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5 Reasons Why You Aren’t Winning Tenders for Roofing Work

Trying to win tenders for roofing work? Here’s why you aren’t seeing success…

Are you having trouble trying to win tenders for roofing work? Perhaps you want to know where to find such contracts. At Construction Tenders, we want to help you find solutions. So, in this blog, we will tell you five reasons why you aren’t winning tenders. Stick around to learn how to see success!

1.    You aren’t using relevant case studies

When you are out to tender, you need to show the buyer you know what you’re talking about. It is important to use case studies in your proposal to showcase your experience, but they need to be relevant. If you aren’t considering how relevant your case studies are, this may be what is costing you.

How to improve:

To improve your chances of success, you should start critically thinking about your case studies. These should always relate to the contract you are bidding for, in one way or another.

Read our blog: The Importance of Relevant Case Studies When Tendering

2.    You aren’t submitting bids of the highest quality

This tender for roofing work tip goes for all tenders. Your bid should be as close to perfect as possible. That is one way you will stand out from the other suppliers. Even if you think your bid is error-free, the buyer may pick up on mistakes you might have missed. If you aren’t taking the time to perfect your tender, then this will be affecting your score.

How to improve:

Before you submit, you should thoroughly proofread and edit the bid proposal. This way, you can rectify even the smallest of errors. Read it several times, even with breaks in between, to give you the highest chance of noticing mistakes. You could also ask others to proofread it so that they can tell you if anything doesn’t sound right.

3.    You missed the deadline

When it comes to a tender for roofing work, the deadlines are incredibly strict. Your bid MUST be submitted before the deadline, or you will not be considered. This includes instances where you may be one or two minutes late. Late means late and it will not be counted! Don’t risk your work being all for nothing by not submitting it on time.

How to improve:

With bid management skills, you can stay on track of your tender for roofing work. You’ll be able to organise the workload and workforce to ensure the bid is done well before the deadline. This also leaves some time in case of any unforeseen technical issues.

4.    You aren’t checking eligibility before bidding

It might surprise you just how many people bid for contracts they cannot deliver. In many cases, a business or organisation will tender for work they aren’t eligible for. This is a complete waste of time on everyone’s part. It is often why many buyers hold an initial stage of a PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire). This is a way that they can filter ineligible suppliers without wasting time reviewing their full bid.

How to improve:

If you aren’t reading all the tender documents, then you might be bidding for contracts outside of your scope. This could be anything from not having the workforce to deliver the contract in time, or the sufficient annual turnover. Before you bid, make sure you are reading ALL the tender documents. Even if it’s 100 pages or more. Note down any important details. Check that you have the skills, experience, qualifications, accreditations, and workforce to deliver the contract.

5.    Your costs are inaccurate

Pricing is a big part of a bid. If you get these wrong, the buyer won’t award you the contract. In the construction industry, inaccurate pricing is the most common mistake.

How to improve:

Calculate your costs carefully! As we previously touched on, you need your bid to be as close to perfect as possible. So, every aspect of your bid proposal has to be carefully conducted.

Summary

So, that’s a wrap on our blog about tender for roofing work. Here’s the five reasons that might be affecting your tendering:

1.    You aren’t using relevant case studies

2.    You aren’t submitting bids of the highest quality

3.    You missed the deadline

4.    You aren’t checking eligibility before bidding

5.    Your costs are inaccurate.

If you want further advice about tenders for roofing work, contact us and chat to our consultants. We are always happy to help!

Want to save time looking for tenders for roofing work? Try Discover Elite

Sign up to Discover Elite via your chosen portal. Then, a dedicated Account Manager will find live bids on your behalf. They’ll speak with you weekly to discuss opportunities that may interest you. This is especially helpful for those with little time to spare due to busy schedules.

Upgrading to Discover Elite will ensure you never miss a tendering opportunity even when you’re busy!

The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool offers your business:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Discover portalsof your choice.
  • Up to five bid breakdowns per month to help you make your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager to discuss viable leads and tendering opportunities.
  • Award and pre-market engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Public and private buyer portal management including registering, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid strategy.

Examples of tenders for roofing work found on our portal

Ramsey Grammar School East, Phase 1 Replacement Flat Roof

Isle of Man Government – International – Budget: Undisclosed

Bunscoill Rhumsaa, Replacement Perspex to Canopy Roofs

Isle of Man Government – International – Budget: Undisclosed

Roof Repairs

St. Joseph’s Secondary School (Rush) – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

Roofing Replacement Programme 2022-2027

Onward Group Limited – North West– Budget: – £6,000,000

Summer Works Scheme 2022 – Glanmire Community College – Roof Works

Cork Education and Training Board – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

Need help writing your next tender?

If you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and has over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next roofing tender.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

Get in touch for more information about our bid management consultancy services.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

Check out some of our other blogs:

The 5 Most Common Types of Structural Engineering Tenders You Could Win

Are you aware of the types of structural engineering tenders you can bid for?

Knowing the type of structural engineering tenders buyers procure is a good starting point when finding new opportunities. In this blog, we have listed the five most common types of structural engineering tenders out there.

Already familiar with structural engineering tenders and want to get started?

To begin your search for new business opportunities, you can sign up to our Construction Tenders portal and get started.

The 5 most common types of structural engineering tenders you can source:

  1. Building

You will find that structural engineering tenders for buildings, is the most common type of tender you can source. The contracts involve working on the design and construction of the building so that it is structurally sound. This could be anything from a new build housing project to office buildings, to skyscrapers.

  1. Aeronautical

Structural engineering tenders within this sector can refer to both the vessels and the associated equipment (i.e., satellites). Services will involve ensuring the structure is stable, but also ensuring that it can operate consistently under the right conditions. Aeronautical structural engineering tenders will usually be based in airports or airfields. Anywhere that uses aircraft vessels. This could even mean space vessels.

  1. Nautical

These tenders could be for passenger vessels, cargo ships or even submarines. Basically, any vessels that are used out at sea. However, it could also include other structures that are associated with nautical vessels, such as wind-turbines. This could be design and building-associated equipment to support the vessels out at sea.

  1. Oil and Gas

Structural engineering tenders within the oil and gas industry can involve different projects/services. This could be pipework, working on a rig, or in the gas/oil field. Quite typically, working in this industry usually means working on quite a large structure. The projects will be big and require a lot of time. It could include anything from designing, testing, and inspecting equipment, to general maintenance and building work.

  1. Bridges

Structural engineering tenders here could include the designing of the bridge, inspection of the bridges, or building the structure. It will require you to ensure that the bridge works effectively in the environment it is built for. Ensuring it can withstand the required loads and is safe for use.

Summary

There are five common types of structural engineering tenders that you can bid for. These are:

  • Building
  • Aeronautical
  • Nautical
  • Oil and gas
  • Bridges

You may find that your services can crossover into different sectors. You will need to establish what you and your business can provide, and where your services lie. From there, you can then begin to source new structural engineering tenders.

Where can I find structural engineering tenders?

Are you looking for new structural engineering tenders? Use Construction Tenders to find your next opportunity.

Construction Tenders is one centralised, easy-to-navigate portal hosting public and private leads and tendering opportunities.

You don’t need to rely on CPV Codes. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload tenders from hundreds of websites, making it easier for you to find them. You can find the best tender for you by filtering the results by budget, keyword, and location.

Here are just seven past structural engineering tenders we have sourced on our portal:

Structural Works at 24 St Peters Road, Whitby

Beyond Housing – Yorkshire – Budget: £35,000

Structural & Civil Engineering Consultant at Corby College

Bedford College – Eastern – Budget: £100,000

ESPH SB Civil and Structural Engineer Services for Bexhill Town Hall Renaissance Project (ESPH494)

Rother District Council – South East – Budget: £100,000

Structural Engineer Enquiry – Heanor Hub – Southeast Derbyshire College

Amber Valley Borough Council – East Midlands – Budget: £200,000

Civil Structural Engineering Services for Additional Accommodation at Brideswell NS, Brideswell, Athlone, Co. Roscommon, Ireland

Brideswell National School – Republic of Ireland – Budget: £1,580,000

CP7 Eastern Region Renewals and Minor Enhancements

Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd – London – £4billion

Framework Agreement for the Provision of Aeronautical Engineering Technical Manpower Augmentation

Ministry of Defence – West Midlands – Budget: Undisclosed

A subscription to Construction Tenders will provide your business with:

  • Access to all unique, private, and public sector opportunities within the construction and engineering industry.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about competitive tendering in construction.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new tenders are uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes free bid management consultancy each month.

