Musing on AI’s place in bid writing AI is such a quick writer, compared to most humans, that I wondered whether bid writers, should be using AI to draft some of their clients’ bid responses. Could AI be helpful for those questions we regularly see being repeated within bids? I decided to put it to the test and had a go! I asked ChatGPT to write a response on account management for a cleaning company bidding to a school. What did I find? Well, it was interesting! Whilst AI seemed like a quick way to rattle off a few generic bid answers, which were reasonably standard. After testing it I ..read more

Following on from our Blog Post in July 2023, we can now provide a more detailed update on the Procurement Act 2023 and the changes it will bring about for SMEs that tender into the public sector. To help guide both buyers and suppliers through the changes and the impacts of the new regime, the Cabinet Office and Government Commercial Function are currently rolling out their Transforming Public Procurement programme, to ensure the aims of the new Act deliver on the objectives to improve the way public procurement is regulated, by: creating a simpler and more flexible, commercial system that b ..read more

Over our January and February blogs we are providing insight to improve your social value strategy. Following on from January’s ‘All About Social Value: Part 1’ blog where we discussed How to Make Sense of Social Value; the Importance of Social Value, and The Power of Social Value in this, ‘All About Social Value: Part 2’ instalment, we delve deeper and explain: How buyers decide who offers the best Social Value How to match Social Value offers with Buyers’ requirements, and Where to Seek Additional Information on Social Value. How buyers decide who offers the best Social Value: Your tender ..read more

In the vast landscape of public sector procurement, it is essential to understand the importance of Social Value. It enables businesses and the public sector to collaborate to provide wider, measurable benefits to communities. Social Value is therefore a pivotal tool that can improve tender success and contribute to the growth of your business! Questions about social value often arise in tenders and your social value offer can account for up to 10% of the quality criteria score; this can mean the difference between winning or losing a tender! Are you ready to improve your tenders, to secure mo ..read more

  Bidding is almost always a team effort. The pressure of a deadline, the challenges of positioning your organisation for the contract, the resources needed to pull it together and the honing of key messages takes skill, commitment and collaboration. As a bid consultancy, our clients that achieve the greatest win rates are those who contribute in a way that means we can be at our best – and therefore write the best bids. By working collaboratively, the bid has its best chance of winning. Here are our top tips for getting the best out of your bid writers and ensuring great collaboration, w ..read more

We were supportive of The Green Accord when it first launched a number of years ago, and have  recommended it to our clients. But recently it has been relaunched and revamped, so we felt it worth championing more proactively once again! The Green Accord is aimed at SMEs: it’s good for business and it’s good for the environment! Our decision to support the scheme and apply for the accreditation ourselves was a no-brainer! As the Green Accord boasts of its suitability for a range of sizes and types of organisation, we thought… why not Tender Victory? It has always been important to Tender V ..read more

  Whilst we fully appreciate that the terms ‘procurement’ and ‘tender’ do not always go hand in hand with ’exciting’, we do feel it’s worth sharing the positive changes that the Procurement Reform Bill will bring to public sector procurement! The changes that are proposed by the Bill should bring numerous benefits to bidding companies, particularly SMEs. Making the public procurement process more straight forward for SMEs can only be a good thing. This is something we have been championing since Tender Victory was established in 2010, as we believe that procurement should help to ease the ..read more

Many clients come to Tender Victory to obtain expert help in writing their bids and tender submissions, because they are keen to win contracts and grow their business. A service we are delighted to provide! However, we find that a number of these businesses are reactive in their bidding strategy rather than proactive. The public sector tendering process is conducted within a strict timeframe and imposes strict limits on communications (through the official clarifications process). Quite often tender publication timetables are subject to delays, meaning reduced preparation times and the risk of ..read more

Sometimes, as part of a tender process, you may be asked to pitch or present your bid and offer to the buyers and their evaluation panel. Incorporating presentation stages within a procurement process is more common in the creative industries such as advertising agencies or similar. If you are required to pitch your offer during a presentation or demonstration, how can you best prepare yourself? Ensure your pitch is: Clear – the win themes and value your business is offering to the client are communicated in a way that audience readily understands. Compelling – genuinely stimulates interest i ..read more

Before you start writing your tender submission do you sit back and think about what your USP’s are in direct relation to the contract you are bidding for? We recommend that you do! Start by writing out your basic USPs. Things like number of years of experience, additional qualifications and accreditations, proximity to contract location (if geography matters), personnel. Remember these USPs should be differentiators and set you apart from your competition. Then move onto enhancing your USPs and making them relevant to this buyer. What will really impress the buyer and make you stand out over ..read more