How to Win Facilities Management Tenders: Bidding Strategy

Public sector FM tenders reward certainty. Evaluators want confidence that your pricing is credible, your mobilisation plan is robust, and your team can take control of compliance, helpdesk performance and supply chain delivery from day one. If your bid is vague, generic, or inconsistent across sections, it reads as risk, and risk costs marks.

This guide sets out how to win facilities management tenders by focusing on what evaluators typically score most heavily. You will see how to present evidence, assumptions and performance controls in a way that makes high scores easy to award and hard to challenge.

Focus on Scoring Criteria

Public sector FM bids are marked against published criteria and scoring descriptors. Evaluators cannot “assume” quality. They can only score what you make easy to evidence.

Before drafting, build a scorecard map. For each question, capture:

• What the buyer is really testing (capability, risk, confidence, value)
• The marks available and what “excellent” looks like
• The evidence you will use (results, KPIs, audits, references, case studies)
• The risks you must neutralise (TUPE, mobilisation, compliance, supply chain)

Then set 4–5 win themes that show up everywhere, not just in your executive summary. In FM, strong themes usually link to statutory assurance, user experience, cost control, mobilisation readiness and performance grip.

A fast, quality upgrade is to replace vague intent with mechanism and measure:

• Mechanism: how the service works day-to-day
• Measure: how you track it, report it, and fix underperformance

If your answer forces an evaluator to infer the method, the score drops.

Finally, treat clarifications as scoring updates. Log them, distribute them, and ensure contributors adjust content and assumptions. Inconsistent answers are one of the quickest ways to lose confidence.

At Thornton & Lowe, we help you structure responses so they read like a marking guide, with clear evidence and low-risk delivery, whether you need full bid support or targeted input.

How to Win on Value for Money

Value for money is rarely “lowest price wins”. It is “most believable, best controlled cost” presented in a way that is easy to compare. That starts with a clear pricing strategy that sets out assumptions, inclusions, exclusions and how change is managed.

Make your commercial approach evaluator-friendly:

• State assumptions clearly: hours, frequencies, access, asset data, out-of-hours, indexation
• Explain what is included, excluded and treated as optional
• Show how you prevent cost creep: demand management, planned vs reactive balance, robust change control

Then link price to delivery. If you propose high service levels, the resourcing model must visibly support it. If you propose lean staffing, show how technology, scheduling and escalation protect performance.

Where scores are lost is ambiguity: hidden contingencies, unclear TUPE cost handling, or a rate card that does not match the method statement.

A simple way to improve scores is to add a short “commercial narrative” box, showing:

1. What drives cost in this contract
2. What you will control from day one
3. What you will improve over time, and how savings are evidenced

Mobilisation Plans that Inspire Confidence

Mobilisation is where evaluators decide whether the service will be stable from day one. In FM, that means taking control of people, assets, compliance and reporting quickly, without disruption.

A high-scoring mobilisation approach shows:

• Clear phases: due diligence, transition, go-live, stabilisation
• Named roles, governance and decision routes
• Readiness checks: TUPE data, asset lists, PPM schedules, H&S and permits, system access
• Early priorities that protect compliance and user experience

Keep it practical. A simple milestone view helps:

• Award to day 10: information capture, mobilisation governance, site validation
• Day 10 to go-live: TUPE onboarding, supplier onboarding, PPM and statutory plan confirmation
• Go-live to day 30: reporting rhythm, KPI baselining, snagging, improvement plan

If you need a structure that works across hard, soft and total FM, follow our steps to write a mobilisation plan and tailor it to the buyer’s risks and site realities.

TUPE and Workforce Strategy: Remove Evaluator Anxiety

TUPE is one of the fastest ways to lose marks in FM. Not because it is complex, but because vague answers signal disruption risk, hidden cost and shaky day-one service. Clear TUPE requirements are essential, and your response should show due diligence, continuity planning and commercial transparency.

A scoring-focused TUPE approach does three things:

1. Proves you have done due diligence
   Show how you validate the employee liability information, role profiles, site coverage, shift patterns, premiums, absence trends and any pinch points.
2. Protects continuity from day one
   Spell out how you handle consultation, onboarding, inductions, training refresh, uniforms, systems access and supervision. Make it clear who owns each step and when it happens.
3. Controls cost and risk transparently
   Explain how TUPE costs are treated in pricing assumptions, how you manage change control if data improves, and how you reduce attrition risk during transition.

Keep the focus on the contract. If the buyer is worried about compliance, show how you stabilise statutory tasks first. If they are worried about customer experience, show how you protect response times and visibility.

For TUPE fundamentals and consultation expectations, keep your approach aligned with Acas guidance on TUPE transfers.

KPI Management and Continuous Improvement

Strong KPIs and performance measurement make performance management feel routine, not heroic. Evaluators want to see control, cadence and corrective action, not just targets.

Turn KPIs into an operating rhythm:

• Baselines and targets agreed early, then tightened where appropriate
• Reporting cadence: weekly operational view, monthly KPI pack, quarterly governance
• Named owners, escalation triggers and corrective action tracking
• Audit trails and exception reporting that prove performance is managed

Then show how you manage the outcomes that matter in FM:

• Statutory compliance and PPM completion
• Response times, first-time fix and backlog control
• Helpdesk performance and complaint handling
• Subcontractor and supply chain performance

Evaluators also want confidence you will improve, not just maintain. Add a simple improvement loop: trend analysis, root cause, action plan, retest, and benefits realised.

Social Value that Is Relevant and Measurable

Social value scores go up when your commitments feel deliverable on these sites, by this team, in this timeframe. Generic promises do not land.