Get in touch today to book a free live demo.

Want to save even more time? Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrade to Discover Elite to ensure you never miss a tender, even when you’re busy. The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool and the Become a Pre-Bid Master packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. They can help save you even more time when searching for construction and engineering tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Transport.
  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid strategy.

The Pre-Bid Master package offers your business:

  • All the above
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month, depending on the package you choose
  • A Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of five years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

For more information on how Discover Elite can work for you, get in touch today.

Need help writing your next tender?

If you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and has over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next structural engineering tender.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

Get in touch to find out more information.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

Types of Procurement in Construction: A complete guide

Understanding the Types of Procurement in Construction

Read this to get ahead on the different types of procurement in construction

On its own, procurement is difficult, and more complications arise when it comes to types of procurement in construction. So, let’s take some time to look over the methods of procurement in construction.

What is procurement?

In essence, procurement is a process of obtaining a product or service. In your case, it specifically relates to providing the materials/labour needed to complete a job/product. For most construction firms, a clear, concise, and cost-effective strategy is needed to complete the job. Budget, quality, and timeline are heavily considered here.

When it comes down to it, price and quality are where the competition element lies in construction procurement. If the buyer discovers a cheaper contractor which rivals or exceeds the quality of its competitors, it’s a no-brainer.

How many types of procurement in construction are there?

So, across the UK’s construction sector, there are generally two elements within the construction process. There are other processes, but the ones below are the one’s you’ll most likely encounter. Let’s work our way through them.

Pre- Qualification questionaries- What are they and how do they compare to PAS91’s?

So, the first of our types of procurement in construction is pre-qualification questionnaires.

Also known as PQQ’S, they are used by buyers in the initial stages of construction procurement.  A frequent question we get asked is ‘what is the difference between PPQ’S and PAS91’S?

Well, the biggest difference is the length of the documents, with PAS91’s being on average larger.

Dependent on the buyer, they could also utilise SQ’s (selection questionnaire’s) or SSQ (Standard selection questionnaire’s). You could state that this is the first gate you need to cross. Basic requirements are covered here so that whoever bids for the contract is meets the minimum needs. Depending on whether the process was open or closed, a PQQ and ITT could be required as well. Although its dependent on the size of the contract, the document will include:

  • Health & safety policy- Following on from your insurance, what measures are you taking to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved?
  • Your financial stability- Are you able to cover the project adequately? Can you feasibly deliver the project? In most cases if your annual turnover is worth less than half of the contract, you won’t be selected. They may require a brief inclusion of recent accounts to verify your financial status.
  • Supplier identity- Where are you based, how long have you been practice etc.
  • Quality Assurance policy- How are you ensuring that the work you provide is standardised in its quality? This could include
  1. Audits/inspections
  2. Training or other means of quality assurance
  3. The issue of underperformance, and how you tackle this with your employees
  4. A review of your policies and how you comply with best practice.

Optional requirements

Depending on the buyer, they could also request:

  • Insurance cover- In the event that something goes wrong or awry, are you insured? This is a necessity. If you’re not insured, you won’t be able to get past this stage of the procurement process.
  • Relevant references- This won’t be as in-depth as later parts of the process, but it’s still required
  • What’s your capabilities/capacity? – Similar to finances, if you can’t cover the needs of the client due to your size, you’re unlikely to progress. You need to prove your capability to the buyer.
  • Equal opportunities policy- How are you ensuring that discrimination is eliminated, and fair opportunities sustained within your company?
  • Environmental management policy- We’re all moving towards a greener planet, so what measures are you taking to play your part? This could include:
  1. Covering carbon emissions and how you’re reducing them.
  2. Ensuring environmental awareness through training.

For most of these questions, the PPQ will require a brief answer. Another option is a score in which to describe your proficiency in the given question. Either way, you’ll need to elaborate on your scores/brief answers later in the process.

ITT

So, you’ve passed the PPQ with flying colours, proving you fulfil the requirements for the contract. Now it’s time for the ITT. It’s here that the buyer invites you to tender. Time has been utilised efficiently due to the PQQ shortlisting the potential contractors.

Within the construction industry, this document may include:

  • Instructions to tenderers explaining the process
  • Query process and resolutions
  • The timescale of the tender process (deadlines for tenders)
  • Drawing schedules
  • Site waste management plan
  • How the buyer will provide feedback for unsuccessful tenderers

The response

Now you know what the ITT may contain, it’s good to cover what you should respond with:

  • List of staff- This could include C. V’s to further validate their suitability.
  • Prior experience
  • References
  • A completed tender pricing document

In summary

So, we’ve arrived at the end of this blog regarding types of procurement in construction. You now have a greater understanding of:

  • The function of both the ITT’s and PPQ’S
  • The difference between PPQ’s and PAS91’S
  • The basic and optional requirements of PQQ’s
  • What ITTs require and how you should respond.

Now you’re better equipped to understand the types of procurement in construction, you may be wondering how we can help…

Hudson Succeed

Our Tender Writing service covers PAS-91s, PPQ’s, and much more. We will complete the written, technical, and professional ability sections and/or PAS91 modules on your behalf.

Alternatively, our Tender Ready service will see our team of bid writers prepare case studies and policies.  Each are essential in passing pre-qualification questionnaires and PAS91s – in-line with best practice across the industry.

If you are looking for new opportunities for construction projects, look no further than Construction Tenders. Our dedicated, tender tracking portal, sources tendering opportunities, specifically for the construction sector. Get in touch to book a free live demo and see how the system can help your business.

If there’s anything we can help with, get in touch with our bid writers who can help with the bid writing process.

How to Win Building Work Tenders

What do you need to know about building work tenders?

Are you wondering how to win building work tenders for your business? Tendering for contracts can open many doors for your business – but only if you win the work. So, how can you make sure that your business is successful?

This blog will tell you everything you need to know to secure building work tenders for your business.

How do you win building work tenders for your business?

Here are some things you can do to increase your chances of success when bidding on building work tenders:

  1. Include case studies in your tender response

To win building work tenders, you need to show the buyer that your business is most suitable for the contract. To do that, you need to submit 2 – 3 case studies in your bid response, ideally from the last 3 – 5 years.

Case studies should demonstrate your suitability for the work. They should be similar in size and scope to the contract at hand. If they aren’t relevant to what the buyer is looking for, they won’t increase your chances of success.

  1. Be the MEAT

For successful tendering, your business needs to be the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). What does this mean? Well, buyers are looking for the best value for money. They want to choose a supplier that offers the best services for the lowest price.

However, this doesn’t mean that you should price your services low just to win the tender. Pricing your services too low could prevent you from meeting the buyer’s quality standards. Or if you win the contract, you might have to ask for additional funding down the line. Neither of these options will impress the buyer!

Instead, show the buyer that your business can offer an outstanding service for a competitive price. Added value will increase your chances of winning building work tenders for your business.

  1. Provide qualifications

With building work tenders, buyers often want to see evidence of your relevant qualifications and accreditations in your response.

As you already know, accidents can and do happen on building and construction sites. Therefore, it’s crucial that your business is complying with the relevant health and safety standards. The qualifications and accreditations could include:

  • ISO 9001; 14001; 18001
  • BIM
  • SSIP
  • IOSH
  • Constructionline
  • CHAS
  • Subcontractor.

To increase your chances of success, you should be prepared to submit evidence of your qualifications in your tender response.

