Our Guide to Tender Management

Tender management is an important part of the bids and tender process as it allows a business to streamline their processes and potentially secure more important bid opportunities. There are many ways in which tendering can be managed and at Thornton & Lowe, we have specialised tender management systems and software available to help businesses keep on top of their tenders.

What is a tender?

When an organisation, public sector or private sector, requires outsourced work, services or goods, they can advertise this need through a tendering platform or invite businesses to bid for the contract to fulfil the requirement. When this tender is put out and businesses are allowed to bid, this is referred to as an Invitation to Tender (ITT).

This invitation will detail the job in full, whether it be a supply of goods or providing services to complete a particular project. If you want more details on tender writing and responding to tender requests, read our blog on tender writing tips.

What is tender management?

Having the right systems and procedures to maximise win rates is crucial when a business deals with lots of bids and tenders or high value, strategic, must-win opportunities. Having some form of tender management means that your whole tendering process will be overseen, and current and new tenders will be effectively managed and tracked.

Having your tendering process specifically managed means that not only will current tenders be monitored, but the process of finding new tenders and contracts that would be appropriate for your company to bid on is much easier. This leaves your team with more time to focus on lengthy and important bid writing and responding to tender documents.

Tender Management Process

Managing a tender can be a bit daunting, but breaking it down into easy steps can make it much more manageable. Our tender management process include pre and post tendering activities and 13 steps - unlucky for some... your competitors!

1. Spot the Opportunity

Keep an Eye Out - Regularly check websites, trade journals, and other sources for new tender opportunities
Check the Fit - See if the tender aligns with what your organisation can do and its strategic goals

2. Decide to Bid or Not

Team Meeting - Have a quick meeting with key people to decide whether to go for the tender
Evaluate - Look at factors like your chances of winning, the resources needed, and the potential benefits

3. Form Your Bid Team

Assign Roles - Pick your team and assign roles such as bid manager, writers, financial experts, and technical folks
Set a Timeline - Create a timeline with key dates and deadlines

4. Get to Know the Requirements

Read Everything - Carefully read all tender documents, including the invitation to tender (ITT), specifications, and terms
Ask Questions - Contact the issuing authority if you need any clarifications

5. Plan Your Bid Strategy

Key Messages - Decide on the key messages and unique selling points (USPs) that will set your bid apart. Win themes step things up further
Compliance Checklist - Make a checklist to ensure you meet all tender requirements

6. Gather Information

Internal Info - Collect all necessary internal info like financial records, past project summaries, and team CVs
External Info - Get any external info needed, such as supplier quotes or market research

7. Write the Bid

Draft Content - Write your bid response, making sure you answer all questions clearly and concisely
Review and Edit - Review drafts for accuracy and persuasiveness. Edit to make sure the response is compelling and error-free
Tech and Financial Proposals - Develop detailed technical and financial proposals as needed

8. Design and Present

Layout and Design - Use a professional layout and design to make your bid document look good
Proofread - Do a final proofread to catch any remaining errors or inconsistencies.

9. Submit the Bid

Follow the Format - Ensure your bid is formatted according to the tender requirements, whether electronic or hard copy (rare these days)
Submit on Time - Submit your bid before the deadline, allowing for any potential delays

10. Follow-Up

Confirm Receipt - Make sure the contracting authority has received your bid
Be Ready - Be prepared to respond to any follow-up questions or requests for more information

11. Evaluation and Feedback

Track Status - Keep an eye on the status of the tender evaluation process
Get Feedback - If you don’t win, ask for feedback to understand how you can improve for next time

12. Contract Award and Handover

Review Contract - When you win, review the contract terms and conditions thoroughly before signing.
Handover - Have a handover meeting with the project team to ensure a smooth transition from bid to implementation

13. Keep Improving

Debrief - Have a debrief session with the bid team to discuss what went well and what could be better.
Update Processes - Update your bid management processes based on what you learned to improve future bids.

Why is Tender Management Important?

Are you a company that deals with a high volume of tender opportunities or relies on securing tenders in order to maintain your business? In these instances, tender management is indispensable to success.

One of the most common reasons that businesses lose tenders is due to mismanagement of the opportunity, therefore not investing enough time into preparing a response, or conversely spending too much time on a tender in which they had little chance of securing, thus impacting other prospects and potentially missing deadlines. If you often deal with bids and tenders, you will most likely have to deal with the following:

You are working on multiple tenders, therefore have a large amount of tender documents and files to manage and most importantly, differing deadlines.

You have a team of people working on many different elements of a tender, from searching for opportunities, to gathering necessary information and writing, reviewing and submitting the bid.

Are assessing whether a Smart Grant is right for you
Want to know if your idea is a good fit
Need support writing the grant and completing the required research
Would like to have your application reviewed by an expert Bid Writer who can offer advice with regards to compliance and added value opportunities, before it is submitted

Each of these important elements of the tender process are difficult to maintain without proper tender management. This is where having a comprehensive and unique system in place can support your business, monitor deadlines and team members and easily house all necessary files. Our systems Tender Pipeline and Tender Library, detailed below, are the perfect tools for effective tender management.

Do I need tender management?

If your business is:

Not finding the right opportunities
Missing out on opportunities
Missing deadlines
Losing bids
Spending time on unrealistic tenders

… then a tender management system could be beneficial to you!

Having effective tender management will ensure that your chosen tenders follow your budget, location restrictions, industry sectors and availability which will all increase your likelihood of success. This is important to focus on as a business before time, money and effort is spent on ineffective bid writing.

A tender management system will ensure that no tender is missed by sending reminders to your team, and that the right bids are being decided upon.

Looking to improve your tender responses?

How can Thornton & Lowe help in tender management?

A bid writing services company our business is focuses entirely focus on tenders and ensuring they are managed as efficiently and effective as possible.

Get in touch with us today if you have any questions about tender management and the systems that we offer, and see how we can help to streamline your tender management processes.

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