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Tag: transport tenders

4 Types of Traffic Management Tenders You Can Bid On

Posted on by John Hudson

Looking for new traffic management tenders? Start here…

Are you aware of the four types of traffic management tenders that you can bid on? Do you also know that you need to have an NHSS certification in place to provide traffic management services?

Well, in this blog, we have identified the four most common types of traffic management tenders. We also explain what an NHSS certification is, and why you need to have it. Keep reading to find out more…

The 4 main types of traffic management tenders

When sourcing traffic management tenders, you need to know what sector your services fall under. There are four main types of traffic management tenders, these are:

  1. Permanent traffic management tenders

Permanent traffic management tenders are issued when a permanent fixture is needed. This could include the following:

  • Permanent traffic lights
  • Speed humps
  • Roundabouts
  • Extra road lanes.

This will have been brought about by thorough investigation into roads and the surrounding areas. By implementing permanent fixtures, it ensures continued road safety and smooth operations.

  1. Experimental traffic management tenders

Experimental traffic management is another type of traffic management tender you can bid on. This kind of traffic management are measures put in place, lasting no longer than 18 months. The intended purpose of this is to carry out a road analysis. What this means is, certain fixtures will be put into place to investigate how the road operates. This will be to determine what permanent changes can be made. This will include:

  • Temporary road humps
  • Temporary traffic lights
  • Lane/road closure barriers.

  1. Temporary traffic management tenders

Temporary traffic management tenders are issued when there is a need for roads to be temporarily closed or partly closed. This is because there will be planned work being carried out, either on the road, or the surrounding areas. For example, there may be a need for landscaping work to be carried on a busy motorway. Therefore, temporary barriers will be put into place to slow traffic down and move it away from the planned work.

Temporary traffic management tenders will include the supply and delivery of:

  • Part-time/temporary traffic lights and signals
  • Temporary road signage
  • Road/lane closure barriers
  • Convey systems.

  1. Special event traffic management tenders

The clue is in the name! Basically, there will be traffic management tenders issued when there is a planned event that will impact the roads. This will be to close roads and create diversion routes to navigate the traffic whilst the event is taking place. These contracts will usually be short-term, from one day to a week-long.

National Highways Sector Schemes Certification – What is it and do you need it?

All companies who wish to provide traffic management services, must have the National Highways Sector Schemes (NHSS) certification in place. Therefore, before you even begin sourcing new traffic management tenders, this would be your first step.

The NHSS is a quality management certification. It is required to be in place for anyone who works on UK roads. These are basic standards that must be followed when providing specific requirements in regard to roadworks. The certification ensures all work is carried out professionally, using properly trained staff and is of a high standard. It also puts into place the necessary health and safety procedures.

Who needs to be NHSS certified?

If you supply any form of services to Highways England, then you must have the NHSS certification in place. However, this does not apply to the suppliers who manufacture the products used in traffic management. If you use sub-contractors for the work, you yourself do not need to be registered, but your subcontractors do. This is a requirement under the Specification for Highways Works (SHW).

If your services include any of the following, then you must have an NHSS certification in place:

  • You are the main contractor or sub-contractor working on a motorway, or road network
  • Carrying out work on or beside the roads, i.e., landscaping works or tree surgery works
  • You are installers/repairers of products used on roads
  • Highway designers and consultants working on site.

3 benefits of having the NHSS Certification

When bidding for new traffic management tenders, having an NHSS certification in place can have its advantages, such as:

  • It shows to the buyers that you have a thorough understanding of risk management, with appropriate processes in place
  • You have a competitive edge over other bidders. It can make you stand out against those who don’t have the certification. But it can also open new possibilities that are only given to those with the certification in place.
  • It enhances your credentials; buyers are more likely to trust in you and your services.

Summary

When looking to source traffic management tenders, you need to ensure that you have a National Highways Sector Schemes certification. This is a standard requirement to be able to carry out work on UK roads. It is outlined in the Specification for Highways Works (SHW) act.

Having this in place will be beneficial for a number of reasons, with the main three being:

  1. Shows a throughout understanding of risk management
  2. Gives you a competitive edge over other suppliers
  3. Enhances your credentials.