  1. Prepare your social value responses

To win building work tenders, you need to prepare your social value responses. In tendering, social value has a minimum weighting of 10%, but could potentially hold a weight of up to 30%. The three main components of social value are:

  • Environmental
  • Social
  • Economic.

It’s important you demonstrate your social value clearly and thoroughly to the buyer. For example, how will your business work to reduce waste for the duration of the project?

Social value is particularly important after the COVID-19 pandemic. Buyers want to see how your organisation will prevent any risks caused by the virus. So, it’s important to reference this in your bid response.

  1. Study the buyer’s specifications

Our final tip for winning building work tenders is to study the buyer’s specifications. To secure the tender, it’s crucial that you answer the buyer’s questions in detail. Otherwise, you risk including irrelevant information in your response, which won’t do your business any favours.

It’s also important that you consider word counts or page limits set by the buyer. This indicates how much detail the buyer is expecting from you.

Where can you find building work tenders?

Finding building work tenders for your business can be a lengthy, time-consuming process. That’s why we’ve decided to simplify the process for you. With the Construction Tenders portal, sourcing tendering opportunities has never been so easy!

The portal is an opportunity tracking platform where we source all the construction and building tenders throughout the UK. We manually upload them in one convenient place, leaving you to focus on your business.

Other benefits include of subscribing to Construction Tenders include:

  • Receiving daily updates of available tenders, direct to your inbox.
  • Access to all private and public sector opportunities in the UK.
  • The ability to filter building contracts opportunities by keyword, budget, location and more.
  • No reliance on unreliable CPV codes or algorithms. We manually upload each tender making sure that you have access to 100% of building tenders.
  • Access to your own Account Manager. They can answer any questions or queries you may have about the tendering process.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes free bid management consultancy each month.

Here are just a few examples of past building work tenders on our Construction Tenders portal:

Medical Records Building Works

NHS South West-Acutes – South West – Budget: £30k

WHC – Minor Building Works

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council – Eastern – Budget: £2.4million

Building Works – General Repairs

London Borough of Islington – London – Budget: £5million

Building Works for Temporary Accommodation for Colaiste Dun An Ri

Cavan and Monaghan Education & Training Board – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

FM Reactive & Planned Maintenance Building Works

North Wales Police – Wales – Budget: Undisclosed

Book a Demo with Construction Tenders

Book a free live demo of Construction Tenders today. As a client, you’ll receive a daily construction leads bulletin straight to your inbox when new building tenders are uploaded.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

So, now you know how to win building work tenders for your business. For tendering success, it’s vital that you include relevant case studies, be the MEAT and provide your appropriate qualifications and accreditations. And don’t forget how important it is to prepare your social value responses and study the buyer’s specifications!

If you’ve tried the tips above and still aren’t seeing success, we can help.

Need assistance when looking to tender for building work? 

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning tender response for construction contracts in-house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help optimise your chances of success. They know what buyers are looking for in your tender response and how to best convey it.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support services. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or need your response proofread before you submit, we can help. We offer:

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, helping you identify tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when you tender for building work.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices are monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
  • Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable construction tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

A Guide to New Construction Tenders

How to win new construction tenders

Are you wondering how to find new construction tenders? There are plenty of opportunities out there, but how do you find them? When you do find a suitable opportunity for your business, how do you win the bid?

This guide will tell you how to find new construction contracts in the UK and offer tips for winning your next bid.

What type of construction tenders are there?

If you’re looking for new construction tenders, you might be wondering what type of contracts are out there.

Billions of pounds have been invested in the construction industry across the UK. This has increased the number of tendering opportunities out there. Especially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as more businesses are relying on tenders to grow their business.

Buyers may require a supplier for a number of reasons, including:

  • Supply of goods
  • Works
  • Utilities
  • Services

You can tender for contracts in various sub-sectors, including:

The process of bidding for new construction tenders

 To win construction tenders, you need to understand how to apply for them. The tendering process will seem complicated at first. However, it can be broken down into simple, easy to manage steps.

  1. PAS-91

The first step in bidding for new construction tenders is completing the PAS-91.

In 2010, the UK construction industry launched the ‘standard selection questionnaire’. This is an industry-specific, standardised document that is supposed to streamline the tendering process. Basically, it’s a specialised PQQ. The document is widely known as the Publicly Available Specification, or PAS 91.

The PAS-91 removes the need for various questionnaires. Instead, you can focus your time and resources on a single document.

However, the idea behind the PAS-91 is the same as a PQQ. The buyer uses this to shortlist suppliers, so only those capable of delivering the contract progress to the next stage.

  1. Invitation to tender

If you pass the PAS-91 stage, the next stage of bidding for new construction tenders is responding to the ITT.

The ITT, which stands for invitation to tender, is released by the buyer. Suppliers need to respond to the ITT, demonstrating why their company is the best to deliver the contract.

An ITT could include:

  • The form of a tender
  • Preliminaries (including pre-construction information and site waste management plan)
  • Contract or contract conditions
  • Employer’s information requirements
  • A tender pricing document
  • A drawing schedule
  • Design drawings
  • Specifications
  1. Submit your tender response

The final stage of bidding for new construction tenders is to submit your tender response.

Your tender response should include details of the following:

  • Methods
  • Your pricing
  • How you’ll meet the requirements
  • Supporting documents, such as case studies, policies and procedures

Win a new construction tender with these helpful tips:

  • Your company should be the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)

To win a new construction tender, your company needs to be the Most Economically Advantageous Tender. Basically, this means that your company will provide the best quality services for the lowest price.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the cheapest price will win. It’s all about finding the supplier who offers the best value for money.

  • Carefully read the buyer’s specifications

When you find a new construction tender for your business, it’s important that you carefully read through the buyer’s specifications.

The buyer needs to see that your company is capable of delivering the contract. If you don’t read the specifications, you may miss key details that are important for the bid. You might miss crucial information from your tender response.

  • Give yourself enough time

New construction tenders will take up a lot of your time. So, to win your next bid, you need to give yourself enough time to produce your response.

This is particularly important for construction tenders. The buyer may ask you to provide a drawing schedule or even design drawings as part of your bid. The last thing you want is to submit an incomplete bid because you ran out of time. Giving yourself plenty of time ensures that you don’t rush through the tender.

  • Proofread your response

When faced with a long document, it can be easy to miss mistakes and errors. Especially if you produced the document yourself. That’s why it’s so important to proofread your response when bidding for new construction tenders.

A tender response full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors won’t impress the buyer. In fact, you’ll probably lose marks. To make sure this doesn’t happen, you should ask someone else to proofread your response for you.

  • Ask for feedback

 So far, we’ve offered you tips for winning a new construction tender. What should you do if you’re unsuccessful?

If you don’t win the bid, ask the buyer for feedback. Understanding where you went wrong could be the key to winning your next bid. You know how to improve for your next tendering opportunity.

Where can you find new construction tenders?

Are you looking for new construction tenders? Use Construction Tenders to find your next opportunity.

Construction Tenders is one centralised, easy-to-navigate portal hosting public and private construction leads and tendering opportunities.

You don’t need to rely on CPV Codes. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload tenders from thousands of websites, making it easier for you to find them. You can find the best tender for you by filtering the results by budget, keyword and location.

Here are previous construction tenders sourced on our portal:

Supply of Constructional Timber (Marine Grade)

Waterways Ireland (CA) – Republic of Ireland – Budget: £100k 

General Construction Multi Trade – Housing & Residential (20% VAT)

Homes for Haringey – London – Budget: £5million

Construction of 2 x 80m2 Mainstream Classrooms

St Patrick’s National School – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

Construction of a Cookery School Including All Ancillary Site Works & Services

 Fourth Nature Ltd – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

Household Waste Recycling Centre & Waste Transfer Station Middlemore Lane, Aldridge Construction & Fryers Road, Bloxwich Redevelopment

 Walsall Council e-Tendering – West Midlands – Budget: Undisclosed

A subscription to Construction Tenders will provide your business with:

  • Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities within the construction industry.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about competitive tendering in construction.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes free bid management consultancy each month.

Get in touch today to book a free live demo.

