In this blog our international bid writers discuss how tendering and bids differ in various countries and regions around the world.

In the ever-evolving arena of global commerce, tendering is shifting from an optional advantage to a critical lifeline. More and more buying authorities in a broadening range of industries are recognising and reaping the benefits, as are their suppliers. Why is this system so highly valued? The tendering process not only levels out the playing field, it elevates it.

It forces suppliers to be competitive with a tapestry of USPs, such as pricing, training, efficiency, quality and adaptability. And most of the time, it sniffs out the most economically advantageous solution, product or service. However, when it comes to tendering practices, what creates a splash in one part of the world can cause a drift in another. So how do these vary between countries, continents, cultures and economic systems? And how can you mobilise certain practices to your advantage?

Tendering Practices in the UK

Age: The UK tendering process is nine years old.

Regulatory Framework: In the UK, the public procurement process is governed by the Public Contracts Regulations, 2015. When the UK government enacted these regulations back in 2015, they were acutely aware of the benefits to tendering. Benefits that include transparency, fairness and ascending standards of quality for vital sectors such as healthcare and infrastructure. And it didn’t take long for the UK to push these advantages all the way to a competitive economy. As we speak, UK-based bid writing is propelling small businesses towards profit, expansion and intense market share growth.

The regulations themselves set out compulsory procedures that public bodies are obliged to follow when awarding contracts. For example, they must do what they can to make tendering opportunities equally accessible and transparent to all potential suppliers. One method is to advertise sub-threshold opportunities on Contracts Finder, a government portal for public procurement. Higher threshold contracts (above £139,688) on the other hand, have to be advertised on the Find a Tender service. Another alternative is to use region-specific procurement services such as Public Contracts Scotland or Sell2Wales.

The Process:

All the submissions received in response to the tender notice may lead to a selection stage, where credibility of the bidding suppliers is assessed using a Selection Questionnaire (SQ) or a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ). Suppliers may be shortlisted based on the required qualifications and can then progress to the next stage, where they receive an Invitation to Tender or an ITT. The ITT provides an opportunity for the supplier to showcase their experience, credentials and offerings through a written response and pricing sheet, among other documents. The submitted bids are then evaluated by a Tender Evaluation Panel after which the winning bid is awarded the contract.

Government Expenditure: According to Public Spending Statistics, approximately £393 billion was spent in the UK for the public sector, in the year 2022/2023. This is up from £379 billion spent the previous year. Additionally, public procurement accounts for around a third of all public expenditure in the UK as well.

Tendering Practices in The US

Regulatory Framework:

The public procurement process in the US is heavily regulated by several statutes in the United States Code, with the 53-part Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) laying down the primary set of rules that regulate Government procurement in the United States, codified in Chapter 1 of Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). It includes contracts issued by the US Department of Defence (DoD) and NASA, as well as other civilian federal agencies. The promoted key principles of the practice are competition, transparency, non-discrimination.

The Process:

For contracts that are likely to exceed US$25,000, an abstract of the contract action has to be posted on a government-wide point of entry or GPE. The primary GPE used for government procurements is the System for Award Management (SAM) website.

Agencies must post a notice of the proposed contract action at least 15 days before the issuing of a solicitation for proposals. They also must provide a minimum response time of 30–45 days. Like the UK, there are two main types of bids, competitive (or “open”) sealed (“closed”). For sealed bids, the selected potential suppliers have to submit a bid in response to an Invitation for Bid (IFB), which is issued by the agency.

For competitive procurements, bidders must submit proposals in response to Request for Proposals (RFP) and the set evaluation criteria. After the suppliers submit proposals, agencies may choose to engage in exchanges with them to discuss, negotiate and sort out points in their proposals, or raise any concerns or potential weaknesses.

Government Expenditure: The U.S. Federal government spent a record $765 billion in awarding contracts, in the year of 2023, a 9.5% increase over the previous fiscal year; out of which $162.9 billion worth of contracts were given to the small business.

Tendering Practices in The Middle East

In the Middle East, the Request for Proposal (RFP) procedure varies based on the nation in question and its system of government. However, the majority of the typical procedures and factors apply to many countries in the area.