From this, you can then begin to source new traffic management tenders and start the tendering process.

The most common types of traffic management tenders can fall under these four categories:

  1. Permanent traffic management
  2. Experimental traffic management
  3. Temporary traffic management
  4. Special event traffic management.

You need to establish what you and your business offer. You may find you can crossover into more than one category, increasing the range of possible opportunities.

How can Transport Tenders help?

If you are looking for new traffic management tenders, you’ll likely search the term via Google. It may be how you came across this blog! The great news is that you are in the right place, and we have the information you need.

If you simply use a search engine like Google to find tenders, you’ll be met with thousands of sites. All of these sites will feature contracts differently. Many of them will only be lengthy tender documents that can take ages to read. The key details you’re looking for will be buried within these pages. This could be the information that determines whether you are even eligible for the contract. Having to do this over and over can quickly become tedious. Thankfully, there are tools available to make this stage of the tendering process far easier, and faster.

You can use tender portals to locate contracts based on your requirements. For example, our Transport Tenders portal allows users to adjust search results based on filters. This can include budgets, keywords, and locations. We don’t use CPV codes. Meaning there is no risk of our users missing the perfect contract due to a code error. Plus, we send daily tender notifications to keep you up to date! By using Technology Tenders, you can quickly see the key information you need to know before downloading the tender documents. Therefore, you only need to read the necessary documents of the tenders you actually want to bid on.

Here are five traffic management tenders we have previously sourced on Transport Tenders:

Provision of Traffic Management Services

Pembrokeshire County Council – Wales – Budget: £3,000,000

Crawley BC & Horsham DC – Traffic Management Services

Crawley Borough Council – South East – Budget: £650,000

Traffic Management Order Making Services

London Borough of Lambeth – London – Budget: £900,000

2022 Traffic Management for Games Route Network & Local Area Traffic Management

West Midlands Combined Authority – West Midlands – Budget: £4,400,000

Corporate Events – Traffic Management

City of Lincoln – East Midlands – Budget: £400,000

Want to save even more time? Discover Elite can help…

If you want to streamline the process even further, you can sign up to Discover Elite via your chosen portal. With this service, 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 decision
  • 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.

Need help writing your next traffic management 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 have 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 tenders.

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 occupational health tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification 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.

To get started in your next search for traffic management tenders, get in touch with us today!

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:

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.

3 Things to Consider When Applying for Vehicle Fleet Maintenance Contracts

Posted on by John Hudson

Vehicle fleet maintenance contracts explained

Vehicle fleet maintenance contracts can be a tricky field to navigate if you’re new to it. However, it’s worth making the effort as they can secure a pipeline of work for your business.

The Department for Infrastructure is one public sector organisation that releases vehicle fleet maintenance contracts. Securing a contract for a public sector buyer will guarantee your payment. This can be reassuring, especially if you’re a new business.

The questions that a vehicle fleet maintenance contract will ask will vary depending on the buyer’s requirements. They can include, but aren’t limited to:

  • Account management
  • Vehicle order process
  • Service maintenance and repair
  • Complaints handling and resolution process
  • Continuous improvement
  • Supply chain management
  • Vehicle sourcing
  • Vehicle distribution and movements
  • Fleet management system
  • Vehicle disposal
  • Accident and claims management
  • Vehicle conversion and modification
  • Driver support services
  • Breakdown and recovery
  • Vehicle downtime management
  • MOT management
  • Fuel card management
  • Mileage management.

3 things to consider when applying for vehicle fleet maintenance contracts

  1. Framework agreement

You will often find vehicle fleet maintenance contracts as part of a framework agreement. A framework agreement is a multi-supplier agreement for goods/services. Suppliers can have access to ongoing work whenever the buyer needs it. Framework agreements can run for years at a time with the possibility of an extension.

A benefit of being on a framework means suppliers don’t have to go through the whole tendering process each time. Often, a framework agreement is split into Lots for a specific good, service or geographical location. This means as a supplier you don’t have to be able to supply the whole agreement. You need only apply to the location or good/service you specialise in.