Want to save even more time? Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrade to Discover Elite to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. The Ultimate Time Saver and Become a Pre-Bid Master packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. They can help save you even more time when searching for new construction tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics.
  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package offers your business:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

 

Tender for Construction Projects

How to tender for construction projects step by step guide

Wondering how to tender for construction projects? In each industry, the tendering process can slightly differ. If you’re tendering in the construction industry and you’re unsure of the process, we can help you. We’ve put together a blog on things you need to know about tendering for construction projects.

Construction tenders are essentially public contract opportunities. In construction, an invitation to tender may be issued for a number of reasons to procure the likes of:

  • Services
  • Goods
  • Works
  • Utilities

Documents required for tenders for construction projects

Documents for tenders for construction projects may be prepared for a range of contracts such as:

  • Equipment supply
  • Main construction contracting including the design by the contractor
  • Demolition
  • Enabling works

Types of tenders for construction projects

No matter the service or goods being sought the tendering process can come in many formats. Types of tenders include:

  • Open tendering

In open tendering contracts are first advertised giving notice to anyone wanting to submit a tender. Open tenders usually provide an equal opportunity for any business to submit a tender.

  • Selective tendering

Pre-selected potential suppliers are invited to tender. They are assessed and approved as being able to fulfil the required work. Selective tendering is generally only used for specialist works or suitable companies.

  • Negotiated tendering

This is when a client reaches out to a single supplier. It could be because they’ve worked together previously, or they are a specialist in that area of expertise. Working with a supplier they already know can be reassuring for them as they know they can trust them.

  • Serial tendering

Serial tendering is when tenders are submitted based on typical quantities or schedule of works. The documents will detail the buildings that would be covered by the works.

  • Framework tendering

Framework tendering involves documents that establish the scope of the works or services required during a certain time period.

  • Single-stage and two-stage tendering

Single-stage tendering is the most common route. It means all the information required by the supplier to submit their bid is available.

Two-stage tendering is useful as it allows the early appointment of a supplier or specialist. In the first stage, the supplier and the buyer can make an agreement between themselves.

  • Public sector tendering

Most tendering opportunities are published by public sector departments. This is because most publicly funded organisations have to spend their money equally and wisely. They have to create fair and equal opportunities for suppliers competing for the bid.

Strong examples can help you win your bid

When tendering for construction projects the buyer wants evidence to see what you’re capable of. Always back up what you’re saying with evidence. Providing good examples of previous work can help you win a construction contract. Some examples may include:

  • References from clients
  • Before and after photos of a projects
  • Awards and nominations
  • Completed risk assessments

What to do if you’re unsuccessful with your bid?

Tendering for construction projects can be a competitive market as there is a lot of competition out there. Everyone wants to prove why they should win the bid so don’t be disheartened if you lose the bid. Asking for feedback can help you understand where you lost marks and help you improve for next time. There are a number of reasons you may have lost the bid including:

  • Not answering the question fully
  • Spelling and grammar errors
  • Not concise or clear
  • Not including everything requested

Asking for feedback shows the client that you are committed to improving your bid writing. We recommend meeting with your team who worked on the bid. Discuss what went wrong and how you can work together to improve on the next bid. It’s important everyone knows how they can turn those weaknesses into strengths. 

The most important thing to remember when tendering for a construction project is to prepare as much as possible. Give yourself plenty of time to read documents and understand the bid at hand. If you rush the tendering process, you’ll find yourself unsuccessful with the bid. Be prepared and read carefully!

The more you go through the tendering process, the better you will become at it.

Need help to tender for construction projects?

Finding the right tender for your business can take a large amount of time out of your day. There are thousands of websites posting multi-sector opportunities and searching for leads can turn into a full-time job. Each one may have its own portal, login or password. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Construction Tenders is one centralised and easy-to-navigate portal hosting exclusive, public and private construction leads and tendering opportunities. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV Codes! Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload tenders from thousands of websites across the UK. You’re able to filter and search the results by budget, keyword, location and more, streamlining the process.

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

  • Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities within the construction industry.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about competitive tendering in construction.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes for free consultancy with one of our Bid Writers each month.

We also source opportunities for services including;

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

 

Competitive Tendering in Construction

Competitive tendering in construction and how to succeed

Competitive tendering in construction is the most common method of procurement in the industry. In the past, the construction industry has gained a bad reputation for its low-price tendering methods. However, now competitive tendering processes are used in construction such as frameworks agreements.

Why is competitive tendering used in construction?

Competitive tendering in construction is used by a prospective supplier in response to an invitation to tender (ITT). Competitive tendering is used particularly by the public sector. The main objective of competitive tendering in construction is to obtain goods or services at the lowest cost. Now the public sector seeks to obtain goods or services that are the best value through open and fair competition.

Methods of assessing tenders other than the lowest cost include:

  • Best value
  • Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)
  • Mean value
  • Weighted selection criteria.

A competitive tendering is often done via open tendering in construction. This is one of the tender procedures where a buyer releases an ITT. A competing supplier can then respond to the open advertisement with their tender response.

Framework agreement

Framework agreements are used as a form of competitive tendering in construction that can benefit suppliers. Winning a place on a framework can secure your business a pipeline of work. Suppliers can have access to ongoing work whenever the buyer needs it. The benefit of being on a framework means suppliers don’t have to go through the whole process each time.

Framework agreements usually ask for multiple suppliers to deliver goods and services under one contact. It is a form of competitive tendering in construction used by the public sector. They can run for years at a time with the possibility of extension. Typically, a framework agreement is split into lots. Each lot represents a specific good, service, work or geographical location. Lots allow suppliers to apply for the specific good, service or region they specialise in.

Do you need help when it comes to competitive tendering in construction?

Writing a tender response  for construction contracts can be overwhelming if you’re just starting out. If you’re not sure about where to begin we can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support services. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or need your response proofread before you submit, we can assist your needs.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect construction tender for your business, why not send it over to us? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is perfect for those who have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to make sure you have everything you need in place to tender successfully. The 4-week programme offers your business:

  • A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders
  • Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals
  • An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
  • Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing the results you want, our Tender Improvement package can help. The Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders and additional tendering development services.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need someone to double-check it for errors, Tender Mentor can help. Our Bid Team will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also ensure that it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

Where can I find construction tenders for my business?

Finding the right tender for your business can take a large amount of time out of your day. There are thousands of websites posting multi-sector opportunities and searching for leads can turn into a full-time job. Each one may have its own portal, login or password. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Construction Tenders is one centralised and easy-to-navigate portal hosting exclusive, public and private construction leads and tendering opportunities. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV Codes! Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload tenders from thousands of websites across the UK. You’re able to filter and search the results by budget, keyword, location and more, streamlining the process.

Below are previous construction tenders sourced on our portal:

Isolation House at Westonbirt Arboretum

Forestry England- South West- Budget: £55,000

Building and Maintenance Services Contract

St Albans City & District Council- Eastern- Budget: Undisclosed

Estates Related Construction Framework at De Montfort University, Leicester, LE1 9BH

De Montfort University- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Outdoor Storage Room – CPTC

Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

BBV HS2 MWCC North – Sewer Diversion Tunnelling Design & Construction

Balfour Beatty VINCI JV HS2- West Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

  • Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities within the construction industry.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about competitive tendering in construction.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes for free consultancy with one of our Bid Writers each month.

We also source opportunities for services including;

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

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, helping you identify tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when competitive tendering in construction.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
  • Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable construction tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

3 Myths You’ll Hear When You Tender for Building Work

Don’t fall for these myths when you tender for building work

We often get asked a lot of questions surrounding how to tender for building work. A lot of businesses seem to have misconceptions about what’s required and expected when bidding. Tendering for work can help secure a pipeline of work for your business.

Myth 1: “Only big construction companies can tender for building work”

This is a common myth that is constantly floating around the procurement industry. However, this simply is not true and if you’re an SME you shouldn’t be put off by tendering for work. In fact, the government has addressed this issue. They have the aim of levelling the playing field between SMEs and big corporations.

