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Research Bids – Win a Place on the Research Marketplace DPS

Posted on by John Hudson

How to Succeed in Research Bids and Win a Place on the Research Marketplace DPS

The UK’s market research industry is the second largest in the world after the US. This means there are plenty of opportunities for market research bids. Market research bids are available in both the public and private sectors.

What is the Research Marketplace DPS?

DPS stands for dynamic purchasing system and was created by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). This framework is used when the government is looking to procure services for social, economic and market research. It’s used for projects of all sizes and values.

This framework uses a Dynamic Purchasing System which helps buyers find relevant suppliers through a filtering system. Businesses looking to procure services can select the areas of work they want to commission through the DPS. The DPS contains a shortlist of suppliers that match the buyer’s needs. Suppliers can apply to join at any time throughout the life of an agreement.

If you’re wanting to apply for government research bids, you need to be a member of the Research Marketplace DPS. This means you will be a registered research supplier, allowing you to bid for government research contracts.

This system is used throughout the central government departments. This is including the Cabinet Office, Department for Education, Home Office and the Post Office to name a few.

Benefits of joining the Research Marketplace DPS

Secure workload

Once you secure a place on the Research Marketplace DPS, you’re an approved supplier. Whenever the CCS is looking to outsource their research needs, they will access this system. They will then publish a tender, known as a Call for Competition. Suppliers can then respond to competitions for relevant contracts advertised by buyers.

If you win one of these contracts, then it means you will have a secure workload with guaranteed income. In some cases, contracts can be for many years. For example, Hudson Succeed has helped businesses secure contracts for up to four years.

Other benefits include:

  • Not having to demonstrate your capability or suitability every time you wish to compete for a contract on the DPS.
  • The award of individual tenders can be quicker
  • A DPS stays open to new suppliers throughout the period of the agreement.
  • The approval process is often simpler and quicker than a framework.
  • Suppliers can apply for additional lots throughout the DPS agreement should they expand into new areas.

By subscribing to Research Tenders, you find out about these opportunities straight away. This means you don’t miss out on any research bids that go live. Our team of Opportunity Trackers manually search through thousands of sources a day, so you don’t have to. Once you subscribe, you’ll get a daily email with all the relevant research bids that are live.

Watch our free Tender VLE masterclass for more information on how frameworks and DPS’ can benefit SMEs.

Before you begin, you’ll need to think about your:

Contract Examples

You will need to provide two past contract examples. You’ll need to certify each of these with a Letter of Conformation of Works. This letter needs to be signed by both your organisation and the customer who received you research services.

Cyber Essentials

Your organisation will need a Cyber Essentials Certificate in order to be awarded a government contract. You’ll be asked to provide this on question 155 when filling out the selection questionnaire (SQ). It’s worth noting that ISO 27001 will be recognised as the equivalent to Cyber Essentials.

Financial Capability

The CCS assesses your businesses’ financial standing. They do this by looking at your Dun and Bradstreet credit score. If you have a credit score less than 51, you’ll fail to meet the financial threshold to join. However, if it’s less than 51, you’ll be asked to provide audited accounts for the last two years.

Sub-Contractors

If you plan to use any sub-contractors over the course of your contract, you’ll need to provide their details. Within the SQ, you can provide up to 35 sub-contractors details. You don’t need to include the sub-contractors that supply general services such as window cleaners for example. You should only include the sub-contractors that supply key services such as translation or data processing. If you’re a qualitative research agency, you aren’t required to list all recruiters you may use in your work.

For each Call to Competition, you’ll be required to provide a list of sub-contractors. You only need to provide the sub-contractors you plan to use for that specific contract.

Modern Slavery Act

A business will need to provide evidence that they comply with the Modern Slavery Act (2015). This is only applicable if your organisation has a turnover of more than £36 million. For this, you’ll need to provide a link to your anti-slavery and human trafficking statement.

What skills are required for market research contracts?

If you’re applying for a research bid, you might be wondering what qualifications and requirements are needed. Some of these skills required for contracts are:

  • Experience of conducting strategy or programme reviews.
  • Experience in mixed research methods.
  • Expertise in data gathering and conducting interviews.
  • Dedicated teams that have suitable qualifications and experience.