An example of a vehicle fleet maintenance framework agreement lots:

  • Lot 1 – provision of fleet maintenance services
  • Lot 2 – provision of fleet management services.

  1. Social Value

Social value is an every-important section within almost every tender response. It’s no different for vehicle fleet maintenance 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. Experience

When writing your vehicle fleet maintenance 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 three or 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.

Need help writing your next vehicle fleet maintenance contracts?

 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 60-years of bidding experience. We offer four bid writing solutions to suit your tendering needs.

Tender Ready

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

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 vehicle fleet maintenance 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 vehicle fleet maintenance contracts?

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.

Below are previous vehicle fleet maintenance contracts sourced on our portal:

DfI Roads and Rivers – Fleet Maintenance, North-West and Greater Belfast Areas

Department for Infrastructure- Northern Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

DfI Roads and Rivers – Provision of Fleet Maintenance for Commercial Vehicles over 3,500 KG

Department for Infrastructure- Northern Ireland- Budget: £1,900,000

East Lindsey District Council Vehicle Fleet Maintenance

East Lindsey District Council- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Fleet Maintenance

Corby Borough Council- East Midlands- Budget: £240,000

Tender for the Provision of Fleet Maintenance

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council- International- Budget: Undisclosed

A subscription to Transport Tenders could increase your chances of securing delivery contracts. 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 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.

Irish Rail Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

What’s happening with Irish rail tenders?

Have you been staying up to date with Irish rail tenders? If not, you may be interested in learning about some of the latest developments in the sector. We’ve put together this blog so you can find out more. This could be helpful if you wish to become a supplier.

Investment in new trains for dart and fleet

 41 new railcars

In October 2019, the government approved an order for 41 new railcars. This is to cater to the growing demand and expansion in rail services under the National Development Plan 2018-2027. The 22000-class-railcar carriages will bring the overall size of the fleet to 275 railcars.

This €150 million investment will bring these new railcars into service in the Greater Dublin area in late 2022. This will increase commuter capacity by 34% at peak times. These railcars will benefit:

  • Northern Commuter services (Drogheda/Dundalk to Dublin)
  • Western Commuter services (Maynooth/M3 Parkway to Dublin)
  • South-Western Commuter services (Heuston Commuter and Intercity services, and Newbridge/Hazelhatch to Grand Canal Dock).

Electric/battery-electric hybrid vehicles

A major development for Irish rail tenders was the tender process to order the largest and greenest fleet. This was the largest fleet in Irish public transport history made of up to 600 electric/battery-electric powered vehicles. It was over a 10-year timescale in a bid to ditch diesel. It will see up to 80% of all heavy rail journeys in Ireland, set for a potentially emissions-free future.

Graffiti removals

Most recently Irish rail tenders have had major graffiti incidents to deal with. Graffiti removal experts were required in order to cut costs caused by removing trains from service whilst they were cleaned.

Graffiti incidents have affected Irish rail tenders. They have not been able to deliver their full fleet of trains, particularly at peak times. Not only is the service affected for the users, but it also affects finances too. This is because money is lost when the service isn’t running and money is spent on removing the graffiti.

Electrical vehicle fast charging point at stations

Recently, Irish rail tenders required a contractor to manage fast charging points for electric vehicles at its railway stations. As the use of electric vehicles is increasing, Irish rail required the installation of charging points. Irish Rail currently has 43 standard charging points at station car parks across its network.

Irish rail tenders have had some major issues to deal with over the last couple of years. However, they have also celebrated success.

What do I need to include in my bid?

If you’re thinking about bidding on Irish rail tenders, it’s worth knowing what you should be including in your bid.

  1. Health and safety contracts

You must demonstrate how you can deliver the contract whilst meeting the necessary health and safety standards. These are generally stated within the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) specification.

  1. Financial turnover

Your company’s financial turnover will be assessed in the PQQ stage. It consists of annual turnover, financial ratios and insurance.