The government has a pledge to spend £1 in every £3 with SMEs by 2022. This means that public sector organisations are actively looking to award contracts to smaller businesses. Moreover, they have social value targets to promote local SMEs to tender for local opportunities.

This means if you’re an SME, you have a good chance of securing a contract for work. Once you’ve secured one tender for building work, you can build up your experience and grow your company. More contracts mean more experience, which leads you to being able to compete for bigger contracts.

Myth 2: “You have to search hundreds of websites daily to find tenders for building work”

Yes, this can be true, but only if you’re not utilising a smart tracking tool. You don’t have to trawl through hundreds of different websites daily to source the right opportunity for your business. You should be using a site that hosts industry-specific unique, public and private tendering opportunities. The best tender websites won’t rely on CPV codes to track construction leads.

Manually sourcing and uploading opportunities allows for the most relevant tenders to be found. You can filter these results via keyword, budget and location allowing you to find the perfect tender for your business. Construction Tenders is one centralised, easy-to-navigate portal that does all of the above and more.

Below are previous tenders for building work sourced on our portal:

Holbeach Refurbishment Project

The Police & Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire- East Midlands- Budget: £300,000

Repairs Subcontractor Framework

Great Places Housing Group- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

L Block L0.07 Science Lab Refurbishment

University of Bedfordshire- Eastern- Budget: Undisclosed

Flat Roof Repairs – Niarbyl

Isle of Man Government- International- Budget: Undisclosed

M&E & Building Works Magma Lab

Cardiff University- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

 What’s included in a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders 

  • All unique, public and private opportunities across the construction sector.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about how to tender for building work.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes for free consultancy with one of our Bid Writers each month.

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

We also source opportunities for services including;

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

Myth 3: “The cheapest bid always wins”

It may have been true back in the day that the cheapest bid wins, however, that’s no longer the case. Not in public sector procurement anyway. This could very well be the case if tendering in the private sector. This is because private buyers are not bound by the same rules and regulations as the public sector.

In the public sector, the contract is awarded to the most economically advantageous tender. This is known as the MEAT and it means the buyer is looking at more than just price. They are looking for the tender that provides the most value for money. They’ll be looking at a combination of factors including, but not limited to:

  • Innovation
  • Technical ability
  • Quality
  • Price
  • Environmental factors
  • Ability to deliver on time
  • Sustainability
  • Accessibility
  • Social value.

Due to this, the quality of your written response counts, not just the price. Although, pricing your services right is important. You don’t want to undercut your competitors. A buyer won’t be best pleased if you under-price your services on your bid then go over budget on site. Therefore, it’s best to price your services competitively, but not overly cheap for the sake of it.

Need assistance when looking to tender for building work? 

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning tender response for construction contracts in-house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help optimise your chances of success. They know what buyers are looking for in your tender response and how to best convey it.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support services. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. Whether you’re completely new to tendering, or need your response proofread before you submit, we can help. We offer:

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, helping you identify tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when you tender for building work.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
  • Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable construction tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

Answers to your FAQs About Building Surveying Tenders

Building surveying tenders and where to find them

Building surveying tenders are great opportunities to grow your business. However, they can seem confusing and complicated, particularly if you’ve never tendered before. Both the private and public sector release tenders for building surveying works and services. 

Even if you have tendered for work before, you may have some questions and that’s perfectly normal. This blog will answer some of your frequently asked questions on building surveying tenders.

What services are expected from a building surveyor in building surveying tenders?

Building surveying tenders may be looking to procure the following services:

  • To support the design and build of building works.
  • Defect analysis, condition monitoring and design of solutions to building failures.
  • Conduct measured surveys of buildings preparation of drawings and legal mapping.
  • Provision of advice in relation to protected structures.
  • Provide a range of guidance in relation to the maintenance and repair of buildings.
  • Work with the Quantity Surveyor to deliver cost planning, tenders and contract administration of works.
  • Ensure the delivery of the design phase to RIBA 4.
  • Engage the services of a Structural Engineer to check the robustness of a design.
  • Attend project meetings.
  • Support the appointed Architect in preparing all design and detailed construction drawings.

What are building surveying framework agreements?

Sometimes, you can find building surveying tenders as part of a framework agreement. You may come across building surveying services as part of a larger framework for consultancy services. A framework agreement is a multi-supplier agreement that’s frequently used within the public sector. Frameworks can run for years at a time. They are a good way to secure a pipeline of work for your business if successful. Some may even have the possibility of an extension. 

They are split into lots with each lot representing a specific good, work, service or geographical location. Lots allow suppliers to apply to the specific lots they specialise in or specific region they operate in. Depending on the building surveying tender agreement, a supplier may be eligible to apply for more than one lot. If this is the case, you’ll need to be prepared to provide evidence. You’ll have to demonstrate that your business has the capacity and resources to undertake the works across the selected lots. 

Do I need to provide experience of previous contracts?

Typically, you will be required to detail evidence of your completion and experience of previous contracts. Buyers want to know that you’re qualified, practised and experienced in delivering contracts similar in scale and scope.  

Contractors will ask for you to provide previous case studies of contracts you have completed within the last five years. They should be tailored to exhibit your business capabilities and skillset. Depending on the word count, you could also detail any challenges you overcame, demonstrating your problem-solving skills and flexibility. Remember, keep them relevant to the contract at hand, including examples that are similar in complexity and location if possible. 

A useful way to structure your building surveying tenders case studies is by using the STAR format:

  • Situation – provide a brief context
  • Task – the work you faced
  • Action – what have you done?
  • Results – what were the results?

Will there be an opportunity to participate in a site visit?

You may be able to go on an optional or mandatory site visit prior to your tender submission. If this is an option, it’s highly recommended that you participate. Site visits give you an opportunity to see the proposed working environment with your own eyes. They can help you pick up on things you otherwise wouldn’t know and improve your tender response. They may even allow you to give more accurate pricing, gaining an insight into the buyer. 

Do contractors care about the quality of my written response?

In short, yes. Even if the quality section is weighted less than cost buyers want to see a high-quality written response. You want your tender response to be persuasive. You need to convince the buyer that you’re the best business for the job. A stellar written response will also help you stand out from your competitors. You should aim for your response to be clear and concise. You should try and get your written response to meet as close to the word or page counts as possible. 

Can I get help writing my next building surveying tenders?

Not every business has the time, resources or experience to write a winning response in-house. If that’s the case, outsourcing your next bid to tender writing specialists can help you secure your next construction contract. 

Our sister company Hudson Succeed, are bid writing experts. They have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. They offer four bid writing support services that can help with your next tender response. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or need your bid response proofread before you submit – they can help.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect building surveying tender for your business, why not send it over to them? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf. 

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need someone to double-check it for errors, Tender Mentor can help. Our Bid Team will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also ensure that it’s in line with the specification before you submit. 

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is perfect for those who have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to make sure you have everything you need in place to tender successfully. The 4-week programme offers your business:

  • A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders
  • Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals 
  • An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
  • Additional flexible benefit options.  

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing the results you want, our Tender Improvement package can help. The Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders and additional tendering development services.

Where can I find building surveying tenders for my business?

Finding the right building surveying tenders for your business can take up a lot of your time. You already have enough on your plate running a business to worry about trawling through various websites. Each website or portal may require its own login and password and keeping track can turn into a full-time job. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was one, easy-to-navigate centralised portal that posts construction sector specific opportunities? 

Enter…Construction Tenders!

Construction Tenders hosts all the live construction leads and tenders from across the construction industry. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload tenders from thousands of websites in the UK. There’s no reliance on inaccurate CPV codes that often results in missed opportunities. You’re able to search and filter the results by location, budget, keyword and more. This allows you to find the perfect building surveying tenders to suit your business needs.

Below are previous building surveying tenders sourced on our portal:

1733/MR Building Surveying (Project) Estates and Facilities Management Consultancy Framework 

University of Sheffield- Yorkshire and Humber- Budget: Undisclosed

Building Surveying Consultancy Framework 

St.Helens Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Building Surveying Consultancy Services 

University of Ulster- Northern Ireland- Budget: £600,000

Building Surveying Services 

Bath and North East Somerset Council- South West- Budget: Undisclosed

Building Surveying Services for St Helens Council 

St.Helens Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

What’s included in a subscription to Construction Tenders?

