P1 AGE
qGiventhesheeramountoftimeandeffortputinbyaTenderWritertocreatetheir submission,itcanbegut-wrenchingtofindoutthesubmissionwasnotsuccessfuldueto acommonmistake. qWhilstaTenderWriterdoesnotexpecttowineverysinglesubmissiontheymake,their successpercentagecanbesignificantlyimprovedbyreducingoreliminatingtheseerrors.
qRequirementscan‘seem’tobeclearlystated,howevertheTenderWriterinSydney shouldwatchforobscuritiessuchasreferencestootherdocumentsorlinksandbesure toreadtheseindetail,makingnotesorhighlightingpointsastheygo. qWhilstissoundsobvious,watchingforwordssuchas‘and’ensuresthatasecondarypart ofarequirementisnotmissed. qAsurprisingnumberofpeopleonlyseepartofwhattheyread,sowhenrequirements arebandedtogetherinthisway,itiseasyforthemtobemissed. NotAddressingALLRequirements
qTheremaybetimeswhentherearepointsinrequirementsthatarenotedas‘optional’. Onthesurface,thissoundslikesomethingaTenderWriterinBrisbanecouldskip,thatis notthebestapproach. qEverysubmissionthatomitstheoptionalpartswillbeseenas‘lessthan’those submissionswhichincludethem. qThisputsthesesubmissionsbehindtheeight-ballnomatterhowfantastictherestofthe submissionis.
qAgoodTenderWriterwillalwayslookatthequestionsbeingaskedintheTENDER INVITATIONfromtheperspectiveofthepersonwhowrotetheTENDERINVITATION. qWhataretheylookingfor?Whatmightimpressthemandstandoutinaseaof responses?Doestherespondentseemtohaveadetailedunderstandingofthesolution theyarebeingaskedtoprovideanddotheyhavetheexperiencetodeliver. LackofDetailinResponses
qTheTenderWritershoulduseeveryopportunitytoprovideasmuchdetailaspossibleto answerthequestionsbeingaskedintheTENDERINVITATION,butalsotoaddressthe questionsmentionedhere. qTheTenderWriterdemonstrateshowrequirementscanbemet,drawingonexperiences andprojectsfromthepastwhererelevant.Mostimportantly,ensuretheresponsesdo notraisemorequestionsthantheyanswer.
qItisvitalforaTenderWritertoreadthrougheveryTermandConditioncarefullyto ensuretherearenospecificstatementsthatmightprecludetheirsubmission. qForexample,theTENDERINVITATIONmightbeseekingmealstobesuppliedtoa retirementcentre. qHowever,thetermsmaystatethatsubmissionsmustutiliseasetpercentageoflocally sourcedproduceoringredients. MissingKeyTermsandConditions
qTheTenderWritermustensurethattheyidentifythisearlytoascertainwhethertheycan meetthebrief,ratherthanconsumealotoftimeandresourcesubmittingforatenderin whichtheycannotsatisfythisrequirement. qAnotherkeypointthatmaygetmissedinthetermsisthelengthoftimeinwhichquoted pricesmustremaincurrent. qAsthepost-CovidshippingcrisishitAustralia,someimporteditemsincreasefour-fold overthecourseof12months.
qIfanTENDERINVITATIONhasnoallowanceforpricevariations,thenaTenderWritermay beabletofindacreativewaytointroducetermsintotheirsubmissionwhichlimitstheir price-exposurerisk. qHowever,ifthisriskcannotbemitigatedthentheTenderWritermaydecideitisbetterto notrespondtothatTenderInvitation.
qATenderWritermustalwaysensurethattheirresponsedoesnotover-promiseyetput theorganisationatriskofunder-deliveringiftheywinthejob. qBeingveryclearonwhatanorganisationisandisnotcapableofdeliveringisvitalfora TenderWritertoarticulatewhentenderwritingaresponse. qOfferingasolutionwhichanorganisationcannotdeliver,whetheritisdurtofinancial, timeorresourceconstraints,putsthatorganisationatriskoflegalactionshouldtheybe chosenasthewinningTender,yetunabletodeliver. Overpromising
qTenderWritersmustbeveryclearonwhattheorganisationisabletodeliverandfind waystoeitheroutsourceorexcludethosepartsofaTenderwhichtheyareunableto satisfy. qIfthisisnotpossible,thentheTenderWritershouldbediscerningenoughtonotsubmit aresponse.
qOneoftheveryworstmistakesaTenderWritercanmakeisextensivepricecutting withoutanycaveatstoprotecttheorganisation. qThereisverylittlepointinwinningatenderiftheorganisationstandstolosemoneyin theprocess,andpotentiallytakeonothercollateraldamageaswell(staffexitingdueto stress,reputationalrisk,etc). PriceCutting
qTheremaybewaystopresentpricesthataresignificantlydiscounted,howeverthe TenderWritermustbeabletoaddtheirownTermsandConditionsorsurchargesthat wouldenablethemtorecoupthediscountedcostssufficientlytobringtheprojectinto profit.
qTherearetimeswhentheTenderInvitation,atfacevalue,maybepresentingan extremelylucrativeopportunityforanorganisation. qHowever,closerinspectionmayidentifythatforanorganisationtodeliveragainstthe tender,itwouldputotherprojectsatrisk,putstaffunderextremestressorpreventthe organisationfromtakingonanyotherworkforwhichtheymayhavealreadysubmitted proposals. NotBeingSelective
qSuchopportunitiescancreateamake-or-breaksituationforanorganisation,howeverif the’break’riskissignificantlyhigherthanthe‘make’chances,thenitmaybebetterto letthisonego. qAnexperiencedTenderWritermusthaveenoughexperienceanddiscernmenttoidentify thisquicklytopreventcreatinganuntenableresult.
qThisarticlehighlightsthestrongcaseforhavingprofessionalandexperiencedTender Writerinyourcornerwhenwritingsubmissions. qIfyourorganisationdoesnothavetime,capacityorskilltowritetheresponses,however thecompanyisaperfectfitfortheTender,thenaprofessionalTenderWritingservicelike RedTapeBusterscanprovidetheperfectsolution.
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