  1. Experience

No matter the industry you’re tendering for, you should always provide case studies of your experience. The buyer wants to know how you have dealt with similar situations in the past and what your methods are. You should always back up what you’re saying with evidence.

  1. Qualifications and accreditations

When tendering for rail contracts you will require certain qualifications and accreditations.

  1. Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)

This is when the buyer awards the contract to the bidder with the most value, not necessarily the cheapest bid. Other factors may include accessibility or quality.

  1. Quality of your response

Your bid response is all about quality. You don’t want to submit a bid that is of poor quality. Your response should be direct, clear and persuasive. You must provide a detailed response whilst remaining clear and coherent.

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 60-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.

Below are previous Irish Rail tenders sourced on our Transport Tenders portal:

Arup IÉ 001 – Dart + Coastal – Advance Bridge Clearance Topographic Survey

Ove Arup & Partners Ireland (on behalf of Irish Rail) – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

CME Building Maintenance

Iarnród Eireann – Irish Rail – Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Coastal Infrastructure Protection Programme – Multi-Disciplinary Consultant Services

Iarnród Eireann – Irish Rail – Republic of Ireland- Budget: £20,000,000

Installation, Testing and Repair of Electrical Services & Sub Systems

Iarnród Eireann – Irish Rail – Republic of Ireland- Budget: £12,500,000

Supply of Modbus TCP Remote I/O module (Lot 1) and Railway Computers (Lot 2)

Iarnród Eireann – Irish Rail – Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

On Transport Tenders, we post contracts for:

How To Get Courier Contracts in the UK

Posted on by John Hudson

Everything you need to know about how to get courier contracts in the UK

If you’re wondering how to get courier contracts in the UK, we can help. The courier industry has grown significantly in the last year and online deliveries are on the up. We’ve put together a blog for everything you need to know about how to get courier contracts in the UK.

Important points to consider

You may be wondering how to get courier contracts in the UK. Below are some points worth considering when it comes to tendering:

  • Investment in technology

Technology is always growing and changing the way people and businesses operate. Whilst technology is shaping all industries, there are big changes in the logistics industry. More companies are being asked to provide evidence of their use of technology and what it can bring to buyers. Some examples of technology becoming more common in logistics include:

  • Vehicle tracking software

 This is vital for couriers, as you are delivering goods from one place to another. No matter the size or value of the goods, this is a great piece of technology to invest in.

Buyers will ask for evidence of how you record how products are collected and delivered on time. Using a tracking system will show that you monitor and track all items in transit effectively. It also shows how you monitor your delivery times. This software is crucial in seeing success over your competitors. If you’re unable to demonstrate this, you may lose marks.

  • Route optimisation software

This is a great way of how to get courier contracts in the UK. This is a great tool to reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions. The buyer wants to know how you’re going to deliver items on time, factoring in traffic or other delays.

We are all becoming more aware of how our transport contributes to our overall carbon footprint. By having route optimisation software in place, you can show how you’re actively reducing your emissions.

If you deliver in busy cities such as London and Manchester, you’re more likely to face congestion. This becomes a major challenge when delivering goods.

  • Elastic logistics

Simply, this term means the ability to expand and shrink logistics capabilities to align with current demands.

For example, this may involve products in demand or market fluctuations. For example, during the coronavirus outbreak, the demand for face coverings and hand sanitiser significantly rose.

A buyer wants to know how you will keep up with any market advancements or trends. You should have software in place to help you keep up with trends and demands.

Now you understand important factors of how to get courier contracts in the UK, how can you be successful?

Managing your journeys

As you’re a courier service, you need to demonstrate how you’re able to manage your journeys effectively. Some things to think about include:

  • How will you coordinate your journeys?
  • Will you use any technology to help with journeys?
  • How is your system efficient and will it save you money?
  • How will you deal with delays?
  • How will you record delivered or collected items?

Read the tender documents carefully

If you don’t read through the tender documents thoroughly, you may misunderstand what the tender is asking for. You need to make sure you can meet the requirements. If you can’t, it isn’t worth bidding. Once you have read the documents you can decide whether or not you’re going to tender.

