Winning government tenders may have its own challenges, but their advantages for a business can make all your efforts worthwhile. They are competitive for a reason and have several benefits that make them so sought after. Large volumes of contracts, significant budgets, high-value contracts and a stable revenue stream are some of the benefits for businesses, especially for SMEs looking for consistency and building a reputation. Available to everyone on government tender portals, the e-tendering process is transparent and fair. It gives a chance to businesses to contribute directly to the development of infrastructure and public services in the country.

A 7-Step Framework to Win Government Tenders

  1. Strategic Identification of Government Tenders
  2. Bid Preparation and Technical Documentation
  3. Competitive and Compliant Financial Bidding
  4. Pre-Bid Engagement and Relationship Building
  5. Accurate Paperwork and Timely Submission
  6. Follow-up Post-Submission
  7. Post-Bid Analysis and Leaning

Strategic Identification of Government Tenders

Tenders are published on government tender portals as well as tender aggregation websites like BidAssist. Take care of the following points while going through government tenders and ensure they align with your business –

  1. The primary prerequisite is to identify your core competencies, technical capabilities and goals. 
  2. Understand the scope of government tenders, especially the ones you have shortlisted, and research on the procuring entities’ priorities.
  3. Your aim should be realistic and meet the financial, technical and experience eligibility for the project.
  4. Identify your top competitors and go through their previous projects to analyse and understand them better and pick your government tenders accordingly.
  5. Last but not the least, register yourself as a bidder on the government tender portal or the Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP).

Bid Preparation and Technical Documentation

Do your homework well and go through the government tenders carefully. Pay attention to the following to craft a technically strong and a competitive bid.

  1. Analyse the technical desired specifications and the evaluation criteria as mentioned in the tender documents (Invitation to Tender, ITT or Request for Tenders, RFT) downloaded from the government tender portal. 
  2. Bid preparation should be done meticulously to make a persuasive technical bid that highlights your strengths, innovative solutions and understanding of the project. 
  3. Provide evidence like previous performance reports, technical certifications and qualifications of personnel. Remember to craft a clear and concise bid as per the government contracts for tender.

Competitive and Compliant Financial Bidding

Government tenders, as we have discussed, are highly sought after. In order to stand out, you will have to take care of the following points –

  1. Accurate Pricing – The government tender portal publishes the tender details as well as the latest corrigenda. It’s important to take everything into consideration and calculate all the costs to arrive at an accurate price, which is both profitable and competitive.
  2. Strategic Costing – Government contracts for tender focus not just on the lowest cost, but also on value propositions, which more often than not, outweigh the former. The costing should be strategically planned as per the market rates without compromising the quality of services.
  3. Format – The financial bid should strictly adhere to the format specified in the government tenders to avoid getting rejected.

Pre-Bid Engagement & Relationship Building

During government tenders, relationship building can play a crucial role in getting insights into a project by facilitating better understanding of project requirements and potentially adding to a favourable perception of a contractor/bidder in the eyes of the tender issuing authority (TIA). To boost your chances at winning government contracts for tender  –

  1. Network – Ethical and clean networking can benefit you in many ways. You may come to know of future projects and plans in the government or understand the needs of the TIA on current projects better.
  2. Communicate Better – Maintaining a clear and clean communication with the TIA establishes a professional relationship that can work in your favour.
  3. Attend Pre-Bid Meetings – “What is seen is sold!” Demonstrate your interest by participating in pre-bid meetings. Ask insightful questions and use the opportunity to clarify your doubts and strengthen your bid.

Accurate Paperwork and Timely Submission

Accurate and timely submission of a bid in government tenders reflects your professionalism. The following aspects should be considered while submitting your paperwork –

  1. Make it error-free – Double-check your paperwork and make sure every document is accurate and complete. 
  2. Ensure Compliance – Go through the tender documents carefully and cross-check on the government tender portal to make sure all your documents comply with the terms and conditions of the project.
  3. Deadline – A bid for all kinds of government tenders must be submitted well in time, preferably a little ahead of the given deadline date.
  4. DSC – Using a digital signature certificate is mandatory for all government contracts for tender to authenticate the bidder, and to secure and encrypt all submitted documents.

Follow-up Post-Submission

It’s important to remain within the permissible limits for post-submission engagement to avoid violating ethical and procedural norms. There are several benefits of post-submission follow-ups:

  1. Whenever allowed for a specific tender, keeping a track of your bid submission on the government tender portal helps you monitor the progress of your bid. 
  2. It helps you respond promptly to clarifications sought after a submission is made. 
  3. Make sure you respond comprehensively to any query by the TIA. 

Post-Bid Analysis and Learning

It’s important to analyse the outcome irrespective of a win or a loss –

  1. Interpret and understand what works for government tenders or what does not, and which aspects need to be worked upon for better results. 
  2. In case of an unsuccessful bid, seek feedback. 
  3. Keep yourself updated on changes in procurement policies for future government tenders. 
  4. Don’t get disheartened by initial disqualifications or rejections. Learn from each experience and walk ahead.

Win Government Tenders with BidAssist

BidAssist has featured more than 4.4 crore tenders, including government tenders sourced from 50000 sources till date. In general, you’d come across 1,80,000 active tenders in India aside from 3,15,000 active tenders globally. BidAssist is the largest source of government tenders and is absolutely reliable to feature every single tender published on the government tender portal. We have organised them meticulously in more than 100 categories for ease of usage by contractors and vendors looking for government tenders. Get help in every step of the way to government contracts for tender, only with BidAssist!