A 12-month subscription to our Construction Tenders portal offers your business:

  • Access to all unique, public and private sector opportunities across the construction sector. 
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about building surveying tenders
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.

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

We also source opportunities for services including;

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

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, optimising your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for building surveying tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
  • Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable building surveying tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

Cost Consultancy Tenders Explained

Cost consultancy tenders: 3 things to expect

Cost consultancy tenders can be a difficult field to navigate if you’re new to the process. However, tendering for work can have multiple benefits for your business, helping it to grow. Cost consultancy tenders are released within the construction industry by public and private businesses looking to procure cost consultancy services. 

Below are 3 things you can expect with cost consultancy tenders

1. An open tendering procedure

An open tendering procedure is often used for cost consultancy tenders within the public sector. This process is commonly used to procure services that are deemed to be straightforward. It allows any business to bid for their contract. An invitation to tender (ITT) is published and any prospective supplier can respond. An ITT will often be split into two sections consisting of price and quality. The quality response often requires you to detail:

The ITT also usually includes details of the:

  • Award criteria
  • Terms and conditions

2. Framework Agreements

You can often find cost consultancy tenders as part of framework agreements. Framework agreements are multi-supplier contracts that can run for years at a time. They may even have the possibility of an extension and can be lucrative opportunities for your business. Frameworks are often used within the public sector to procure multiple suppliers for different services, good or works.

They are typically split into lots with each lot representing a specific good, service, work or geographical location. Lots allow suppliers to apply to the specific lots they specialise in or specific region they operate in. Depending on the agreement, a supplier may be eligible to apply for more than one lot. This will be stated within the cost consultancy tender documents. A buyer will require you to supply evidential proof that they’re able to carry out the contract. They must have the appropriate capacity and resources to undertake the works across all selected lots.

3. Case studies 

Cost consultancy tenders will require you to include a maximum of three previous case studies of previous contract examples. You should aim to keep these relevant. Include examples that are similar in scope, scale and location to the contract at hand. They should be tailored to demonstrate your business capabilities and include any challenges you overcame. Including unexpected challenges will allow you to demonstrate your problem-solving skills and flexibility. 

Need assistance when writing your next cost consultancy tenders?

All buyers care about the quality of your written bid response, even if the quality is weighted less than price. You may not always have the time or resources to write winning cost consultancy tenders. If that’s the case, outsourcing it to bid writing specialists can help you secure your construction contract. 

Our sister company Hudson Succeed, are bid writing experts. They have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. They offer four bid writing support services that can help with your next tender response. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or need your bid response proofread before you submit – they can help.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect cost consultancy tender for your business, why not send it over to them? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf. 

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need someone to double-check it for errors, Tender Mentor can help. Our Bid Team will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also ensure that it’s in line with the specification before you submit. 

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is perfect for those who have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to make sure you have everything you need in place to tender successfully. The 4-week programme offers your business:

  • A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders
  • Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals 
  • An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
  • Additional flexible benefit options.  

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing the results you want, our Tender Improvement package can help. The Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders and additional tendering development services.

Where can I find cost consultancy tenders for my business?

Finding the right cost consultancy tenders for your business can take hours out of your busy day. Searching multiple websites and portals can end up feeling like a full-time job! Luckily, we have a solution. 

Construction Tenders is one centralised easy-to-navigate portal that hosts all live construction leads and tenders from across the construction industry. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload tenders from thousands of websites in the UK. There’s no reliance on inaccurate CPV codes that often results in missed opportunities. You’re able to search and filter the results by location, budget, keyword and more. This allows you to find the perfect cost consultancy tenders to suit your business needs. 

What’s included in a subscription to Construction Tenders?

A 12-month subscription to our Construction Tenders portal offers your business:

  • Access to all unique, public and private sector opportunities across the construction sector. 
  • A dedicated Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about cost consultancy tenders
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
  • 20-minutes of free bid management consultancy each month.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.

Below are previous cost consultancy tenders sourced on our portal:

Professional Services Framework for Project Management and Cost Consultancy Services 

Radius Housing Association- Northern Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Provision of Cost Consultancy & Employers Agent Services 

Niche Procurement Limited- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Provision of Cost Consultancy Services 

Niche Procurement Limited- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Provision of Quantity Surveyor and Cost Consultancy Services 

National Museums Scotland- Scotland- Budget: Undisclosed

SADC ITT for the Provision of Cost Consultancy ‘Holyrood Crescent Project’ 

Supply Hertfordshire- Eastern- Budget: Undisclosed

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

We also source opportunities for services including;

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

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, optimising your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for cost consultancy tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
  • Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable cost consultancy tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

What to Expect from Civil Engineering Tenders

Civil engineering tenders and where to find them

Civil engineering tenders are released by a broad range of organisations. Predominantly, they can be expected in the public sector and local councils are often procuring civil engineering works and services.

Civil engineering tenders can cover a broad scope of works and services. Often, they’re split into two broad categories:

  1. Minor Civils and building works

These are typically used for minor works that are small and uncomplex construction projects. This could cover both new and repair and renovation works that are below £500,000 in value. These civil engineering tenders could cover activities and works such as:

  • Footpath and cycleway improvements
  • Flood alleviation and land drainage improvements
  • Environmental improvements
  • Highway improvements
  • Hard landscaping
  • Construction of above and below ground structures
  • Drainage works.
  1. Major and complex works

These typically involve large one-off projects with a value over £500,000. Such civil engineering tenders often cover works such as:

  • Public buildings
  • Bridges
  • Coastal defences
  • Infrastructures such as drainage and flood defences.

RIBA planning and outline

Civil engineering tenders may require you to provide a RIBA Plan of Work outline for a certain stage. For example, this may be required for civil engineering tenders for new housing. This could include but isn’t limited to:

  • A detailed design of the work
  • Technical approvals
  • The main contract bid compliance checking
  • Works compliance and design checking
  • Design risk assessment
  • Full technical design and specification
  • Obtaining technical approval
  • Provision Sums for meetings
  • Project brief table
  • Health and safety.

Framework agreements

Civil engineering tenders can often be found as part of a framework agreement. Framework agreements are multi-supplier agreements often used within the public sector. The length of each framework agreement can vary from a few months to multiple years. Some even offer the possibility of extension. Due to this, securing a place on a framework agreement can be a lucrative opportunity for your business.

Framework agreements are split into different lots. Each lot can either be a specific good, service, work or geographical location. They allow suppliers to apply to be part of a wider contract without needing to supply all areas. The number of suppliers for each lot varies and can be anything from four suppliers for one lot to ten. Suppliers need only apply for the specific lot[s] they specialise in.

Depending on the buyer, suppliers may be able to bid on any or all of the framework lots available. This will be stated within the tender documents and tender specification released by the buyer. If this is an option, a supplier must be able to demonstrate that they’re able to undertake all works. They must have the appropriate capacity and resources to undertake the works across all selected lots. Civil engineering tender lots are typically split into geographical location and project value.

Past experience

Civil engineering tenders will likely require you to provide previous contract examples of work you have completed. They should be similar in complexity and scope and style. You may be asked for up to three examples within the last five years. They are often referred to as case studies and can strengthen your bid. Make sure you keep them relevant and include any challenges you overcame.

The contract will be awarded to the MEAT

As civil engineering tenders are frequent within the public sector, you should aim to be the MEAT. The MEAT stands for the most economically advantageous tender. This means the buyer is looking for a tender that provides the most value for money. A buyer will look at a combination of factors both individually and combined. These can include, but aren’t limited to, the following:

  • Innovation
  • Accessibility
  • Ability to deliver on time and within budget
  • Technical ability
  • Quality
  • Environmental and sustainable factors.

