Emma Nelson Talks Public Sector Tenders UK
Today, we sit down with one of our Bid Writers, Emma Nelson, to discuss public sector tendering in the UK. Emma forms part of our Succeed division and is experienced in writing tenders for the following sectors; Construction, Facilities, HR, Logistics, Creative, Education and Healthcare. Emma is a skilled writer and has seen multiple successes across all sectors she has worked in. Her experience working across multiple sectors has resulted in a wealth of knowledge surrounding public sector tenders. Today, we sit down to pick Emma’s brain to find out what makes a Bid Writer tick. Below are some questions we asked Emma along with her responses:
Q1. As far as public sector tenders in the UK go, what is the most difficult sector you have come across, and why?
Answer: “Construction. The reason for this is due to the writing requiring a lot of industry-specific technical knowledge and skill. There are many regulations and legislative examples that you need to have in-depth knowledge of in order to develop compliant responses. Generally speaking, other areas of public sector tendering tend to be a lot more straightforward, requiring much more straight forward jobs to be carried out. This is not to discredit other sectors, but construction contracts are often much larger in nature and involve multiple suppliers operating collaboratively under one agreement, usually delivering very technical and high-cost work.”
Q2: What is a current trend in public sector tendering in the UK that SMEs should be aware of?
Answer: “Social value. This is a key consideration, especially when submitting responses to local councils. It is vital that you show how you will contribute to local communities with strong economic partnerships. It goes without saying that a supplier who can showcase what they can bring to local economies will definitely perform better than those that don’t. But what companies need to remember is that this needs to be a promise that is within reason and of course, deliverable. It is no good stating that you will hire 45 people within a ten-mile radius of the contract when you haven’t got the means to actually deliver this. Tendering holds no place for fantasy, keep your promises tangible and doable.
Another trend I am noticing within public sector tendering in the UK is ethical supply chain management. Now although this is usually geared towards larger conglomerates if SMEs showcase that they have strong supply chain management processes in place they will definitely stand in better stead than their competitors. Just because something is not a specific requirement does not mean you shouldn’t have this in place. Where reasonably achievable, going above and beyond is crucial in public sector tendering in the UK.”
Q3: What advice would you give someone who is new to tendering and looking to get their foot in the ladder?
Answer: “Contact your local councils, ask about second-tier opportunities and subcontracting opportunities. Ask your local councils about large frameworks they have in your sector and ask if they need any additional subcontractor SMEs for additional assistance. This will help you get contractual experience which is absolutely essential when tendering in the UK. 99% of buyers want to see what experience you have before even considering your tender responses. Spending days on end developing detailed responses can be a waste of time if you have no experience to back them up.
Also, get your policies together, before you need them. Look at what accreditations you can be working towards, such as ISO 9001. Whilst this may not be a requirement for all tenders, this isn’t to say it won’t help. Internal research has shown that 60% of public sector tenders in the UK we have worked upon require you to have this or at least have this in place prior to contract commencement.”
Q 4. Are there any technologies you would recommend businesses invest in which will help strengthen their tendering efforts?
Answer: “Software can undoubtedly be beneficial for many companies when developing responses to public sector tenders in the UK. Whether we like it or not, technology is a massive part of everyone’s lives today, whether that be in our social life or working lives. Tendering is no different. Often times, buyers will request that you outline what software you use, and this is usually with reference to evidencing the completion of work in a remote fashion. In the facilities sector, this is very big.
For example, manned guarding and cleaning companies will definitely benefit from investment in software, not just with reference to tendering, but as a business on the whole. For example, in manned guarding and cleaning ECM systems such as Servicetrac can be massively beneficial, not just with regard to your internal processes, but also with reference to your tendering efforts.”
Q 5. Emma, you write a lot of facilities tenders. Are there any common trends you are seeing consistent throughout this sector?
Answer: “Although its important across multiple sectors, a consistently vital trend for businesses which fall within the facilities sector is being able to substantiate your claims that your company complies with all relevant legislation and regulations. For example, within cleaning it is not sufficient to say you simply provide Health and Safety training, more and more suppliers are being expected to provide evidence of this, which can be in the form of thing such as Health and Safety policy, Sample training logs, sample method statements, or similar.
Tendering is certainly coming to rely more heavily on evidence within the facilities sector, which is why ensuring your policies and company literature is in place is vital in ensuring that you do not waste your time and efforts from the initial stage.”
To summarise, Emma concluded:
- “Bid Management is always important when tendering, but when it comes to public sector tendering you need to ensure that all bases are covered before you start.”
- “Ensuring that your policies and company literature in place before you start writing responses is one of the best timesaving exercises you can undertake.”
- “Look at meaningful ways you can tangibly bring social value to the contracts you are tendering for; this is emerging as an increasingly important part of public sector tendering, and refining your approach to this now will get you ahead of the game in the near future.”
Further Support
If you require any further assistance regarding all things tendering, then get in touch with our bid writing consultants today. Here at Hudson Succeed, we have also developed the world’s first virtual learning environment regarding all things tendering, Tender VLE, which provides tendering advice and consultancy to businesses across the globe.
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