Suppliers should ensure that their responses are relevant and focused on addressing the questions asked. Generic answers which refer to information within company profiles, brochures or other promotional and/or marketing literature will not gain high marks.

Check the Tender submission date and plan ahead. Submitting a tender often takes longer than you think. Always aim to have your response ready to submit a day or two before the deadline, just to be safe.

Review ALL of the information and decide whether the opportunity is for you.

Do your research. Find out what the contracting authority really needs. What’s important to them? And, most importantly, what will they get from you that they won’t get from anyone else?

Read the specification and requirements carefully and ensure your responses is relevant and focused on addressing the questions asked.

Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. What are they looking for really? What extras could they benefit from that they haven’t specified in the contract notice? Where can you add real value to their specification? What’s important to them? If the tender seems unclear read the clarification process – this is there for you to gain as much information as possible – if you still don’t understand please ask!

Demonstrate that you understand the requirement and are able to add value such as the positive impact your solution may have on employment, the environment or the community.

Cheapest price does not always result in a winning bid. Under-pricing your solution could actually harm your chances. You could put yourself in danger of not being able to run the contract to the budgets set, and could give the impression that the low price reflects the low quality of the solution.