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How to Find Courier Service Tenders That Are PERFECT for Your Business

Posted on by John Hudson

Trying to find courier service tenders that are right for you? Look no further than Transport Tenders!

At Transport Tenders, we understand the struggle of finding the perfect courier service tenders. The case goes for any sector. Trying to find a tender that ticks all the boxes can be difficult. In this blog, we will share with you how to streamline the process of finding courier service tenders. Stick around to learn more!

How to find courier service tenders

When you search for courier service tenders in Google, you’ll be met with countless websites. Trying to work your way through these sites and find relevant tenders can be tricky. In fact, it will take hours of your time. If you are already incredibly busy, it can be a challenge trying to manage this and other work. Thankfully, we saw this issue and decided to help you out!

As part of Hudson Discover, Transport Tenders is one of 11 sector-specific tender tracking portals. These portals were designed to make the process of finding tenders much easier. You can use filters to define your search, making it easier to find relevant courier service tenders for your business. These filters include locations, keywords, and budgets. Plus, deadline dates are clearly listed, so you’ll know straight away if you have time to complete the bid.

What makes Transport Tenders different from other tender portals?

So, you may have heard about tender portals. Therefore, you might be wondering what makes ours the better option. Well, we have Opportunity Trackers that manually search for tenders without the use of CPV codes. These codes are a way of listing tenders, but they can often have errors. This results in those tenders being missed. Imagine if a minor error means you miss the perfect tender for your business!

On top of this, our portals are updated daily, and we send tender notifications. This allows our users to keep up to date with all the latest opportunities.

Want to save time looking for courier service tenders? Try Discover Elite

Sign up to Discover Elite via your chosen portal. Then, a dedicated Account Manager will find live bids on your behalf. They’ll speak with you weekly to discuss opportunities that may interest you. This is especially helpful for those with little time to spare due to busy schedules.

Upgrading to Discover Elite will ensure you never miss a tendering opportunity, even when you’re busy!

The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool offers your business:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Discover portals of your choice.
  • Up to five bid breakdowns per month to help you make your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager to discuss viable leads and tendering opportunities.
  • Award and pre-market engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Public and private buyer portal management including registering, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid strategy.

Top tips for winning courier service tenders

Want to know some top tips for winning courier service tenders? Here are six from Bid Writing Consultants!

  1. Read all the tender documents and take note of specific and important details. They may be important later on.
  2. Check you are eligible for the tender and meet any specific requirements.
  3. Writing and communications skills are required for any winning tender. Ensure the bid is written clearly and is straight to the point.
  4. Don’t use technical jargon. As mentioned above, the bid needs to be as clear as possible.
  5. Don’t miss the deadline! If you do, your bid will not be considered.
  6. Use bid management skills to stay organised. It will make the process far more manageable.

Examples of courier service tenders found on our portal

Provision of Bespoke Courier Services

Nottingham Trent University – East Midlands – Budget: £175,000

Courier Services

The Common Services Agency (NHS National Services Scotland) – Scotland – Budget: £1,000,000

Urgent Courier Service (Small Items) Across North West London

NHS Shared Business Services – London – Budget: £60,000

Provision of Courier Services

Royal Berkshire Fire Authority – South East – Budget: £40,000

GB-Bristol: FLIS Courier Service

Ministry of Defence, ISTAR, Other – South West – Budget: £113,000

Summary

Let’s recap everything we covered in our bid on finding courier service tenders.

To find courier service tenders, you should use a tender portal to streamline the process. Transport Tenders is unique because we don’t use CPV codes. So, we never miss an opportunity that may be perfect for our users.

You can upgrade to Discover Elite to have an Account Manager find courier service tenders on your behalf.

How to win courier service tenders:

  • Read all the tender documents and make notes of specific and important details
  • Check you are eligible for the tender and meet any specific requirements
  • Ensure the bid is written clearly and is straight to the point
  • Don’t use technical jargon
  • Don’t miss the deadline
  • Use bid management skills to stay organised.

If you require further support with courier service tenders, please contact us to speak with our experts.

Need help writing your next tender?

If you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and has over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next tender.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

Get in touch to find out more information.

Check out some of our other blogs:

Public Transport Tenders: A Guide to Sourcing and Winning Bids

Posted on by John Hudson

After reading this guide, you’ll be more prepared to win public transport tenders

Due to COP26 and the move for more green transport options, we expect to see more public transport tenders.

With this guide on securing public transport tenders, you’ll be on your way to winning those contracts.

What’s different about public transport tenders?

If it’s rail, bus, or anything else, public transport tenders are short in their timeframe, especially after the pandemic.

Where before contracts would range over years, now it’s usually 18 months long.

Also, the diversity of contracts within public transport tenders can be dizzying, with for instance rail contracts including:

  • Engineering
  • Construction
  • Refurbishment
  • Cleaning
  • Carriage removal
  • Maintenance
  • Essential materials
  • Specialist training
  • Management of services.

The first step is conducting your research into the industry and looking into the specific requirements of the contract.

How do you source public transport tenders?

You could search through the government websites; however, their search engines have a certain flaw. CPV codes. We’ve found through experience that these codes are inaccurate and incredibly inefficient in finding tenders.

But there’s another way.

Our service, Hudson Discover. Specifically, our Transport Tenders portal.

Every day, our portals are manually updated and researched by our team of Opportunity Trackers. We don’t use CPV codes, which means you can filter your search via keyword, budget and location.