Social value

Local authorities civil engineering tenders now have a mandatory minimum 10% weighting on social value. It’s an important aspect of any public sector contract. The promises you make in the section can be contractually binding, so it’s not something you should gloss over. Social value is the social, environmental and economic aspects you plan to address during the contract. This could include:

  • COVID-19 recovery
  • Reducing waste
  • Creating new jobs and promoting skills
  • Tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions
  • Paying employee National Living Wage to tackle economic inequality
  • The equal opportunities policies you implement.

 Company CVs

Construction contracts in the UK may require you to include detailed CVs of the team members proposed to work on the project. Contractors like to see that your employees are qualified, and you should demonstrate their suitability for the project at hand. Each CV should detail what the specific team member will be responsible for. You could include their:

  • Job title
  • Qualifications and accreditations
  • Experience.

You could include a professional and friendly-looking photo of each team member. This will allow buyers to put a face to a name and is a nice touch. CVs should be focused, as relevant and concise as possible while still being thorough.

Need assistance writing your next civil engineering tenders?

You may not always have the time or resources to write winning civil engineering tenders. If that’s the case, outsourcing it to bid writing specialists can help you secure your next bid.

Our sister company Hudson Succeed, are bid writing experts. They have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate.

They offer four bid writing support services that can help you win your next civil engineering tenders. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or need your bid response proofread before you submit – they can help.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect civil engineering tender for your business, why not send it over to us? Our Bid Writers can take care of it all for you. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is perfect for those who have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to make sure you have everything you need in place to tender successfully. The 4-week programme offers your business:

  • A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders
  • Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding professionals
  • An organisation-wide Bid Library, including 3 case studies, 5 CV’s and 8 policies
  • Additional flexible benefit options.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing the results you want, our Tender Improvement package can help. The Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents, working with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders and additional tendering development services.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need someone to double-check it for errors, Tender Mentor can help. Our Bid Team will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also ensure that it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

Where can I source civil engineering tender opportunities?

Sourcing the right civil engineering tenders for your business can take hours out of your day. There are various portals and websites that require different login details and passwords. Keeping track of them all can turn into a full-time job! We have a time-saving tool that can optimise your tendering efforts allowing you time to focus on your business.

Construction Tenders is a portal that hosts all the live construction leads and tendering opportunities within the construction industry. Gone are the days of relying on inaccurate CPV codes! Our Opportunity Trackers source and upload exclusive, public and private sector opportunities from across the UK. You’re able to filter and search the results by keyword, budget, location and more.

Below are previous civil engineering tenders sourced on our portal:

Civil Engineering Enabling Works at Holborn, South Shields – to Include Extensive Maritime and Geotechnical Elements

South Tyneside Council- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

Civil Engineering Works Associated with Water Supply to Group Water Schemes Including Minor Environmental Works in County Donegal

Donegal County Council- Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

HCD0118 SC Engineering Services – HCD 0118 Provision of Structural & Civil Engineering Services

Donegal County Council- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Highways & Civil Engineering Materials

Newcastle City Council- North East- budget: Undisclosed

Minor Civil Engineering work for Warwick District

Coventry Council- Solihull – Warwickshire- West Midlands- Budget: £4,000,000

A subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

  • Access to all unique, private and public sector opportunities across the Construction industry.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions you may have about civil engineering tenders.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new construction tenders are uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.

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

We also source opportunities for services including;

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

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, helping you identify tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for civil engineering tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics for example.
  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
  • Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable civil engineering tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package includes:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

Steel Work Tenders: 6 Tips for Success

Steel Work Tenders in the Public Sector

Steel work tenders can help your steel company secure a pipeline of construction contracts. There are buyers in both the public and private sectors. Within the public sector, local councils are often commissioning steel work tenders and services. Such services could range from a multitude of buildings including residential, educational and commercial.

Steel work tenders can be released by buyers to procure:

  • Primary Framing
  • Secondary Framing
  • Structural steel work
  • Maintenance painting of steel work
  • Steel work for major projects.

6 tips to succeed when writing your responses for steel work tenders

  1. Plan

You should always plan your response for steel work tenders. Adequate planning can help you avoid any silly errors such as misjudging deadlines, formats and word counts.

Remember to note down all the important dates listed in the tender specification, these are likely to include:

  1. Attend on-site visits 

Site visits can be a great opportunity to strengthen your written responses. It’s strongly advised that you undertake a site visit where possible. Attending one may help you gain an insight into the buyer and help you achieve more accurate pricing.

They also allow prospective suppliers to see the environment they will be working in. This allows you to see things with your own eyes. You might just pick up on something that you otherwise wouldn’t be aware of.

  1. Demonstrate value for money

Steel work tenders in the public sector will award responses that produce the best value for money. Public sector contracts will be looking to award the Most Economically Advantageous Tender, known as the MEAT. The MEAT means the buyer is looking at more than just price. It is important to note that the cheapest bid does not always win.

You should price your services sensibly. Under-pricing your services won’t give you an edge over your competitors in this case. In the most commonly used tendering procedures, negotiating isn’t permitted further down the line. Some steel work tenders will put a larger weighting on price than quality, and visa versa. However, to ensure value for money, you should consider the following, for example:

  • Quality costs and benefits of products
  • Any additional economic benefit that may result from your project
  • Energy and water management
  • Full costs associated with transport and delivery
  • Insurance
  • Maintenance
  • After sale support
  • Waste disposal and reduction of waste
  • Sustainability
  • Supply chain management
  • Ability to deliver on time
  • The costs and benefits to society as a whole.
  1. Don’t gloss over social value

It’s essential for any successful bid, that your business considers the social economic and environmental impacts of fulfilling the contract. Social value now has a mandatory minimum weighting of 10% within government contracts.

It is not something that should be glossed over or treated as an afterthought. The government takes this part seriously and wants to see you making commitments that you can keep. There are qualifications that are relevant for this, such as ISO 14001.

The social value model has the aim of:

  • Encouraging economic growth.
  • Tackling economic and diversity inequality.
  • Creating new jobs.
  • Tackling climate change.

Within your steel work tenders response, you should note how your business is:

  • Supporting COVID-19 recovery.
  • Providing skills and development training, supporting the local community and long term unemployed.
  • Sustainably sourcing.
  • Considering environmental issues and helping to fight climate change.
  • Upholding equal opportunity and diversity policies. 
  1. A high-quality written response

The quality of your written response for steel work tenders is always going to matter. Buyers expect a strong written response, even if there is a larger weighting on price. Your written response is what can help separate you from your competitors.

Your written response is should be persuasive to the buyer. Why should they pick your business? Why are you the best business for the job? What do you offer that your competitors don’t? Sell yourself and your company to the buyer and give them a reason to pick you.

Remember to keep your response clear and concise, writing as close to the word count as possible. Avoid rambling on with overly technical jargon.

  1. Provide evidence

Make sure that you have relevant past experiences that you can evidence in your response.

You will likely be required to provide up to three case studies of previous contracts you have carried out. They should be similar in calibre, scope, scale and tailored to demonstrate your abilities. They should be contracts that you have completed within the last five years.

Need help writing your next steel work tenders?

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% bid success rate. They have over 60 years of collective experience and are well versed in writing construction industry tender responses. They offer four levels of bid writing support.

Tender Ready

The Tender Ready 4-week programme is designed for businesses who are completely new to tendering. Our Bid Writers will work with you to ensure you have everything you need to produce a winning bid.

Tender Improvement

Our Tender Improvement package can help if you aren’t seeing success from your current tendering efforts. Our Bid Team will assess your previous steel work tender responses and tender documents. They’ll then give you guidance and feedback, working with you to improve for future submissions.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect steel work tenders for your business, why not send it over to our team? They’ll provide you with a full Tender Writing breakdown, letting you know what they need from you. Our Bid Writers will take care of everything for you – they’ll even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Mentor

Our Tender Mentor service can make sure your response is free of grammar and spelling mistakes before you submit. One of our Bid Writers will proofread your response, checking it’s in line with the specification.

How can I find the right steel work tenders for my business?

