Top Tips for Navigating Facilities Management Tenders

Posted on 26th December 202429th November 2024 by John Hudson

The facilities management (FM) industry is a cornerstone of smooth and efficient business operations, encompassing services like cleaning, maintenance, security, and more. Winning FM tenders can open doors to significant opportunities, but the process is often complex and highly competitive. This guide will provide actionable insights and practical tips to help your business navigate FM tenders effectively and stand out from the competition.

1. Understand the Scope of Facilities Management Tenders

What Are Facilities Management Tenders?

Facilities management tenders are opportunities to bid for contracts that provide integrated or specialized services, such as:

Hard FM Services: Maintenance, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical work.
Soft FM Services: Cleaning, security, waste management, and catering.
Total Facilities Management (TFM): Comprehensive management of all FM services.

Who Issues FM Tenders?

Public Sector: Local councils, NHS trusts, schools, and universities.
Private Sector: Corporations, property developers, and retail chains.
Facilities Management Companies: Larger firms outsourcing specific tasks.

2. Research Is Key

Find the Right Opportunities

Use Specialist Platforms: Sign-up to Facilities Tenders for tailored FM tender alerts
Monitor Public Procurement Portals: Platforms like Contracts Finder and Find a Tender Service in the UK.
Stay Proactive: Build relationships with procurement teams and monitor industry news for upcoming opportunities.

Understand the Client’s Needs

Study the tender documentation thoroughly, including specifications, evaluation criteria, and contract terms.
Research the issuing organization to align your proposal with their goals and values.

3. Crafting a Winning Bid

Tailor Your Response

One-size-fits-all bids rarely succeed. Customize your proposal to address the specific requirements of the tender, focusing on how your solution meets their objectives.

Highlight Your Expertise

Showcase relevant experience, certifications (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 14001), and accreditations.
Include case studies of similar projects to demonstrate proven success.

Detail Your Value Proposition

Emphasize cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and added value.
Offer innovative solutions, such as sustainability initiatives or smart technology integration.

Focus on Compliance

Adhere to all health and safety regulations, including COSHH and risk assessments.
Ensure your insurance and certifications are up to date.

4. Price Strategically

Provide a transparent and competitive pricing structure, breaking down costs for clarity.
Avoid underpricing, which can raise concerns about your capability to deliver.
Include optional services to demonstrate flexibility and potential for upselling.

5. Key Components of a Successful FM Tender Response

Executive Summary: A concise overview of your proposal and key benefits.
Methodology: A step-by-step explanation of how you’ll deliver the required services.
Risk Management Plan: Address potential challenges and your strategies for mitigating them.
Innovation and Sustainability: Detail how your solutions support long-term goals, such as energy efficiency or reduced waste.

6. Tools and Resources for Tender Success

Bid Tracking Platforms: Use Facilities Tenders to track relevant FM tenders and deadlines.
Proposal Templates: Standardize your responses for efficiency but leave room for customization.
Tender Review Services: Partner with bid writing experts to ensure your proposal is polished and compelling.

7. Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ignoring Evaluation Criteria: Ensure your proposal directly addresses the scoring metrics.
Submitting Late: Plan ahead to avoid missing deadlines.
Lack of Clarity: Use clear and professional language, avoiding jargon or vague statements.

8. Success Stories in Facilities Management Tenders

Highlight businesses that have successfully navigated FM tenders with platforms like Facilities Tenders. Share their strategies, challenges, and outcomes to inspire and motivate your readers.

Conclusion

Securing facilities management tenders can propel your business to new heights, but success requires preparation, precision, and persistence. By understanding client needs, crafting a tailored response, and leveraging tools like Facilities Tenders, your business can thrive in the competitive FM tendering landscape.

Start your journey to winning FM tenders today! Sign up at Facilities Tenders for expert tender alerts and resources.

