18 Mar Creating The Perfect Post-Submission Activity Process
After you submit your bid response, it can be tempting to put it behind you and move on to your next opportunity.
However, the post-submission stage is essential for ensuring that you not only win the bid, but are fully prepared to start work on the contract and make a good impression on the buyers.
In this article, we will cover the stages involved in the post-submission activity process.
These include clarifications, presentations/interviews, awards, 10-day standstill, pre-award meeting, mobilisation, delivery, lessons learnt, and library updating.
Clarifications
To win the contract, you will need to ensure that all your buyer’s questions have been fully answered.
In some cases, your buyer may approach your business with follow-up questions after you have submitted your bid, to make sure that you meet the requirements of the contract. This can include queries regarding the content of your bid, or inquiries about your pricing strategy.
Your buyer will usually provide a timeframe in which you will need to submit your responses to their questions. And if you neglect to answer the clarification questions fully and within the deadline, you could fail to win the contract.
Bear in mind that your client may contact you either via the e-portal you used to submit your bid, or by email, and as such it is essential that you stay up-to-date on all your messages to avoid missing any important correspondence.
Presentations/Interviews
If your buyer is satisfied with the responses you have submitted in your tender response and at the clarification stage, you may receive an invitation to deliver an interview/presentation.
As part of this, your buyer could provide you with preset questions that you will need to cover effectively in your presentation to win the contract. Therefore, it is essential that you formulate a professional and comprehensive presentation to effectively appeal to the client.
Alternatively, your buyer may simply require more detail regarding your submission. This can involve conducting a more informal interview in which your buyer will ask you questions about your responses.
This stage is an excellent opportunity to make a good impression on your buyer, while investing resources into this part of the post-submission activity can also help you develop responses for future presentations and gain valuable insights from your overall experience.
Pre-Award Meeting
If the buyer decides to award your company the contract, you will be invited to a pre-award meeting with the client. At the pre-award meeting, you will sign the contract, and your client will provide you with the specific information that you need to complete the work to a high standard.
This is an opportunity for you to ask any unanswered questions you may have regarding the contract, and for your client to ask you any further follow-up questions.
Award
If you are successful in the bidding process, you will be provided with evidence of an award, which may be delivered either by letter, email, or portal message.
Similar to the clarification stage, it is essential that you monitor your messages regularly to ensure that you do not miss a notification. Otherwise, if you do not respond to your buyer on time, they may use another contractor!
10-Day Standstill
The 10-day standstill is a period of 10 calendar days following the award of your contract. During this time, no further developments can occur, and you cannot enter into the contract until the 10-day standstill is complete.
This period also allows for the contract award decision to be challenged or reviewed.
Mobilisation
The mobilisation stage is your opportunity to ensure that your business is fully prepared to begin work on the contract.
For instance, you should make sure that you have all the required resources to complete the contract to a high standard. This may involve purchasing equipment, employing and training members of staff, setting up the processes you will need to fulfil the contract, and ordering any other supplies you may need.
Delivery
Delivery is the period in which you fulfil the contract. To complete the contract successfully, you must follow through on the promises that you made in your bid response.
At this stage, you should take note of any obstacles that you encounter in your delivery of the work, and outline how you overcame them. This can then be used as valuable evidence for future submissions and case studies.
Lessons Learnt
Following completion of the contract, you should invest in learning from your experience. Regardless of whether you win or lose the bid, use this as an educational period to inform future tender responses and your delivery of work.
For instance, if you won the job, you should review your bid response using feedback from your submission, as this can provide valuable insight about what to do on your next bid response through identifying which areas were successful and which require improvement.
Similarly, if your bid was unsuccessful, try to identify the reasons why it did not achieve the desired outcome. This could include your pricing and quality weighting, or failing a mandatory requirement, for example.
Library Updating
Any content from your submissions can be added to your bid library, so that it can be repurposed in future tender submissions.
By regularly updating your bid library so that it contains a wide range of evidence and resources, you can ensure that you have an array of relevant information easily accessible and ready for your next bidding opportunity.
Want to put the perfect post-submission activity process into place for your business? Give us a call!
