Public Sector Tendering - Case Studies
HR Services - Growing Public Sector Business
The Problem
A leading coaching organisation, with a national profile and reputation, was keen to increase its business with the public sector, as part of a broader growth strategy for the company. However, it was struggling to make inroads into the sector and was frustrated by its failure, all too often, to convert its expertise and track record in the coaching industry into successful tender submissions. Put simply, a lot of time and effort had been invested in tendering for public sector contracts, with little to show for it.
The barriers to growth we identified, through discussions with the client, were:
- Key staff in the company who were responsible for putting together tenders had limited knowledge of the public sector;
- They were unsure where to find contract opportunities, and often spotted them late, so that there was insufficient time for thorough planning and preparation;
- Tender submissions were inconsistent in format and presentation, and variable in quality.
How We Helped the Client
The first priority was to improve the company's understanding of the public sector, so that it could target the right opportunities, and produce tender submissions that hit all the right buttons.
We ran a workshop covering key aspects of doing business with the public sector: The structure and culture of the sector; finding tendering opportunities; building relationships with potential customers; the public procurement rules and procedures; tender evaluation; bid planning and preparation; and the dos and don'ts of producing top quality proposals.
Phase two of our consultancy support was providing practical, hands-on assistance and advice on live tender submissions. We provided support on two major tenders, reviewing several drafts of each submission. Our first step was to propose a structure for the submission that was clear, concise and easy to follow and which, most importantly, addressed all of the key evaluation criteria set out by the customer. On subsequent drafts, we suggested changes and additions, and gave advice on the format, presentation, and cultural fit of the document - to ensure that the final proposal stood out from the competition, in terms of its impact, clarity, and appearance.
The Results
Our client became much more knowledgeable about the public sector, and what it expected from potential suppliers. They also developed a more rigorous, professional and targeted approach to tendering for public sector contracts. And, our consultancy support had an immediate impact, with the client winning the first tender we advised on. On the second tender, we faced a huge challenge; they were up against an incumbent supplier who had been providing the service for several years. Once again, however, our advice helped to give them the competitive edge they needed to persuade the customer to switch suppliers and award the contract to our client.
Property Consultancy - Producing a Top Class Tender When Resources are Overstretched
The Problem
A well established and successful property consultancy company decided as part of its business strategy to target new work in the public sector. Spotting an opportunity to get on a panel of consultants delivering services across a major metropolitan area, the company had got through to the Invitation to Tender stage of a 2 part restricted competition held under European Union procurement rules.
However, winning the business posed a number of challenges: a short deadline spanning a public holiday; limited internal resources available to work on this tender alongside several others in the same timeframe; and a politically and economically astute public sector client looking for a strong fit with their culture and business ethos. The company needed a quick injection of experienced resources who knew their way around the public sector and could ensure an outstanding tender was put together.
How We Helped the Client
The tender documents were loosely structured, and no actual questionnaire was provided. Our first task was to unearth and interpret exactly what the public body was seeking in the tender response, put this into a clear order, and assess the right balance of material to build up a fully compliant response.
Of central concern to the client was a convincing statement about the consultant's methodology for doing work, and case studies bringing this to life. We critically assessed the draft method statement from a public sector perspective, ensuring it brought out key strengths which the company may have taken for granted. A constructively critical outside viewpoint proved to be the best way of doing this.
Next we advised on the selection of case studies, and challenged the authors to bring out more sharply the company's environmental and sustainability expertise, their natural fit with the authority's policy concerns, and their demonstrable ability to work effectively in partnerships with local communities. Finally we gave detailed practical advice on how to present the material, including the use of key words and phrases, and even the use of recycled paper to re-enforce their environmental credentials.
The Results
A fully compliant tender, expressing the company's enthusiasm as well as capability for the job, was rewarded with appointment to the panel, covering an area with huge planned growth in regeneration expenditure over the next few years. The experience of working with The Bidding Consultancy in this flexible and responsive way led to our advising the firm on several more public sector tenders, achieving an outstanding rate of success. We have also been pleased to offer occasional pro bono phone advice on a strictly confidential basis on specific tendering issues whenever the need has arisen, drawing on our understanding of the company.
Office Equipment - Landing a Must Win Re-Competition
The Problem
A leading international supplier of office equipment, with an established reputation in supplying the public sector, faced re-competition to retain their position on a government framework of key suppliers valued in excess of £20million. In keeping with many public sector call-off contracts, this re-competition was tougher than before, designed to select a smaller number of accredited companies, and with an increased emphasis placed on suppliers' environmental credentials. At the same time, substantially more business was expected to flow through the new contract, making this a "must win" competition.
The company had got through the first stage of the process (pre-qualification), but feedback from the client - a central government department - highlighted a number of areas where competitors were even stronger. They needed to pull out all the stops to achieve success at the second (invitation to tender) stage.
How We Helped the Client
Although the company had a very good track record in winning public sector business, they decided that, with the stakes so high, specialist expertise and an external challenge were needed to raise their game. We joined their bidding team just as the invitation to tender was issued and worked closely with the company to:
- Go through the tender questionnaire and notes in fine detail, making sure every single aspect was fully understood, or where explanations should be requested urgently from the client;
- Shape each draft answer to bring out the company's underlying strengths, and support this with the right sort of evidence in the right quantity;
- Ensure that key policies and systems, particularly quality, customer management and environmental systems, were presented in a clear and totally convincing way;
- Find that extra ingredient for every answer which takes it above the ordinary and wins top marks;
- Keep a close eye on the overall look and feel of the tender, to match the client's known priorities.
Our pledge of total confidentiality meant that we quickly established an open working relationship, in which standard responses could be re-examined through a fresh pair of eyes.
The Results
A completed tender, which had been carefully scrutinised from all points of view, was submitted on time. After the inevitable waiting period the company was delighted to hear that they had been successfully appointed as one of a new, small number of approved UK public sector suppliers with the prospect of multi-million pound business growth over coming years. The bid team were also able to identify a number of lessons learned from The Bidding Consultancy's inputs which would be applied in future to other public and private sector tenders.