Variations By Country include:

• Saudi Arabia: The Government Tenders and Procurement Law (GTPL) outlines particular rules from the Saudi government. Electronic procurement is commonly conducted via the Etimad platform.

• United Arab Emirates (UAE): Each emirate in the UAE has its own protocols, and the UAE uses a variety of e-procurement technologies. Tejari, for example, is available in Dubai.

• Qatar: With certain rules and regulations, government procurement is supervised by the Central Tenders Committee (CTC).

• Kuwait: Tenders are managed by the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT), which adheres to stringent legal guidelines.

Further information is available in our Middle East bid writing guide.

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

How to win a tender
Tender Compliance: What does it mean to be non-compliant?
What is a Bid Writer?
Writing winning bids
Bid Writing Consultants

The post Global Perspectives: How Tendering Practices Differ Around the World – Our International bid writers compare appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Last updated: Dec 17, 2021 @ 10:53 am

I’m glad you asked. The short answer can be summed up with the well-known phrase ‘how long is a piece of string?’. There are several tender proposal formats which you are more likely to encounter. However, there are still many other ways you can be asked to present a tender, and these can be affected by the sector you are bidding in as well.

The key thing is to make sure that you read the tender instructions thoroughly. This will ensure that your tender proposal format is compliant with the criteria laid down by the Buyer.

As a general guide, here are some of the tender proposal formats you can expect to come across whilst tendering:

Selection Questionnaire / Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (SQ / PQQ)

The SQ and PQQ tender proposal format is usually a very simple one. This consists of the following:

• A set questionnaire concerning your company information
• Financial position
• 3 contract examples and in most cases a small selection of quality questions.

The questionnaire element itself will always be presented in a set format, either through the use of a word document, excel sheet or as an online form on the relevant tender portal. Any additional quality questions will most likely be within the same pre-formatted tender document, or within text boxes on the online portal.

Occasionally you may have the option to submit the quality questions separately in a non-buyer document. This is an excellent opportunity to brand your responses and really make them stand out (more on this further down!).

Invitation to Tender (ITT)

In most cases, the ITT is the second stage of a procurement process and your company information will have been submitted at the first stage, meaning that your tender proposal format at ITT will usually consist of quality questions, commercial response/pricing schedule and supporting attachments.

It is entirely dependent upon each buyer (or contract authority) as to how an ITT is laid out and the format you are expected to respond within. ITTs typically fall into two camps:

• Pre-designed buyer documents with clearly marked response areas, usually with strict instructions for font size, font type and wordcounts.
• Free-format responses, where the ITT instruction layout any guidance points (like word counts or page numbers, font type or size and likewise) but give you the freedom to submit the quality responses in your own documents. (Sometimes, there is no guidance provided at all and you are free to format and develop your tender as you see fit).

If you have the chance to create your own response document, then this is a fantastic opportunity to make your tender stand out. So long as you adhere to whatever instructions are provided (for example, it is usually that the font must be Arial and a size 11) then you can take the chance to ensure the Buyer remembers your proposal.

Some things you might consider doing are to:

• Use your company logo to create a simple branding image that you can place on each page of the document, using your company colours to accentuate any further design elements.
• Think about putting together a title/cover page and a back page to place at the end of the document. You don’t have to be a design wizard to make these look good; a bold colour for a background which allows for your logo to be displayed nicely will look just fine if you take the time to match everything up properly.

Unfettered tender proposal formats really do give you a great opportunity to showcase the professionalism of your business. In theory, it shouldn’t matter at all if you upload a plain document or a professionally designed one; you’re not being marked on the design work, just the content.

However, creating an eye-catching document when given the chance will improve your odds of catching the buyers eye. Look at it this way; if you were reviewing 20 tender submissions and 19 of them were plain, you would definitely remember the branded one and appreciate the extra effort given.

Request for Proposal / Request for Tender (RFP / RFT)

Request for tender or proposal formats are nearly always free-format. RFPs are particularly common in the creative sector, where the buyer will provide a specification or a creative concept (for example, the basic premise and requirements for a website) and a creative agency will develop an RFP based upon that.