There are some qualifications that are typically needed when applying for market research bids. These are not always the same requirements for public and private sector tendering. It’s best to read the spec carefully to make sure you have the right qualifications that are asked for. These could include:

  • ISO 20252
  • ISO 27001
  • IQCS (Interviewer Quality Control Scheme)
  • Cyber Essentials

It’s also worth going over the Market Research Societies (MRS) Code of Conduct. In addition to these standards, researchers should also be aware of other legal, professional, ethical and regulatory rules. 

Here are just a few examples of past market research bids that we have sourced on Research Tenders:

Research to identify best communications practices and tools to engage and inform priority groups

NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership-Procurement Services (hosted by Velindre University NHS Trust)- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

15-01-2021

User Research Participants for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy- London- Budget: Undisclosed

12-01-2021

User Research Capability

NHS Test and Trace- London- Budget: £370,000

11-01-2021

Development and dissemination of regional research and knowledge products

UN Women- International- Budget: Undisclosed

12-01-2021 

How Hudson Succeed can help you win a place on the DPS

If you’re interested in joining the Research Marketplace DPS but don’t know where to begin, we can help.

Here at Hudson, we have over 40 years’ experience in bid writing across a variety of industries. Our 87% success rate speaks for us. Whether it’s your first-time tendering, or you simply need someone to take a look at a bid response you’ve written. We have four bid writing packages to suit your needs:

  1. Tender Writing

If you’re interested in getting on the Research Marketplace DPS we can help. Our Bid Writers will help you every step of the way. They’ll even submit your research bid for you! They’ll provide you with a full tender writing breakdown and will let you know how long it’ll take.

If you need extra support with tendering for additional work outside the DPS, we can help. Just send us over the bid you’re wanting to go for, and we’ll take care of the rest. We’ll let you know if we need anything further from you.

  1. Tender Ready

This package is perfect for those who are completely new to the tendering process. We offer this three-stage process over a total of four weeks. If you choose this option, you’ll receive:

  • A 12-month Discover subscription to Research Tenders

This summarises the UK’s latest public and private sector opportunities relevant to your industry and area of expertise. This includes daily notifications via email of new opportunities.

  • Development of an Organisation-wide Bid Library

This includes developing new bid-specific content ranging from 3 case studies, 5 CVs and 8 policies. We provide a templated library for your team to manage all content easily when it comes to bidding. We arrange all of your company credentials, undertaking a full bid library audit. Then, we provide advice and guidance to increase your quality and tender competitiveness.

  • Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals

Our Bid Writers have over 40 years bidding experience in numerous industries.

  • A dedicated Bid Consultant

The programme can last up to three months.

  • Additional Flexible Benefits Options

Meet the specific needs of your business and tendering activity over 3 days’ worth of consultancy. You can choose from one of the three following options:

  1. A bespoke proposal covering 5,000 words of boilerplate responses accustomed to your company. This is fully editable and designed on Microsoft Word.
  2. Three days Bid Consultancy support, coaching and training with Hudson’s senior team.
  3. Three days Bid Consultancy support towards one tender, private sector proposal or public sector framework.

 

  1. Tender Improvement

The Tender Improvement package has similar benefits as the Tender Ready package mentioned above. It’s perfect for any business that has tried tendering but didn’t see success. Our Bid Writers analyse your previous tendering responses and supporting documents. They can then provide you with recommendations for improvement.

  1. Tender Mentor

Our Bid Writers will make sure your research bid is the best it can possibly be. Our writers will provide some guidance and feedback on a tender that you’ve already written before you submit.

Research Tenders

At Research Tenders, we source hundreds of current research opportunities. We know you’re busy. Our goal is to save you time and money by manually searching for new opportunities for you. We will send you daily alerts when new research bids are released.

You’ll have 24-hour access to our Research Tenders portal where you will find opportunities for:

  • Market Research
  • Academic Research
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Qualitative and Quantitative Research
  • Survey Services and many more.

You’ll have the ability to look for new research bids by filtering keywords, budgets or locations. You’ll also have a dedicated Account Manager on hand to help with any queries you may have about the process.