These findings can then be sent to your mailbox, once you subscribe.

For your queries around public transport tenders or any industry within logistics, Transport Tenders is an efficient solution.

 9 tips for winning public transport tenders

  1. Read the question carefully

It is important to read and understand exactly what the question is asking.

Then, you can highlight the core requirements and derive relevant sub-headings from this.

  1. Respond in full to the question

Again, using sub-headings will help you significantly with this, ensuring that each requirement is fully addressed.

Make sure you demonstrate your understanding of the service required by providing recent and relevant information.

Where does your company add value?

How would they serve the public transport tender?

  1. Don’t assume the buyer already knows about you

Address your company’s capabilities, strengths and resources as if they are unknown.

How are your resources appropriate for the buyer’s specific needs?

  1. Provide specific examples

Ensure you are providing specific case studies, relating directly to the key requirements set out by the buyer.

  1. Embrace duplication 

It is important to answer each question in full – even if it sometimes seems repetitive.

Repetition can reinforce your company’s experience and capabilities.

  1. Submit a complete response

Don’t risk being disqualified because you neglected the quality check. The best thing to do is to make a clear, defined submission checklist of the required tender documents.

  1. Make the right impression

Your bid is not only about the quality of your responses, but also about the impression you give the buyer.

Every instance of contact will be your chance to impress the buyer!

When you’re asking clarification questions on the portal, make sure your spelling and grammar is top quality.

Remain professional and ensure that every question you ask is original and not repeated.

Asking the right questions helps build the best bid for your organisation.

8.  Use time wisely and plan your deadlines  

The buyer can’t view any documents on tendering portals until the deadline has passed, so use this time!

Quality aside, technical issues won’t be looked upon favourably, and the time invested will have returned nothing.

Most systems are open to a draft bid submission, which you can then finalise with any information you’re waiting on.

It might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised just how many failed submissions there are due to poor time management.

Keeping on top of the following components will help to improve your chances of success with public transport tenders:

A good rule of thumb is to factor in enough time for any potential unexpected delays. This extra time should allow for any last-minute changes before you submit the tender response.

Ultimately, time management is key to bid submissions – it’s no different if you’re bidding for public transport tenders.

  1. Feedback

If you’ve lost a bid, the contracting authority can elaborate on why.

It’s wise to check the reasons behind the successful bid winning the contract. You can then cross-reference this with your bid and see where you went wrong.

Not many know this, but it’s the government’s legal obligation to provide feedback. Any feedback that’s given puts you one step closer to winning your next bid. And public transport tenders are no exception.

In Summary

After reading this blog, you have a greater idea of what it takes to source and win public transport tenders.

Although you’re a bit more familiar with the tender process, you might still be looking for some bid writing support.

Writing isn’t everyone’s strong suit and that’s ok. Outsourcing your tender to bid specialists can help you secure your next contract.

At our sister division, Hudson Succeed, they pride themselves on being bid writing experts.

They hold an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of collective bid writing experience.

They offer four levels of bid writing support to suit every business need.

You may not need the whole bid written for you; you may simply want someone to proofread your response before submission. They can help with that too.

Our services include:

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender response and want someone to double-check it for errors, then Tender Mentor is for you. One of their Bid Writers will proofread it for any grammar or spelling mistakes. They’ll also check it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender for your business, but don’t know where to start – send it our way. Their Bid Team will take care of it all for you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown. They’ll let you know what they need from you and even submit it on your behalf!

Tender Ready

Their Tender Ready programme is designed for those who are completely new to the tendering process. This programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully. The programme also includes bid writing support and a 12-month Discover subscription to a portal of your choice.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve already been tendering for work, but aren’t seeing success, their Improvement programme can help. During the programme, their Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll then give you feedback and guidance on how to improve.

Both Tender Ready, and Tender Improvement offer:

  • A 12-month subscription to the sector-specific portal of your choice.
  • Access to our Global Bid Director and Senior Bidding Professionals with 60 years of bidding experience.
  • A dedicated Bid Consultant with the programme, lasting up to three months.
  • The development of an organisation-wide bid library. This includes 3 case studies, 5 company CVs and 8 policies.

Try their free live demo to see how their portals work for you!

A Guide to Winning a Tender Transport Contract

Posted on by John Hudson

How do I win a tender transport contract?

If you’re bidding for a tender transport contract, you may be wondering what you need to know about them. There are lots of tender transport contracts out there such as courier services or train tenders .We’ve put together a guide on tips to win a tender transport contract.

The tender procedure

If you’re not familiar with the procedure when it comes to a tender transport contract. Here is a breakdown of how it goes:

There are typically two types of tender procedures used by buyers to procure the goods or services they need. They are:

Open tendering procedure

Step 1: An invitation to tender is released (ITT)

A tender transport contract can be done via an open tendering procedure. This procedure is often used to procure more ‘simple’ goods or services. Any supplier can apply for the contract when the invitation to tender(ITT) is released. Suppliers must submit a response as to why they should be awarded the contract.

The buyer then evaluates the responses and decides who should be awarded the contract. If tendering in the public sector, the contract is awarded to the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). This is when the buyer is seeking to get the most value for money. This doesn’t necessarily mean being the cheapest bidder. Other factors come into play such as:

  • Quality
  • Accessibility
  • Ability to deliver on time
  • Environmental factors
  • Technical ability

Restricted procedure

This next procedure is used for more complex goods or services and is split into two stages.

