Tender Management: Definition, Good Practice and Our Services

About us

At Hudson, we offer help at every stage of the tendering process. Whether you need tender writing, mentoring, review before submission or a full end-to-end service, we can help!

We’ve helped to secure contracts for businesses of all sizes and in a wide variety of different sectors across the world.

Our most popular sectors include:

• Healthcare
• Construction
• Creative
• Technology
• Transport
• Facilities
• HR
• Consultancy
• Logistics
• Hospitality
• Research
• Finance

…And many more!

Top Tip: If you need help finding tenders in these sectors, check out our tender-tracking portals on our Discover site.

We’re also currently operating with an 87% success rate and we have over 60 years of collective experience in tender writing. So, you can rest assured that we’re very good at what we do!

What is tender management?

Tender management services include the effective overseeing of the entire tendering journey. This can include the planning and submitting of tender responses while reviewing and tracking the progress of work produced by tender writers, also known as bid writers.

Why is it beneficial to outsource tender management services?

For the best possible chance of securing a tender, good tender management is key! However, overseeing the entire tendering process can be both time-consuming and resource-draining for many businesses — particularly for SMEs which may lack the in-house team/support required.

This is due to the fact that tender management services require these steps:

• Analyse and extract the requirements of the tender
• Plan a solution to meet the requirements
• Plan a realistic timescale for the completion of the tender process
• Manage the tender writers who will be producing the content
• Draft and communicate with the client for further information
• Produce a competitive pricing structure

Note: Sticking to tight deadlines is vital for a successful tender process, as missing a deadline can delay the entire process. You don’t want a stressful submission!

What are proposal management and bid management?

The same as tender management! Depending on your location, tender management can often be referred to as proposal or bid management. These are terms most commonly used in the US — referring to RFPs (Request for Proposals) and bids.

Good tender management

So you know what tender management is, but what makes for good tender management?

Here are our top tips!

• Every tender is different – you can’t apply the same process to each, however having a standard routine as a guide will help you keep on track.
• You must always allow for mistakes! Whether this comes from the submission or writing process, tender management is hardly ever plain sailing. However, good tender managers will be able to foresee, adapt to and overcome these roadblocks.
• Planning is important! This sets the tone of the tender process. If you fail to plan effectively, your entire team can be led astray and this affects your ability to meet the submission deadline.
• Calm presence – The tender process can be stressful even when everything goes according to plan. This is why it is crucial to have a calm and organised presence managing the process. If a tender manager remains coolheaded in a crisis, this puts the tender writers at ease, plus the extended team and the company as a whole.

What do we offer?

Tender Writing

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

Tender Ready

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

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

Tender Improvement

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

Tender Mentor

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

Contact us:

Contact us to find out how we can help your business SUCCEED!

Additional support:

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

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

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

Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can optimise your tendering efforts!

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

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

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

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package

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

Our other divisions:

Vocal

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

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

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

Vocal specialises in:

• Copywriting
• Marketing
• Branding
• Websites
• Design
• Illustration

Alpha

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

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

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

• 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