Book a free, live demo today to see how our portal can help your research business. The demo will show you all the useful features of our site, the current opportunities and the time-saving benefits.

We’ve Rebranded!

Posted on by John Hudson

Our parent company, Hudson, is going through a complete rebrand and so here at Research Tenders, we have a new look, too!

You can check out our new logos and colour palette below:

   

   

We hope you like it, we know we do!

Remember research tenders is the place to find all the latest research contracts and tender opportunities from around the uk.

 

HUDSON PROCUREMENT GROUP UNDERGOES MAJOR RESEARCH PROJECT

Posted on by John Hudson

Procurement Policy – Major Research Project!

Hudson Procurement Group is currently undergoing a major research project into how businesses supply government and publicly funded bodies, in a bid to create an open, fair and transparent process by anyone spending public purse.

As part of our long-term growth strategy, we will be launching our Procure Smart platform. This research will be used to inform our knowledge as we move into our next venture – dispelling the myths and overcoming the misconceptions surrounding tendering and procurement, for all.

Whilst conducting this research we will be assessing how and where tender opportunities are published in the wider public domain. In our early stage investigations, we have discovered mass confusion amongst both buyers and suppliers regarding terminology and procurement policy, we want to eliminate this and produce these findings to advise both sides of the buy and supply table.

One of the main aims of this research project and long-term goal for Procure Smart is to gain clear insight into public spending. Through our own exploration, we have uncovered some confusion surrounding freedom of information policy requests, mainly what is available and what is not.

Our Growth Director, Jill said ‘During my 16 years’ experience working in public sector procurement, I have noticed major discrepancies between buyers and suppliers. As part of our long-term growth strategy, we are working towards complete transparency within the procurement sector by evoking a change in current government policy.

‘We want suppliers to feel like they’re not wasting valuable time when submitting a tender response, and we want to ensure SMEs flourish by ensuring easy access of opportunities and a clear understanding of what is firstly available, and secondly what is right for their business’.

Our goal will ultimately help buyers and suppliers procure more effectively across the UK and beyond, as we lobby for smarter procurement practices to be embedded in certain legislation[s].

The launch of Procure Smart will drastically improve the way that procurement policy is conducted in the business to business industry, especially with the likes of a looming Brexit and the disconcert surrounding this.

For further information regarding this research please feel free to GET IN TOUCH!

Remember you can also view the latest research contract opportunities on this website also.

To access information and training into tendering and procurement please see TENDER VLE!

ONE WEEK UNTIL TENDER VLE!

Posted on by John Hudson

Procurement training platform, Tender VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) will launch next week on 1st June 2018! This is an ideal platfrom to use if you are new to tendering or struggling to secure Research Contracts. 

We have spoken about this new project in many of our recent blogs – but what can it do for you?

Who will benefit?

Tender VLE considers three tiers of experience when it comes to procurement training. We have modified our content to adhere to different levels of understanding that we have categorised as;

  • Start – Complete beginners guide when it comes to tendering and procurement.
  • Develop – Familiar with the processes and may have even undertaken a role in the procurement system previously.
  • Excel – This section refers to those who may already be working as Bid Writers or as part of a wider bid management team.

What is it?

 Tender VLE is an online procurement training platform. It’s the first of its kind as it is completely FREE TO USE! The site will contain video-led masterclasses, delivered by our, in-house, procurement experts, comprising of;

  • Daniel Hall – Content and Procurement Manager.

Daniel has multiple years’ bid writing experience, which is exemplified by his first-class degree in English and has never scored lower than 85% quality score during his Bid Writing career. He will be the first instructor to deliver expert-level content that covers the basics during our launch period and more advanced content throughout.

  • Jill Hudson – Growth Director.

Director and Co-Founder, Jill has over 16 years of experience working as a Bid Writer. She has secured hundreds of contracts for suppliers across multiple industries including Creative industries, the Technology sector and Engineering firms.

  • Kathryn Johanson – Creative Head.

