The tender process in the UK is designed to be a transparent and equitable process in which businesses compete to win contracts and deliver work.
The tendering process is also a valuable way for SME owners to strategically grow both their reputation and their revenue.
To take advantage of the benefits of winning a contract, it’s important a business understands clearly what’s required and how to improve their chances of success.
That’s where we come in.
Contents:
Tendering made simple with JGP Consultancy
What is a tender?
What are the stages of the tendering process?
How to identify the right tender opportunities for your business
Public versus private sector tenders
How to win government tenders as an SME
Why outsourcing bid writing can be a wise business growth strategy
What is a tender?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary:
- tender (verb) is a formal offer to do a job for a stated price
- tender (noun) is a written or formal offer to supply goods or do a job for an agreed price.
Additionally, to ‘put work out to tender’ is to ask people to make offers to do it.
In these definitions we can see the two parties involved – the business outsourcing a contract, and the business offering to fulfil the contract – and that there are steps involved in a tendering process.
For SMEs to take advantage of the benefits of winning tenders, they must understand the stages involved.
What are the stages of the tendering process?
There are three main stages in any tendering process in the UK.
These are:
- Pre-tender process
- Tendering process
- Post-tender process steps
Pre-tender process
For the private business or public sector body looking to outsource work, the pre-tender process involves clearly defining:
- the scope of work required
- the type of tendering process they wish to utilise
- and preparing and publishing a notice of tender
Where, and how, that notice of tender is advertised varies according on the value of the contract being outsourced, and whether the tendering process is for a private sector contract or in the government sector.
The portals used for public sector bids are Find a Tender Service and Contracts Finder.
All necessary documentation for interested businesses to consider preparing a bid must be provided in either the notice itself or supporting documentation.
For a company wanting to win the tender, the pre-tender process involves:
- Assessing its own readiness and viability to commit to an often complex and resource-heavy tendering process
- Finding suitable tenders
- Registering their interest to submit a bid for the tender, ensuring they do so within the time limits established for the tender process
Engagement is another important element. It can be a long process of building relationships before a tender application occurs, but the benefits continue for the long haul.
In the pre-tender process, a business will also decide whether its staff has the necessary skills, experience, and resources to dedicate to researching, building strategic relationships and writing a winning bid.
If not, they may consider partnering with experienced consultants to ensure the best chance of success.
Find out how JGP Consultancy can give you the winning edge in the tender process.
Tendering Process
Tender process steps can vary depending on the type of tender being advertised.
Private sector tenders have processes that are usually more flexible, relaxed and dynamic than public sector tenders.
When it comes to public sector tenders, the Procurement Act 2023 outlines two types of tenders in the UK: open procedure and competitive flexible procedure.
The open tender process:
- Is available to any suitable business willing to write and submit their tender
- Is generally a one-stage process in which all businesses that tender are evaluated based on their bid, and the successful business is awarded the contract
- An example is dynamic purchasing system (DPS): As the Federation of Small Businesses explains: “Like a framework, where a public sector organisation (school, council etc) needs to buy or procure certain services regularly, they create an ‘Approved Suppliers Club’ to avoid multiple lengthy tenders. A DPS however is open for suppliers to join and leave at any time.”
The competitive flexible tendering process:
- Has a narrower window of opportunity, as availability to tender is open for a designated time and only shortlisted businesses are then able to tender for ongoing work throughout an established timeframe (often four years)
- Is a significantly more stringent tendering process with the need for extensive work during initial stages to be selected to proceed
- As the Federation of Small Businesses explains: “Some tenders are part of larger frameworks, these place the successful suppliers on approved lists, opening direct pipeline opportunities for repeat business. Frameworks are closed, so when complete the list of approved suppliers is fixed for the time of the framework.”
The tendering process UK companies will engage in has specific documentation requirements.
For open tenders, this is generally known as the invitation to tender (ITT).
For competitive flexible tendering, the document may be the pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) or selection questionnaire (SQ), which are designed to fully assess the company’s suitability to bid prior to them being shortlisted and invited to bid in a subsequent stage.
The business will answer questions about:
- Financial status and stability including insurance and compliance
- Health and safety
- Environmental and sustainability commitment
- Ethical and social responsibility are increasingly more important and are weighted accordingly. Your whole supply chain needs to afford fair and equitable treatment of all involved. In the public sector particularly a commitment to diversity, resilience and innovation is highly valued.