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We track opportunities for the following sub-sectors:

Common Pitfalls in Manned Guarding Tenders and How to Avoid Them

Posted on 25th December 202429th November 2024 by John Hudson

The security industry, particularly manned guarding, is highly competitive. Winning tenders requires a meticulous approach, balancing cost-effectiveness with quality service delivery. However, many companies fall into common traps that can jeopardize their bids. This guide identifies these pitfalls and offers actionable advice to help your business succeed in securing manned guarding contracts.

1. Overlooking Tender Requirements

The Pitfall:

Failure to fully understand and comply with the tender’s requirements can result in disqualification. Many companies rush through the documentation, missing critical details such as mandatory accreditations or service specifications.

How to Avoid It:

Thoroughly Read the Tender: Analyze the Request for Proposal (RFP) or Invitation to Tender (ITT) document in detail.
Create a Compliance Checklist: Ensure you meet all the mandatory requirements before submitting your bid.
Ask Clarification Questions: Don’t hesitate to contact the issuing authority if you need further information.

2. Inadequate Focus on Security Standards

The Pitfall:

Neglecting to highlight your adherence to industry standards like the Security Industry Authority (SIA) licensing or ISO certifications can raise red flags with evaluators.

How to Avoid It:

Demonstrate Compliance: Clearly state your SIA accreditation, ISO certifications (e.g., ISO 9001 for quality management), and any other relevant standards.
Highlight Training Programs: Detail the training your guards receive, such as conflict resolution, emergency response, or customer service.
Showcase Proven Track Records: Provide case studies of past projects where high standards were maintained.

3. Over- or Under-Pricing the Bid

The Pitfall:

Submitting a bid that is either too high or unrealistically low can harm your chances. Overpricing suggests inefficiency, while underpricing raises concerns about quality and sustainability.

How to Avoid It:

Benchmark Pricing: Research market rates to ensure your pricing is competitive yet realistic.
Transparent Cost Breakdown: Provide a detailed breakdown of costs, including labor, equipment, and overheads.
Value for Money: Highlight added value services, such as advanced reporting tools or customer portals.

4. Neglecting the Importance of a Method Statement

The Pitfall:

Failing to provide a clear and detailed method statement can make your bid appear unorganized or incomplete.

How to Avoid It:

Outline Your Approach: Clearly describe how you’ll deliver the service, from recruitment to operational management.
Address Challenges: Anticipate potential challenges (e.g., high turnover rates) and explain your strategies to mitigate them.
Include Innovation: Highlight any unique technology or processes, such as real-time incident reporting apps.

5. Ignoring Health and Safety

The Pitfall:

Underestimating the importance of health and safety measures can lead to disqualification, especially for high-risk guarding roles.

How to Avoid It:

Risk Assessments: Include detailed risk assessments tailored to the client’s requirements.
Training Programs: Emphasize regular health and safety training for your team.
Emergency Protocols: Outline your response plans for incidents like fire, medical emergencies, or security breaches.

6. Poor Presentation of the Bid

The Pitfall:

A poorly structured or visually unappealing bid can create a negative impression, even if the content is strong.

How to Avoid It:

Follow the Prescribed Format: Adhere to any specific format requested in the tender.
Use Professional Design: Include branding, clear headings, and concise content.
Proofread and Review: Eliminate typos and ensure all information is accurate and complete.

7. Failing to Address Evaluation Criteria

The Pitfall:

Overlooking the evaluation criteria can result in missed opportunities to score higher.

How to Avoid It:

Focus on Weighting: Pay attention to sections with higher weighting in the scoring matrix.
Provide Evidence: Use data, testimonials, and case studies to back up your claims.
Tailor Your Response: Avoid generic answers; customize your bid to align with the client’s specific needs.

8. Missing Deadlines

The Pitfall:

Late submissions, even by a few minutes, are typically rejected without consideration.

How to Avoid It:

Plan Ahead: Create a timeline for preparing your bid, including review and approval stages.
Utilize Technology: Use tools like Facilities Tenders to track deadlines and receive reminders.
Submit Early: Aim to complete and submit your bid well before the deadline.

