Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The public-health impacts of the COVID-19 virus have been discussed far and wide. On the 16th and 17th March, the Government announced further measures designed both to help further mitigate the health impacts of the virus, but also the potentially catastrophic economic impacts as well.
In the current climate, bidding for public sector contracts may not appear too appealing at the moment. There are, however, several reasons why now may be the most opportune time to start tendering.
Commercial Reasons
There two main commercial reasons why now might be the right time to bid:
Guaranteed Work
Depending on your industry, the current climate could seriously affect your business as customers become more cautions, supply chains get disrupted and business interactions are more heavily restricted.
Bidding for public contracts is a useful way of guaranteeing work, both during and after the current crisis. While many firms who rely on private sector relations or customer-facing transactions may struggle to retain clients, securing public sector contracts will give you much more reliable guarantees.
Despite the current situation, the public sector is still publishing dozens of new contracts every day in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There is currently no indication that these competitions will be cancelled or begin to slow. If anything, it’s more likely that the government will continue to push for more tenders in the hope of keeping the economy moving.
Lack of Competition
Your reasons to be hesitant about bidding will have also occurred to your commercial rivals. While you may read this blog and change your mind, the chances are they won’t.
This therefore presents a great opportunity for you. Not only will there be fewer competitors bidding, but you have the chance to secure future contracts and expand your business, while your rivals are busy mitigating the affects of the current shutdown.
Practical Reasons
There are also a number of practical reasons as to why you can bid, despite coronavirus:
Working from Home
You may have sent your employees home, or may be working from home yourself, following the government’s advice. Fortunately, bidding can quite easily be done from home.
80% of our projects are run entirely remotely from our clients. We’re therefore well used to the practicalities of remote bid management. If you’re wondering how or where to start, give us a call!
Spare Time
If business is down or you are working from home, you may have free time during your day that would usually be spent commuting, in meetings, conferences or on site. While these normally make tendering more difficult as you must balance your time carefully, you might now have more time to dedicate towards preparing a bid response.
Working with Bid Consultants
Managing, preparing and writing your tender response can be hard. You may therefore want to consider partnering with Bespoke Bids. We are able to manage your bid from end-to-end, advising on your content and drafting responses using industry best practices.
Bespoke Bids will be remaining open throughout this crisis. We’re as eager as ever to help you win more contracts! While face-to-face meetings may be out of the question for now, we would be happy to hold an online meeting or teleconference with you to discuss how we might be able to help. As mentioned above, we conduct over 80% of our projects remotely. Over the years we’ve grown adept at establishing successful client relationships through these methods.
If you are interested in bidding for public or private sector contracts, give us a call!
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