Answer the question in full

Leaving any questions blank or half answered doesn’t look good to the examiner. Not answering the question in full or at all will tell the examiner you aren’t capable of delivering the contract. If the questions are asking for a 4-page answer and you submit 1 page, you haven’t answered the question fully. The examiner is looking for a detailed answer. If you’re struggling to answer the question, break it down. If the question has 5 points to it, break it down into 5 smaller questions. This will help you answer the question better and consider all points.

Research your competitors

Understanding who you are up against when it comes to tendering allows you to plan your tendering approaches. Research your competitors and see what technology they use or what their Unique Selling Point (USP) is.

Proofreading

The final step of how to get courier contracts in the UK is proofreading your bid. Although the writing process is done, the work isn’t over yet. Before submitting your bid, check it and check it again. It’s easy to miss mistakes when typing a long document. The last thing you want to do is to submit a bid full of spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. You could lose marks which could have easily been avoided. Ask someone else to take a look at the document to see if they spot anything you may have missed.

Transport Tenders

Still looking for ways of how to get courier contracts in the UK? A subscription to Transport Tenders could help. 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 with any and all courier contracts in the UK.
  • A free 20-minute phone consultation. Chat to one of our team about a courier contracts in the UK 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.

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.

A Guide to Delivery Contracts

Posted on by John Hudson

Everything you need to know about delivery contracts

Do you want to tender for delivery contracts but are unsure where to start? The tendering process can be confusing for any industry. In the logistics industry, the delivery and courier service are expanding so it can be a competitive market. We’ve put together a guide on everything you need to know about delivery contracts.

How can I bid my courier business for work?

If you’re looking for some ways to distribute delivery contracts but unsure how to, we can help:

  • Create a services list

You must know what kind of delivery service you can provide. For example, what type of transport will you use? A lorry, a van or a car? Think about the weight and size of the products you can carry. There’s no point telling people you can deliver a sofa if you only have a small car. You can offer additional services if you are able to handle fragile objects. Or are you able to provide a refrigerated truck for goods that need to stay chilled?  You need to make sure you can actually provide what you’re stating you can.

  • Develop a fee structure

You need a guide to the fees you want to charge i.e., per mile. You need to know how much you need to bid to make a profit. Fees should vary depending on the type of delivery and local rates. You should think about whether you will incur additional charges. This could be based on the weight of the product or if you’re delivering out of hours.

  • Contact potential local clients

With services and fees outlined you’re in a good position to start finding and bidding for delivery contracts. You could reach out to local businesses that may be in need of delivery drivers. These may include:

  • Pharmacies that need medication delivered
  • Delivering for the hospitality industry
  • Legal businesses that may need paperwork delivering more quickly

How can I be successful with delivery contracts?

We’ve put together some tips to help you win your delivery contract bid.

  1. Read the tender documents

Carefully read through the documents to understand exactly what the bid is asking of you. You will need to be sure you can definitely meet the requirements. Once you have read the tender documents you can decide whether the tender is for you or not.

  1. Managing your journeys

As you’re providing a service that is transporting goods, you need a process for managing journeys. Think about:

  • How will you coordinate your journeys?
  • Will you use any technology to help with journeys?
  • How is your system efficient and will it save you money?
  • How will you deal with delays?

  1. Provide evidence

 Providing evidence is key if you want to win a tender. It’s no point saying you can do ‘x, y and z’ if you have no way of backing it up. The buyer wants to see previous examples of how you’ve provided a similar service in the past. If you don’t back up what you’re saying, why should the buyer believe you? Seeing is believing.

  1. Answer all the questions

Don’t leave any questions blank! This will not look good to the examiner. If you’re incapable of answering the question, how can you be capable of delivering the contract? Remember if a question requires a 500-word answer don’t answer it in two sentences. You won’t have answered the question in full. Answer the question in as much detail as you can.

  1. Allow plenty of time

People often underestimate the amount of time it takes to write a tender and submit it. Not to mention the preparation work such as reading the tender documents or asking clarification questions. The last thing you want to do is rush the whole process and lose the bid. Make sure you put aside plenty of time to get everything completed on time.

