business. Moreover, how they can be more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Reflecting on how they can sustainably cut emissions without comprising on quality or service is becoming a priority for many.

Local supply chains

Buyers, particularly in the public sector are seeking to establish and maintain a local supply chain. They are hoping to establish this supply chain closer to home. The pandemic has led to businesses reflecting on how they do business. Moreover, what happens when the global supply chain is disrupted. Brexit has also been a contributing factor. More and more, businesses are looking to work with local SMEs in order to secure their supply chain.

Establishing a local supply chain will enable companies to build resilience for the future. It also helps them manage risk. A lot more businesses will be forward planning. Many will now have procedures in place in order to safeguard their business from future disruptions to business.

Need help bidding for a contract?

Not everyone has the time, resources and experience to sit through the tendering process and write a winning response.. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help you get on the path to success, helping you win your next tender.

We proudly have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. They offer four bid writing support services that can help you when bidding for a contract. Whether you’re completely new to contract bidding or just need your response proofread – we can help.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect contract for your business, why not send it our way? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need someone to double-check it for errors, Tender Mentor can help. The Bid Team will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also ensure that it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

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 make sure you have everything in place to tender successfully. Tender Ready offers your business:

A 12-month subscription to one Hudson Discover portal.
Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals.
An Organisation-wide Bid library, including 3 case studies, 5 CVs and 8 policies.
Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing the results you want, our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions.

Step 5: Submit your bid

Before you submit your tender response, you should proofread it. Leaving a day or two from completion before you submit can help with this. Additionally, having someone else read over it can help spot any spelling or grammar mistakes or inconsistencies.

Once this has all been completed, you should submit your response and wait to hear back from the buyer. This can take a while, try not to fret if you haven’t heard. Some tenders can get hundreds of responses, so reviewing these can take time. Either way, the buyer will always notify you once they have reviewed all bids. They can either do this via the tender portal or email depending on the method of submission.

You may not be successful with every tender you submit and that’s ok. Ask for feedback from the buyer if unsuccessful. This can help you see which aspects you can improve on for future bids.

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
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.

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

The post The 5 Steps of Bidding for a Contract appeared first on Tender Consultants.

We Open Our US Head Office

Charlotte Jarvis — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 11:50:33 +0000

Expanding into the US

We are thrilled to say that we have secured our US Head Office space in Florida. The office will be crucial to our international expansion plans that are currently underway. We already support multiple businesses in the US through our Discover and Succeed services. This is our next step to establishing our presence.

Bid writing in Boston – We visit our US office space

This month we visited our new office space in the Workbar, Boston. We already support multiple businesses in the US through our Discover and Succeed services, but this is our next step for moving into the American market.

A growing team

Throughout 2019 we have been growing at an exponential rate, most recently recruiting five new team members to aid the expansion of Hudson and our sister companies.

With this extra support, now is the perfect time to expand our horizons and increase our presence in an international market.

Our team of Bid Writers, Bid Managers and Coordinators hold decades of collective experience writing and winning work for clients across multiple sectors. They have worked with global businesses previously, but this is the first time our Hudson Succeed team will be able to offer bid writing services with a base in Boston.

Bid writing internationally

As with most bid writing consultancies, we are able to work remotely to support our clients in most cases. Our team use methods such as Skype and e-mail to liaise with clients of our Succeed service. However, we do recognise the importance of a personal connection, especially for businesses with more complex requirements. When necessary, we will meet with new clients face-to-face to discuss the support that will be required. Our base in Boston will allow us to continue this level of service on an international scale.

Our Group CEO says…

“We are thrilled to have secured our Boston base. We are already working with clients on a global scale in the US, South Africa, Italy, Hong Kong, Hungary and Poland but this base will allow us to centralise our international presence.” – John Hudson.

Initially, our plan was to make this step in 2020. However, due to the pandemic and restrictions on travel, our international expansion had to be paused.

Continually growing into 2020

Throughout 2020, we have been growing at an exponential rate. Even amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, our team continued to persevere and support a record number of new clients. Our Hudson Succeed client base grew by 161% during this time. This meant we needed more hands on deck to ensure the exceptional level of service our clients expect from Hudson.

We welcomed 13 more team members from July 2020 to January 2021 and we’re continuing to recruit more talented individuals. With this extra support and the promising recovery from the pandemic, now is the perfect time to expand our horizons.

Our international reach

Recently, we announced the exciting news that we had reached a huge milestone in our international plans. Through our Succeed and Discover divisions, we reached clients in 18 countries across the globe.

Based in the North East of England, Hudson began with a small, yet ambitious, team. Our clients now stretch from the UK to 10 other European countries and from Russia to the Caribbean.

In our Hudson Succeed division, our team has supported over 700 businesses, globally, with their tendering efforts. Our Bid Writers hold an 87% success rate and help clients ranging from healthcare providers to construction and technology companies.