9. Lack of Differentiation

The Pitfall:

Blending in with competitors by offering the same standard services can make your bid forgettable.

How to Avoid It:

Highlight Unique Selling Points (USPs): Showcase what sets your services apart, such as technology, staff training, or customer service.
Innovative Solutions: Propose creative strategies that add value, like integrating AI-powered surveillance.
Client-Centric Approach: Tailor your proposal to address specific client concerns and goals.

Conclusion

Navigating manned guarding tenders is challenging, but avoiding these common pitfalls can significantly improve your chances of success. By understanding the requirements, pricing competitively, and emphasizing your strengths, you can stand out in a crowded market.

Take the first step toward winning manned guarding tenders with expert support! Visit Facilities Tenders to find tailored opportunities and resources to elevate your bidding strategy.

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We track opportunities for the following sub-sectors:

Horticulture and Landscaping Tenders: The Secrets to Success

Posted on 12th August 202210th August 2022 by John Hudson

Looking for tips on finding and winning horticulture and landscaping tenders? Here’s 4 secrets from the experts!

Got questions about horticulture and landscaping tenders? Welcome to Facilities Tenders! Here, we have plenty of answers to some of the many questions you likely have. Want to know where to find horticulture and landscaping tenders? Perhaps you want to learn how to win these and write winning proposals. Luckily, you’re in the right place! Read on to learn more…

What are horticulture and landscaping tenders?

For those completely new to horticulture and landscaping tenders, here’s what they are.

Tenders for horticulture and landscaping works are contracts which organisations can bid for. A buyer may require certain landscaping work that they cannot deliver themselves. So, they will outsource to another company/individual.

Various suppliers can bid for the contract, and the buyer will select the most suitable candidate. The suppliers must provide a bid proposal expressing why they are the most suitable for the contract.

Where can you find horticulture and landscaping tenders?

If you are looking for horticulture and landscaping tenders, then you’re in the right place. As part of Hudson Discover, Facilities Tenders is one of 11 sector-specific portals.

These portals are designed to make the tendering process as easy as possible. As you may have found by now, it’s hard to find the perfect horticulture and landscaping tenders. Using a search engine such as Google will bring up countless results. It’ll be a challenge navigating so many sites. Plus, you’ll have to read lengthy tender documents to find out if the contract is suitable for you. This takes up a lot of time! But there are easier ways.

Our portals allow you to use filters to find select tenders that are suitable for your business. You can see tenders based on keywords, budget, location, and deadline. This way, you can instantly see if a contract is right for you.

Here’s some examples of the horticulture and landscaping tenders we source on our portals:

Rural Stirling H.A. Grounds Maintenance Framework 2022-2026

Rural Stirling Housing Association Ltd – Scotland – Budget: £150,000

Provision & Maintenance of Floral Arrangements

Neston Town Council – North West – Budget: £20,000

Pear Tree Fields Planting

Badsey & Aldington Parish Council – West Midlands – Budget: £40,000

Northern Boundary Tree Planting

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority – South East – Budget: £50,000

Grounds Maintenance for Poringland Parish Council

Poringland Parish Council – Eastern – Budget: £12,500

We also track opportunities for the following sub-sectors:

Book a free live demo today to learn how we can grow your business!

Want to save even more time?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to identify tender opportunities – even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for garden maintenance tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers your business:

An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Facilities and Logistics, for example.
A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid strategy.
Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities

How can you win horticulture and landscaping tenders?

To win horticulture and landscaping tenders, there are certain secrets you should know. We sat down with some professional Bid Writers from Hudson Succeed to see how they win tenders.

1. Don’t submit your proposal after the deadline

Deadlines for tenders are extremely strict. If you submit your bid even a minute late, you won’t be considered. It is best to use bid management skills to stay organised and on track with your bids. This way, you’ll avoid any last-minute delays and issues. These can be incredibly stressful and can cost you all your time and hard work! Don’t risk everything by being unprepared.

