Bid Management Services: Consultants To Manage Your Tender Submissions

At Thornton & Lowe, our bid management services are designed to provide a comprehensive solution for businesses looking to tender and win UK public sector contracts and frameworks. We understand that our clients expect more than just a writing service; they seek a partner in the entire bidding process. As well as providing freelance and outsourced bid management services, we also have retained or contracted packages, for those looking for a consistent partner and bid management team. 

We directly employ our team to provide clients a consistent service on an adhoc basis. A high quality bid team which gets to understand your business and your bid management requirements - allowing us to delivery a fully manage service, which minimises disruption for our customers. 

Bid Management Services vs Bid Writing?

Bid management and bid writing are two related but distinct roles in the bid process. Bid management involves planning, coordinating, and overseeing the bid team and the bid strategy, ensuring that all aspects of the proposal are aligned with the customer's needs and expectations. For us it usually also focussed on more than one tender - we are supporting an organisation to create a business winning system and improve their bid management performance overall. 

Bid writing involves drafting the content required for a specific tender document, using persuasive language, evidence, and formatting to present a compelling case for why the bidder should win the contract. It involves interviews with your technical team (SMEs) and really getting to grips with your solution. 

There is a lot of crossover! Bid managers may also do some bid writing, and bid writers may also manage the process, as well as writing... In some organisations however, a bid manager will delegate the writing tasks to bid writers or subject matter experts, while focusing on the bigger picture and the overall quality of the proposal.

Tender Monitoring and Bid Management 

We begin by monitoring tenders that align with your business objectives. Our dedicated team keeps a close eye on various platforms to ensure you are informed about relevant opportunities, allowing you to act swiftly and strategically. This is not an automated service, we have a 'search team' monitoring portals, framework call-offs, as well as publicly advertised tender opportunities. Tender Pipeline is our free software to monitor advertised tenders. 

Portal Management and Administration

Managing submissions can be complex. We handle portal management and bid administration, ensuring that all documents are submitted accurately and on time. Our team is well-versed in navigating various tender portals, reducing the administrative burden on your staff. For many of our clients this ensures we are not merely sending another email but accessing portals, updating details, chasing your team and ensuring progress.

Bid/No Bid Support

Our bid management expertise extends to providing bid no bid processes and advice. We help you evaluate each opportunity based on your capabilities and strategic goals, ensuring that you only pursue tenders that offer the best chance of success. This alongside our tender monitoring service, forms part of our Search & Selection service.

The key is having a system to formally assess your decision making process. Even if it doesn't change your decisions initially! The data it provides allows you to understand your bid management risks and opportunity. You can improve key weaknesses by understanding the impact they have on your win rate.

For example, you may realise your success rate is double when you have an existing relationship with a buyer! This can help you reduce the number of tenders you bid for (therefore increasing your win rate and reducing your bid costs) - or it highlights the benefits of investing in business development and engaging with buyers prior to the tender process. 

Bid Management Quality Reviews 

Quality is paramount in bid submissions. We conduct thorough quality reviews of all responses, ensuring they meet the highest standards. We also provide a Bid Review Service. Our approach includes actively challenging solutions to ensure they are robust and competitive. We engage with your team through interviews with subject matter experts to extract valuable insights that enhance your submissions.

Development of Tender Libraries and Templates

To streamline the writing process, we create tender libraries and bid template responses, which provide tender answers (written content) for your bids. These resources ensure consistency and save time, allowing your team to focus on crafting compelling narratives rather than starting from scratch.

We have bid management software Tender Library, or if this is not a good fit - we know the bid software market well and we are happy to make recommendations. 

Strategic Bid Management Procedures for Maximising ROI

Our services also include developing tailored bid strategies and procedures aimed at maximising your return on investment. This involves collating better evidence and refining how your sales and marketing teams engage with the market. Building strong relationships is key to successful bidding, and we help you implement strategies that foster these connections.

We are there to manage the tendering process. 

After each submission, we chase tender feedback to understand how your bid was received. This information is invaluable for refining future submissions. We also facilitate lessons learned workshops, where we analyse what worked and what didn’t, ensuring that your bidding process continually evolves and improves.

Holistic Bid Management

In summary, our bid management services cover all aspects of the bidding process, including the provision of high-quality bid and tender writing. We pride ourselves on being a partner that supports you at every stage of the process, offering complete tender management.