Our Managing Director, Jill Hudson, said…

I am delighted to see our Group reaching so many different countries. Our goal is ultimately to help businesses grow far and wide, reaching their full potential. Now we’re able to help many more organisations achieve this around the world.”

As with most bid writing consultancies, we are able to work remotely to support our clients in most cases. This was the way we normally worked prior to social distancing rules. Our team communicates with clients via Zoom, e-mails and phone calls regularly. They ensure that every client is kept up to date with the progress of their bid. However, we do recognise the importance of personal connections and how crucial this will be when Covid restrictions are lifted. This is especially the case when it comes to working on important bids for high-value contracts.

Welcoming our Global Bid Director

In September 2020, as we prepared to establish ourselves in the US, we welcomed Global Bid Director, Beverley Park. The main focus of Beverley’s role is to implement our growth strategy for Hudson Succeed in the US. This will see us expand into Florida, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Whilst implementing this, Beverley will also be working to significantly grow our operations in the UK, strengthening our delivery capabilities.

Beverley joined the team with over 15-years of business development experience. During this time, Beverley has supported a range of organisations from micro-businesses to SMEs and large corporations.

Most recently, Beverley worked for an American owned outsourcing company with 26,000 staff. Her role required setting up and managing their UK bid division with multiple teams, nationwide reporting to her.

Beverley’s bidding experience ranges from managing bids with values from £10,000 to complex multi-million-pound opportunities.

With Beverley on board, we are now implementing the next phase of our international expansion, beginning with our Florida HQ.

Beverley said…

I’m so happy to have this opportunity at Hudson, the opportunity to grow and expand not only the Hudson Group, but also our client’s businesses is really exciting. I’m excited to grow the Succeed division across the UK and into America.”

The next phase

The next stage of our expansion has already begun, with the development of our US-focused website. Later this year, when travel restrictions are eased, our Directors will travel to our Florida base to establish a team. We understand the importance of recruiting from the local area and we are looking forward to forming our US Team.

Our Group CEO, John Hudson, says…

We are thrilled to have secured our US Head Office. We are already working with clients on a global scale in America, South Africa, Italy and Hong Kong to name a few. However, this base will allow us to centralise our international presence.”

Access bid support

Are you currently seeking support with your tendering or procurement efforts? Our team of Bid Writing Consultants are available to advise on suitable services that will help your business grow. Contact us for more information.

The post We Open Our US Head Office appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Hudson Discover Archives - Tender Consultants

How to Secure Government Contracts Without a Huge Bid Team

How to secure government contracts if you don’t have unlimited resources

5 boxes to tick for smarter bid decisions

4 things you can prepare before you bid on government contracts

Assign roles in your team

Compile your policies and procedures

Create consistent, branded company CVs

Create/compile case studies

How to break down the question

How to get the evaluator on your side

Where can you find government contracts?

In summary…

Still wondering how to secure government contracts?

Tender Writing

Tender Mentor

Tender Ready

Tender Improvement

Need help with searching for government tenders?

Upgrade to Discover Elite

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

How to Become a Government Supplier in the UK

How to become a government supplier in the UK…if you’re an SME

Firstly, how do you find opportunities in the first place?

How to make sure you’re tender ready before you begin

3 ways to make sure you meet the brief

Checking your economic financial standing

Making sure you can evidence your experience

Thinking about how you can evidence value for money

How to become a government supplier if you’re an SME…will the government help?

Lower value contracts

Introducing the prompt payment code

The Small Business Commissioner

Social value – what is it and how can you prepare?

Our top 9 tips when tendering for work

Invest in the sourcing process

Don’t rush in, weigh up the opportunity

Familiarise yourself with the buyer’s portal

Make a bid plan

Research the buying organisation

Always refer back to the question and provide evidence

Avoid jargon

Use clear formatting and design (where appropriate)

Get feedback and carry on!

Summary

Need help with becoming a government supplier?

Tender Writing

Tender Mentor

Tender Ready

Tender Improvement

Need help with searching for tenders?

Discover Elite

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

Received a PIR CQC invitation? 5 things you should know

What the PIR CQC form means for registered businesses & how to complete it

When should you receive your PIR CQC form and what’s the deadline?

How are the questions divided?

How long does the PIR CQC form take to complete?

What are you likely to be asked?

Summary

Need help with writing your PIR CQC responses?

Growing your healthcare business?

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

MOD Tenders Explained

MOD tenders: Everything you need to know and more

What are MOD tenders?

How to win MOD tenders

Plan ahead

Use relevant evidence

Make sure you have the correct qualifications and accreditations

Show added value

Proofread your response

Where to find MOD tenders

In summary

How Hudson Succeed can help

Tender Writing

Tender Mentor

Tender Ready

Tender Improvement

Need help searching for tenders?