Tenders aren't really open - so what's the point?

Most buyers have already decided who they want, so what’s the point?

It’s certainly true that it is much better as a supplier to be in contact with the client before a tender is issued as this gives you chance to influence the content of the tender documents and means that your bid will almost certainly be considered. And sometimes reading through tender documents you can work out who the preferred supplier is – but it is entirely possible for a an ‘outsider’ to make an impact on the process and to win a tender in preference to someone who has been very close to the client in the run up to the process.

Buyers have a duty to operate the procurement process legally and fairly, and most public bodies have a published procurement policy that sets out what they will or won’t do. It’s well worth checking what the policy is before responding to a tender so that you know what the rules are and can act if you think something has not been done correctly.

It’s worth remembering that the people running the procurement process are only human and that the process is difficult and time-consuming for them too. If you can imagine what it would be like to be faced with 100 near identical bid responses to plough through I think you’ll see that buyers will grasp at almost anything that helps them bring the work load down to manageable proportions.

But the fact that buyers are human gives you a great opportunity to find out whether it’s worth your while putting in a response. The tender documents we publish normally give you a named contact who is in charge of the procurement process. Once you’ve read through the documents your next step should be to call this person and try to find out a bit more about what they’re looking for and whether they are interested in bids from smaller companies. Some of the things you may be able to find out include;

• How strict they are being about issues such as ‘must have 3 years accounts ‘ – some will be flexible about this, some won’t
• Whether they are looking for a locally based company to do the work – tenders rarely state this formally but there may be an underlying desire to use local businesses which could work for or against you depending on your location
• Whether they have a size or style of company in mind – it can be difficult to work out from a tender whether a single individual is expected to bid or not, particularly if the value is mid-range, say £30-100k