Shownotes
Crafting a winning bid for a tender can be a daunting process, especially in the restroom service industry where competition is fierce.
In this episode, Pete shares valuable insights, explains key terminology and describes a typical tendering process. Pete highlights the importance of clear, concise communication and the necessity of proofreading submissions to ensure professionalism and accuracy.
Whether you're a seasoned operator or new to the field, this episode offers practical advice to enhance your bidding success. Pete describe the typical structure of a tender bid and the key information suppliers need to complete a tender bid.
Each section serves a distinct purpose, from showcasing a company’s qualifications to detailing the proposed methodologies for fulfilling contract requirements. Pete emphasizes the importance of tailoring each bid to the project while also leveraging past submissions for efficiency.
Takeaways:
- Tender submissions require detailed and structured information, which can be reused from previous bids.
- The executive summary should be concise, highlighting why your company is the best fit.
- Understanding the scope of work is crucial; avoid simply copying tender specifications.
- Health and safety considerations must demonstrate your team's approach to risk management.
- Pricing should cover both direct and indirect costs to ensure sustainable profit margins.
- Sustainability is important and can include more than recycling or how to manage waste.
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Transcripts
Hello and welcome to get flushed.
Pete:I'm Pete.
Pete:I've been thinking about today's episode for a long time.
Pete:I was first asked about this topic about a year ago, and I originally began to write the script when I ran the series of daily shorts back in December.
Pete:I couldn't figure out the best way to approach it, so I left the episode on the drawing board.
Pete:I've obviously been thinking about this in my deep subconscious, because when I revisited the script last week, everything came together pretty much over the course of one afternoon.
Pete:My question for today's episode is what is the best way to present a bid for a tender?
Pete:In my experience, the vast majority of small scale restroom orders come in as direct requests from the customer.
Pete:I'm talking about the jobs for one or two restrooms on a construction site.
Pete:Half a dozen lose on a weekend hire, maybe at a summer fete or a family party.
Pete:On jobs like that, you might be asked to give the customer an estimate or a quote for the services they want you to supply.
Pete:But in most cases, the customer will email or telephone tell you what they need, when they need it, agree to your price, and leave you to do the rest.
Pete:For bigger jobs that require multiple units or run for an extended period of time, it's more common for restroom operators to be asked to submit a formal quote or bid, especially if the contracting body is a municipal council or government agency.
Pete:This is a good point to perhaps clarify some of the terminology I'm going to use in the episode.
Pete:You'll find any number of definitions and explanations in business books or online, but when I sat business 101, a quote was a written offer to supply goods or services to a customer.
Pete:Quotes are usually presented in written form and describe what you can supply, how long you can supply it for the price, and a valid date, after which the customer will need to ask for a new quote.
Pete:You can send quotes electronically or in hard copy, but you should always keep a copy in your quotes file or the customer's account record.
Pete:Although they're often used somewhat interchangeably, the terms tender and bid refer to two parts of a formal supply and demand process.
Pete:A tender is usually defined as the formal invitation to supply goods or services issued by a customer, while a bid is the term used to describe the written response to that invitation.
Pete:Tendering is a formal process with a number of key phases or stages that the contracting authority will work through in order to identify their preferred partner and award the contract to supply.
Pete:That's all designed to make sure that the winning supplier has the resources, capacity, and expertise to provide the level of service required at the right price.
Pete:And I'll say here that price or cost is not always the deciding factor, but it's usually a very important one.
Pete:First stage of any tender process is the announcement that bids are being sought.
Pete:This can be a public announcement to any and every supplier, or a direct invitation to tender aimed at specific suppliers.
Pete:Every year my local council invites bids from restroom suppliers to provide restrooms and temporary fencing at their summer events.
Pete:Occasionally they invite bids for individual jobs, but more typically they bundle a whole series of key events together into one tender package.
Pete:My local council has a list of preferred or qualified providers, the companies with a proven track record that they consider to be qualified to compete in this process.
Pete:Local government regulations require them to work through a very structured process and that usually means they'll ask for three bids from their list of suppliers.
Pete:Now, if your company has previously submitted a bid or supplied services, the procurement team might send an invitation to bid as a matter of course.
Pete:Otherwise, government departments and local councils publish details of every tender on their websites, in local newspapers and on other online directories.
Pete:Here in New Zealand, individuals and companies can register for the government's electronic tender service or gets, which lists all central government work and LG tenders for all local government work.
Pete:And there are similar services elsewhere.
Pete:The one in the UK is called contract finder, while the US has Tenderlink and bidding source websites like that usually require you to register for access and have an online portal where you see offers.
Pete:Prepare your applications and follow the process of any submissions.
Pete:Commercial tenders may also be advertised in the local or national press industry, magazines and journals, or on the contracting company's website.
Pete:At other times, the project lead may only seek bids from their approved or preferred suppliers.