At Tender VLE, our vast experience tells us that the presentation of the bid can be one of the deciding factors between a success and failure. Kathryn heads our, in-house, Creative Team, ensuring that our clients stand out through the responses’ presentation and brand-specific design, especially with the likes of Creative Tenders.

  • John Hudson – Group CEO.

As Hudson Procurement Group’s Co-Founder, John will feature in Tender VLE’s investment masterclasses. John has experience in running multiple successful businesses and will offer first hand, long-term, strategy planning knowledge.

No time to watch the videos? Don’t worry! Each video will be accompanied by a fact sheet containing a condensed, bullet-point version, summarising each topic and a short blog that discusses the points clearly.

Why Tender VLE?

Whilst working at all levels and on both sides of the procurement industry, our experts noticed substantial knowledge gaps – leading to a complicated process. The aim of Tender VLE is to simplify the whole procedure for suppliers by clearing up any misconceptions when tendering for new work. There are many consultancies out there who provide this information and training at a cost and we know that if everyone is provided with this type of information freely, then this levels the playing field with all SME operators nationally.

Want to request a topic?

We will be adding videos to the procurement training site on a regular basis so please feel free to request a specific topic and our procurement experts will do their best to cover it in as much detail as possible.

Please send all requests or further queries via our Tender VLE LinkedIn forum.

Don’t have the time or resources to bid for work? We understand that it can be a lengthy process, get in touch with our Tender Consultants HERE to see how we can support your procurement efforts even further.

Tender VLE will launch on 1st June 2018 and can be accessed via
www.tendervle.co.uk completely FREE!

We’re here to help you SUCCEED!

Tendering for Research Contracts Doesn’t Need To Be Complicated!

Posted on by John Hudson

Tendering for Research Contracts doesn’t need to be complicated

We’ll repeat … TENDERING FOR RESEARCH CONTRACTS DOES NOT NEED TO BE COMPLICATED!

There are many factors to why people assume tendering is overly-complicated. This is usually down to the amount of time it takes to complete and how mundane the process is. Yes – there may be 5000 pages of specification but hey … who doesn’t love a bit of light reading!

The three things you MUST possess when tendering is PERSISTENCE, PLANNING & POSITIVITY!

Let’s get past the moaning and downtrodden attitude to how ‘complicated’ tendering is and break the process down to show how easy it actually is!

In order to de-complicate the situation – let’s look at a few things that are deemed complicated when tendering. This includes:

1. Terminology

The number of abbreviations flying around is becoming increasingly common in the procurement world. Terms like RFQs, ITTs, PQQs, DPS, and RFPs seems like they are only used to confuse us into a state of literary decline. Let’s simplify:

PQQ Pre-qualification questionnaire – this is usually a stage-1 questionnaire asking about specific company details like insurance and similar contracts you’ve worked on etc., along with simple ‘yes and no’ questions making sure you’re not fraudulent and you pay your taxes etc.
ITT Invitation to Tender – we can sometimes forget out the PQQ and jump straight into an ITT, which is usually where your quality and costing ratio comes in. This is where you price the job at hand and answer several technical questions about your ability to undergo the work in accordance with usually detailed specification/scopes of work.
RFP Request for Proposal – very similar to an ITT where cost and quality are assessed however RFPs are used in situations where the client either can’t – or doesn’t want to – define the scope of work up front to an adequate level of detail, meaning you need to be very descriptive and state a clear proposal to what’s needed.
RFQ Request for Quotation – The RFQ is a lot like the Tender, however typically smaller in size and scope. They’re often more geared towards clients who are seeking pricing information for a defined scope of work or supply of materials or equipment. Detailed proposals are typically less often sought here.
Framework A Framework Agreement is an agreement between one or more businesses or organisations. If you enter into a framework agreement, usually you will be one of many suppliers contractually bound to deliver against buyer requirements.
DPS Dynamic Purchasing System – A DPS is similar to an electronic framework agreement, with two exceptions, new suppliers can join at any time and it is to be run as a completely electronic process. DPS is used exclusively by public sector organisations and can be considered as a ‘competitive supply chain’, where all chosen supply chain members regularly compete for work via ITTs and RFQs.

