Bid Management Governance and Process

Bid Management Governance and Process: Why Not Responding to an RFP Can Benefit Your Business and Two Key Aspects for Building an Effective Bid Management Team

Throughout our experience, we have had the privilege of gaining insights into the inner workings of bid sales and management departments in various organizations. These insights have come about due to a range of circumstances, whether it be the need for additional support during a substantial tender, sudden spikes in RFPs, or simply the absence of a regular bid manager, who might be on vacation or sick leave. However, more often than not, organizations have sought an independent evaluation of their bid management processes with the aim of optimization. Indeed, many times, such optimizations are warranted. When we receive requests for such assessments, it is generally because senior management within the organization recognizes the need for improvement. Issues usually revolve around three primary segments:

1. Capacity Related:

Organizations often reach out for assistance when the workload becomes overwhelming. Bid managers find themselves working long hours and struggle to dedicate the necessary attention to new RFPs. It is possible that the volume of RFPs is indeed too high, and bid management teams are often understaffed, working based on average workloads, which leaves little time for tasks like education, certification, or training junior staff. We advocate for planning bid management capacity to ensure bid managers are utilized at around 80% of their time. This allows 20% capacity for quality improvement tasks and sudden spikes in work. While achieving this balance is challenging, having a couple of external resources familiar with the company's operations can be beneficial for short-notice needs.

2. Governance Related:

Bid Governance is a critical but often underestimated aspect of bid management. It encompasses various elements, including pre-RFP workload planning, approval flows, quality oversight, and go-no-go decisions. A fundamental governance practice is to establish a weekly meeting with mandatory attendance from senior management across departments. This meeting allows sales to flag expected RFPs for planning and to assess their alignment with the services offered. A common mistake many organizations make is bidding on RFPs that haven't been influenced, resulting in a mismatch between the services offered and those requested. An effective governance system can act as a gatekeeper, preventing the allocation of valuable resources to bids with a low chance of success. Monitoring your win rate (should be above 50%) is essential and strongly encouraged.

3. Quality Related:

Every bid management department should maintain an up-to-date repository with reusable boilerplates, graphics, and standard documents commonly requested in RFPs, including certificates, CVs, service descriptions, and government attestations. Frequently, outdated bid documents are reused, leading to issues like text that is clearly not tailored to the issuing organization or customer names inconsistent throughout the bid documents. To address this, always begin each bid with an up-to-date boilerplate and incorporate all specifics requested by the customer. Another common issue is the lack of a naming convention, resulting in inconsistencies when various subject matter experts contribute to the response. This inefficiency ultimately ties back to the capacity aspect.

In conclusion, understanding and addressing these three key segments—capacity, governance, and quality—can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your bid management organization. By optimizing these areas, your organization can better respond to RFPs and improve your chances of securing contracts while maintaining a motivated and efficient team.