There are many online portals that publish contract notices, but these are scattered and can be difficult to find or navigate. The issue lies with the lack of transparency of the procurement process for SMEs, something the government is aiming to rectify with new procurement laws.
One publisher of contract notices is http://ted.europa.eu, which is required by law to publish any public sector contract with a value of over £200,000. These contracts cover all industries across all countries in the EU. The contract notice provides the details of the specific contract, be it cleaning, construction or engineering, along with information on how to register your interest and begin the bidding process.
The first stage of the procurement process is the PQQ, which is designed to exclude any companies that may be non-compliant. Following the PQQ, successful companies will be invited to tender (ITT) and the winning bidder (or bidders) will secure the contract.
To take advantage of these opportunities your company must be bid ready, meaning you need to have all relevant policies and procedures and any accreditations that may be necessary. This will ensure that you are not excluded at the PQQ stage and have the best chance of success at the tender stage. For each contract your company pursues it is important to make a “bid/no bid” assessment in order to best determine your chances of success. If the cost of bidding outweighs your chances of success then it makes sense to wait for a better opportunity.
Executive Compass® are PQQ and tender writing experts and specialise in helping companies secure contracts. If you are currently struggling with a submission and require assistance, we are here to help. Our trained bid writers can provide you with a winning document and ensure your company is fully compliant. Our bid ready service assesses your company’s chances of success and we give you a completely honest answer on whether to pursue a particular bid. We have a fully auditable success rate of 82% at both PQQ and tender stage, which makes us the market leader in the industry.
All our writers are directly employed by Executive Compass® and are trained internally in line with our ISO 9001:2008 quality management system. Call us on 0800 612 5563 to find out how we can help you start winning.