Firstthingsfirst
qInstartingaplanforatenderwritingsubmission,theveryfirstthingaTenderWriter mustdoisreadoverthedocumentationpackindetail.
qReadthispackthroughtwice;thefirsttimewithahighlightertoidentifyallinformation, attachments,etceterathatwillneedtobeincludedintheTenderwritingresponse.The secondreadingshouldbeslowerandmoremethodical;thistimetakingnoteoftasks neededtobecompletedorresponsesectionsinformationneededaspartofthe responseandwhereyoumightneedtogetthisinformationfrom.
qTheTenderWriteralsoneedstoidentifyanyinformationnotavailableinthe organisation,orpartsoftheprojectthatwhichtherespondingorganisationcannot directlyservice,andtherefore,whetherthereareoutsideorganisationsthatmaybe neededaspartnersonthetenderwritingresponse.
qWhilstreadingthroughtherequirements,termsandconditions,thetenderwriteralso needstoadoptanairofdiscernment,askingthemselveswhetherthistenderisagoodfit fortheorganisationtoevencompetefor.
qGivenTenderWritingisatime-consumingprocess,thistimerepresentsacostforthe organisation,soitisimportanttoconsiderwhetherthetimeisagoodinvestmentor whethertheattempttowinthistenderwouldbealong-shot.
qInsuchcases,itispotentiallynotworthconsumingtheTenderWriters’timewhenthere couldbebettersuitedtenderwritingopportunitieswherethattimeinvestedhasa higherchanceofreturningaworthwhileresult.
Collaborate
q
Nowthatallthekeyelementsoftheresponsehavebeenidentified,theTenderWriter needstodeterminewhichelementsrequireacollaborativeeffortandwhowillbe involvedinthecollaboration.
qThiscollaborationmaytakeplacebetweenthetenderwriterandselectedpeopleor departmentswithintheorganisation.
qThecollaborationmayalsotakeplacewithothersupplierswheretheresponding organisationneedstooutsourcepartsofthesolution,orpurchaseequipmentfromother organisations.
qRegardlessofwhoisneededinthecollaborativeefforts,itisimportanttoensure managementmakeallparticipantsawareoftheimportanceofthetime-sensitivenature andgarnertheircommitmenttoworkcooperativelyasateamforthebestpossible outcome.
qDuringthisphaseitisalsoimportanttoensureallcontributorstotheTenderWriting responseunderstandtheparttheyplay,therequiredtiming,termsandconditionsthat mayberelevanttothatpart,andthattheyallocateresourcestoassistasmoothTender
Writingprocesstomaximisesuccesspotential.
MakeaChecklist
qNowthattheTenderWriterhasthemarked-updocumentation,notesandaclearideaof thecollaborationsrequired,thenextstepistomakeachecklist.
qWorkingthroughthenotesandthetenderdocuments,theTenderWriterwillmakealist ofeverythingneedingtobeprepared,informationneededtoanswerresponsesand attachmentsrequiredforthesubmissionpackage.
qAlongsidethislist,theTenderwriterwilladdnamesofthepartyorpersonresponsibleor tobeconsultedwithinordertocompletethetask.
qNext,theTenderWriterwillworkthrougheachitemandassignadue-datefor completion,whichwillkeeptheTenderontracksoitmaybesubmittedontime.Usually thisdateshouldbeearlier,ratherthanlater,sothatthereisabufferavailablebetween whenalltasksare‘expected’tobecompletedandwhenthetenderwillbesubmitted.
qThiswillallowforanyunforeseencircumstancesandallowtimeforafullreviewbefore submission.
UtiliseReminders
qArmedwiththechecklist,theTenderWriternowsetsaboutensureallcontributorshave aclearunderstandingoftheirobligationsandthetimingrequiredtheircontribution.
qThebestoptionistosendtasksoreventplaceholderstotheirdiary,regardlessofwhat systemisinuse.
qThesediaryoptionsshouldincludeboththefinaldatethattheinformationisrequired, andasuitablereminderpriortothatdate,whichwillremindthemto‘start’onthatwork incaseithasfallenofftheirradar.
qEverydateshouldalsoberecordedintotheTenderWriter’sdiaryaswellsothatthe TenderWriterbecomesthekeycoordinatorandcanberegularlycheckinginon contributorstoensuretheyareontrackandhaveallavailableresourcesandinformation neededtocompletetheirtask.
Whatelse?
qThereare,ofcourse,severalotherstepsthatarevitaltotheTenderWritingsubmission process.
qHowever,byinvestingtimeatthestartofthewholeTenderWritingprocess,theTender WriteriscreatingasolidfoundationfromwhichtobuildasolidTenderWriting submission.
qHavingthesethingsinplacealsoreducesthestressofoverwhelmthatcanbecommon forTenderWriterstodealwithastheclosingdatenears.
qRedTapeBustershavealargeteamofexperiencedTenderWriterswhocanmanagethe entireTenderWritingsubmissionandeliminatestressfromanorganisation’steam, leavingthemtofocusontheircorejobswhicharethethingstheydobest.
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