Step 1: The buyer releases a PQQ/SQ  

A pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) or a selection questionnaire (SQ) need to be completed by prospective suppliers.

PQQs and SQs are essentially box-ticking exercises. You will need to include a copy of your business relevant policies and procedures for tenders for transport services. Contract examples will likely be required so a buyer can assess your capabilities. Your economic financial standing will also be assessed. This is to ensure you’re financially able to deliver the contract.

Step 2: Eligible businesses are issued with an ITT

After a supplier meets the minimum eligibility criteria, they will be issued with an ITT. They can then produce a more detailed response to quality questions and give their pricing. Tenders will then be evaluated, and a successful supplier will be awarded the contract.

Top tips

Read the tender documents

 Our first tip to winning a tender transport contract is to make sure you read through the tender documents thoroughly. Make sure you can deliver what the buyer is asking for.

Managing your journeys

When transporting people or goods you need a way of managing your journeys. The last thing you want to turn up late for all your pick-ups and drop-offs. It makes you look unreliable which doesn’t look good to a buyer.

Here are some things to think about:

  • How do you coordinate your journeys?
  • What technology do you use?
  • How is your system efficient and does it save you money?
  • How can you prove to the buyer you’ll be on time?

Provide evidence

Evidence is key to proving to the buyer what you’re capable of and how you meet the requirements. The buyer will want to see evidence of similar projects you’ve worked on. They’ll be looking for your methodology and how you dealt with any challenges faced.

You should be looking to provide at least 2 – 3 relevant case studies from the past 3 – 5 years. The case studies you attach should be relevant to the contract at hand. If the contract is to deliver school transport services, you should use case studies relevant to that. You should always back up your points with evidence.

Demonstrate a robust quality service

If you’re looking to secure a tender transport contract, make sure you can demonstrate a robust quality service.  Transport buyers are looking for a supplier who can provide outstanding quality and performance standards. Demonstrate how you track and monitor your service. What management information and reporting systems do you use?

Answer all the questions

Leaving answers blank or half answered isn’t going to sit well with the buyer. And it certainly won’t win you the bid. If a buyer is asking for 500 words for an answer that’s exactly what they are expecting. Submitting 200 words just won’t cut it. The answer won’t give the amount of detail the buyer is looking for and won’t answer the question in full. Be sure to consider all points of the question and do your best to reach the word count.

Time Management

Time management is an essential skill if you want to secure a tender transport contract. The tender process is long and complex, so you need to allow yourself plenty of time for the whole procedure. The writing and submission process will take up a considerable amount of time.

It’s wise to put a plan together if you’re going to devise your time throughout the process. The last thing you want to do is rush the bid as it will only add to the pressure.

Proofreading

The final step you need to take is making sure you’ve proofread your bid before submitting it.

We can’t stress enough how important it is to double your bid response once complete. This can be quite time-consuming so be sure to allow plenty of time to complete the task thoroughly.

You should be checking for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. When working on a long document it can be hard to spot them whilst working. That’s why it’s important to go back to your work and check again. It will look unprofessional if you submit your response full of errors. You will lose marks as it will be hard for the buyer to read.

In conclusion

We hope you’ve found this guide to a tender transport contract useful. Remember to take onboard our tips for winning your next tender. If you still need help our team are on hand to assist.

Need assistance when writing a tender transport contract?

You may not have the time or resources in house to write a winning tender response in house. Outsourcing to tender writing specialists can help you secure your next contract.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, provide four levels of bid writing support services. Our Bid Writers have over 60 years of collective bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. Whether you’re new to tendering or need your response proofread – we can help.

Tender Ready

Tender Ready is the perfect programme for those who are completely new to tendering. You’ll have access to an expert Bid Consultant to answer any questions that you may have. You’ll also get a year’s subscription to our Transport Tenders portal.

Tender Improvement

If you have already been applying for tenders but aren’t seeing success our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Writers will go over your previous submissions and provide feedback and guidance.

Tender Writing

Have you found the perfect courier delivery contract for your business but are struggling to start? Send it over to our Bid Writing team and they can write the whole response for you. If you use our Tender Writing service, they’ll even submit it on your behalf!

Tender Mentor  

Our Bid Writers can look over a bid response you’ve already written, checking it for errors before you submit. Sometimes you just need another pair of eyes to go over your response and our Tender Mentor service can help.

Where can I find tenders for logistics services?

If you’re wondering where to find tenders for logistics services, you’ve come to the right place. Transport Tenders hosts hundreds of new tendering opportunities from the logistics industry across the UK.

A subscription to Transport Tenders could increase your chances of securing school transport contracts. With the time saved and numerous opportunities found, Transport Tenders can feed seamlessly into your business development strategy. With a subscription to the portal, you receive:

  • Unlimited access.
  • A dedicated Account Manager.
  • A free 20-minute phone consultation.
  • A daily email bulletin.

This way, you can save your precious time and focus on the more pressing matters on your plate.

Below are previous tender transport contracts sourced on our Transport Tender portal:

Transportation Services

IDA Ireland – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

Home to School Transport

Cumbria County Council – North West – Budget: Undisclosed

Passenger Transport Services

Northumberland County Council – North East – Budget: Undisclosed

Home to School Transport

Cumbria County Council – North West – Budget: Undisclosed

Pupil Referral Unit Transport

Cumbria County Council – North West – Budget: Undisclosed

On Transport Tenders, we post contracts for:

Book a free live demo today for a quick tour of our portal. Get in touch to learn more about our bespoke bid writing services.

