Tendering is a highly competitive and time-sensitive process through which business opportunities can be won. Whether it’s a government contract or a private sector project, meeting tender deadlines is always a looming threat.
More critical is the on-time tender submission. Missed deadlines can result in the automatic disqualification of a bid.
Complex paperwork, coordination of groups, and uncertainty of last-minute delays can derail even the best-prepared tender response. Poor time management often delivers poor quality and missed deadlines.
This blog will provide you with effective techniques to manage your time, allowing you to submit quality tenders without missing any deadlines.
Understanding the Tendering Process and Deadlines
The tendering process is typically divided into three stages: preparation, submission, and evaluation. There are specific time management issues associated with each stage.
(a) Tendering Stages
- Preparation: At this stage you understand the client's requirements, gather documents to be needed, and prepare your offer. This requires alignment with multiple internal teams related to sales, technical, legal, and finance. This is the phase of identifying potential risks that may delay your progress as well.
- Submission: After finalizing the proposal, the next step is submission. This involves thorough checking to confirm that all the required documents are there, the proposal adheres to all requirements, and the submission site is in good working order.
- Evaluation: Upon submission, the client evaluation of the tenders begins. Ensuring your proposal is error-free and submitted on time can determine how your tender is handled.
(b) Typical Tender Deadlines
- Internal deadlines often keep the process running, but the actual deadlines for most clients are usually what they set.
- Tender deadlines usually will depend on the nature of the tender to which you are responding. For example, a Request for Proposal (RFP) might offer more time than an Invitation to Tender (ITT), but both are equally time-sensitive.
- You must always respect the deadlines set by the client, as failing to set internal deadlines would leave no time to review and finalize your submission.
Tender Deadline Management Strategy
Managing tender deadlines involves effective planning and coordination. The following are key strategies for keeping everything on track:
(a) Create a Detailed Timeline (Backward Planning)
The best way to manage time during tender preparation is through backward planning. Start with the submission date and work backwards, setting milestones in between. The milestones, therefore, include:
These timeline details will help you identify bottlenecks earlier, ensuring that every aspect of tendering stays on schedule. This planning method provides a comprehensive view of the tasks needed to meet your deadline. It also makes coordination between team members smoother.
(b) Use Tender Management Software and Tools
- The right tools make a significant difference in time management and keeping the tender process as per deadlines. Various software applications and tools are available that help share documents, assign tasks, and even track real-time information.
- On the other hand, some specialized eProcurement platforms such as Tender Grid, offer integrated solutions that are already designed to manage the complexity of the tender process, making it easier to keep track of and submit bids on time.
(c) Delegate and Coordinate Across Teams Early
- Tender preparation requires inputs from various departments, which may include technical teams, finance, legal, and project management. The responsibilities are delegated, and hence, everyone has enough time to perform their respective duties.
- This step helps avoid last-minute chaos by ensuring roles and deadlines are clearly defined.
- Regular check-ins are essential to review progress on tasks and remove the roadblocks that come up.
(d) Set Internal Deadline Before Official Tender Deadline
- Setting internal deadlines 2 or 3 days before the official deadlines adds a useful buffer. This provides extra time for final reviews, adjustments, or dealing with unforeseen issues. If you strictly adhere to only the official client-imposed deadline, you will end up doing last-minute work. This makes space for an increase in mistakes or missing details.
- Businesses must apply internal deadlines to every stage, from preparing documents to reviewing meetings. By building up this extra time, you can ensure a quality final submission.
(e) Risk Management: Delay Identification and Mitigation
- Even the best-planned projects may be delayed without your fault. Being aware of possible potential risks, such as delayed approvals, missing documentation, or unavailability of your team members, you can be prepared with a contingency plan.
- Flexibility in the timeline helps solve unforeseen problems without affecting the entire process. Such incidents will not significantly delay tender preparation if you have a good risk management plan.
Best Practices for Managing Time While Ensuring Tender Quality
Time management means a lot in completing any work on time but, at the same time, it should not be compromised and lose quality. Time and quality can both be managed with the following best practices:
Avoid Last-Minute Submission:
- Last-minute submissions are a recipe for disaster. When submitting a tender, ensure that the proposal is complete, compliant, and free of errors.
- A rushed review may result in typos, omissions, or failures in compliance requirements, all of which reduce your chances of success.
Iterative Drafting and Reviews:
- Do not wait until the eleventh hour to put in the perfect proposal, instead segment the process into sequential drafts.
- First, create an initial version of the tender. Then, regularly engage stakeholders for feedback. This iterative process allows you to pinpoint problems earlier in the process hence getting adequate time to make revisions.
- Holding periodic review meetings ensures that progress can be tracked and followed up on so that feedback is incorporated in real-time.
Focus on Compliance and Clarity:
- Submitting on or before the date is part of meeting tender deadlines as well as tender management. But it is not the only thing about submitting a compliant and clear proposal.
- As you present your proposal to the client, ensure that it meets all their technical, legal, and financial requirements. Create a checklist to ensure that nothing is overlooked, such as mandatory documents, certifications, and technical specifications.
- A structured, clear, and compliant proposal tends to increase one's chances of success and minimize the risk of being disqualified.
Mistakes to Avoid in Tender Management
Managing tender deadlines is challenging, and some common pitfalls that take your work off track include the following:
(a) Underestimating Time:
The biggest mistake is not accounting for the complete amount of time needed for preparing documents, approval process, or even legal review. Always budget more time than you think you'll need.
(b) No Contingency Plans:
Lack of planning for delays or problems that might crop up is disastrous. Always have a backup plan in place for key tasks.
(c) Failure to Focus:
Aiming to do everything within a single shot is likely to make some mistakes. Focus on the most significant issues of the tender, which would include compliance, technical specifications, and financial data.
(d) Failure in Communication:
Sometimes, failure to communicate well can cause misunderstandings between departments and delay the tender process. Keep everyone updated with regular feedback and checking.
Conclusion
Management of time in tender submission is the key to winning. Timelines can be created that involve preparation and proper tools, and coordination between teams can ensure that deadlines are met without compromising the quality of the proposal.
Remember, the success of winning tenders will not only depend on submitting on time but also on submitting a compliant, clear, and error-free proposal. Always follow these steps and prepare beforehand when you submit any subsequent tenders.
The whole process of tendering from documentation to tracking deadlines may be simplified with the assistance of Tender Grid, which is a comprehensive tender management platform. By using Tender Grid, you can ensure a smooth submission process, increasing your chances of winning.
