A tender is the procedure in which a number of parties compete to win a project. This procedure consists of preparing a tender and a plan of action. The combination of these two is called the tender and is evaluated as the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT). A winning tender hinges on a good tender strategy: the way the tenderer plans to win the tender.
Tender strategy at Flux
The first phase of the tender process is to outline a good tender strategy. Developing and following a proper tender strategy ensures that you increase your chances of a winning plan. In this phase, you determine the main thread of the plan and analyse the customer demand. The building blocks for an effective tender strategy are:
- Answering the client demand;
- Mapping the competition and your own organisation;
- Finding a balance between price and quality.
A good tender strategy answers the question: What does the client want to achieve and with what solutions can you address the client’s concerns?
Do you need help defining your tender strategy? Flux’s consultants specialise in supporting you in drawing up the winning tender strategy. Contact us for more information on our approach.
Writing the MEAT plan
It is essential that the tender perfectly matches the client’s needs. An important next step in the tender process is writing a MEAT plan. After defining the tender strategy and mapping out the client demand, it is time to schedule one or more in-depth sessions. During these sessions, you will devise solutions to the client’s concerns and write a convincing plan. When writing an MEAT plan, the writer ensures that the award criteria are central. The drafted award criteria determine the tender.
Topics such as sustainability, environmental management and risk management form the basis of an MEAT plan. An effective MEAT plan ensures that you can provide the right explanation of your offered service or product. It is important that the MEAT plan fits well with customer needs and award criteria.
What does a tender manager do within the tender process?
The tender manager is responsible for managing the tender process. He acts as project leader within the tender team. Within the first phase of formulating the tender strategy, the tender manager takes care of identifying the client’s requirements and translating them into a tender strategy. With the help of the tender team, the tender manager takes care of preparing the tender plan to achieve the ultimate goal of winning a tender and obtaining the contract. Engaging a tender manager increases your chances of a successful tender.
Tender criteria
A tender is assessed by contracting authority using tender criteria or award criteria. For each criterion, the tendering party writes a plan of action. Depending on the contract, this plan may consist of a number of A4 and the tendering party must incorporate a number of award criteria in the plan. For each criterion, the Client determines the score and the tenderer with the best score wins the tender. The umbrella term for the tender criteria (or award criteria) is Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT).