Masterclass in Bid and Tender Management (3 days)

Course Overview

Suppliers are the lifeblood of most organisations – at their best they provide not only the goods and services needed to run the business but are also arich source of new ideas and innovation. Issuing tenders and choosing the right suppliers is critical. Equally so,no business can survive without its customers and winning bids is equally essential to business success.

This intensive and highly interactive 3-day Masterclass is suitable for either buyers or salespeople and provides delegates with the skills and expertise required to enable them to create real value for their organisations via the bidding and tendering processes.

The Masterclass is facilitated by leading practitioners in the field and looks at the bid and tender process from both a buying and selling perspective, covering both the writing and issuing of Invitations to Tender and the writing and submittingof bids in response. As value needs to be created on both sides of the equation for contracts to be successful there will be an emphasis on understanding the market from both the buying and selling point of view, ensuring that needs are clearly specified in the ITTand that suppliers can meet these needs.

In addition to a detailed exploration of the bidding and tendering processes, the Masterclass includesa session on vital soft skills such as communication, stakeholder management and persuasion. It will also discuss the challenges involved in forming and sustaining good, practical working relationships and in the art of negotiation.

Questioning is encouraged and there will be plenty of discussion allowing participants to share their own experiences, thoughts and ideas. Each delegate will receive full course notes and a set of templates and other materials that they can take back to use in their own organisation.

Course Contents

Introduction to bids and tendering

  • What is bidding and tendering all about?
  • What makes a good Invitation to Tender (ITT)?
  • What makes a good bid?
  • Why is bidding and tendering important?

Understanding the procurement cycle

  • The procurement lifecycle from A to Z
  • Identifying the need and gathering requirements
  • Pre-market engagement
  • Writing the specification
  • Strategic Sourcing – choosing the right supplier

Identifying the need and gathering requirements

  • Involving the stakeholders
  • Needs – not wants
  • Baselining – where are we now?

Writing a good specification

  • What makes a good specification?
  • Specifying the outcome, not the inputs

Markets, customers and suppliers

  • Porter’s Five Forces and other analysis tools
  • Engaging with the market
  • How do buyers look at suppliers?
  • How do suppliers look at customers?
  • Matching the right buyer with the right supplier

The tendering process

  • The tendering process from A to Z
  • Fairness and transparencyand avoiding corruption
  • Writing the tender documents
  • Publishing the opportunity and attracting suppliers
  • Handling queries in a fair and open way
  • Opening and evaluating the bids
  • Awarding the contractand giving feedback
  • E-tendering – how to make it work effectively

Putting together the Invitation to Tender (ITT)

  • What’s in a name – ITT, RFP, RFQ and PQQ?
  • Contents of a good ITT
  • Write your evaluation criteria first
  • Selection criteria versus award criteria
  • The use of Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQ)

Understanding the sales cycle

  • The sales lifecycle from A to Z
  • Identifying opportunities – prospecting
  • Approaching the prospect
  • Writing and presenting the bid
  • Handling objections
  • Closing the sale
  • Following up

The bidding process

  • The bidding process from A to Z
  • Identifying opportunities – where to loo
  • Involving the stakeholders – forming the bid team
  • To bid or not to bid – the bid /no-bid decision
  • Pricing and costs – the need to make a profit
  • Reading and understanding the tender documents
  • Writing, reviewing and submitting the bid
  • Getting the response
  • Challenging the response – if there’s a problem
  • Getting feedback about your bid

Putting together the bid

  • What’s in a name – is this an ITT, or a PQQ, or…?
  • The bid team and its role
  • Contents of a good bid
  • How will my bid be evaluated?
  • The critical need to do exactly as the ITT asks
  • Writing a winning bid
  • Reviewing and approving the bid

Bid evaluation

  • Longlisting and shortlisting
  • Does the bid read well and make sense?
  • Bid evaluation techniques – informal and formal
  • Weighting and scoring – keep it simple!
  • Looking for value – all the time
  • Recommendation and approval

Soft skills for procurement and salespeople

  • Communication skills for bidding and tendering
  • Stakeholder management
  • Persuasion and negotiation

 

Benefits of Attending

By attending this Masterclass you will be equipped with the skills to:

  • Understand what bidding and tendering is all about
  • Ascertain real needs, document requirements and write specifications
  • Analyse the supply markets using a number of tools
  • Identify potential suppliers and potential customers
  • Understand how to tender and how to bid
  • Know what makes both a good ITT (Invitation to Tender) and a good bid
  • Know the rules, regulations and guidelines to follow in bidding and tendering
  • Publish tenders that can attract and appoint the best supplier
  • Distinguish your bids from the competition – for the right reasons
  • Write winning bids – bids that win more contracts
  • Manage contracts for increased value
  • Reduce risks and foster innovation in the supply chain
  • Avoid corruption in all its forms
  • Improve your communication, stakeholder management and negotiation skills

Who Should Attend this Course?

