How long should a bid or no bid decision take?

For most tenders, under an hour once you have the documents. The pass or fail rules decide most cases.

Can SLETOR do this for me?

Yes. The £79 Bid Check reads the tender documents, checks each requirement against your company profile and gives one of those four outcomes, with the page each finding comes from. It does not tell you your chance of winning.

Guide

Bid or no bid: how to decide on a tender

Most lost bids were never winnable. The buyer wanted a turnover, a certificate or a reference the supplier did not have, and it was written in the documents from day one.

A bid or no bid decision is a short, honest check of the tender against your company before anyone starts writing. Here is how to do it.

17,936open tenders that close in 14 to 90 days, enough time to prepare, from the official sources SLETOR reads.

1. Check the pass or fail rules first

Read the selection criteria before the specification. These are the rules that remove a bid before anyone scores it.

Minimum yearly turnover, often twice the contract value per year
Insurance levels, such as public and employer's liability
Certificates the buyer names, such as ISO 9001 or Cyber Essentials
Similar contracts in the last three to five years, with references
Exclusion grounds such as unpaid taxes or past contract failures

2. Check you can deliver

Can you meet the start date and the volume?
Do you need a partner or subcontractor, and does the buyer allow it?
Is there a site visit or clarification deadline you might miss?

3. Check you can win on the scoring

Look at the evaluation weightings. A bid that is 70% quality needs strong case studies. A bid that is 60% price needs a lean cost base. If you cannot be strong on the heaviest criterion, think hard before bidding.

4. Decide and write it down

Choose one of four outcomes: bid, bid if you fix named conditions, do not bid, or not enough information yet. Write down why. It makes the next decision faster.

Questions

How long should a bid or no bid decision take?: For most tenders, under an hour once you have the documents. The pass or fail rules decide most cases.
Can SLETOR do this for me?: Yes. The £79 Bid Check reads the tender documents, checks each requirement against your company profile and gives one of those four outcomes, with the page each finding comes from. It does not tell you your chance of winning.