Want to save even more time?

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, helping you identify tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate.

Contact us for more information on how we can help your business grow.

A Guide to Tenders for Logistics Services

Posted on by John Hudson

What to expect from tenders for logistics services

Securing tenders for logistics services can be confusing if you’ve never tendered before. You may be wondering what’s required and where to find them. This blog will contain some helpful tips on what to expect from tenders for logistics services.

Tenders for logistics services are used when a buyer is looking for a specific good, service or product. They’re essentially outsourcing the solution to their problem. A tender will be released and then hopefully suppliers will compete to win the contract.

Tenders for logistics services can range from courier delivery contracts to Irish Rail tenders. Both the public and the private sector release contracts to tender.

The tender procedure

There are typically two types of tender procedures used by buyers to procure the goods or services they need. They are:

  • Open tendering procedure

Step 1: An ITT is released

Tenders for logistics services can be done via an open tendering procedure. This procedure is often used to procure more ‘simple’ goods or services. Any supplier can apply for the contract when the invitation to tender (ITT) is released. Each supplier will submit their response detailing why they would be the best for the job.

The buyer then evaluates the responses, and the contract is awarded. If tendering the public sector, the contract is awarded to the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). This is when the buyer is seeking to get the most value for money. In this situation, the tender is evaluated on more than just price. A number of things are taken into consideration such as:

  • Innovation
  • Quality
  • Accessibility
  • Ability to deliver on time
  • Environmental factors
  • Price
  • Technical ability

 

  • Restricted procedure

For a restricted procedure, a buyer will want to shortlist the bidders to ensure they can deliver the contract. This process has two stages and is used to procure more complex goods or services.

Step 1: The buyer releases a PQQ/SQ  

A pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) or a selection questionnaire (SQ) need to be completed by prospective suppliers. At this stage, any supplier can fill out these questionnaires, but not all of them may meet the eligibility criteria. A buyer will include this stage to ensure that a supplier is well experienced and is qualified.

PQQs and SQs are essentially box-ticking exercises. You will need to include a copy of your business relevant policies and procedures for tenders for logistics services. Contract examples will likely be required so a buyer can assess your capabilities. Up to three case studies can be asked for from within the last three to five years. They should be similar in scope and complexity to the contract at hand. Your economic financial standing will also be assessed. This is to ensure you have enough funds to deliver the contract.

Step 2: Eligible businesses are issued with an ITT

After a supplier meets the minimum eligibility criteria, they will be given an invitation to tender. They can then formulate a deeper response to quality questions and give their pricing. Tenders will then be evaluated, and the contract awarded to the successful supplier.

Need assistance when writing your next tenders for logistics services?

You may not have the time or resources in house to write a winning tender response in house. Outsourcing to tender writing specialists can help you secure your next contract.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, provide four levels of bid writing support services. Our Bid Writers have over 60 years of collective bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. Whether you’re new to tendering or need your response proofread – we can help.

Tender Ready

Tender Ready is the perfect programme for those who are completely new to tendering. You’ll have access to an expert Bid Consultant to answer any questions that you may have. You’ll also get a year’s subscription to our Transport Tenders portal.

Tender Improvement

If you have already been applying for tenders but aren’t seeing success our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Writers will go over your previous submissions and provide feedback and guidance.

Tender Writing

Have you found the perfect courier delivery contract for your business but are struggling to start? Send it over to our Bid Writing team and they can write the whole response for you. If you use our Tender Writing service, they’ll even submit it on your behalf!

Tender Mentor  

Our Bid Writers can look over a bid response you’ve already written, checking it for errors before you submit. Sometimes you just need another pair of eyes to go over your response and our Tender Mentor service can help.

Where can I find tenders for logistics services?

If you’re wondering where to find tenders for logistics services, you’ve come to the right place. Logistics Tenders hosts hundreds of new tendering opportunities from the logistics industry across the UK.

Our Opportunity Trackers manually upload leads from both the public and private sectors. You can filter the results by keyword, budget, location and more. This means you don’t have to rely on inaccurate CPV codes anymore.

Below are previous tenders for logistics services sourced on our portal:

Express Freight Service

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) – Location- London Budget: Undisclosed

Installation of Lynx Helicopter

National Army Museum – Location- London Budget: £16,000

RFI NHSE Covid-19 Vaccination Programme Distribution

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit – Location- East Midlands Budget: £40,000,000

SCC APC The Supply of Transport for School Meals

Surrey County Council – Location- South East Budget: Undisclosed

Collection and Delivery of Blood Components, Samples, Tissues and Cells

Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service – Location- Scotland Budget: Undisclosed

  • Unlimited access to the Logistics Tenders portal. Increase your chance of success.
  • A dedicated Account Manager on hand to help you will all logistics tenders.
  • A free 20-minute phone consultation. Chat to one of our team about a contract you’re interested in. We can provide expert advice, insight and guidance to support your tendering efforts.
  • A daily email bulletin of all the logistics tenders published that day helping you stay ahead of the game.

On Transport Tenders, we post contracts for:

Book a free live demo today for a quick tour of our portal. Get in touch to learn more about our bespoke bid writing services.

