How To Win Public Contracts In Uk As A Sme

Step 1: Search for opportunities on UK contract finder websites.

• Register your organization within the UK contract finder website-

Click here for registration: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Step 2: Find a contract in your area of expertise.

• Type a keyword related to your service in the search bar.

• Choose the location where you will provide services.

• Select the procurement stage and click search to get the opportunities.

• You can now view the different contracts displayed and spend some time exploring the options that are best suited to your needs.

• It is possible to use different CPV codes based on your field of study and search by using them in the keywords field.

For example, we have the following CPV codes for the furniture industry.

Step 3: Read the description of the Contract.

• After selecting a contract, it is important to note the deadline and start date of the contract so that you can complete the work by the contract's end date.

• Read the description carefully as we get to know the exact services which we should provide.

• Here we also have the information of the buyer with the name, address, and email address for communication purposes. 

Ex: I have selected one contract.

Here, I noted the deadline and starting date.

Step 4: use “Contract Management Excel”

• Manage contracts using an Excel spreadsheet.

• The contract details would be contained in this sheet.

• This can be used to track the progress of contracts at every stage.

                                         Source: Contract Management excel

• We have the following information: Contract name, location, buyer information, contract deadlines, contract value, etc.

• If you have questions regarding the contract, you may directly contact them via their email and obtain clarification.

Click on the link to get the “Contract Management Excel”: Contract Management excels

Step 5: Download Contract Related Documents.

• You can find the link in the contract Description.

• Click on the Link.

• After clicking the link you would be redirected to a different portal where you can download the contract-related documents.

• Register yourself first as a supplier with the company-related documents.

• For Registration you need some of the company documents such as Public Liability Insurance, Employers Liability Insurance, etc.

• After uploading all they will verify your company details and get back soon with a confirmation email.

• In the mail we will be getting the login details.

• Login and you can see your contract details with documents.

•  Click on view details then you will get contract documents for downloading.

Here are some of the downloaded documents: 

Click: Contract Documents

Click: Documents

PQQ (Pre-Qualification Questionnaire) or SQ (Standard Supplier Questionnaire)

PQQs are evaluated in order to:

1. Eliminate any bidder that fails to meet the minimum standards

2. Select the best bidder out of those who meet minimum standards.

Only these bidders will be invited to submit tenders at a later stage.

The following documents are required from an organization:

• Your organization chart

• Business accreditations

• Complaints policy

• Last two years' company accounts

• Your company's unique selling point

• Your industry CPV Code

• Your DUNS number

Click: PQQ

TIPS:

Click: TIPS 

Step 6: Documents Examination and Preparation of Request for quotation (RFQ)

• Following the download of the documents, we must find suppliers who can provide services or products that meet the specifications of the tender.

• In addition to receiving multiple documents related to the tender, we briefly reviewed the eligibility criteria for suppliers and the rules and regulations related to the tender.

• In the event that our organisation meets the buyer's requirements, and we will proceed with the project

• we must prepare a request for quotations on our behalf to contact the supplier so that we may obtain price quotations from different suppliers     

Here are some of the RFQ prepared: 

Click: Suppliers RFQ

Click: RFQ

Step 7: Finding suppliers and negotiation. 

• Finding suppliers is a crucial step where we find suppliers nearby the tender location with the help of google maps or we can just search directly on the search engine.

• After some research we can shortlist a few suppliers who are looking promising and prepare an excel template of suppliers for tracking purposes.

• Prepare an excel sheet with information such as the supplier’s name, email id, and contact number.

Supplier’s excel sheet: 

Click: Suppliers List

•  Write an email mentioning all the required data and request for a quotation in reply with the RFQ you have prepared.

• Quote prices wisely by keeping a good profit margin because it will increase the chances of winning the contract.

TIPS: 

• On the UK contract finder website, we can search for already awarded contracts to identify potential winning bid quotation criteria.

• Here you will get the old awarded contracts with the winning organization details.

• We can connect through different portals such as LinkedIn and gain some extra knowledge required for winning contracts.

Step 8: Submit quotations and all signed documents. 

• This is the final step where after sorting everything with the suppliers, we finally submit all contract-related documents to the Buyer.

• If the Buyer has any doubts, there is a communication window between you and the Buyer till the date of announcing the winning contracts.

• Timely checking the notifications from the Buyer would help us provide an efficient service concerning the tender amount. 

Complete Document set of two contracts for reference: 

Click: Contracts