RFPs usually don’t come with wordcounts or stringent restrictions, but always read the instructions to make sure you haven’t missed anything. In procurement, just because something isn’t the norm doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

If you work in the creative industry, then you will know all about how best to display your brand. Don’t make the mistake of assuming tenders or proposals need to be plain documents; take the opportunity an RFP offers to get dynamic with your tender proposal format. This is especially the case if you are tendering for something like website development or film production. White space may help. However, you want to make sure that the buyer remembers you and your brand above all else.

Attachments and supporting evidence

If you are submitting a tender with a pre-designed buyer document that prohibits you from showcasing your beautifully branded documents, don’t despair! If you are permitted to submit supporting evidence with your bid (and in most cases, you will be) make the most of it. Have your company policies, organograms, CVs and case studies designed so that they a) look professional and b) wow the buyer in a way that the tender proposal format restrictions put a stop to.

Tips for a successful submission

Submitting a tender proposal is perhaps the most important part of the tendering process.

Web-based tender submissions have become normal in recent years and is the preferred way for buyers and suppliers to complete the tender process.

What this means is that if you are interested in submitting a tender proposal, you need to be confident using web-based submission portals.

The requirements for submitting a tender proposal have not fundamentally changed. However, the way you as a supplier interacts with the buyer has changed. It is now more streamlined for your company to submit your tender.

Benefits of web-based portals

Modern procurement is completed online and there are a number of ways that this is beneficial:

• Web-based tender portals were introduced to speed up the procurement process and make it more transparent for all parties.
• Using portals makes it easy for the companies submitting tender proposals to communicate with the buyer to clarify any questions they may have.
• It means that the rules must be adhered to by suppliers. It is easy for the buyers to check that you have uploaded the required tender documents before the deadline times
• Using web-based portals means your tender proposal information can be stored online. This can save you time and effort if you tender regularly!

Our top 5 tips are:

1. Take your Time

Make sure you have understood all the documentation that needs to be submitted. You should also make time to learn how the tender portals work if you are unfamiliar with them. One of the easiest mistakes to make when submitting a tender online is failing to understand all the submission requirements:

• What you need to complete in terms of any additional attachments,
• How to complete the correct sections,
• And generally ensuring the correct boxes are ticked.

2. Don’t be put off

At first glance, many of the tender portals can seem very confusing. Don’t worry however, it is a lot easier than the old methods of printing out and posting or delivering a hard copy!

3. Learn what works for you

For example, the tender expert writing this blog prefers work in a Word document. They then transpose the proposal text into the relevant online response sections when it is finalised. This is because it is not always easy to work directly with the online boxes.

4. Communicate

The online tender proposal submission portals allows for a much simpler communication process. Any clarification questions, notifications and important correspondence can be completed via the portal.

This is a lot easier and more transparent for all parties. Online portals also create a central location for working on your proposal. This is especially helpful when working with other contributors.

You can all work on the same submission easily. However, you need to make sure you communicate who is doing what to prevent any errors or duplicate content.

5. Strive to stand out

Online proposals can sometimes remove the need for design, formatting and branding of a tender. This might save you time, but most importantly, it increases the need for your bid to stand out from the competition.

You should take the time to make sure your tender proposal is of the highest quality possible. Naturally, at the same time, you need to make sure that it matches the contract criteria and specification. See our Tender Design series on Tender VLE for more information.

Common problems with web-based tender proposals

Although online tender proposals save the time and costs of printing and delivering a hard copy bid, the submission portals are known for being confusing and difficult to navigate.

The main problem with online tender submission portals is that there are several portals that you might use. These are all different and unique in their own special ways.

What this means for you as a supplier is that you need to become familiar with how each portal works. This is especially important if you use different systems regularly.

Another issue often encountered with online portals is on submission day.

Everyone can relate to the fact that although technology saves a lot of time, it can also create major problems when it doesn’t work! Right before the deadline for a tender proposal, the portal is likely to experience a lot of traffic and occasionally the system can crash.

To counter this, make sure your tender proposal is written in plenty of time. This will give you the breathing space you (might) need to upload your proposal in plenty of time before the deadline.

Don’t submit your proposal at the last minute as you run the risk of the portal crashing right at the vital moment. (Trust us, it happens!)  If you miss the submission deadline, even by one minute, the tendering window will be closed and the authority will decline your submission.