Start by choosing 3–5 contract-relevant outcomes, then build each one with the same logic:

• Baseline: what you can evidence today
• Target: what you will deliver during the contract, with numbers and dates
• Method: how you will deliver it through FM operations
• Measurement: who reports it, how often, and what “success” looks like
• Governance: how it is reviewed alongside KPIs

In FM, strong social value is often operational: local employment and apprenticeships tied to mobilisation, SME and VCSE spend embedded in the supply chain, and carbon reduction linked to planned maintenance and asset optimisation.

Align your themes to the Social Value Model so your structure matches how public sector buyers often conduct assessments.

Risk, Compliance and Assurance

FM evaluators are paid to worry. Your job is to make the risks feel seen, owned and controlled.

A high-scoring risk approach is not a long list. It is a tight set of contract-specific risks with clear controls, owners, and evidence. Focus on what typically drives score drops:

• Mobilisation readiness and data quality
• Statutory compliance and PPM delivery
• TUPE continuity and resourcing stability
• Supply chain and subcontractor controls
• H&S, permits-to-work and incident response
• Business continuity for critical sites and out-of-hours cover

Make assurance visible. Reference how you plan, check and improve: audits, management reviews, corrective actions, site inspections, escalation routes and governance.

Where possible, show “what good looks like” with mini extracts: a sample risk register row, an example escalation trigger, and a simple reporting rhythm that links risks to KPIs and governance.

This risk-first approach is consistent with established FM procurement good practice, including principles set out in RICS guidance on procurement of facility management where buyers look for clarity, control and contract-driven delivery rather than generic claims.

Bid Writing that Scores

Most FM bids lose marks for one reason: the assessor has to work too hard to find the scorable content. Fix that by writing every answer in a consistent, evidence-led pattern.

1. Confirm the requirement in the buyer’s language
2. Explain your approach in contract-specific terms (sites, hours, compliance needs, user groups)
3. Prove it with evidence (results, audit outcomes, case studies, accreditations)
4. Measure it with KPIs, reporting and escalation triggers
5. Improve it with a continuous improvement loop and governance

Then, tighten your writing discipline.

• Put the “how” before the “why”. Method beats marketing.
• Reuse win themes, but tailor the detail to this contract.
• Match your method statement to your pricing assumptions and mobilisation plan, so nothing conflicts.

A structured round of bid reviews will quickly expose where evidence is thin, where answers drift off-brief, and where your delivery story does not match the commercial model. Strong bid templates help you keep that scoring structure consistent across tenders, while still tailoring the detail to each contract.

Frameworks and Routes to Market

Framework bids are still competitive tenders, but the rules of the game shift. You typically have tighter word counts, stronger compliance expectations, and less room for vague claims. The scoring advantage comes from being highly structured, highly evidenced, and very clear on assumptions.

Three practical moves improve framework performance fast:

• Treat compliance as a scored discipline: build a tracker for every instruction, attachment, and response rule
• Differentiate through delivery grip: mobilisation readiness, performance reporting, risk control and supply chain assurance
• Make price comparable and defensible: remove ambiguity, state assumptions, and keep the commercial story consistent across schedules

If you are bidding for CCS frameworks, such as RM6378, understand the buyer’s expectations and how suppliers are assessed, then tailor your evidence and operating model to the lots and call-off approach. At Thornton & Lowe, we support framework and open-market FM bids end-to-end, from strategy and planning through to writing, review and bid management tools, so your submission is easy to score and hard to doubt.

A Bid Process that Improves Win Rates Over Time

1. Bid decision (fast, disciplined)
   Confirm fit against scope, lots, geography, compliance requirements and capacity. Lock 3 win conditions and 3 deal-breakers.
2. Plan to score
   Build the scorecard map and win themes. Create an evidence list by question. Assign owners and deadlines, with a single bid voice for consistency.
3. Write to the marks
   Draft using the confirm–explain–prove–measure–improve structure. Validate every major claim. Run a red-team review against scoring descriptors.
4. Learn and reuse
   Capture feedback and scoring patterns. Improve the evidence bank. Turn strong modules into reusable content that can be tailored quickly.

At Thornton & Lowe, we can plug in at any point, from shaping the strategy and plan, to managing delivery, to improving quality at pace using bid management tools.

FAQs

How do we balance price and quality in public sector FM tenders?

Assume you must win on both. Make price transparent and defensible, then prove delivery confidence with mobilisation, KPIs, risk controls and evidence.

What if TUPE information is incomplete?

State what you know, what you have requested, and how you will validate quickly post-award. Show how you protect continuity while controlling commercial risk through clear assumptions and change control.

What should we include in an FM mobilisation plan?

Phases, roles, milestones, readiness checks, and a stabilisation plan. Make it site-shaped and show how you protect compliance and user experience from day one.

How do we make social value score higher without overpromising?

Pick a few outcomes that match the contract footprint, set measurable targets, assign owners, and show how you will report delivery alongside core contract governance.

How can we improve quickly if we’ve already written a draft?

Tighten structure to match the scoring descriptors, add mechanism + measure to every major claim, and remove contradictions between method, pricing and mobilisation.

Improve Your Next FM Tender

If you want to increase scores without adding fluff, focus on what evaluators can award marks for: credible value for money, mobilisation confidence, controlled TUPE transition, measurable performance management, deliverable social value, and risk assurance.

Thornton & Lowe helps FM suppliers build bids that are easier to score and harder to doubt, whether you need full bid support, targeted improvements, structured reviews, or consistent templates and tools to scale your bidding.