The 11 most requested bid components: Why they matter and how to get them right
Laura Moylan, Senior Tender Specialist (Perth)
The world of bidding is vast – with requirements usually varying significantly from project to project and client to client. Sometimes it can be downright confusing! Understanding the fundamentals of what goes into a bid means that you can proactively prepare and ensure the currency of templates, documents and data that you’ll need to produce a winning bid.
So, what is most often requested within a bid? The below structure provides an outline of the usual suspects we see as Tender Consultants:
Use the fundamentals of a bid to convince the client that your organisation is the right choice for their project
1. Cover Letter
Your cover letter is your first chance to make an impression and is your opportunity to speak directly to the person in charge of the project you’re bidding on.
This is where you can give a short, impactful summary of your solution and its benefits, all while showing that you understand what your client needs.
Done right, your cover letter not only builds a personal connection but also gives your client a direct point of contact for diving deeper into your submission.
2. Executive Summary
This is where your strategy really comes to life. As the name suggests, this is an executive summary – your chance to highlight the key points of your submission. To win the bid, your client needs to understand your story (your strategy) in a clear and meaningful way.
Use this opportunity to showcase your strategy, highlight the benefits and connect with the rest of your submission. This is your moment to give a clear overview, while also guiding your client to the more in depth sections of your submission where they can explore everything further.
3. Organisation details
This section is primarily used to ensure that the organisation details are accurate, verified and current, and demonstrates that your organisation is well established and has a verified structure in place.
Important information to have on file for this part of a bid includes:
Organisation details, such as trading name, ABN / ACN, address, phone number and email
Details of the person who can be contacted in relation to the contract or bid, such as name, position, phone number and email
Corporate structure, particularly in relation to any parent companies
Management structure to highlight the senior leadership within your organisation, and
ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) company extract which contains current and historical company information.
Consider keeping this information and content readily available as you’ll use it often!
4. HSEQ
The three pillars that apply to nearly all projects are Health and Safety, Environmental, and Quality. This section allows you to outline how your organisation manages safety outcomes, both in terms of health and the environment, while maintaining a high standard of quality.
This is important to show that you can deliver high quality work, completed safely, and with minimal impact to the environment.
Suitability to deliver the project is typically assessed through:
Accredited Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental and Quality management systems, or proven alignment with accreditation standards
Documented processes and supporting documentation, such as procedures, policies, management plans and templates, and
A methodology approach to achieving these outcomes at a project level.
5. Financial capability
Financial capability is important for verifying the legitimacy and stability of an organisation., assuring the client of your organisation’s financial stability to take on the work.
Depending on the size and scale of your organisation, financial capacity is typically demonstrated by providing copies of annual reports, audited financial statements, and extracted reports for management accounts, profit and loss statements, and aged creditor reports.
6. Commercial
The commercial section of a bid typically includes details of insurances policies and proposed contract variations.
Insurances
Insurance is important to show minimised financial risks and delays to the project, while also ensuring compliance with legal requirements.
Along with providing certificates of currency, summarise these details in a table outlining the insurance type, policy number, insurer, expiry and limit of liability. If you’re unsure which insurances are required, check out the Contract Annexure to find the minimum limits for the project.
Contract Departures
The bid process often includes a contract review where you have the opportunity to agree to the terms or propose alternatives – such as deletions, amendments or additions. It allows both parties to evaluate potential risks in working together and decide whether those risks are acceptable.
7. Key Personnel
A project is only as strong as the people behind it.
In a bid, you’ll often be asked to put together a project team, detail an organisation chart and submit CVs for each nominated person. Your client needs to be confident that your team has the right skills and experience to complete the work safely and successfully.
Make this information relevant to your client by customising the project experience to fit the bid and emphasising transferrable skills and expertise. This helps your client see exactly how your team’s background aligns with their needs.
If you aren’t sure what to include in a tender CV, check out 7 things you should be including in a Tender CV.
8. Project Experience
In this section, you can outline the details, challenges, complexities and successes from your experience with similar projects. This is important to show that your organisation has the necessary resources – people, plant and equipment – as well as valuable lessons from past projects that can be applied to deliver the best possible outcome.
Project experience typically includes key details such as the project name, location, contract value, duration, start and completion dates, client, referee contact details and a brief project overview.
Elevate your project experience by clearing linking it to the bid using visual markers, such as icons, text boxes or colour coding for directly transferrable details. Highlight key aspects such as scope, complexity, challenges, sector, stakeholders and nominated personnel. This is your opportunity to reinforce the strategy outlined in your executive summary and show why your organisation is the perfect fit for the job.
Not sure where to start to develop your project experience? We’ve got you covered with our blog on Cracking the code on case studies.
9. Methodology
This is your chance to explain how the work will be completed both in terms of your overall approach to things like risk and quality management as well as a detailed breakdown of how you will deliver the requested scope of works. Show your client that you have a plan in place to execute the work successfully.
Ensure your methodology is detailed enough to prove your capability. Keep it clear and logical, and use visual aids like graphics, images, drawings and examples of past work to strengthen your approach. Show your client exactly how you’ll get the work done.
10. Program
A program outlines project activities and timelines to keep everything on track and ensure on time delivery. This is important to let your client know that you’ve considered all project activities and fully understand the timelines, helping to reduce the likelihood of delays – which can be costly!
The program is a detailed list of all activities required from contract award to project completion, organised by work phases in the order they need to be completed. It also includes a summary of major milestones at the beginning.
Including a narrative explanation of the key project milestones and factors that influenced the program development is a great way to demonstrate that project risks have been identified and managed effectively.
11. Price
Price is arguably the most critical section – it has been known to make or break a submission. The price format varies between bids depending on the scope of work, but generally includes an overall fee, with a breakdown of the costs, including any rates related to personnel, materials and equipment.
The price needs align with your client’s budget and also show that you’ve considered all of the project’s requirements.
Take the time to properly research and account for all project costs while highlighting any cost saving opportunities you’ve identified throughout the process. Including supporting commentary, such as clarifications, assumptions or exclusions, gives your client the context they need to fully understand the basis of your price.
A lot of the information you need for these sections can be gathered ahead of time, especially when it comes to research, data and statistics. Knowing the top 11 components often required in bids means you can get prepared early. This lets you focus on the key details that will help you land the job, instead of scrambling to start from scratch whenever a bid comes up.
Are you struggling with any of these bid components? Tender Plus can help!
From our offices in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane, we provide national tender consulting services, including tender strategy, tender writing services and tender support. Contact our team today to find out how we make understanding tenders simple!