  • Procurement Directors / Procurement Managers
  • Buyers / Senior Buyers
  • Supplier Managers / Supply Chain Consultants
  • Sales Directors / Sales Managers
  • Business Development Managers / Client Managers
  • Technical Sales Managers / Bid Team Leaders
  • Business Owners / Executive Directors / Managing Directors / General Managers
  • Operations Directors /Operations Managers
  • Finance Directors / Finance Managers
  • Project Directors / Project Managers / Project Engineers

* PLUS anyone else who is interested in ensuring that the bid and tender process works well in their organisation – matching the right suppliers to the right customers and ensuring value is created on both sides.

Trainers

Meet your training course director: John Atkinson FITOL

John Atkinson

John’s corporate experience spans some 30 years including Head of Group & Global Procurement for Focus Wickes plc. where he was responsible for the full creation and implementation of global sourcing initiatives, supplier/vendor management and commercial contract negotiation. John has also held senior roles within Barclays Bank corporate and led a wide and diverse range of teams, both locally and globally.

John is a Fellow of the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning and also a Certified Instructor in delivering emotional intelligence training. John has wide international experience, including: Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, KDR, China, Germany, France, Sweden, Malaysia & West Africa. Organisations that John has worked with include: KNPC, Petronas, Shell, Total, Lafarge, Nigeria LNG, The United Nations, Zain Corporation, Maybank & Sinopec.

As a consultant and trainer for the last 11 years John is passionate about delivery, and utilises his career expertise to ensure that clients receive leading edge training results, enabling delegates to understand not only the subject matter, but also the application and usage to add value both to their role and within the wider organisational environment

 

Meet your training course director: Steve Mallaband

Steve Mallaband

Steve is a procurement professional with over 25 years of experience, and has held senior positions with several large organisations both in the UK and abroad. During his career he has bought a large variety of goods and services in an international context, and has been very actively involved in the use of e-procurement. For the last 7 years he has provided training and consultancy to public and private sector clients around the globe on a wide range of topics. He is a knowledgeable, interesting and entertaining presenter who is able to draw on his wealth of practical experience to excellent effect.

 

Meet your training course director: Ros Howard

Ros Howard Ros is a professional business trainer and a Fellow of the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning (ITOL). Ros has a rich and varied career in industry and education. She believes that excellence in communication and other “soft skills” is vital for business success, and has a real passion for instilling learning in others. For the last 10 years she has provided training, coaching and consultancy to a variety of clients in many different countries and from many different organisations. She is a dynamic and inspiring presenter who, having taught English as a Foreign Language, is particularly sensitive to the needs of the non-native English speakers.

Steve and Ros work together to deliver this Masterclass in Bid and Tender Management, offering you the best of both worlds – a very experienced procurement practitioner backed by an expert in communication and soft skills

 

Meet your training course director: Andrew Neilson F.C.I.P.S. (Chartered) F.C.I.L.T.

Andrew Neilson Andrew is a professionally qualified and award-winning procurement and supply chain executive. He has led and developed procurement and supply chain functions within leading UK based, globally reaching organisations including in country management across the Americas and the Far East. He was elected as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply in 2016 followed closely by becoming a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in 2017.

Andrew has now taken all of his experience into providing expertise to clients / businesses of any size with end to end procurement, supply chain and logistics training / consultancy services on a global basis. Training is delivered to all types of organisations both publicly and on-site/in-house on Supplier Relationship Management, Category Management, Negotiation, Contract Development, Operations Management, Customer Relationship Management and Inventory Management plus anything you need within an end to end Supply Chain.

  • Achieved Chartered status of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply 2019
  • Elected as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport 2017
  • Elected as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply 2016
  • Nominated for National Travel Buyer of the Year 2012
  • Winner of Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply – Best Purchasing Initiative 2008
  • Finalist - European Supply Chain Excellence Awards – Individual Contribution to Supply Chain within the EU 2008
  • Finalist - European Supply Chain Excellence Awards - Sourcing & Procurement 2008
Upcoming Course Dates *
  • To be announced

*Also available In-House
Please Contact Us