Stay up to date

Ensure that you read all tender notifications and portal messages from the buyer throughout the tender process.

There may be important updates or additional actions required which may impact your proposal. Normally, these will be notified to all tenderers on the portal, with an (often) automatic email sent to all tenderers.

Tender proposals can demand a lot of your time and resources…

For particularly large tender proposals, there is usually a significant amount of supporting text, attachments, additional documents and financial information provided with each tender.

What this means for you is that you have a lot of reading and understanding to do before you even write your response. This can require a significant investment in terms of time and resource.

It is important to invest that time to fully understand the requirements of the proposal. If you cannot commit to this investment all the time, why not let Hudson’s tendering experts take this burden for you. Our range of tender services mean that we can support your tendering and proposal submission requirements.

Bid proposal support from Hudson

At Hudson Succeed, bid proposal support comes in the form of our most popular service, Tender Writing.

The Italian-based organisation, Barbara B Cooperativa Sociale, approached the team at Hudson Succeed to support them with expanding their services internationally. Formed in 2007, the company has strengthened its role as a multi-service cooperative. They provide services such as town cleaning, environmental hygiene and cemetery management. Their main goal is to provide employment opportunities in the facilities sector to vulnerable and disadvantaged people.

“The collaboration with Hudson has been interestingly fruitful for Barbara B as we were entering a new market and we needed more insight and somebody who would be able to help us in letting our long experience in the Italian market emerge in the UK tendering process. In Hudson we found very responsive and professional support, in particular given the difficulties of transferring/translating the value of our Italian social cooperative work into the bid writing process: language sometimes can a be a limit, but Hudson’s flexibility and creativity helped support our business.” – Filippo Enseki, Operations Manager at Barbara B Cooperativa Sociale. 

Tasks and challenges

Research into the UK market

To assist Barbara B Cooperativa Sociale with their expansion goals, we provided them with both our Succeed and Procure services. In addition to supporting them with their bid proposal, our team also carried out research via our Hudson Procure division. This involved undergoing a thorough investigation by liaising with UK councils. Our findings were compiled into a detailed report, within the necessary timescales.

The bid proposal

As well as this insight, Barbara B Cooperativa Sociale also required support with their bid proposal. Their tender of choice was for grounds maintenance services, to be delivered across the UK.

When tackling the bid proposal, the team had to overcome translation issues. As with all clients, the first step for our bid writers is to extract information. This information then builds the foundations upon which the tender responses are crafted. Therefore, it is vital that these details are accurate.

Opportunity tracking

In order to help Barbara B Cooperativa Sociale futureproof their UK market strategy, we also assisted with opportunity tracking. Utilising our research findings, we were able to help the organisation identify the right opportunities for their business. This means that the company was able to prepare for future tender proposals, eliminating the risk of unexpected, reactive work.

Activities  

Our bid writers begin every Tender Writing project by creating a bid plan. The plan clearly outlines what they will need from the client and what the client can expect from them. This helps us to set expectations from the outset. It means that both parties have a clear understanding of the project timeline and how we will deliver the work required. In this case, the bid plan was particularly important. Extra time had to be factored in for translating any documents required from Barbara B Cooperativa Sociale.

The Succeed team underwent detailed, industry-specific research throughout the project. This ensured that their tender responses were developed to the highest possible quality. Barbara B Cooperativa Sociale is an experienced provider of grounds maintenance services. It was crucial that the bid responses accurately represented the client’s capabilities.

With the bid plan in progress, the team were able to effectively communicate with the organisation throughout the project. This led to the timely submission of the grounds maintenance bid proposal.

As for the procurement research, the team developed and designed a detailed and intuitive report. As the client was new to tendering for work in the UK, the report outlined the best strategy for them.

Results  

Due to the success of the first submission, where a 97% quality score was achieved, we continued to work with Barbara B Cooperativa Sociale. We have since helped the organisation to streamline their understanding of and approach towards procurement in the UK.

Our second tender submission was also a success, securing a four-year contract, totalling a value of c.£350,000.

Find more information about our work with Barbara B Cooperativa Sociale.

Find your perfect service

• Writing a tender proposal for the first time?
• Needing a second pair of eyes?
• Never tendered before?
• Need some advice and guidance through the tender process?
• Having burning questions?
• Don’t have the time to tender?

