Everything you need to know about United Kingdom tenders

When looking for United Kingdom tenders, there are a few things to consider before bidding for any opportunities.

1. Can you deliver the contract?

Before starting your tender response, ask yourself if you’re able to deliver the contract. If you aren’t able to deliver the contract, it’s a waste of money, time and resources. If there is a word/character/page count, it’s there for a reason. You should do your best to meet it. If you can’t meet it, it reflects badly on you. It makes you look lazy and unprofessional, or unqualified for the contract.

2. Do you have the right experience?

When bidding for United Kingdom tenders, you will be asked to provide 2-3 relevant case studies. The buyer wants to see previous examples from similar projects. Your examples should be relevant to the tender you’re bidding for. For example, if the tender is plumbing and your only experience is tiling, you won’t win the bid. The buyer wants to know how you dealt with challenges you were faced with in the past. You should back up your points with evidence.

3. Can you provide a competitive quote?

When tendering for work, you need to consider the cost of your products/services. Your pricing should be fair, accurate and competitive. Pricing your products/services too low, may result in the buyer questioning your legitimacy. If you price too high, the buyer will choose a cheaper bidder.

Where can you find United Kingdom tenders?

We appreciate it can be time-consuming trying to source tendering opportunities. Our service makes this process a lot easier. Hudson Discover houses 11 sector-specific tendering portals.

• Creative Tenders
• Construction Tenders
• Healthcare Tenders
• Facilities Tenders
• Logistics Tenders
• Research Tenders
• Technology Tenders
• Consultancy Tenders
• HR Tenders
• Hospitality Tenders
• Finance Tenders

The opportunities are manually sourced each day and uploaded to the portal. The portals are easy to use and have a unique filtering system making it easier to search for tenders.

How to prepare for bidding

Now you know where to find United Kingdom tenders and what to consider, it’s time to prepare. Preparation is key before you start bidding. Here are our top four tips:

Read the documents

There is a lot of information to digest when going out to tender. It can be overwhelming trying to understand all the information in front of you. Breaking down the documents can make the tender process a lot easier. Although it can be very time-consuming, it’s important that you do it.

Find the right opportunities

Whilst you know where to find the opportunities, it’s important you bid for ones that are right for you. There are thousands of United Kingdom tenders out there across all sectors, but they won’t all be suitable for you. Ask yourself the following questions when looking for tenders:

• Will the contract help my business?
• Can my business afford to spend money, time and resources on the bid?
• How does the contract fit in with my business strategy?
• Do I have the right experience?
• Do I meet the requirements?

Make a plan

Making a plan is a sensible idea when tendering for work. It will give you a better idea of how you plan to answer each question. It will also help you manage your time better as the tender process can be very time-consuming.

Follow tender instructions

Our final tip to prepare bidding for United Kingdom Tenders is to follow the instructions the buyer has set out. They are there for a reason. If you choose to ignore them, you could lose marks.

We’re here to help you

Hudson Succeed

Hudson Succeed is our bid writing division, offering services and support to businesses of all sizes. Our Bid Writing Team has over 60 years of collective experience and proudly hold an 87% success rate.

Our tender writing services gives organisations of all sizes, at various stages of growth, a chance to succeed with tendering. Hudson Succeed can help if you’re completely new to tendering or aren’t seeing success from your current efforts.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender response and want someone to double-check it for errors, then Tender Mentor is for you. One of our Bid Writers will proofread it for any grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also check it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender for your business, but don’t know where to start – send it our way. Our Bid Team will take care of it all for you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll let you know what they need from you and even submit it on your behalf!

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who are completely new to the tendering process. This programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully. The programme also includes bid writing support and a 12-month Discover subscription to a portal of your choice.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve already been tendering for work, but aren’t seeing success, our Tender Improvementprogramme can help. During the course of the programme, our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll then give you feedback and guidance on how to improve.

Both Tender Ready, and Tender Improvement offer:

• A 12-month subscription to the sector-specific portal of your choice.
• Access to our Global Bid Director and Senior Bidding Professionals with 60 years of bidding experience.
• A dedicated Bid Consultant with the programme, lasting up to three months.
• The development of an organisation-wide bid library. This includes 3 case studies, 5 company CVs and 8 policies.

The business landscape has changed drastically over the last year. As a business development consultancy, we believe it’s crucial to offer businesses sustainable solutions for expansion. That has never been more appropriate than it is today.

Contact us for more information.