The Fundamentals of Building Material Supply Tenders

Published24th February 2021 AuthorJohn Hudson

Building material supply tenders and the impact of Brexit and COVID-19

Building material supply tenders are essential for any construction project be it in either the public or private sectors.

Building material supply tenders may be looking to procure a range of materials such as:

  • Heavy materials
  • Bricks, block, stone, cement
  • Electrical products
  • Flooring
  • Hire and purchase of plant, tools and equipment
  • Plumbing and heating
  • Building and construction tools and equipment.

Brexit and COVID-19 have had quite an impact on the construction industry, particularly regarding building material supplies. There has been a shortage of supplies of roof tiles and timber. This is due to high demand caused by a boom in the housing market and delays at some British ports. Timber prices have risen by 20% as a consequence and there have been escalated prices for shipping disrupting supply chains.

PAS91

Before you submit your building material supply tenders, you’ll often need to complete a PAS91. A PAS91 is a standardised form of pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) frequently used within construction. You’ll need to pass this in order to progress to the next stage of receiving an invitation to tender (ITT).

A PAS91 is essentially a box ticking exercise to ensure you meet the minimum criteria for the contract. You’ll need to answer questions on things such as:

  • Company information
  • Your economic and financial standing
  • Quality Assurance
  • Health & Safety
  • Environmental considerations
  • Equal opportunities & Diversity

If you’re an SME, the PAS91 is designed with you in mind, aiming to simplify and streamline the process. This is to encourage more SMEs to tender for work in the hope of achieving the government’s pledge towards SMEs. They aim to spend £1 in £3 with SMEs, meaning they’re actively looking to award contracts to smaller businesses.

Framework agreements

Framework agreements are a common form of procurement for building material supply tenders. They are used to establish a multi-supplier agreement for goods or services. Framework agreements often run for multiple years at a time and can be lucrative opportunities for your business.

Buyers often split framework agreements into ‘Lots’. These Lots means a supplier doesn’t have to deliver the whole contract. They need only apply to the area in which they specialise. For example, building material supply tenders framework agreement could have Lots for the following:

  • Lot 1 – Electrical Products
  • Lot 2 – Heavy Materials
  • Lot 3 – Timber and Joinery
  • Lot 4 – Small Tool Hire
  • Lot 5 – Paint and Solvents

Lots could also cover regional location if the project is to be carried out in multiple locations. For example:

  • Lot 1 – Birmingham
  • Lot 2 – Newcastle
  • Lot 3 – Cardiff

You can often tender for one or multiple Lots, depending on the services your organisation offers. You also need to consider if you have the resources in order to carry out multiple services and locations.

Sustainability

Building material supply tenders within the public sector will often have a section on sustainability. You may have to detail how your business will manage the following:

  • Environmental Management

An accredited ISO 14001 or equivalent will be needed here. You’ll need to state what your Environment Management System is. You’ll need to explain how it controls and mitigates the environmental impact of operations.

  • Government Buying Standards

When applying for a government framework agreement within construction, you’ll need to demonstrate how you comply with government standards. You will need to supply evidence of compliance if requested. Your business should provide products that meet Government Buying Standards best practice specifications wherever possible.

The Government Buying Standards are updated every now and again. It’s important that you keep up to date with any changes to ensure you meet the requirements. It’s worth noting that all timber or timber related products must comply with the United Kingdom Government Timber Procurement Policy. They must be purchased from legal and sustainable sources and demonstrate this by fall chain of custody evidence.

  • Sustainable Product Offering

When possible, businesses should look to use materials and products that are from recycled and renewable sources. Government building material supply tenders will be looking for suppliers who are pursuing general sustainability and good practice.

Generally speaking, a business should seek to provide sustainable product alternatives within their Base Offering where possible. Buyers will appreciate when a business indicates there’s alternative goods that’ll provide greater sustainable benefits over the goods lifetime.

  • Waste

You must comply against all relevant waste legislations, keeping an eye on any updates, amendments or changes. If anything does change throughout the life of the contract, you must update your policies. Most building material supply tenders will require the insurance that waste is taken to authorised sites for treatment or disposal. Your business will then be expected to undertake regular checks to ensure that it’s disposed of properly.

  • Giving back to the local community

The sustainability sector within your tender should focus on social values. As with all public sector tenders, it’s important to demonstrate how you will be giving back to the community. You must consider the social, economic and environmental aspects while fulfilling the contract.

Depending on the buyer, you may be asked how your business is working to deliver rehabilitation work, for example. The government wants to see more prisoners working as part of the rehabilitation of offenders. It’s worth considering how your business would provide the opportunity to learn new skills and prepare for employment on release.

  • Supply chain

Even if you are an SME yourself, the public sector likes to see the inclusion of other SMEs where possible. Your construction bids may need to evidence the use or increase the use of any SMEs within your supply chain. This could be measured through Management Information or when detailing any sub-contractors in your building material supply tender response.

How we can help you win building material supply tenders

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, are experts in bid writing. They have 60 years bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. If you’re not seeing success from your tendering efforts or are completely new to the process – we can help!

We offer four bid writing services that can help you with your next construction contract. 

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own building material supply tenders and want someone to double-check for errors, Tender Mentor can help. One of our Bid Writers will proofread your response and point out any grammar mistakes. This allows you to submit an error-free tender response.

Tender Improvement

Our Tender Improvement package is for those who are already tendering but aren’t seeing the desired results. During the course of the programme, our Bid Writers will go over your supporting documents and previous submissions. They’ll provide you with feedback and work with you to create improved content. This will help improve your chances of winning your next tender.

Tender Ready

Tender Ready is a programme designed for those who are completely new to tendering and procurement. This programme works with you to ensure you’re on the right track to tender successfully.

Tender Writing

Have you found a building material supply tender you want to go for, but don’t know where to start? Why not send it over to us and our Bid Writers will write the response for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you and give you a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf!

You now know what to expect from building material supply tenders and know how to write one. You may be wondering where exactly you can find them?

Our Construction Tenders portal can help

Construction Tenders is an opportunity tracking platform where we source all construction leads from across the UK. Our Opportunity Trackers source live tenders from thousands of sites, saving you countless hours.

A subscription with Construction Tenders offers you:

  • Access to all unique, public and private sector opportunities in the UK.
  • No reliance on CPV codes, allowing you access to 100% of building material supply tenders.
  • The ability to filter results by keyword, budget, location and more.
  • A dedicated on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions or queries you may have about the tendering process.
  • Discounted bid writing support from Hudson Succeed.
  • 20-minutes free consultancy every month with our bid experts.

Here are just a few examples of building material supply tenders we source:

All Wales Framework: Managed Service for the provision of Building Materials and associated products

Adra (Tai) Cyf – Wales- Budget: £500,000,000

23-09-2020 

BTS Building Materials Contingency Supply requirement 2

Luton Council- Eastern- Budget: £560,000

13-11-2020

Building Materials

NEPO- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

06-01-2020

ITT for the Supply of Building Materials

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

05-02-2021

Newport City Homes Building Materials Supply

Newport City Homes Limited- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

14-12-2020

Procurement Hub Building Materials Framework

Places for People Group Limited- North West- Budget: £200,000,000

03-08-2020

Supply and Delivery of Building Materials and Aggregates

UK Power Networks Ltd- South East- Budget: Undisclosed

25-03-2020

Book a Demo with Construction Tenders

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders.

At Construction Tenders, we source construction leads and opportunities for;

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

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