Want to save even more time?

Upgrading to Discover Elite can save you even more time, helping you identify tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate.

Contact us for more information on how we can help your business grow.

What the End of the Railway Franchise Means for Rail Contracts in the UK

Posted on by John Hudson

7 things you need to include for UK rail contracts and the new Emergency Recovery Management Agreements

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive shake-up for UK rail contracts. It has led to the end of the railway franchise which has been in use for 24 years.

The old railways franchising system allowed private companies to bid for multi-year contracts, allowing them to operate on specific routes. The new system means that UK rail contracts will now only last six to 18 months instead of years.

The railway franchise has been replaced by Emergency Recovery Management Agreements (ERMAs). The government hopes that this plan can keep the industry running during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Rt Honourable Grant Shapps MP from the Department for Transport (DfT) stated:

These new contracts continue to respond to the impact of COVID-19 and ensure the railways continue to support the country’s recovery from the pandemic, delivering for passengers, freight and taxpayers.  

They keep the best elements of the private sector, including competition and innovation, that drive growth but go further by delivering greater leadership, direction and accountability.”

Despite this, companies are still winning million- pound rail contracts in the UK for new stations. There has been an increase in the popularity of business parks that have offices and commercial buildings. These spaces often have their own railway stations on-site, making them perfect for commuters – creating an ease of accessibility.

The rail industry is always evolving with a need for efficiency, precision and innovation. This leads to a constant stream of rail contracts throughout the UK. Particularly with HS2 underway, which is bringing with it a wealth of investment and jobs across the UK.

Invention and Innovation

The UK government are keen to reward invention and innovation to improve passenger experience and decarbonise the rail network. They have announced a new £9 million fund to encourage cutting-edge ideas and pioneering technology for a more sustainable future. It’s the fifth First of a Kind competition in partnership with the Department for Transport and Innovate UK.

Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said:

This country pioneered the railway, and that spirit of innovation and ingenuity has never been more vital as we look to build back better from this pandemic.

Our railways will underpin this country’s economic recovery and help realise our ambitions of a carbon-neutral future. Through initiative like the First of a Kind competition, we are investing today to build the railway of tomorrow.”

UK rail contracts can cover a wealth of subsections within the industry. Businesses may put tenders out to procure:

  • Engineering
  • Construction
  • Refurbishment
  • Cleaning
  • Carriage removal
  • Maintenance
  • Essential materials
  • Specialist training
  • Management of services

These are just a few examples of the types of services and works needed within the rail industry.

Often, a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) will cover the following sectors:

  • Company information.
  • Mandatory grounds for rejection.
  • Discretionary grounds for rejection.
  • Economic and financial standing.
  • Technical and professional ability.
  • Specific questions declaration and authorisations.

7 things you need to include in the new ERMAs for rail contracts in the UK

  1. Health and safety in rail contracts in the UK

The rail industry is known for having very technical tender questions, due to the focus on health and safety. You must convey how you’ll deliver the contract to the highest standards while fulfilling the necessary health and safety standards. These are typically stated within the PQQ specification.

The buyer will want to see your compliance with regulations and how you implement health, safety and wellbeing. They want to see this particularly in accordance with the staff and the general public. Within the invitation to tender (ITT), you will likely be required to also include a risk assessment for the works.

  1. Financial turnover

Your businesses financial turnover will be assessed within the PQQ stage of a rail contract. It is typically comprised of three things:

  • Annual turnover
  • Financial ratios
  • Insurance

You will need to detail these in your response in order to progress onto the ITT stage. If your business doesn’t meet these criteria, you will not be eligible to continue.

  1. Experience

When writing your rail contract response, you will usually be required to provide case studies of your experience. The buyer wants to know that you are qualified and have the necessary experience required to fulfil the contract. You may be asked to provide three past case studies of work you’ve completed that’s of a similar calibre. Typically, they must be within the last five years.

You must also back up any statement of claim you make with concrete, auditable evidence. If you claim to be the best in the market, you must back it up with evidence. Avoid phrases such as ‘we have undertaken numerous projects that are similar in scope’. It doesn’t reflect well on you; they’ll want to know exactly how many, questioning your knowledge.

  1. Qualifications and accreditations

UK rail contracts will require certain qualifications and accreditations. The requirements can vary depending on the goods, works or services being bought. Some examples of various qualifications and accreditations relating to rail contracts are:

  • Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme (RISQS)
  • Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)
  • Controller of Site Safety (CoSS)
  • Personal Track Safety (PTS)
  • National Competency Control Authority (NCCA)
  • QUENSH (London Underground)
  • ISO 9001; 14001; 27001
  • Constructionline
  • RIDDOR

  1. MEAT

When reviewing potential suppliers rail contract responses, the award typically goes to the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). This is when the buyer awards the contract due to other factors involved, not simply due to the price. The buyer is wanting to get the most value for money out of the tender. They can look at certain aspects individually or as a whole, these can include:

  • Accessibility
  • Environmental benefits
  • Technical ability
  • Quality
  • Innovation

  1. Social Value

Social value is an every-important section within almost every tendering response and it’s no difference for UK rail contracts. The social value of the project is vital if tendering within the public sector. It now has a mandatory weighting of 10% within the quality response. In some cases, it can be as large as 30%.