  1. Proofread

The final step to winning your delivery contract is to proofread. We often see people lose marks because they’ve submitted a bid that has spelling mistakes or grammatical error. This could have been avoided if they’d taken the time to proofread the document. Check your work multiple times as it can be easy to miss errors on a first skim through.

We recommend asking someone else to check over your work too. Having a second person review your work can help pick up any issues you may have missed. It’s good for someone else to read the document who wasn’t involved in writing it. Additionally, you may want to consider leaving a day or two in between making your final edit and proofread. This way you will have your own fresh pair of eyes to help spot any errors.

Transport Tenders

A subscription to Transport Tenders could increase your chances of securing delivery contracts. 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 logistics tenders.
  • A free 20-minute phone consultation. Chat to one of our team about a delivery 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.

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.

New £3Billion Bus Travel Government Investment Announced

Posted on by John Hudson

The new bus travel government investment focuses on cheaper services and sustainable travel

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a new bus travel government investment. This could help passengers benefit from more frequent, greener, cheaper, reliable and easier to use services.

The bus travel government investment is the most ambitious shake-up of the bus sector for a generation. It is backed by £3billion of investment seeing passengers benefit from better coordinated and cheaper bus services.

The changes and benefits of the new bus travel government investment include the following:

  • 4,000 new British-built electric or hydrogen-powered busses.
  • Transition regions and cities across England to emission-free buses thus safeguarding the UK bus manufacturing industry.
  • Ending the sale of diesel buses.
  • Simpler bus fares with daily price caps. This will allow passengers to use the bus as many times in a day as they need without mounting costs.
  • More services in the evening and at weekends.
  • Integrated services and ticketing across all transport modes so people can easily move from bus to train.
  • All buses to accept contactless payments.

New bus lanes will make journeys quicker, more reliable allowing for a reduction in pollution. The Prime Minister’s ten point plan suggests the acceleration of the transition to greener and more sustainable transport.

At the moment, the world is looking to recover from the impact of COVID-19 on our lives, livelihoods and economies. The government has the chance to build back better, investing in making the UK a global leader in green technologies. The new bus travel government investment will likely result in more tendering opportunities for greener and sustainable travel.

The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution focuses on the following:

  1. Advancing offshore wind
  2. Driving the growth of low carbon hydrogen
  3. Delivering new and advanced nuclear power
  4. Accelerating the shift to zero-emission vehicles
  5. Green public transport, cycling and walking
  6. ‘Jet zero’ and green ships
  7. Greener buildings
  8. Investing in carbon capture, usage and storage
  9. Protecting our natural environment
  10. Green finance and innovation.

The Ten Point Plan will mobilise £12billion of government investment. Moreover, it could potentially see three times as much invested from the private sector. This can help to create and support around 250,000 green jobs.

The pandemic led to a decline in bus passengers which saw the sector receiving significant emergency support from the government. The government will consult later this year on reforming the Bus Service Operators Grant. This is the current main stream of government bus funding, aiming to achieve the same objectives.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

Buses are lifelines and liberators, connecting people to jobs they couldn’t otherwise take, driving pensioners and young people to see their friends, sustaining town centres and protecting the environment.

As we build back from the pandemic, better buses will be one of our first acts of levelling-up.

Just as they did in London, our reforms will make buses the transport of choice, reducing the number of car journeys and improving quality of life for millions.”

Anthony Smith, chief executive of independent watchdog Transport Focus, said:

For bus passengers, today’s announcement of more frequent buses and simpler fares will be welcome news. For many, buses are a lifeline to employment, education, medical appointments and leisure, and are essential to the economy. We know that the key priorities for those considering using the bus are more services running more reliably, providing better value.

Since the pandemic, safety and cleanliness have become ever more important. We will work with bus operators and other partners to make sure passengers’ needs are at the heart of new arrangements.”

Find bus tenders

Our Transport Tenders portal takes the headache out of sourcing opportunities for tenders such as bus services. A subscription to Transport Tenders could increase your chances of securing 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 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.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.

On Transport Tenders, we post contract opportunities 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.

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.

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