HOW CAN SMALL AND MID SIZED FIRMS SECURE GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS EASILY?

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Public procurement has become a major source of revenue for many companies now. After digitization the process has become even smoother and hassle free. Every state department or government has their own portal. However, when it comes to holding such a huge database, it may get slightly cumbersome for contractors and/or bidders to find the right opportunity. That’s when you can take assistance from web aggregators in the field, like BidAssist. There are multiple tenders one can find on the web portal, for example state-specific tenders like WB tenders or category-specific listings like PWD tenders. 

There are more than 10,000 opportunities announced from the biggest WB tenders posted on the West Bengal tender procurement portal. All these can easily be found on BidAssist, be it for West Bengal government departments, State PSUs, or other Private companies from the state.

That said, before heading to such portals, it is important to ponder the challenges a small or medium size enterprise may face in the e procurement process. 

Companies may profit from public procurement, but there is much to understand regarding how to succeed in the tendering procedure. This procedure is viewed by several small to mid-sized firms as being excessively difficult and complicated. Consequently, companies find it extremely difficult to handle this “overload,” and as a result, perhaps they attempt and lose (and rarely attempt anymore), or else give up altogether. 

Let’s look at some scenarios/challenges to combat when getting into the e-procurement process of tenders and bidding. 

  • What if a company has way too few resources to bid?

Many companies mistakenly believe that they are simply too tiny to collaborate with the government. This is not valid anymore. In reality, public agencies now acknowledge that smaller companies are the backbone of the economic system, and several nations have put fresh programs in motion to promote involvement. Such programs comprise: 1) Promising to source a certain proportion of all governmental tendering from small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs); 2) Exclusions from government procurement requirements for smaller-value deals that permit for direct interaction; 3) Smaller deals or bid levels to lower venture threats; 4) Reduced durations for payments and regulations requiring timely payments. 

Small companies are frequently able to operate on greater profits, which places them in a platform to provide the state with the most return for its investment.

  • Where can your firm locate public procurement possibilities?

Every state posts hundreds of trade prospects annually for the public tendering of products and operations. Using website platforms that are publicly accessible via the official state webpage, these prospects are promoted. Or, if you wish to save time, you may buy a plan from companies like BidAssist that collects information on government advertisements from various websites and provides active tender listings on a regular basis. Through such platforms, you may discover possibilities that strongly suit your company. Suppose you own JCBs and bid for contracts from Delhi government for road repairing. Now you want to expand and for the same,  you want to find similar options in a nearby state like Himachal Pradesh. For this, you can start following HP tenders on BidAssist and whenever there’s any new update, you’ll get notified within no time. 

The portal offers various plans to suit your needs which include the event schedule and all the necessary paperwork that you’ll need to understand and submit a bid proposal, such as deadline for submission of questions, due date, evaluation period, decision timing and contract period. 

In addition to the event’s schedule of dates, including the set timeframe, review session, conclusion period, and deadline for inquiry filing, they will include all the paperwork you require to review and submit. 

  • What stages comprise the tendering procedure?

You will have a strategic edge if you take the trouble to get to know the client and establish a connection with them prior to the contract proposal being made since after the bid offer is filed, bidding regulations forbid you from seeing or communicating with the consumer directly. The window of time from the promotional phase to the auction deadline is frequently relatively small after a bid has been published (for instance 3 to 4 weeks). But as a contractor, there are several procedures you must adhere to in order to improve company’s win odds of success and optimize your underlying operations. It has been demonstrated that investing more hours in pre-bid tasks increases the likelihood of accomplishment in comparison to having to wait till the prospect has been publicized, which leaves little period to assemble reliable data, compose the replies, and ensure all is complied while satisfying the schedule. Most established bidders follow a predetermined set of procedures and actions prior to actually submitting a proposal, including:

  • Keeping an eye out for industry patterns and related chances
  • Keeping track of agreement expiration periods before a new proposal
  • Building purchaser reviews and doing analysis on consumer behavior
  • Creating a centralized auction data repository and creating template text
  • Creating a biddable or non biddable judgment standard to reduce biases
  • Keeping track of asset availability and project allocations
  • Examining victory or failure results
  • How can you determine if your firm is prepared to work with the public sector?
  • You must first meet the requirements for prospective providers before your organization can get ready for bidding. You must, at the very least, possess a legitimate operating business, supply registration document, proof of coverage, and perhaps financial information. For this, make sure to study every piece of paperwork to guarantee you can fulfill the prerequisites since there could also be rejection factors.
  • What are the risks involved in contracting?
  • Among the various contracting methods, two of the prime potential risks are listed below: 
  • Achieving the practical and non-price requirements for excellence:
  • The standards supplied in the procurement papers serve as the foundation for the definition of technological and performance criteria. When it comes to solutions, the factors may comprise the necessary education and expertise, supplier accessibility, on-site attendance, a particular methodological strategy, previous accomplishment on comparable deals, and so forth. Technological needs must be specified precisely and presented in a form that allows bids to be assessed for their compliance (or lack thereof). Other non-financial factors might be graded with scores in a services contract to evaluate which proposal offers the most return for the purchaser’s investment.
  • Satisfying the monetary (pricing) requirements:
  • The framework for evaluating proposals is established by the budgetary requirements in a contract. The requirements for what elements (including transportation expenses, upkeep, or licensing) must be covered in the bid and how much of this information must be supplied in specifics must be made apparent to vendors. 
  • Making a proposal submission is just a piece of the bigger picture when competing for public procurement. You must acquire a thorough grasp of the procedure, be aware of everything the institutions require, and be prepared to respond to inquiries. If you’re unsure about your firm’s capacity to handle everything, think about collaborating with a bidding consultant such as BidAssist where you will be able to find and follow various tender opportunities like WB tenders while not missing out on any new tender-related notification.