2. Opportunities

These are extremely broad with hundreds upon hundreds of opportunities released daily! Customers tend to wish to have one main platform to source the most relevant opportunities to grow their business. Wouldn’t that be great? Currently, opportunities are typically shared through typically problematic electronic algorithms across multiple platforms, either showing you irrelevant opportunities or no opportunities at all.

Keeping it simple – sign up with our industry-specific portals via Hudson Discover to receive daily opportunities, sourced from the hundreds of UK tender portals. These are manually searched and published on a daily basis by a team of procurement-based staff, not computers. We are the first company to do this and the feedback we have is out of this world

3. Portals

There are thousands of online platforms, websites and communication systems that are evident across UK procurement. Some portals are outdated, complex and an all-around pain to navigate. Our team have used them all! Just make sure you know your key focus areas and process-knowledge for each website – these are working your way around:

  • Downloading all tender information;
  • Asking/monitoring clarification questions from other suppliers/the buyer;
  • Submitting the tender;

Every website should have a ‘help’ section – don’t be afraid to use it and/or contact the people who run it.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was one platform for everything? For every industry? For every buyer? WATCH THIS SPACE– we are working with national professionals to work on a user-friendly, affordable and globally accessible platform to condense UK procurement in a one-stop-shop fashion.

4. Writing

Not everyone can write in an engaging, concise and straightforward manner. It’s easy telling people what you do, but to put that on paper in a professional way, covering set criteria, is a major hassle for a lot of business developers. Don’t get stressed with it. Just remember 3 key focus areas when writing a response to any question:

  • WHAT: what you have done or what you are going to do?
  • HOW: how you have done this (methodology) or how you are going to do it?
  • EVIDENCE: hard-hitting proof that you have done it before- experience/ evidence is key!

We offer Bid Writing services, using our procurement experts with over 25 combined years’ experience of writing tenders. Check us out – Tender Consultants.

5. Losing

What is the point of spending all this time on a bid for it to lose and you to go back hating the process, hating the tender and subsequently hating life itself! Don’t fret – USE THE FEEDBACK! If you didn’t win the work because you lack ISO accreditations (for e.g.)– you know what to do! As part of our provision at Tender Consultants, we have a tender readiness programme that you can use to make sure you maintain a good chance of securing key pieces of work.
All procurement-based processes that most people find difficult/complicated are exactly that because of the lack of understanding of key tender-management processes. We will be launching a FREE training environment (Tender VLE) in May 2018, which focuses on everything tender and procurement based, including profound topics that will completely eradicate the notion that tendering and procurement is complicated.

Let’s leave them procurement pains behind!

We’re here to help you grow, develop and standout!

PQQ BASICS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Posted on by John Hudson

PQQ is something you’ll hear most often in the tendering and procurement world.

The term can take many forms including SQ (Selection Questionnaire), Stage 1 Tender and the recently established ESPD (European Single Procurement Document).

PQQ stands for Pre-qualification questionnaire and it does exactly what it says on the tin!

This is typically the first stage of a tender process and helps the buyer filter through organisations that are more suited to deliver upon their requirements and needs, allowing a select few to be invited to tender (ITT) and making it easier to narrow down competent suppliers. It also ensures any previous convictions or misconduct is declared as per procurement regulations.

A lot of people assume that this is the easy part of the tender process. If you have all of your business affairs in order, then you’d be right! Think of it as an application form. It doesn’t necessarily win you the contract, but it’ll get you to the next stage!

The image below represents what’s featured in a typical PQQ – where you, as the supplier, would complete all relevant fields, including basic company information and registrations etc.

PQQ
PQQ

The PQQ is predominantly a ‘tick-box’ exercise, where you and your organisation state compliance against key legislative requirements in order to do business.

This includes compliance with the likes of:

  • Legal Compliance
  • Financial Standing
  • Insurance Cover
  • Modern Slavery
  • Equality & Diversity
  • Health & Safety Regulations
  • and Environmental Standards etc.

One of the most important aspects to a PQQ is your response regarding technical and professional capabilities. This is where you must list [usually 3] references/contract examples to show the buyer of your capabilities to undergo the required works based on your past experience (see extract below).