2. Don’t use technical jargon

The buyer will likely not be familiar with your industry. So, don’t use any technical jargon that they are unlikely to understand. This will confuse them, and they’ll not understand the important and useful parts of your proposal.

3. Stick to the word count

Part of writing a tender is showcasing that you can follow instructions and a brief. So, make sure you stick to any given word count for your answers. If you don’t, you are showing the buyer they cannot trust you to carry out tasks.

4. Make your proposal simple and easy to read

For our last tip on winning horticulture and landscaping tenders, make sure your bid is easy to read. The buyer doesn’t want to read a load of waffle about irrelevant points. They want you to answer their questions. Stick to this task and ensure it is easy to engage them. Otherwise, you’ll easily be forgotten and won’t stand out against competitors.

Summary

What are horticulture and landscaping tenders?

Horticulture and landscaping tenders are contracts which organisations can bid on to carry out certain works.

You can find opportunities via our Facilities Tenders portal.

How can you win horticulture and landscaping tenders?

Don’t submit your proposal after the deadline
Don’t use technical jargon
Stick to the word count
Make your proposal simple and easy to read.

Need assistance with bidding for horticulture and landscaping tenders? We can help with that too!

You may not have the time or resources in house to write a winning tender response in house. Outsourcing to tender writing specialists can help you secure your next contract.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, provide four levels of bid writing support services. Our Bid Writers have over 60 years of collective bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. Whether you’re new to tendering or need your response proofread – we can help.

Tender Ready

Tender Ready is the perfect programme for those who are completely new to tendering. You’ll have access to an expert Bid Consultant to answer any questions that you may have.

Tender Improvement

If you have already been applying for tenders but aren’t seeing success our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Writers will go over your previous submissions and provide feedback and guidance.

Tender Writing

Have you found the perfect courier delivery contract for your business but are struggling to start? Send it over to our Bid Writing team and they can write the whole response for you. If you use our Tender Writing service, they’ll even submit it on your behalf!

Tender Mentor

Our Bid Writers can look over a bid response you’ve already written, checking it for errors before you submit. Sometimes you just need another pair of eyes to go over your response and our Tender Mentor service can help.

How to Bid on HVAC Service Contracts: 5 things to consider

Posted on 26th July 202112th July 2022 by John Hudson

Everything you need to know about how to bid on HVAC Service Contracts

Do you need some help with how to bid for HVAC service contracts?

What should I include in my HVAC service contract?

If you’re learning how to bid on HVAC Service contracts, you’ll be wondering what to include in your response. Here’s what the buyer is looking for:

Business details
Service definitions
Pricing
Service modifications
Governance
Date and signature

5 things to consider

Now we can look at what you need to remember when it comes to bidding for HVAC service contracts. Here are 5 things to consider when bidding for HVAC contracts:

Certifications

The first point of contact you make with the buyer will be the bid. Demonstrate as many signs of credibility as possible. List all the certifications and accreditations you have gained. The more qualifications you have, the more reputable and experienced you will appear to the buyer.

Time management

There are many deadlines throughout the duration of the tendering process. Be sure to note down deadline date or stay updated for any changes. It may affect your timings, register for notifications so you be alerted of any changes. Submitting your response or turning up to any pre-bid meetings late doesn’t look good for you. It will give the impression that you’re lazy and unprofessional and could cost you the bid.

Pricing

When it comes to pricing, you’ll need to figure to figure the following:

What materials will you need?
How long will it take to install and test the equipment?
Will you need to obtain any permits?
Will you need to meet any building inspectors at the site?

All these factors will contribute what you are planning to charge for your services. Remember, if you price too low, the buyer may question your legitimacy. Being the lowest bidder doesn’t always win you the contracts. However, if you price too high, the buyer will just opt for a cheaper bidder. Price your services just right.