Don’t worry, it’s Hudson to the rescue!

No matter your question or query about writing a tender proposal, we have a service that is ideal for you. Whilst lots more information on our tendering and procurement advice and writing services can be found in our blogs, read ahead for a snapshot of each of our services, what they involve and the benefits they can bring to your business.

How we work  

We maintain a client-first approach in everything we do. Communication and transparency are vital to our service delivery.

Clients utilise our services for many different reasons, such as:

• Support with an ad-hoc bid proposal;
• Help to get started with their first tender;
• Help to improve their internal bid success rate;
• Simply because they need a second pair of eyes before they submit a bid.

No matter the reason, their goal remains the same – to grow their business. That’s why we developed our four service offerings; to ensure that we can support businesses of all sizes.

Tender VLE

Tender VLE is the UK’s first, online, tendering and virtual learning environment. The platform is dedicated to answering your questions about writing a tender proposal. Our team of procurement specialists regularly update the site with videos, accompanying blogs and downloadable attachments. These resources provide guidance, advice and helpful hints and tips regarding the tendering and procurement process. The site caters to beginners, intermediates and advanced level businesses. It is free to use and many clients find this service extremely helpful in terms of its clarity, ease of use and the answers it provided to commonly asked questions.

Lots of our videos are designed to provide specific tender support to those who have never tendered before or have lots of questions about the process including:

• Tender Ready
• To Bid or Not to Bid
• Time Management
• Case Studies
• Policies and Procedures
• Clarification Questions
• Dynamic Purchasing Systems
• Framework Agreements

If you’re interested in learning more about how to make the most of formatting your tenders, then check out our upcoming instructor on Tender VLE, Kathryn Johansen. In her introductory video, Kathryn has some excellent advice to give on the importance of your brand and how to use it to greatest effect when tendering.

Tender Mentor

Our Tender Mentor service provides businesses with a vital, second pair of eyes to make sure that their submission is the best it can be. It is predominantly a guide, review and advice service which involves our team critiquing your prospective tender responses whilst mentoring your team on ways in which they can continuously improve their submissions.

Tender Mentor is perfect for businesses who need a helping hand writing a tender proposal; our team of procurement professionals will pay attention to the details of your submission and the particulars of the specification. They will ensure that your response flows well and answers the question, whilst optimising the effectiveness in relation to the buyer’s requirements.

Tender Ready

Since launching the Tender Ready programme, we have helped numerous clients to take the first step on their tendering journey. We know that the tendering process can seem daunting. The programme was designed to help businesses who are exploring this avenue for the first time.

The package includes:

• The creation of the corporate literature you will need to tender for contracts;
• Three days of bid writing consultancy to develop your first bid proposal response;
• 12-months access to the Hudson Discover tendering portal of your choice so that you can continue to identify opportunities after the programme.

Call or email us to book a free consultation.

Tender Improvement

This programme is designed for businesses who are currently tendering for work but are perhaps not seeing success. Our bid team will provide tailored, one to one support to critique clients’ past responses. Knowledge and guidance is offered that can help improve future responses.

In order to help you increase your win rate, the package includes:

• A full analysis of your previous tender responses and the identification of areas for improvement;
• The creation/redevelopment of your corporate literature to help you impress buyers;
• Three days of bid consultancy to either write your next tender response or guide you through the process yourself;
• A 12-month subscription to the Hudson Discover portal of your choice.

Simply call or email the team for more information.

Tender Writing

This is our ad-hoc writing service, primarily aimed at businesses who know how to tender but struggle to find the time and resources to do so. Our team will take tender management, writing the bids and the submission process off clients’ hands completely.

Our team will work closely with the client throughout the process. They will ascertain the level of technical input and specific examples required to make the submission stand out from the crowd. And on top of all of that, we will battle with those pesky submission portals on our clients’ behalf. This makes the process of writing a tender proposal as stress-free as possible.

Further support

Still got questions? For more information about tendering and how to approach it, contact our Tender Writing Consultants for a free chat about your tendering queries and needs.

