What are the potential costs of UK tendering?

So, your organisation is looking to win a slice of UK procurement business? This is incredible news.

It is no secret that 2019 has been a year of political uncertainty in the UK, and it seems likely this uncertainty will continue for some time to come. Brexit has been looming over UK businesses and clouding the future direction of the UK economy, with some organisations sitting tight for now on their cash reserves instead of making investments to support jobs and growth.

However, for organisations looking to secure their share of the public sector procurement market, in the shadow of Brexit it is essential to remember that the demand for goods, works and services will never disappear. Procurement will always be crucial to UK business, connecting and strengthening the public and private sectors and promoting their mutual interests. New UK tenders across multiple sectors are still being published every day and waiting to be won. Supply2Gov sends the relevant tenders straight to your inbox, saving your organisation precious time and resource costs.

UK tenders – what to know before you start

Below is a list of the potential costs to your business that might be incurred during the procurement process, from finding the perfect tender for your organisation to recruiting staff to complete the work. By understanding these costs before you jump into the world of UK tendering, you will avoid making common but unnecessary mistakes and, by extension, save a good deal of money.

1. Time

Procurement is an extensive process which can take huge amounts of time to actually get proceedings off the ground. The lengthiest part of the tendering process is finding opportunities that are the right fit for your organisation. When scrolling through your Supply2Gov tender alerts, ask yourself – is this tender feasible for my organisation? Will we be able to complete the contract specification, taking into account all of the goods, works and services that are required? Is this an area that our organisation really sees itself thriving in? If the answer is yes, then your next step will be responding to the tender notice, which can be quite a time-consuming commitment. The importance of factoring in the time element should absolutely not be understated – unfortunately, no one can win UK tenders overnight.

2. Resources

The procurement process requires an immense amount of resource. To demonstrate just how much, Supply2Gov has its own team of dedicated researchers whose full-time job is to scour every inch of the internet, searching for tender opportunities all over the globe that we can pass on to our subscriber organisations. With contracts published every single day across all sectors in the UK, Ireland, Europe and beyond, it is pretty much beyond the capacity of any one business to search through all of these tenders itself. If you attempt to, and further down the line your organisation does not win the tender opportunity it chooses to pursue, it will feel like a great waste of effort and, most importantly, money.

3. Knowledge

You may have already discovered that procurement can be a complicated process. With changing regulations and different requirements for certain sectors and industries, it can take years to fully understand the process. Searching and bidding for UK tenders can be an overwhelming experience if you have never done it before, and we guarantee at some point you will feel like a fish out of water. That’s why Supply2Gov’s sister company, PASS, offers procurement training and expert consultancy services across both the public and private sectors, so that you have all the guidance and information you need at your fingertips before you start out.

4. Other costs you might not have thought of

All the points we have mentioned so far will cost businesses money. However, there may be further costs to procurement to consider that you may have overlooked. For example, after winning the contract your organisation may have to travel to the location where its performance is based, or you may have to recruit additional staff to fulfil the contract specification. These are potentially hefty costs that could quickly add up. Ensure your organisation is prepared for ‘hidden’ costs like these before you start tendering.

The sheer size of the opportunity

With these potential costs, however, come incredible opportunities for your organisation to grow. Procurement is a hugely lucrative market with numerous potential benefits for your organisation, no matter what its size or procurement experience. Develop your understanding of procurement and UK tenders by exploring the Supply2Gov website and reading more of our blogs in our Resources section. Build Your Knowledge of the OJEU and Procurement Hotspots in 2019 are great next steps to take from here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to register for free to Supply2Gov.