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When you’re busy preparing a bid, every second counts. From the moment the tender documentation lands, right up until the submission deadline, you need to use your time wisely to support and craft a winning bid. In an ideal world, as much of the leg work is done upfront, so you can avoid the chaos of those last-minute all-nighters.
But it’s easier said than done. With the average time spent preparing a bid being up to 30 days, how do you use this time to your full advantage? Particularly as you’re likely to have multiple deadlines to juggle during this period.
The key is to be ready to act quickly, as soon as a bid lands. To help with this, a number of our bidside customers have put in place a call-off framework agreement for our expert consultant support and installed our ADVANCE™ bid software. This means they are ready to act from day one, making the most of the time available to prepare their bid submission. A Commerce Decisions Framework Agreement enables bidders to benefit from valuable additional preparation time and maximise their chances of winning their next bid.
What are the benefits of a Framework Agreement?
1. Organise software, training and consultancy before ITT release
Take the best possible advantage of the critical time before the ITT submission date to craft a winning bid. An organisation’s internal sign off and approvals process for placing a Purchase Order (PO) is often the most significant blocker to engaging us to deliver our solutions in time for us to make a difference. Typically, budget approvals, agreement of Terms and Conditions and subsequent PO generation take longer than anticipated and can put the success of your bid at risk…
- PO sign offs can often be delayed due to lengthy approval cycles, missing and incorrect information, differing internal sign off authorities. This process often takes between 2-4 weeks.
- Time spent preparing and submitting a bid from initial ITT – this can typically take up to 30 days but varies considerably depending on the size and complexity of the procurement.
So, getting our bid support in place can sometimes take as long as it takes to put your submission together. Having a Framework Agreement in place with Commerce Decisions means that you are ready to engage us from day one, and we can get to work supporting you straight away, when you need it most.
2. Respond to the challenging needs of complex bid environments
The Commerce Decisions Framework model supports your teams to act quickly, giving you the best chance of winning. If your team is under resourced or in need of additional support, we can step in to help you fill the gap. Whether you require training, software, cost modelling support or an additional pair of eyes on your Red Team Review, we’re here to support you at short notice.
How our Framework solution supports your business:
– Group Level
Access services and support across your entire organisation with sign off at Group level. Support days, training and software are approved centrally, removing the need for separate approvals at a Business Unit level which can often lengthen the process. We will work with you to establish an internal approvals process for call off, as required.
– Business Unit Level
Benefit from support across a single Business Unit, for example Defence or Rail. This is similar to Group level support, but is arranged by a specific area within your organisation and available for use by that unit.
– Team/Bid Level
Access services across a single bid/bid team. This removes the hassle and time of submitting multiple approval processes at different stages of the bid, and works well for teams working across diverse areas of the business.
3. Achieve best value for money for your bid support
The Commerce Decisions Framework Agreement starts with a flexible package of consultancy support that can be used to call off a range of consultancy and training support options, including Position to Win, Methodologies Training and expert services. Days can also be exchanged, as required, for the use of our ADVANCE™ software solution. Depending on your exact requirements, a Framework arrangement can offer significant savings against our standard pricing.
The benefits of our Framework Agreement also include priority access to our expert advice and support, quarterly account review meetings and notification of the latest industry updates and developments.
What’s included?
Our range of support includes the following areas, which can be tailored to your individual needs:
- Procurement methodologies training to help you understand what your customer is really looking for and how to prepare the highest scoring bid
- Position to Win consultancy support to help define cost vs capability ratios and pricing strategy
- Storyboarding and strategy support
- Maximising Marks consultancy
- Red Team/Final Gate review support and/or facilitation
- ADVANCE™ software licences with Position to Win capability
Each framework agreement includes:
- Agreed pricing
- Details of relevant products and services
- Specific internal approvals process agreed in advance
- Terms of use tailored to your organisation
Find out more
Our Framework Agreements are designed to help you save valuable time and unnecessary risk, so you can act quickly to prepare and submit a winning bid. The ability to maximise the time available before the critical submission deadline could be the difference between winning and losing your next bid. Please get in touch below for more information on the ways we can provide essential support for you and your team.