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

• How to win a tender
• What is a Bid Writer?
• The tendering process
• Writing winning bids
• 7 tips for tendering for contracts
• Tips for bid management
• Bid writing services
• The types of tendering procedures
• Writing bids
• Bid writing consultants
• Submitting a tender response
• And many more.

The post Approaching Different Tender Proposal Formats appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Tender Writing services are a vital enhancement to any business who wishes to grow and develop.

Balancing busy schedules and ensuring effective growth of your business is a difficult process. Even more so when tackling tenders which can be extremely large in size and scope.

Our Tender Writing services are suitable for any business. It will help take the weight off your shoulders, ensuring your submissions stand out from the crowd.

How our Tender Writing services operate:

Our Tender Writing services are entirely bespoke to your business needs. Each tender may differ in size and scope, ranging from Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQs) to Invitation to Tenders (ITTs), or even sometimes Request for Proposals (RFPs).

The steps we take in our Tender Writing services are as follows:

• We assess how much work is involved and ascertain how long this will take our bid writing specialist to tackles.
• As well as this, we carry out a full breakdown of the tender to ensure that we get everything we need from you. This can include any case study information, accreditations or company processes you have that helps strengthen responses.
• The team develop a time-bound action plan which outlines all activity and collaboration regarding our Tender Writing services.
• We then take all of the time-consuming elements of tender writing off of your hands. We manage the tender writing, clarifications and submission processes giving you that necessary time to focus on your everyday business needs.
•  The team follow up all notifications of contract award and will handle all correspondence and feedback on your behalf.
• Finally, we undergo a free assessment of your long-term bidding needs, providing you with various bespoke Tender Writing service packages going forward.

The benefits of this:

• The team will find opportunities which are right for you and your business’ needs.
• Our Tender Consultants specialise in providing services to a wide array of clients in multiple sectors and hold the skills to tackle ANY industry.
• No matter the size or complexity, our Tender Consultants team have the capacity to deliver under pressure.
• Our Tender Writing services ensure that all aspects of the tendering process are covered, ensuring that your response goes above and beyond the buyer’s requirements.
• The services are entirely bespoke and will be tailored around your requirements. This may include shared writing responsibilities between us and you.
• We can help your business discover new opportunities and succeed in the future, providing you Writing Services moving forward.
• Our bid writing is backed by many years of experience on both sides of the procurement table.
• We also have an in-house design team who specialise in making sure tenders stand out from the crowd, by designing professional and high-quality responses, corporate literature and CVs to strengthen your submissions.

Why is this essential?

• The tendering world can often be intimidating and challenging, particularly to business attempting to get their foot in the ladder.
• Tender Writing is sometimes time-consuming, especially for any SME looking to grow. Tenders can often be 10,000 words plus of content. Balancing this with your business’ development can be very tricky.
• Due to the complex nature of many tender requirements, it is essential to ensure that your responses comply with buyers’ demands. Buyers often stipulate certain requirements and ensuring these are fulfilled is vital to succeeding.
• Formatting your responses so they are uniform is a key factor to any successful submission. Whilst this may seem simple, many responses fail to address this and consequently, buyers can be put off. Our Tender Writing services include a comprehensive package that ensures all formatting and design are to the highest standard.
• Vital to success in tendering is ensuring that your policies are to the highest standard and can consistently help you win contracts. Our Tender Writing services will ensure that all policies, corporate literature, CVs and case studies are to the highest standard to help your business consistently grow and succeed.

In Conclusion

To conclude, we offer comprehensive Tender Writing Services. This is completely bespoke to your requirements, no matter your experience, size or specialisms.

Our Tender Consultants team will work alongside your business.  We form a partnership that ensures all tendering efforts are as fine-tuned as possible.

Whether you have experience tendering and are seeing no results or have never tendered before and are looking to branch out, get in touch with our Tender Consultants team today for a free quote.

See more of our services HERE.

WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU SUCCEED!

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

• How to win a tender
• What is a Bid Writer?
• The tendering process
• Writing winning bids
• 7 tips for tendering for contracts
• Tips for bid management
• Bid writing services
• The types of tendering procedures
• Writing bids
• Bid writing consultants
• Submitting a tender response
• And many more.

The post Tender Writing Services To Help You Succeed appeared first on Tender Consultants.