Social value is the economic, social and environmental aspects of a response. What is your organisation promising to lessen the environmental impact or give back to the local community? Your company’s sustainable development goals should maximise and promote good social values. You shouldn’t put anything down for the sake of it, buyers want to see you making commitments you can keep.

The social value model aims to:

  • Create new jobs.
  • Level-up the UK.
  • Tackle climate change.
  • Reduce waste.
  • Encourage economic growth.
  • Encourage COVID-19 recovery.
  • Promote skills.
  • Promote equal opportunities.

  1. The quality of your response

No matter the industry you are in, when submitting a tender response, the buyers care about the quality. You must avoid passive and vague phrases. Be direct, clear and persuasive.

You must go into meticulous detail whilst still being clear and coherent in your response. Ask yourself, what would you want to know if you were the buyer. Do not assume that the reviewer of your response knows anything. If you allow room for assumptions, they can make the wrong assumptions and you may get penalised for it.

Rail-related services and products are highly regulated. You must persuade the buyer that your business is the best for the job. What is your business’ unique selling point? Do you offer any innovative solutions that your competitors don’t?

Need help with a rail bid?

Our team of Bid Writers at Hudson Succeed know the trials and tribulations of writing a winning bid. We know you’ve got a lot on your plate and don’t always have the time to spare.

Our Bid Writers have an 87% success rate and over 50-years of bidding experience. We offer four bid writing solutions to suit your tendering needs.

Tender Ready

The Tender Ready programme is perfect for those who are completely new to tendering.

Tender Improvement

If you have already been applying for UK rail contracts but aren’t seeing success our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Writers will review your previous submissions and provide feedback and guidance.

Tender Writing

Have you found the perfect rail contract for your business but are struggling to start? Send it over to our Bid Writing team and they can write the whole response for you. They’ll even submit it on your behalf!

Tender Mentor  

Our Bid Writers can look over a bid response you’ve already written, checking it for errors before you submit. Sometimes you just need another pair of eyes to go over your response, that’s where Tender Mentor comes in.

Where to find rail contracts in the UK

So, know you know what you can do to get the best out of your bid. Next, you may be wondering where to find UK rail contracts?

Most tendering opportunities are posted across thousands of websites and portals across the UK. Searching for the right one for your business can turn into quite the headache.

Luckily for you, our Transport Tenders portal hosts hundreds of new opportunities in this industry from across the UK. Our Opportunity Trackers manually upload hundreds of live tenders daily from both the public and private sectors. You can filter results via keyword, budget, location and more. You no longer have to rely on inaccurate CPV codes. This means you’ll never miss out on an opportunity to grow your business again.

On Transport Tenders, we post contracts for:

Start a free trial

Here are some past UK rail contracts sourced on our portal:

Removal of Class 507/508 Trains from the Liverpool City Region for Disposal

Merseytravel- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

24-08-2020 

Interim Rolling Stock and Maintenance Provision

East West Railway Company- London- Budget: £44,000,000

30-11-2020

West Clare Railway Greenway Section 1

Clare County Council- International- Budget: £350,000

15-01-2021

Reopening Stratford upon Avon to Honeybourne Worcester/Oxford (SWO) Railway Line Commission of a Strategic Outline Business Case

Wychavon District Council- West Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

29-01-2021

Book a free live demo today for a quick tour of our portal. Get in touch to learn more about our bespoke bid writing services.

How to Succeed in Writing TfL Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

Everything you need to know to successfully apply to TfL tenders

Transport for London (TfL) tenders are lucrative opportunities for any business. Transport for London has an annual budget of £9.7 billion and it stretches across a whole range of subsections. These include:

  • Streets, buses and surface operations
  • The Underground
  • The Elizabeth Line
  • Rail
  • Property
  • Media
  • Commercial consulting and international operations

Due to having such a large budget, there are plenty of TfL tenders across the board. There are opportunities in almost any subsection from affordable housing to e-scooters and network infrastructure to quantity surveying. It’s not unusual for there to be framework megaprojects with budgets in the hundreds of millions.

If you think that only big, long-established businesses win TfL tenders, you’d be mistaken. SME’s are actively being chosen over larger corporations. An architect SME won a place on a three-year design and engineering framework at the beginning of January. The young practices are constantly being awarded places alongside big names on countless TfL tenders.

The UK government has implemented a scheme to award more SMEs tendering contracts. They have a target of spending at least £1 in £3 on SMEs. This means that public organisations are actively looking to award contracts to smaller businesses. This is nothing but good news if you’re an SME looking to branch into the world of procurement.

How the TfL tender process works

TfL tenders are awarded in a four-step process:

  1. Advertisement of opportunity

TfL advertises their procurement on three separate platforms.

It can take up quite a hefty chunk of your day if you are regularly checking these sites for updates. If you don’t have that time to spare – we have a solution for you. If you sign up to our Transport Tenders portal, you can receive daily alerts of new TfL tenders. Our Opportunity Trackers manually scour all portals and upload them in one convenient location. This saves you time, allowing you to focus on running your business.

Here are some recent examples of past TfL tenders we have sourced on our Transport Tenders portal:

REACT — Business Services and Logistics

Department of Health and Social Care- London – Budget: £47,000,000

19-11-2020

Logistics Managed Services Provider

Westminster City Council- London – Budget: £8,000,000

02-11-2020

Transport and freezing services

THE HORNIMAN PUBLIC MUSEUM AND PUBLIC PARK TRUST- London – Budget: £30,000

07-10-2020

LBN – Transport Business System

London Borough of Newham- London – Budget: Undisclosed

07-10-2020

Livestock Disposal & Transport Framework

Defra Network e-Tendering Portal- London – Budget: £2,000,000

14-08-2020

Contact us today for a free demo of our Transport Tenders portal that takes the hassle out of tender tracking.

