Tips for entrepreneurs on how to be more competitive at tender bidding

Understanding procurement’s function will save you a lot of back-and-forth emails in the new year!

Many private and public organizations will be reviewing and amending their preferred supplier database now that the new year has begun. Some service providers’ contracts will be extended based on a fair assessment of the previous year’s performance, while others may be inclined to find a new potential supplier as a result of the assessment. What matters for both outcomes are the procurement professional understanding of the scope requirements that the appointed service provider will offer; and, finally, how the incumbent will grow with the company over time, entrenching themselves within the company and meeting the contract objectives.

You might be acquainted with the term RFx process (i.e. Request for Proposal, Request for Quotation, Request for Information) a thrilling email, or phone call that could revolutionize your life and your business after submitting a response to the long daunting RFx request. The thing is, it’s not all bells and whistles — standing out and meeting the tender requirements is just one of the most important parts involved in securing sustainable long-term business success. The truth is, many factors influence the request to partner from a business standpoint, thus being flexible, versatile, and adaptive to new partners is vital in guaranteeing that you demonstrate what you have contractually agreed to do but in so doing, do it better than other competitors. Say it with me: cha-ching!

 Defining what is important

Every business owner wants to grow their company and improve profits, which necessitates reaching out to large corporate organizations and being exposed to varied procurement processes (influenced sometimes by the culture of the organisation). Let me reveal a well-kept secret: Your responsibility is to send proposals in response to an any RFx and convince the buyer that your company is the right prospective supplier to do the job. Further to that it is your responsibility to make the buyer understand your value-added service offering and use that as a basis for pricing the proposal. As a result, understanding and learning about the importance of procurement in both private and public sector is vital for business owners.

Entrepreneurs commonly feel that the only way to gain new business is by establishing a relationship with the sales department, whilst that might be true for certain industries corporate governance, compliance and regulation, business continuity, and the competitive bidding process are all important considerations when choosing to send that email introducing yourself and what your company offers. The focus is not only on what you can offer but ticking all necessary compliance requirements, indicating, value proposition beyond offering the lowest “price”, It’s all connected, believe it or not!

 How then do you set yourself up for success?

There are many articles, policy document by government entities, industry bodies like the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) who offer a with a wealth of knowledge; I encourage you to read them – immerse yourself in them and apply what works for you, secondly identifying what is aligned to your business objectives. As a practicing procurement professional, I would highlight and strongly encourage the following two crucial points to entrepreneurs to know:

 1.     Competitive bidding wars

When a business need develops, the procurement team searches the internal database for suppliers who match the basic standard requirements, then asks business owners to submit offers, which are then compared to those of other prospective bidders. In essence, business owners should be aware that there is a procedure to follow before becoming qualified to deliver a product or service. This aids the procurement team in conducting a fair process and maintaining corporate governance. As a result, they will have a lower chance of being chosen as the winning bid if they do not have sufficient requirements that meets specifications, drives compliance and risk mitigation plans.

2.    Preferred supplier status

To transact with the organization, every company must be registered on the database. However, being registered as a prospective supplier does not guarantee that you will be included in any RFx process. The database can also be used by the Procurement team to track supplier data, make payments, and manage supplier performance.

Over and above this, you as an entrepreneur need to be ready to prove yourself. Here is a checklist to run your eye over:

a)    Growth does not end after registering a company on CIPC, it takes more than that to grow, appreciate the need to be part of the bidding process and all the regulatory information required.

b)    Being an accredited BBEE company – are you representative of South Africa’s demographic? Organizations are looking for transformation with diverse people and minds who they can work with – are you that somebody?

c)    Know your finances – have you been previously liquidated or found guilty of conducting fraudulent activities or fronting?

d)    What are your brand values?

e)    How will you add value to your clients?

In essence, as a potential service provider you have a story to tell, and as an organisation (private or public) we have a duty to fulfill. It is possible that the relationship we develop will be beneficial to both of us. I challenge you do better so you can be the best. See your procurement team as a partner and not the crusher of dreams; we have all parties’ best interests at heart. However, we will run a process that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and committed to contributing to our country’s economic success.