The Recycler Issue 317

FEATURE
LOVE ME TENDER:
Government tenders, what they are, and how your
company can take advantage
With issues like the EU’s Green Public Procurement criteria, and the continuing concern over the future of the
environment, beginning to dominate the headlines, The Recycler’s Owen Collins takes a look at the thorny issue
of government tenders, how to make the most of them, and both the problems and opportunities that they present.
What is a government tender?
It may sound like an obvious question,
but to make sure you and your
company are taking full advantage of
the opportunities of government
tenders, you need to make sure you
know what exactly they are, and what
they constitute.
Governments – whether at a
national level, local level, or
somewhere in between – regularly put
the supply of goods or services out
to tender; i.e. inviting private
companies or businesses to bid for the
supply contract.
The goods or services put out to
tender by governments can vary
extensively, ranging from massive
tenders like major construction
projects, to smaller tenders such as
office supplies – including, crucially,
printer consumables.
The first step, as a business bidding
for such a government tender, is to
conduct research in order to find out
who the relevant purchasing agency is.
Once you have done this, you can
begin to register your interest with
them. As well as being a statement of
intent from your business, it will also
offer the dual advantage of helping you
keep up to date with any further
information that is released on the
tender (or indeed, other tenders in the
future).
It’s not unusual for a public body
to run certain tender information
sessions, at which point the
purchasing agency will reveal more
details about the tender in question.
It’s a great idea to attend as many
tender information sessions as possible,
as they represent a worthwhile
opportunity to make further contact
with the agency itself and ask any
burning questions. Sessions like this
also provide a chance to meet with
other parties interested in the tenders,
and therefore a chance to network
with potential partners in a
consortium – even if not, they can be a
useful exercise in knowing who you are
competing against.
It’s also worth remembering
that many governments and their
respective agencies are not obliged to
make any information or presentations
featured at these sessions available
elsewhere, so they are worth attending
wherever possible, if your company is
serious about securing government
tenders.
The next key step for a business
bidding on government tenders is to
develop a tender response strategy inhouse.
It’s crucial to carefully consider
the requirements of the tender, and the
expenditure of resources involved in
winning it.
There are perhaps seven primary
questions to ask of yourself as you
prepare to submit a response to the
tender: How much will it cost to
prepare (making sure you can afford
this is important, for obvious reasons);
what information is it necessary to
gather in preparation (this is where
attending information sessions can
prove helpful); what resources will be
needed to fulfil the contract, if won;
what staff will manage and oversee the
tender project; how the workload will
be handled, in terms of planning,
scheduling, and assignment; who else
is competing for the same tender, and
by extension, what are your chances of
being successful; and what plan do you
have to market your products or
services, and ensure a successful pitch.
With the answers to these questions
in mind, you can begin writing your
response. Additionally, it’s good to bear
in mind some other fundamental rules
– foremost, do not bid if you conclude
that you can’t deliver. It would be
disastrous for your company, both in
the short term, and in regaining trust
in the long term. Similarly, good advice
is to not bid for too many tender
opportunities at once, as it could dilute
the strength of your bids, and leave
4 THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 317 • APRIL 2019