  1. Standard selection questionnaire

Companies must submit a standard selection questionnaire (SQ) to take part in the procurement. A pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) could be used instead of an SQ depending on the contract opportunity. This step assesses the potential supplier’s capability and past experience. The supplier’s responses are evaluated and then those who are successful are shortlisted. Generally speaking, the shortlist comprises of only three to five companies who are then invited to submit tenders.

These questionnaires could require you to provide the following information:

  • Contact details
  • Organisation and capability
  • Financial capability
  • Insurance
  • Good standing
  • Technical capability
  • Past performance
  • Health, safety and quality
  • Equal opportunities
  • Supplier diversity

If your company is in the rail industry, you should register on the Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme (RISQS). This is used as part of the TfL supplier selection and assurance process.

  1. Submitting a tender

Shortlisted suppliers will receive an invitation to tender (ITT). This will include all the appropriate documents and specifications needed to write your response. The ITT assesses the bidder’s proposal for delivering the specific works and/or services.

  1. ITT evaluation and contract award

A bidder’s tender is then evaluated objectively to ensure they can successfully fulfil the requirements of the proposed contract. The contract is then awarded to the company with the highest overall score.

TfL gives unsuccessful companies feedback to help them improve their tenders for future procurement responses.

Public sector tendering 

Transport for London is a local government body that is responsible for the transport system around Greater London. Their procurement is done through public sector tendering. This means that they are partial to using framework agreements and Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS). They have certain rules and regulations that they have to meet when procuring goods and services.

Framework Agreements

Framework agreements are often used within public sector tendering. They establish the terms that’ll govern any contract that may be awarded during the life of the agreement. Framework agreements set out the terms and conditions for making specific purchases. They enable the buyer to purchase goods and services quickly using a select number of suppliers.

Framework agreements typically have multiple suppliers on each agreement and enable a sustainable local supply chain. Suppliers can then bid for work as an when it arises skipping the PQQ or SQ stage. This allows them to go straight to the ITT stage. This saves time on both ends. They’re often used by buyers looking to procure large volumes of the good or service.

There are two types of framework agreements:

Single supplier arrangements (SSA)

SSA’s are used when TfL requires a security of supply. They may confer to a single supplier company to complete works over a ser period of time. During this contract, there are set terms and conditions which are in place for the duration of the agreement. It won’t normally contain any minimum levels of purchase. Moreover, the exclusivity of the deal may mean the supplier provides the products at a lower price.

Multi-supplier arrangements (MSA)

Most framework agreements that are offered for TfL tenders are MSA’s. They provide flexibility and normally include multiple suppliers. They allow TfL to achieve the best value for money without having to repeat the full tendering process. Mini competitions are held when a tender is put out. If a supplier has secured a place on the MSA they can send their response in the form of an ITT. This means they don’t have to fill the PQQ or SQ again.

Top priorities for TfL tender

When writing TfL tenders, you may need to include how your business works towards the following factors:

  • Encouraging equality and diversity
  • Enhancing social value
  • Embedding fair employment practices
  • Enabling skills, training and employment
  • Promoting ethical sourcing practices
  • Improving environmental sustainability
  • COVID-19 recovery
  • Innovative solutions
  • Collaborative working

Social value within your TfL tender is one that should not be neglected. All central government contracts now have a compulsory weighting of 10% on social value.

If you’re hoping to become a TfL supplier, then you need to ensure that your writing is to a high quality. Buyers care about the quality of your writing, no matter what industry you’re in. You want to demonstrate you’ve read the specification and answered it in your response. A well-written, precise and easy to read proposal is essential to a successful bid.

If you’re not a natural born writer don’t worry – we can help! 

Bid Writing Services

Our team of Bid Writers at Hudson Succeed know the trials and tribulations you may have when writing a bid. Our team can help take the headache out of it by handling it all for you. They have an 87% success rate and over 40-years of bid writing experience. They have four bespoke bid writing packages to suit your businesses’ needs:

  1. A Tender Ready programme

The Tender Ready programme is perfect for those who have never tendered before. Our Bid Writers will help develop your corporate literature. You then have the option of three days of bid consultancy if you need support writing a bid.

  1. Tender Writing services

Our Tender Writing service allows our Bid Writers to take care of the whole tendering process for you. They’ll provide you with a full tender writing breakdown and let you know how long it will take.

  1. The Tender Improvement package

This Tender Improvement package is for those businesses who aren’t seeing successful results from their own tendering efforts.

  1. Tender Mentor support

Tender Mentor helps make sure your TfL tenders are the best they can possibly be. Our Bid Writers will make sure your response is error free before you submit.

A subscription to Transport Tenders could increase your chances of securing TfL tenders. With time saved and numerous opportunities found, Transport Tenders can feed seamlessly into your business development strategy. With a subscription to the portal, you receive:

  • Unlimited access to the Transport Tenders portal. Increase your chances of success and one of the first to view new TfL tenders.
  • A dedicated Account Manager on hand to help you source TfL tenders.
  • A daily email bulletin of all the logistics tenders published that day, helping you stay ahead of the game.
  • A free 20-minute phone consultation. Chat to one of our team about a Transport for London tender you’re interested in. We can provide expert advice, insight and guidance to support your tendering efforts.