ResponseMost questions throughout a PQQ are quite clearly ‘pass and fail’. If you don’t commit to providing the correct insurance cover (for example) – you fail and that’s that!

However, the technical and professional capability is one of the few questions that is scored based on the quality of what is provided.

See our ‘Importance of Relevant Case Studies’ blog to make sure you are ahead of yourself when it comes to contract examples and case studies.

You’ll find PQQ information is quite repetitive and as long as you aren’t breaking the law in any way or have been found guilty of any misconduct, you’ll find you are answering the same information over and over. The more PQQs you complete, the easier they are to submit.

In 2017, the Crown Commercial Service wanted all procurement bodies/suppliers to stop using the typical PQQ and now use an SQ (Selection Questionnaire). This is nothing to worry be concerned about. The bulk of the PQQ questions still remain, with just a few tiny amendments, such as the inclusion of Modern Slavery compliance.

Also, due to the European Public Procurement Reform which kicked off in April 2016, one of the key elements to this was the introduction of the ESPD (European Single Procurement Document).  This is an online electronic form that any supplier can complete, download and submit as part of their bid for a growing number of public procurement agencies, both nationally and internationally.

In a nutshell, a PQQ is a document you complete to show you are both capable of delivery and compliance against specific regulations. Once you’ve passed this point. You’ll then move onto the core part of a tender process – the Invitation To Tender (ITT).

Need further support with your PQQs? Get in touch now with our Tender Consultants!

Start by receiving those all-important opportunities today by receiving a free demo from one of our 10-industry-specific portals that are dedicated to helping you DISCOVER the right tender opportunities to bid for!

CLICK HERE to arrange a free demo!

Why Choose Hudson Procurement Group?

Posted on by John Hudson

Why Choose Hudson Procurement Group?

  • What do you do exactly?
  • How does it all work?
  • Why should I choose you?

Although these questions are being asked less and less due to our growing presence online and current position in the procurement sector, we still want to show you some key traits of our provision and how we work FOR YOU!

We have recognised that across all businesses nationally, contract/tender opportunities are spread so wide that it takes time and unnecessary hassle to source the right prospects for your company. Even if the right ones come through from your many subscriptions on a range of procurement portals, this may be delayed by up to 5-10 days, along with some (if not all) opportunities having zero relevance to your organisation. This is because CPV codes* are being used incorrectly on a major scale by both buyers and suppliers, with some portals not offering the full range of CPV codes available and/or delaying the release of key opportunities due to automatic processes.

*CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) Codes are used to differentiate, segment and classify contract opportunities so that your company can search and receive notifications about the opportunities aligned to your provision/offering.

With over 25 years’ experience and extensive knowledge of tender management and opportunity tracking, the creative and innovative specialists at Hudson Procurement Group is doing something that no other company is doing – We are MANUALLY tracking all opportunities that are released daily from the majority of procurement portals across the UK and take this information to MANUALLY publish daily bulletins that are not only sector-specific, but specific to your actual service. We do not rely on CPV codes, which ensures no mistake, or irrelevant opportunity will ever be sent. Every opportunity posted by public AND private buyers will be provided to you promptly, clearly and consistently on a specific platform dedicated to your sector.

We currently operate 10 industry-specific platforms including:

We offer free demos with a dedicated Account Manager, who also provides live support with our platforms, however, due to the intuitive and user-friendly design, we guarantee minimal support needed.

Because customers are guaranteed to have every opportunity at their fingertips, including the value, location and brief description to what’s required, their procurement practices are effectively improved, eliminating excess time spent on sourcing opportunities and more time on developing their procurement strategies.

However, it doesn’t stop there – due to our combined knowledge and experience, we also offer Tender Consultancy, which supports clients to better understand and maximise procurement practices within their organisation. This includes impartial advice, tender writing, tender training, tender reviews and holistic support with procurement.

