It is essential that you have a robust bid/no bid decision process. Naturally you need to look at the purpose of the service(s) being procured and if this forms part of your core business. However, even if you answer "yes" , your bid/no bid process needs to go beyond this. Tenders will often have specific criteria, such as insurance levels and turnover values. There may also be a requirement for defined accrediations, for example ISO9001. It's important to highlight that these requirements will vary depending on the value of a tender, but equally they are pitfalls that can mean your bid automatically fails.
So, when reading through a tender as part of your bid/no bid decision, look out for these type of criteria. Some will be clear, stating that the bid will fail unless you meet a certain requirement. Others may not be so clear, in which case always seek clarification from the purchasing organisation.
This time will be value added time to you, as you want to avoid investing time and resources in to a tender for it to fail on a point such as the ones above.
When working with clients, we are able to advise and support on their bid/no bid decision. If you would like to speak to one of our team on how we can support you, give us a call on 0845 862 0154.