Create added value

There are going to be a lot of people bidding for the same contract. Show the buyer what you can bring to the table that your competitors can’t. Make your response stand out and demonstrate why you’re the best for the job.

Your response should provide social value. This is how your service can ehance the community you’re working in such as:

Creating new jobs and promoting skills;
Encouraging economic growth;
Supporting COVID-19 recovery;
Tackling climate change, and;

Submitting the bid

The final thing to consider when it comes to how to bid for HVAC service contracts is submitting it. Be sure to follow any submission guidelines the buyer has listed. If you ignore the buyer’s instructions, you may lose marks or have your bid disqualified.

Below are some HVAC services tenders sourced on our portal:

200048 – 031 Replacement HVAC – Expressions of Interest

Public Health England – South West – Budget: Undisclosed

COVID 19 MITIGATION FOR THE HEATING VENTILATION AND AIR CONDITIONING (HVAC) AT HQ, SAFESIDE AND HAYMIILS FIRE STATION

West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority – West Midlands Budget: £220k

GB-Eastbourne: HVAC Controls DGH Phase 2

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust – South East Budget: £100k

GB-York: HVAC and Air Conditioning Planned Maintenance ITT

York St John University – Yorkshire and Humber Budget: £500k

HVAC Maintenance Services

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine – London Budget: £750k

Where to find HVAC Service Contracts?

A subscription to Facilities Tenders offers your business:

Access to all exclusive, public and private sector opportunities within the facilities management industry.
An on-hand Account Manager is available to answer any questions you may have about HVAC tenders. They can help you understand the procurement process and answer any questions you have about the tendering process in general.
A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new, sector-specific opportunities are uploaded.
Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants each month.

We also track opportunities for the following sub-sectors:

Book a free live demo today to learn how we can grow your business!

Want to save even more time?

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers your business:

An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Facilities and Logistics, for example.
A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid strategy.
Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities

Need assistance with how to bid for HVAC service contracts?

You may not have the time or resources in house to write a winning tender response in house. Outsourcing to tender writing specialists can help you secure your next contract.

Tender Ready

Tender Ready is the perfect programme for those who are completely new to tendering. You’ll have access to an expert Bid Consultant to answer any questions that you may have. You’ll also get a year’s subscription to our Logistics Tenders portal.

Tender Improvement

Tender Writing

Tender Mentor

The Ultimate Guide to Lift Tenders

Posted on 11th February 202113th July 2022 by John Hudson

How to succeed when writing lift tenders

Lift tenders are published in both the public and private sectors. The lift installations and maintenance industry is a competitive one. Lift tendering opportunities can range in scale from universities, apartment complexes to shopping centres.

The lift industry can have many lucrative opportunities. A recent example is that of an HS2 lift and escalator contract last year (2020). Five bidders were invited to tender for the design, delivery and maintenance of almost 300 lifts and escalators. The work is to be carried out in four major new stations. The lift contract was worth up to £267 million and the winners placed onto a framework.

What type of lift services are buyers looking to procure?

Examples of the type of lift tenders that are put out are for the procurement of lift:

Repair
Maintenance
Servicing
Installation

You may have already been tendering or might be completely new to the process. Either way, there are some things you need to consider in order to succeed when writing lift tenders.

Case Studies

Having a bank of reliable past examples of contracts, you’ve fulfilled is key. A buyer may require 2 – 3 past case studies from previous work your company has carried out. You will likely be asked to provide works contracts examples from within the last three to five years. Your examples may need to include the following details:

A description of the goods, service or works delivered.
Contract value and dates.
Previous customer details.
Methodology and timescale.
Approach to the project.
Details of where you have been able to demonstrate added value through the adoption of innovative solutions.