We have upcoming systems to support clients EVEN FURTHER in the upcoming years, which include:

  • Tender VLE– a virtual learning environment dedicated to offering FREE tender and procurement training on a range of educational levels (beginner, intermediate & advanced etc.) all in VIDEO & BLOG format;
  • Hudson Discover – a one-stop-shop for buyers and suppliers to use an inter-trading platform. This is to identify buying opportunities for our group of subscribers, making our portals more specific to the needs of our customers. This is already in development as per our ways of working above;
  • Tender Bank– an online platform where customers can obtain multiple documents that will support their tendering efforts, including policies, matrices, methodology templates and written response templates in line with sector-specific objectives;
  • Procure Smart– a user-friendly collaborative platform for buyers and suppliers where they will be able to upload, communicate and submit tender documents online.

 We are Hudson Procurement Group and we are here to ensure we help suppliers, buyers and the overall economy, maintain access to procurement best practices and most importantly DISCOVER relevant opportunities to them!

Why choose Hudson Procurement Group? – I think by now you already know!

Small Businesses, sick of the Government taking money from you? It’s time to turn the tables….

Posted on by John Hudson

Small businesses, sick of the Government taking money from you? It’s time to turn the tables….

So, we are almost half way through 2017 and everybody, especially small to medium business owners, are struggling to keep up with government decisions and how politics has destabilised their playing field with Brexit, General Elections and certain decisions leading to uncertainty in the marketplace.

Such uncertainty is highlighted in the mixed bag of results thrown up by the numerous surveys published since the turn of the year.  For example one survey, Close Brothers Business Barometer, shows that 64% of companies surveyed with a turnover of less that £500k said they were not confident about the UK’s economic outlook for 2017 whereas Yahoo Finance highlighted research carried out by the American Express Global SME Pulse, which showed that 50% of UK SME’s surveyed expect to see growth of at least 4% over the year.

Such is the uncertainty for SME’s that, in a poll by funding-provider Liberis, 58% of all SME bosses listed reducing costs as their priority while a mere 39% said that their priority was to expand their business.

What most businesses seem unaware of is that we are fast approaching 2020, the deadline for the government achieving its pledge to spend £1 in every £3 with SME’s.  Whilst most government pledges are met with a shrug of suspicion and disinterest, it would be worth noting that this particular pledge could add up to £15bn worth of business opportunities.

It seems like a scam?

While you may be of the opinion that the halls of Westminster don’t always echo with the sounds of MPs championing the ‘little guy’, in this case there actually is something in it for you. In 2015, the Cabinet Office announced an ambitious new target to get more small businesses working on central government contracts.

In 2013 to 2014, central government spent £11.4bn with small and medium-sized businesses, by 2020, the government wants to increase this by an extra £3bn per year directly or through the supply chain. As part of these targets, the government has improved the way it buys goods and services to help more small businesses bid for public sector contracts, by streamlining the process and making winning business that much easier.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Matt Hancock said, “This is such an amazing opportunity for the country’s diverse and innovative small businesses, and today I urge them to get stuck in. From computers to uniforms – there are so many opportunities for small businesses to work with us, and I want to see more of them providing value for money for the taxpayer and benefiting from our spending.”

John Manzoni, Chief Executive of the Civil Service said, “Further opening up our marketplace to small businesses is good economic sense all round – making it easier for them to access and win government business opportunities, whilst encouraging increased competition and market innovation to deliver best value for the taxpayer.”

But aren’t government contracts notoriously difficult to apply for?

Historically, the process was lengthy and complicated but as Emma Jones, the government’s Crown Representative for SME’s recently blogged, things are a now a whole lot easier and she urges businesses to seize this opportunity to bid for and win government contracts.

She goes on to inform that the Prime Minister announced a review of the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), which will look at how they can increase the initiative’s impact and give more innovators their first break and that they realise that working with small businesses with new ideas generates innovation in government.

So, they do want your goods and services and with the government currently looking for everything from toiletries to tax advice, marketing services to interior design, and with the peace-of-mind that comes from knowing that the government pays suppliers within 30 days, it is time to take advantage.

I’m interested, but I’ve never tendered before, what is my next step?

Now that you know all of these great research contract opportunities are out there but are new to the tendering process, please don’t be put off.  Help is at hand in the form of Hudson Procurement Group who will put in place a bespoke solution to help guide you through the process and also steer you to success in landing contracts.