Book a free live demo today for a quick tour of our portal. Get in touch to learn more about our bespoke bid writing services.

On Transport Tenders, we also post contracts for:

What the rise of the CAV industry means for passenger transport tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

Increasing opportunities for passenger transport tenders

At Transport Tenders, we predict an increase in passenger transport tenders in the coming years. This is because the UK is on the cusp of a transport revolution. Self-driving vehicles are expected to be an industry that could be worth £41.7 billion by 2035.

This figure was generated by Transport Minister, Rachel Maclean. Maclean has stated this boom in the connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) market could create nearly 40,000 skilled jobs. It is projected that 40% of new car sales could have self-driving capabilities. This is great news for those searching for opportunities in passenger transport tenders, naturally.

The Minister for Investment at the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Lord Grimstone said:

“Self-driving vehicles represent a huge economic opportunity for the UK, unlocking much needed jobs and economic growth.

“Government is backing business to realise this – driving forward the future of the UK’s automotive and technology sectors and helping us build back better.”

It’s a positive message, especially after the UK transport industry has taken such a hit in recent years. The government has already invested £200 million into the research and development of CAVs. This influx of funding is helping British start-ups develop their tech to use both in the UK and internationally. This is no surprise due to the increasing investment into IoT also.

This is good news for SMEs. Particularly as the UK government is encouraging the growth of SMEs. They’re doing this with the target of spending £1 in every £3 with SME contracts. This means that public sector businesses are actively awarding contracts to smaller businesses. It’s a great foundation that can help build stronger business relationships. The UK government is looking to reward and support the small guy. This can help you build case studies and experience that can then lead to applying for larger tenders.

The future is set to look a lot smarter and greener. With increased funding for the IoT and CAV passenger transport industry, we predict plenty of upcoming tendering opportunities. Passenger transport tenders can be found in an array of sectors within the transport industry.

There are 10 main sub-sections within passenger transport:

  • Rail
  • Aviation
  • Roads
  • Maritime
  • Driving
  • Freight
  • Public transport
  • Safety
  • Environment
  • Transport accessibility

All will no doubt be putting out tenders in the future. The rise of CAV is sure to have a positive, knock-on effect in terms of procurement opportunities.

Transport Tenders

A subscription to Transport Tenders could increase your chances of securing passenger transport tenders. With time saved and numerous opportunities found, Transport Tenders can feed seamlessly into your business development strategy. With a subscription to the portal, you receive:

  • Unlimited access to the Transport Tenders portal. Increase your chance of success.
  • A dedicated Account Manager on hand to help you will any and all passenger transport tenders.
  • A free 20-minute phone consultation. Chat to one of our team about a passenger transport tender you’re interested in. We can provide expert advice, insight and guidance to support your tendering efforts.
  • A daily email bulletin of all the logistics tenders published that day helping you stay ahead of the game.

This way, you can save your precious time and focus on the more pressing matters.

And once you’ve found an opportunity, what next? Read on to find out more.

The bidding process

Depending on the scope and requirements of the provision, several contract formats might be used. These could be:

  • DPS registers.

These often run for several years at a time and stand for Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). This could be to an ongoing need for provision – so buyers can add suppliers as soon as they’ve been approved. Alternatively, the scope could be so large that a DPS is the best way to meet demand. You can re-apply for a DPS if you’re unsuccessful on your first attempt.

  • Framework agreements.

Framework agreements are less common than DPS registers, but a similar format. Once multiple suppliers are added to the agreement, they can then bid for work as and when it arises. It has a shorter deadline than a DPS. You need to get your response sorted and submitted as soon as possible. This is because framework agreements have deadlines similar to single supplier contracts.

  • Single supplier contracts.

Single supplier contracts can be awarded to the most economically advantageous tender (MEATs). For example, if one school needs to transport a couple of students to one specific place on a regular basis and it’s not currently using council services. They’re obviously not going to need a wealth of suppliers at their disposal – just the best one will do.

The tendering process may differ from council to council. For some, it may be as simple as completing a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ).

For others, there may be a pre-qualification stage that must be passed first before proceeding to an Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage. You may have to complete a PQQ as well as a pricing document and quality questions.

Transport Tenders is a time-saving tool that allows you to focus on running your business, while we source tendering opportunities, directly relevant to your service offering. It’s because we’re passionate about business growth. Every company should have the chance to succeed – and we know that Transport Tenders will fit perfectly into your business growth strategy.

On Transport Tenders, we post contracts for:

Book a free live demo today for a quick tour of our portal. Get in touch to learn more about our bespoke bid writing services.

Here are some recent examples of passenger transport tenders: 

Provision of Home to School Transport between Egremont and Kendal (T5736)

Cumbria County Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

19-11-2020

Local Bus Services Framework 2021

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council- Wales- Budget: £1,250,000

11-12-2020

Provision of Special Educational Needs Transport between Millom and Barrow-in-Furness (H5142)

Cumbria County Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

12-11-2020

Further Competition – PUBLIC TRANSPORT CONTRACT PPT 3959

Durham County Council- North East- Budget: £50,000,000

14-12-2020

Replacement Bus Service

Stirling Council- Scotland- Budget: £1,316,000

17-11-2020