Applicable British Standard and Qualifications

When completing an ITT for lift tenders, the buyer will likely require you to state any applicable accreditations and qualifications. This, understandably, is because they want to be reassured that you’re adequately qualified for the job and have enough experience. Some examples of relevant British Standard qualifications, accreditations and policies you may need are:

BS EN 13015:2001 + A1:2008 – Maintenance for lifts and escalators – rules for maintenance.
BS 5656-1:2013 – Safety rules for the Construction and Installation of Escalators and Passenger Conveyors.
BS EN8120 – requirements relating to general access and safety.
BS EN8128 – requirements for installing, testing and designing alarm and communication systems.
BS EN8150 – requirements for test and examination of certain lift components.
BS EN8158 – requirements for door and car fire resistance.
BS EN8170 – requirements access for people with disabilities.
BS EN8173 – requirements for the behaviour of lifts in the event of fire.
SAFed Lift Guidelines
ISO 9001
CHAS
RIDDOR

Buyers will want to be confident that the work you’re providing is to the highest health and safety standards. Specific health and safety questions could ask how you handle risk and keep up to date with the new guidance. You need to convey that everything you do regarding health and safety is aligned with best practice.

Economic and financial standing

Your economic financial standing is typically assessed at the PQQ stage. It’s one of two ways the contractor assesses the suitability of the supplier. The other is via the technical and professional capability of your business. Your economic financial standing is assessed on three factors:

Annual turnover

For this, you usually need to attach your most recent audited accounts.

Financial ratios

Your financial ratios are usually found in your accounts. They may include the ratio of your assets to liabilities for example, quick ratios and acid tests.

Insurance

You usually need to attach your insurance documents.

When looking through multiple lift tenders, you may be wondering if your turnover is good enough. If the turnover threshold isn’t stated within the specification there’s a way you can easily calculate it yourself. Generally, it’s unadvised to bid for work that is more than half your annual turnover. For example, if you turn over £150k, we advise bidding for tenders with a maximum budget of £75k.

Assess your competition

As with any tender, you need to consider your competition. You need to persuade the buyer that you’re the best company for the job. What will you do that your competitors won’t? Do you have a unique selling point? Do you use any innovative solutions or have a particular environmental or sustainability edge?

When assessing your competition, it’s hard not to compare price. You need to remember not to undercut yourself when pricing your services. The cheapest bid doesn’t always win – especially in the public sector where the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) wins.

The MEAT allows the buyer to award the contract based on aspects other than just price. These can include:

Accessibility
Innovation
Quality
Technical Ability
Environmental benefits
Customer Service
Ability to deliver on time
Proposed design

Make life easier for the buyer and keep your response concise

Buyers may have hundreds of lift tenders to go through depending on the size of the procurement. You’ll want to get into their good books, and you can do this by making their life easier. When writing your response, be clear and concise and clearly highlight your conformance with the specification. For example:

Use headings and subheadings that breakdown the question.
Don’t allow the buyer to make any assumptions. If you leave room for assumptions, they could make the wrong assumptions losing you valuable marks. Carefully explain your approach to the work at hand.
Don’t use filler or fluffy words. Why use three or four words when you can just as well use one. For example, instead of saying “Here at Lift Company Ltd” say “we”.
Try and get to as close to the word or page count as possible. It’s there for a reason. If a buyer thinks the answer deserves a 500-word response, don’t just write two sentences.

Where can I find lift tenders?

Good question. Lift tenders are uploaded by hundreds of buyers to many different portals across the UK. Live tenders are uploaded to multiple portals day by day. So, searching for the right opportunity for your business can turn into a full-time job!

Usually, tenders are uploaded and tagged with a CPV code. These tend to be unreliable and you could end up missing out the perfect opportunity for your business. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search for the latest public and private sector opportunities. They then upload them to our Facilities Tenders portal where you can filter the results. You can find a tender that suits your needs by keyword, budget, location and more.