Through Hudson Discover businesses are able to purchase services from our suppliers on ten sector specific platforms.  It also acts as an inter-trading platform allowing buyers and suppliers to trade with one another creating a sense of community and business collaboration.

Our tender consultancy service, Tender Consultants Ltd, allows you to access the best tender writers in the UK, led by Jill Hudson, a focused and energetic Growth Coach. With over a decade of tender writing experience, and growing both UK and international businesses across a range of sectors, Jill has developed bespoke Tender Ready exercises which allows businesses to either take the first steps into tendering, or improve success rates where they may currently be lacking

We offer Tender Training for companies looking for support with Tendering and one to one coaching that is specific to your business and, due to common requests we’ve had from customers, we’ve launched a Tender Writing service for those businesses who wanted tenders writing on their behalf.

Take the first step, click below or call us on 0203 051 2217 today.

www.tenderconsultants.co.uk

www.hudsonprocurementgroup.co.uk

Book A Demo Today With Research Tenders!

Posted on by John Hudson

Book a demo today and tour our exclusive Research Tenders member site!

Here at Research Tenders, our Business Development Team is second to none. We understand that buying into a subscription for a product you aren’t entirely sure of can be daunting and want to make sure you are as confident as we are about what exactly it can do for your business.

For this reason we give you the opportunity to view our platform via a remote live demo with one of our friendly team. From this you will be able to view all of the functionalities and research contracts we have to offer and allow you to see for yourself how simple it is to use. This particular technique allows for a quick understanding of the platform as any questions or queries can resolved instantly that may be hindering your decision.

Once the demo has come to an end, we allow for use of the platform until the end of the day so that you have the chance to explore for yourself and gain familiarity with the various functions. From here, we are just a phone call away to answer further questions or assist you with any purchases you wish to pursue.

What are you waiting for? To book a demo get in touch via hello@researchtenders.co.uk 

WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU DISCOVER!

Top Five Reasons For Tendering for Research Contracts

Posted on by John Hudson

Tendering for Research Contracts

Reasons to bid for research contracts  broken down by our in-house experts!

We’re often told by companies that we work with that they don’t tender as it takes too long, they’re never successful, they don’t have the time…etc. etc.

Tendering for research contracts is a powerful way to generate new business, so powerful in fact that many businesses use this as their sole route to winning new business. We think every business should at least try tendering.  We understand why businesses are put off from the long, in-depth process you have to follow, but spending the time upfront to learn how to tender could be vital to the success and growth of your business.

Our Growth Director, Jill has been winning work via tendering for well over a decade, and she is sharing with you below, her top five reasons for tendering.

YOU DON’T NEED TO SELL THE NEED FOR YOUR SERVICE

Responding to Research Tenders means businesses have already established the need for your services and have allocated a budget to carry out the work.  This reduces the need for selling the benefits of the services, and establishing the benefit of investing in XYZ.

Responding to a research contract means you’ve just got to prove that you’re the best fit for their business.  Surely it’s worth a try? Just make sure you follow a strict process of what you will and won’t apply for.

THE PROJECT HAS CLEAR START AND END DATES

When tendering the client usually outlines when they would like the work to start and end, meaning you can work your studio time around this.  When selling directly B2B we often have projects on hold waiting for particular aspects.  We’re not saying this won’t happen with tendering, but your client is likely to be more prepared.

BUDGET SIGNED OFF IN ADVANCE 

As the budget has already been allocated, you know what constraints you’re working within, allowing you to best advise your client where to allocate spend.

CLARIFIES YOUR OFFERING TO CLIENTS 

You won’t always be successful when tendering, but completing a tender document often gives you additional clarity on other areas of your business, or how you can productise service offerings.  It also allows you to benchmark your fees against what people expect to pay.

RESEARCH 

Tendering allows you to see how businesses are spending their budgets.  This helps you to better understand where you should be spending your own budgets and what services are the most popular.  If you see an influx of a particular tender and this is an offering your business provides, read the Invitation to Tender documents and align your service descriptions to ensure it is suitable for the market you’re selling into.

WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU DISCOVER!

Need help writing a bid? Get in touch with a Tender Consultants!