Pete:Now, if you want to get into tender based contracts, you're going to have to do some work to give yourself the best chance of presenting a winning bid.
Pete:Bear in mind though, in many cases agencies and companies with preferred suppliers may be tied into formal agreements or rebate schemes, which means that you may not realistically be in with a chance even if you're invited to bidde.
Pete:If you do find a tender opportunity or are invited to submit a bid and you really want to win the work, it's important that you understand exactly what the process involves and exactly what the procurer wants you to supply.
Pete:I say that because you might be asked to bid on work that you don't really want.
Pete:You may not have the capacity or the resources to meet the requirements of the job.
Pete:You might decide that it's not work you really want to do, and I suspect this happens a lot.
Pete:You may be asked to submit a bid, but the procuring department already has a preferred supplier that they've used for many, many years, and everyone knows that they'll win the next contract, too.
Pete:And while I'd say it's okay not to submit a bid, even if you're asked to, bear in mind that not doing so could see you missed off the list the next time those invitations are sent.
Pete:Tender submissions often include much more information than standard quote for routine work.
Pete:The tender document for a large scale project is likely to be very complex and require lots of information about your company.
Pete:While the tender will be tailored to meet the particular project, the information you need to provide in your bid will be fairly standard, which means that you can often use or tweak previous bids to write the next one.
Pete:In my experience, most invitations to tender will ask you to submit a bid that follows a structured format which includes the following an executive summary, your company profile the scope of work, your technical proposal, pricing and cost breakdown, health and safety or risk management plan, environmental or sustainability considerations, compliance insurance and legal and your terms and conditions.
Pete:I'll talk about each of those in turn.
Pete:The executive summary should be a one page overview that highlights the main points and why your company is best suited to this project.
Pete:While that comes first, I'd probably recommend that you write this last after you've pulled together the rest of the information you need to include.
Pete:The company profile section is used to give a snapshot of your organisation.
Pete:It should include your legal status and business structure and if you have a company board, it should describe the company's governance framework.
Pete:This section should also include your vision and mission, any key personnel, technical qualifications and experience in similar project.
Pete:The main purpose here is to prove your ability to conduct business.
Pete:The scope of work section is where you demonstrate that you clearly understand the requirements of the job.
Pete:You should use this space to explain how you plan to deliver the goods and services and identify any key dates, milestones or phases of work.
Pete:Don't just copy and paste the specs from the tender invitation here.
Pete:Put your proposal into your own words.
Pete:You might break it down into something very simple like restroom delivery setup, routine servicing and final removal from site.
Pete:If you need some structure, you can always listen back to my earlier episode about pre start meetings and use my IIMark briefing model, information, intention, method, administration, risk management and communication.
Pete:I'll put a link to that episode in the notes for this show.
Pete:If the tender includes a technical proposal section.
Pete:This is the opportunity for you to talk about how you specifically intend to carry out the work.
Pete:You should explain the solutions you intend to supply and how you will work with the project team.
Pete:In some cases, the tender will give specific details about the customer's exact needs.
Pete:They might need 50 restrooms serviced three times a week over four months.
Pete:The tender might be a little more vague and expect you to describe how many units you would supply to complete the job.
Pete:You don't need to give away all of your secrets here.
Pete:For example, you might just explain how you'll work with a project manager to identify the best number and locations for restrooms on site.
Pete:You might explain your staff are experienced sanitation service technicians who have completed training with a psaiden.
Pete:You might describe that your fresh water flushing toilets meet the latest sanitary requirements, and you could explain how you make arrangements for after hours or emergency call outs.
Pete:Remember that you, as a restroom operator, are more of an expert in portable sanitation than most site managers or tender administrators.
Pete:Use that to your advantage.
Pete:You don't need to share a fully detailed work plan, and I would keep some information to myself to protect my intellectual property just in case I didn't win the biddenness.
Pete:I've seen tenders where I didn't think the commissioning manager had allowed enough restroom capacity.
Pete:There are some good charts out there to show how many restrooms are required for the number of people on site over a given duration, but remember that those figures are estimates and the specifics of each job can be very different.
Pete:Indeed, it can pay to include a paragraph that explains how you're willing to work with a contracting partner to identify and meet their exact requirements.
Pete:When I scoped for large events, I'd prepare a spreadsheet where I'd work out every transport movement, how many restrooms on each truck and trailer, the mileage to and from site for every load, the total number of blues required for the entire duration, the estimated volume of waste, and anything and everything else that would have an effect on price.
Pete:I didn't send that information to the client as part of the bid, but mapping it all out gave me a fair idea of the work involved, and that helped with the next section.
Pete:Pricing and cost breakdown when you start to pull together financial figures for any job, you need to be sure that you cover the direct and indirect costs of business as well as leave enough margin for profit.
Pete:The direct costs include everything that happens to get the restrooms to site prep them for use with water and blue supply, enough sanitizer and toilet paper for the week ahead cleaning, which includes removal and dumping of waste, returning the units to the yard at the end of the hire and making sure they have a deep clean and repair before they go on the next job.