Here are some past examples of lift tenders we have sourced:

Rivers House, Bridgwater – Passenger Lifts

Environment Agency- South West- Budget: £70,000

05-01-2021

Refurbishment of a Bed Passenger Lift

Health Service Executive (HSE)- International- Budget: Undisclosed

18-09-2020

Riverside House – Passenger Lifts

LGSS- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

17-08-2020

Full Replacement of Single Drive Passenger Lift

Salvation Army Housing Association- Yorkshire and Humber- Budget: Undisclosed

02-10-2020

Contract for the Provision of Servicing and Maintenance of Lifts and Hoists

Cheshire East Borough Council- North West- Budget: £500,000

30-12-2020

Hopefully, this guide to lift tenders has given you some food for thought. But, if you’re still struggling with what to write for your next lift maintenance bid, we can help. We offer four bid writing services to help you succeed with you next bid.

Bid writing services

Our Bid Writers at Hudson Succeed have an 87% success rate and over 50 years of bidding experience. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or want to improve your current bid, they can support you. Our services include:

Tender Mentor

Our Bid Writers will take a look at a lift tender response you’ve already written. They’ll then provide you with some feedback and notify you of any errors before you submit.

Tender Writing

Have you found the perfect lift tender, but don’t know where to start with your response? You can send it over to one of our Bid Writers and they’ll handle it all for you. They’ll even submit it on your behalf! This allows you time to focus on running your business. They will provide you with a full tender writing breakdown and let you know if they need anything from you.

Tender Improvement

Our Tender Improvement package can help if you’re submitting lift tenders but aren’t seeing results. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous tendering responses and supporting documents. They’ll then provide you with guidance and recommendations on how you can improve.

Tender Ready

The Tender Ready package is for those who are completely new to the tendering process. You’ll have access to an expert Bid Consultant and a 12-month subscription to our Facilities Tenders portal.

Join Facilities Tenders

At Facilities Tenders, we source sector-specific tenders on a daily basis from thousands of buyers, across the UK.

We’ll send you daily alerts when new tenders are released. You’ll have 24-hour access to our portal, and a dedicated Account Manager on hand to help.

We also track opportunities for the following sub-sectors:

Book a free live demo today to learn how we can grow your business!

Facilities Management Tendering Doesn’t Need To Be Complicated!

Posted on 19th April 201814th February 2022 by John Hudson

Facilities Management Tendering doesn’t need to be complicated

We’ll repeat … Facilities Management Tendering – DOES NOT NEED TO BE COMPLICATED!

There are many factors to why people assume tendering is overly-complicated. This is usually down to the amount of time it takes to complete and how mundane the process is. Yes – there may be 5000 pages of specification but hey … who doesn’t love a bit of light reading!

The three things you MUST possess when tendering is PERSISTENCE, PLANNING & POSITIVITY!

Let’s get past the moaning and downtrodden attitude to how ‘complicated’ tendering is and break the process down to show how easy it actually is!

In order to de-complicate the situation – let’s look at a few things that are deemed complicated when tendering. This includes:

1. Terminology – Facilities Management Tendering

The number of abbreviations flying around is becoming increasingly common in the procurement world. Terms like RFQs, ITTs, PQQs, DPS, and RFPs seems like they are only used to confuse us into a state of literary decline. Let’s simplify:

PQQ	Pre-qualification questionnaire – this is usually a stage-1 questionnaire asking about specific company details like insurance and similar contracts you’ve worked on etc., along with simple ‘yes and no’ questions making sure you’re not fraudulent and you pay your taxes etc.
ITT	Invitation to Tender – we can sometimes forget out the PQQ and jump straight into an ITT, which is usually where your quality and costing ratio comes in. This is where you price the job at hand and answer several technical questions about your ability to undergo the work in accordance with usually detailed specification/scopes of work.
RFP	Request for Proposal – very similar to an ITT where cost and quality are assessed however RFPs are used in situations where the client either can’t – or doesn’t want to – define the scope of work up front to an adequate level of detail, meaning you need to be very descriptive and state a clear proposal to what’s needed.
RFQ	Request for Quotation – The RFQ is a lot like the Tender, however typically smaller in size and scope. They’re often more geared towards clients who are seeking pricing information for a defined scope of work or supply of materials or equipment. Detailed proposals are typically less often sought here.
Framework	A Framework Agreement is an agreement between one or more businesses or organisations. If you enter into a framework agreement, usually you will be one of many suppliers contractually bound to deliver against buyer requirements.
DPS	Dynamic Purchasing System – A DPS is similar to an electronic framework agreement, with two exceptions, new suppliers can join at any time and it is to be run as a completely electronic process. DPS is used exclusively by public sector organisations and can be considered as a ‘competitive supply chain’, where all chosen supply chain members regularly compete for work via ITTs and RFQs.