Use a sector specific portal

Finding the right steel work tenders for your business is half the battle. Often tender websites host tenders across multiple sectors and industries which are updated daily. It can take a large amount of time out of your day trying to find suitable tenders. Relying on CPV codes can result in missed opportunities. This is because they are often mislabelled, meaning you could be missing out on the right tenders for your company.

You should use a sector-specific portal to save you time when searching for your next steel work tenders. One that uses keyword tracking and provides good customer service is a plus. Construction Tenders focuses on opportunities in construction. Our Opportunity Trackers manually source contracts for clients who can then filter the results by keyword, location, budget and more.

Below are previous steel work tenders sourced on our portal:

Civil Ground Works & Site Preparation, Including Structural Steel Works and Relocation of Site Offices

Mayo County Council- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Gable Grade11* Listed Prep & Repainting High Level Steel Work

Manchester City Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Mezzanine Steel Works for The Zepher Building Harwell Science & Innovation Campus

Satellite Applications Catapult Limited- South East- Budget: £50,000

Whiffens Avenue, Chatham – Primary Steel Works – Secured Project

Medway Council- South East- Budget: Undisclosed

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders. We source opportunities for services including;

A 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders offers your business:

  • A team of Opportunity Trackers sourcing steel work tenders from thousands of websites.
  • Access to unique, private and public construction bids from across the UK.
  • An on-hand Account Manager to answer any questions or queries you may have about steel work tenders.
  • The ability to filter search results by keyword, budget, location and more.
  • A daily email bulletin notifying you of all relevant construction leads uploaded that day.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our Bid Writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free consultancy each month with our Bid Experts.

Want to save even more time?

Discover Elite can help optimise your tendering opportunities – even when you’re busy! Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each package can help save you even more time when searching for steel work tenders.

The Ultimate Time Saver package includes:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics.
  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your on-hand Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package offers your business:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

Cable Laying Tenders: The Fundamentals

How to succeed with cable laying tenders

Cable laying tenders can seem daunting if you have never completed one before. Those who have tendered for construction contracts in the UK before know what a minefield it can be. Cable laying tenders are often released by businesses that are looking for the supply, replacement, and installation of cables. They could be required for residential properties, office buildings or hospitals to name a few.

COVID-19 has led to a steep increase in businesses across the board turning to tendering to secure a pipeline of work. While social distancing is still in play, tendering allows you to grow your business without the need for face-to-face meetings.

There are multiple benefits for choosing tendering as a route for your business to go down. Bidding for cable laying tenders in the public sector, there can offer multiple advantages. For example, if successful, you are guaranteed pay due to the regulations public sector organisations are bound by. The Prompt Payment Code must be adhered to which can give businesses a steady form of income. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that the private sector is not bound by these rules.

Open tendering procedure

More often than not, cable laying tenders will be an open tendering procedure. An open tendering procedure is often used within the public sector. It’s a process that’s commonly used as it is fairly straightforward.

ITT

Typically, a buyer will release an invitation to tender, known as an ITT. In an open tendering procedure, when an ITT is released, any prospective suppler can respond. Each supplier should aim to convey and persuade the buyer that they are the best business for the job.

MEAT

Once all bids have been submitted, the buyer reviews all the responses and will make their decision. The tender will then be awarded to the most economically advantageous tender, known as the MEAT. A buyer will have evaluated both the price and quality of each of the cable laying tenders. For MEAT, the buyer is looking at more than just price. It’s important to note the cheapest bid does not always win. A buyer assesses multiple aspects of a bid, this could include the following:

  • Environmental factors
  • Accessibility
  • Quality management
  • Ability to deliver on time
  • Innovation
  • Technical Ability
  • Experience.

Experience

Demonstrating that you have relevant experience is important for all cable laying tenders. Buyers will want to know that you are experienced and will be able to deliver the contract. Most contacts will require you to include past case studies of completed works of similar scope. If you have completed works in a similar geographical location, that’s a plus.

Often, three previous case studies within the last five years are required. You want to make sure that when providing your examples, that you keep them relevant to the specification. Case studies should demonstrate your business’ capabilities. Some tenders may ask for testimonials and the contact information of past clients.

The word count will suggest the amount of detail you should go into. It may be worth including how you overcame any unexpected logistical challenges, if any. This will exhibit your problem-solving skills and flexibility that are constantly needed within the construction industry.

Site Visits

The construction industry often offers the chance for prospective suppliers to complete a site visit. This should be detailed within the specification or tender documentation. If this is the case, it’s strongly encouraged that you undertake a site visit where possible.

Site visits allow prospective buyers to actually see the environment that they will be working in, if successful. They are a great opportunity to strengthen your cable laying tenders. They may be able to help you achieve more accurate pricing, better quality responses and gain insight into the buyer. This is a chance to gather more information that you otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

Buyers care about the quality of your writing

Buyers care about the quality of your written response. They have high expectations that will be met by suppliers that have a strong written response. Even if the quality response is weighted less than the price, it’s still important to score well. That is what could distinguish you from your competitors.

Your response should be clear and concise showing attention to detail. However, it should not leave room for the buyer to make assumptions, nor should it ramble on with technical jargon. You want to respond to questions as close to the word or page counts as possible. The buyer included them for a reason. If they give 500 words for a response, a couple of sentences simply will not suffice.

If writing isn’t your strong suit – we can help.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts over 60 years of collective bid writing experience. They have an 87% success rate and are well versed in writing construction bids. Whether you’ve never tendered before or aren’t seeing success from your current efforts, they offer four levels of support.

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect cable laying tenders for your business, why not send it over to our team? We know how busy you can be while running a business. You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning bid in-house. Our Bid Team will provide a full Tender Writing breakdown and will even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Ready

Tender Ready offers a 4-week programme that’s perfectly designed for businesses who are completely new to tendering. Hudson Succeed’s Bid Writers work with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully. This includes creating a bid library and a 12-month subscription to Construction Tenders.

Tender Improvement

The Tender Improvement package can help if you aren’t seeing success from your current responses for cable laying tenders. Our Bid Writers will look over your past submissions and supporting documents. They’ll then give you feedback and guidance on how to improve on future submissions.

Tender Mentor 

Tender Mentor can double-check your bid response for errors before you submit. Our Bid Writers will proofread, checking for any grammatical or spelling mistakes and ensure it’s in line with the specification.

Where can I find cable laying tenders?

Now you know how to get the most out of your cable laying tenders. Now, you may be wondering where to find them.

You likely don’t have the spare time to trawl the internet looking for the right opportunity for your business. Luckily for you, our Construction Tenders portal can help. We source construction leads from thousands of sources daily. Our Opportunity Trackers manually upload them meaning no more missed opportunities due to unreliable CPV codes.

Searches can be filtered by budget, location, keyword and more – streamlining the process. A subscription to Construction Tenders includes a dedicated Account Manager. They can answer any questions or queries you may have about cable laying tenders or the bidding process in general. You’ll even get a daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new tenders are uploaded.

Below are past cable laying tenders we’ve sourced on our portal:

Excavation, Cable Laying and Reinstatement

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks- Northern Ireland- Budget: £36,500,000

Supply and Install New Cables at Solihull Hospital

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust- West Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Data Cabling and Extra Low Voltage Control Cabling

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Pressurise HV Cables

South Tees Site Company- North East- Budget: £45,000

Replacement of Electrical Cabling at the NORA Mainland Tankfarm, Tarbert, Co. Kerry

National Oil Reserves Agency- Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Cable Pulling Services

Hastoe HA- London- Budget: Undisclosed

Supply of Inline Cable Joint

Iarnród Eireann-Irish Rail- Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

The best way to venture into the tendering world is through booking a live demo of Construction Tenders. We source opportunities for services including;

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

Upgrade to Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can help optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two packages can save you even more time when searching for cable laying tenders. The Ultimate Time Saver and Become and Pre-Bid Master packages can improve your bidding success rate and competitor awareness.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers:

  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option best suits a business that overlaps two industries such as Construction and Logistics.
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package offers your business:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.