- Data protection
- The qualifications and experience in your team, including any accreditations, certificates and awards that speak to the professionalism and expertise your team can bring to fulfilling the contract
They will receive information in the invitation to tender (ITT) and request for quote (RFQ) relating to:
- The nature of the work being outsourced, including the scope and specifics of the project
- How the tenders will be evaluated including weighting given to cost and quality
- Details of submission deadlines and expectations
SMEs wanting to tender will need to map out the requirements of the tender and write responses that professionally and comprehensively answer all aspects of the bid, considering how certain questions are weighted.
Bid writing is a skill that your team will need to master inhouse or consider outsourcing.
At JGP Consultancy, we collaborate closely with clients to form an integrated business winning team.
Many SMEs choose to invest in professional guidance and/or training, whether that’s for a framework to follow for a tender or for landing a contract directly.
They recognise that engaging a procurement consultant makes sense from an affordability perspective and for improving the quality of their bids.
Post-Tender Steps
Evaluation
Once the tender is submitted, it will be evaluated along with all other submissions.
It’s reassuring to know that with public sector tenders particularly, the regulations associated with the Procurement Act 2023 ensure SMEs can compete fairly and win tenders against larger competitors.
Contract Awarded: The contract will be awarded, and feedback will generally be supplied and can be requested to improve future bids.
In the public sector tender process, there will be a ten day ‘standstill’ period before final contracts are signed.
ROI
Any tender process is an opportunity to learn and upskill your team.
An unsuccessful bid may be disappointing considering the demand placed on resources to prepare the bid.
Reviewing your team’s process in conjunction with reflecting on any feedback provided can help you make sound business choices as you prepare for future tender opportunities.
That may include choosing to invest in procurement consultants who can identify relevant opportunities for your business and write bids with a view to being awarded contracts.
For the SME that wins the tender, the return on investment for all resources and time dedicated to the process will be significant.
This is your opportunity to deliver quality results for your new clients, sustainably grow your business with a reliable pipeline of future work, and continue to build your reputation in your industry while increasing revenue.
How to choose the right tender opportunities for your business
By understanding the long-term benefits of winning in the tender process, UK SMEs are well positioned to use tendering as part of their business growth strategy.
Knowing how to choose the right tender opportunities for your business is key to investing your time and expertise wisely.
At JGP Consultancy, we provide a Tender Guide and/or a Tender Finder service which delivers a bespoke report to your inbox every week – saving you and your team from the pressure of keeping on top of tender opportunities.
Among our values is the integrity that comes with advising our clients honestly about their readiness and capacity for tenders as they arise.
We will only recommend you bid for tenders that closely match your capabilities to decrease the risk of scaling too quickly. Knowing when to say no to commencing a tender process is as important as knowing when to say yes.
Public versus private sector tenders
From a tendering perspective, private sector tenders may be less formal and structured than public sector tenders.
The added structure in the public sector tendering process brings with it greater transparency, equity and accountability.
SMEs can realistically compete with far larger corporations in public sector tenders if they have strong win themes and clarity in their business and growth strategy.
Whether your business is better placed for private sector contracts or ready to pursue public sector contracts, winning bids can directly impact your pipeline, industry reputation and market reach.
How to win government tenders as an SME
Winning government tenders as an SME is not only possible but also a lucrative and powerful way to sustainably grow your business.
The objectives which underpin the Procurement Act 2023 ensure a fair playing field, increasing opportunities for SMEs to compete against larger corporations.
Indeed. SME participation and innovation in tenders is valued and often rewarded.
With the right guidance, training and expert support, your business can earn a competitive edge and enjoy the ROI of winning government contracts.
Why outsourcing bid writing can be a wise business growth strategy
With so many benefits to securing contracts through the tendering process and so many resources required to develop a winning bid, for many SMEs it simply makes sense to outsource bid writing.
Having access to cutting-edge market research tools and strategies can be a game changer for keeping ahead of the competition and growing your business sustainably.
Procurement consultants like JGP Consultancy bring a wealth of experience to your team.
We work with you to create persuasive and compliant proposals targeted to the requirements of the contract you’re tendering for.
That leaves your team free to build capacity to scale operations to take on more business.
Tendering Made Simple with JGP Consultancy
Contact JGP Consultancy today and step confidently towards winning bids and long-term rewards.