2. Opportunities

These are extremely broad with hundreds upon hundreds of opportunities released daily! Customers tend to wish to have one main platform to source the most relevant opportunities to grow their business. Wouldn’t that be great? Currently, opportunities are typically shared through typically problematic electronic algorithms across multiple platforms, either showing you irrelevant opportunities or no opportunities at all.

Keeping it simple – sign up with our industry-specific portals via Hudson Discover to receive daily opportunities, sourced from the hundreds of UK tender portals. These are manually searched and published on a daily basis by a team of procurement-based staff, not computers. We are the first company to do this and the feedback we have is out of this world

3. Portals

There are thousands of online platforms, websites and communication systems that are evident across UK procurement. Some portals are outdated, complex and an all-around pain to navigate. Our team have used them all! Just make sure you know your key focus areas and process-knowledge for each website – these are working your way around:

Downloading all tender information;
Asking/monitoring clarification questions from other suppliers/the buyer;
Submitting the tender;

Every website should have a ‘help’ section – don’t be afraid to use it and/or contact the people who run it.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was one platform for everything? For every industry? For every buyer? WATCH THIS SPACE– we are working with national professionals to work on a user-friendly, affordable and globally accessible platform to condense UK procurement in a one-stop-shop fashion.

4. Writing

Not everyone can write in an engaging, concise and straightforward manner. It’s easy telling people what you do, but to put that on paper in a professional way, covering set criteria, is a major hassle for a lot of business developers. Don’t get stressed with it. Just remember 3 key focus areas when writing a response to any question:

WHAT: what you have done or what you are going to do?
HOW: how you have done this (methodology) or how you are going to do it?
EVIDENCE: hard-hitting proof that you have done it before- experience/ evidence is key!

We offer Bid Writing services, using our procurement experts with over 25 combined years’ experience of writing tenders. Check us out – Tender Consultants.

5. Losing

What is the point of spending all this time on a bid for it to lose and you to go back hating the process, hating the tender and subsequently hating life itself! Don’t fret – USE THE FEEDBACK! If you didn’t win the work because you lack ISO accreditations (for e.g.)– you know what to do! As part of our provision at Tender Consultants, we have a tender readiness programme that you can use to make sure you maintain a good chance of securing key pieces of work.
All procurement-based processes that most people find difficult/complicated are exactly that because of the lack of understanding of key tender-management processes. We will be launching a FREE training environment (Tender VLE) in May 2018, which focuses on everything tender and procurement based, including profound topics that will completely eradicate the notion that tendering and procurement is complicated.

Get in touch to get a part of the action and win various national contracts, with a value range from £500 to £1.4bn.

Below are previous facilities management tenders sourced on our portal:

013-1120T Framework for the Provision of Facilities Management Service

Agri-EPI Centre- Scotland- Budget: Undisclosed

CA8113 – Invitation to Tender Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) system

MSE Group- South East- Budget: Undisclosed

The Provision of Facilities Management Services

London Energy Limited- London- Budget: £7,000,000

Facilities Management Prior Information Notice

Efficiency East Midland Limited- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Facilities Management Services– Oman

The British Council- London- Budget: Undisclosed

Join Facilities Tenders

We track opportunities for the following sub-sectors:

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