Pete:The indirect costs include everything that your business has to spend in order to do business.
Pete:This will include capital payments on borrowing, the rent or lease on the yard, utilities such as power, phone and Internet, salaries, insurance, tax obligations and anything else that the business has to pay.
Pete:Whether any restrooms are on hire or not.
Pete:These principles apply whether you are bidding for a single toilet on a house build, or 30 units on a high rise project, or 100 units along a new stretch of highway.
Pete:The linear nature of restroom hire actually makes it easy to work out your direct costs.
Pete:Even on a long term hire.
Pete:When multiple units are involved.
Pete:You don't need to include every detail of your financial calculations in the bid, but the price you offer is the price you'll get paid if you're successful.
Pete:So you need to be diligent in working out your costs before you make your offer.
Pete:If there are variables or exceptions, include them.
Pete:I'm thinking things like tip over fees, extra cleaning because someone's made a mess on site, or an extra tank empty because a system is jammed, or someone left a tap running all weekend.
Pete:And if your price includes one carton of paper a week, write that down and give a price for additional cartons or rolls.
Pete:The next section is health and safety or risk management.
Pete:Now you can't plan for every eventuality, but you do need to use this section to show how you and your team are able to work safely and that any equipment you use or leave on site is fit for purpose and safe to use.
Pete:You probably won't be able to identify the exact risks in the project until you visit the site.
Pete:So use this section to describe your general approach to health and safety and explain the processes that you and your team will follow to identify and manage risk.
Pete:The next section is environmental or sustainability considerations.
Pete:Now, this is sometimes covered under health and safety, but when you're dealing with toilet waste, it's important to reassure the client that you have the proper permits, systems and processes in place to collect, transport and dump water waste in a safe, legal and proper way.
Pete:Pretty much every operator is going to talk about how they use environmentally conscious products, use low emission vehicles, recycle their packaging, and take steps to save water.
Pete:So what can you say here that will help you catch the client's eye?
Pete:Well, obviously you're going to say all of those things, but what the client really wants to know is that your company will be here to complete the work without creating an environmental disaster or leaving a trail of waste for someone else to clean up.
Pete:And remember that sustainability is about people too.
Pete:If you've got a loyal crew that's been with you for many years, I guarantee that their knowledge, experience and skills will be the difference your company brings.
Pete:If you have very low staff turnover or a cadet scheme that helps young people learn the skills and build a career in sanitation, say it.
Pete:Be proud of your people and the way they work.
Pete:The next section is compliance and legal considerations.
Pete:Here you should refer to any certificates, licences, permits, permissions all of the things that are required for you to conduct legal business in your jurisdiction.
Pete:This section may also include confirmation of your public liability insurance.
Pete:The final element I referred to was the terms and conditions.
Pete:Now, if you've got a pre prepared terms and conditions document, by all means refer to that and include it as an attachment.
Pete:But help the tender panel make their decision by summarising your terms of trade here.
Pete:I would specifically mention a deposit if it was required, your invoice schedule, methods of payment and dates for payment your process for dealing with disputes, ownership and insurance during the hire and a process notice period and fees for early termination.
Pete:If you've prepared a tender for your business before, you've probably got most of this information to hand.
Pete:If not, start collecting and collating it now so that you've got everything ready when you find a tender and want to submit your biddenness.
Pete:Although well written, well structured paragraphs are essential, tenders aren't won because they're written in beautiful, flowery prose that invokes warm memories of happier times.
Pete:Instead, it's important to be clear and concise.
Pete:Say what you mean and mean what you say and when you finish writing it, save it and use spell check to pick up any obvious typos and grammatical mistakes.
Pete:When I prepare bids, I usually get someone else to proofread them.
Pete:Before I press submit.
Pete:I'll ask them to use a critical eye and look for sentences that were just waffle or didn't make any sense.
Pete:I didn't want the proofreader to make changes, just highlight the things that didn't quite fit and when they sent it back, I'd read their comments, look at the original text and decide whether or not any changes were required before I finalised the document and sent it off.
Pete:Now, if you submit a bid by email, offer to supply any further information if required, and follow up with a phone call in a day or two to make sure that they received the document and can open it after that.
Pete:It's usually a waiting game as the client works through their decision making process.
Pete:If you sit on that side of the desk and make decisions to award contracts, I'd love for you to come on the show and discuss your work.
Pete:Please get in touch with Peteflush Dot online.
Pete:There's no specific formula for writing a perfect bid.
Pete:I'm certainly not saying that my way of presenting a bid is the only way, or even the best way, because tenders are often very specific to each project.
Pete:And while projects can be similar, no two projects are ever exactly alike.
Pete:That's all for today.
Pete:Thank you.
Pete:I've been Pete and you've been listening to get flushed.
