As a membership organisation/association, there will be a number of services that you could look to subcontract.
You may be looking to commission new projects, and you may not have the resources to deliver these in-house. For example
- A new website
- A new membership management platform
- A professional conference organiser
Or you may be looking to renew existing contacts.
Why should you go out to tender?
At the start of this decision-making process, going out to tender for bids may feel a daunting process. It can be time consuming, take a lot of resources, and can be hard to know where to start.
However, the benefits of inviting companies to tender are clear:
- It is a transparent process
- It levels the playing field for all suppliers
- It helps you benchmark costs and justify spend
- It helps you find a company who will be a good fit for your organisation
- And it should make the decision-making process easier
What is the tendering process?
The tendering process can look quite different from company to company, depending on the type of contract which is being awarded. However, these are good general tips to keep in mind.
1. Establish your timeline:
Work backwards from when you want your chosen company to start work, or when your current contract is expiring, and build in enough time for both you and the tendering company for each stage. This will ensure that you receive quality submissions and have the time to review them properly.
2. Determine your supplier list
You may already have a list of companies that you would like to go out to, to include existing suppliers. Before you turn to Google, make sure that you make use of the MemberWise Recognised Supplier Directory https://memberwise.org.uk/directory/ featuring leading providers in the membership and association sector. Also, take a look at the MemberWise Guide to Procurement and Selection https://memberwise.org.uk/the-memberwise-guide-to-procurement-and-selection/
For example, with 12 Association Management Companies listed, this would be a suitable place to start if you were looking to outsource your association management. You could send a pre-qualification questionnaire to this list and, following the responses, create your shortlist to send the full tender specification.
3. Write your Tender Specification:
Your tender specification is the most important document to get right. A good tender specification will make the responses you receive clear and comparable.
Here are some things to think about:
- You should include an overview of your organisation, structure, history, and the aims for the future (a good bid response will show how they can help you achieve these aims).
- Provide a detailed and clear overview of the work required, to include timelines and approximate budget.
- List information about the tender process with dates for each stage,to include information about how the tenders will be scored.
- Try to have a centralised, neutral, point of contact for submissions and questions.
- Be clear about how you would like people to respond. To ensure that you are comparing everyone comparably, it can be helpful to ask people to respond in the same way, following a set structure:
- Have a think about what you want to ask companies for, you will be reading these tender documents and comparing them. Do you really want to receive twenty 40-page documents? Or you could ask companies to initially submit a 2x A4 overview or complete a pre-qualification questionnaire so that you can create a shortlist of companies for the full submission.
- Decide what information you need companies to supply. As part of the tender process, you will want to ensure they are able to deliver contract (overview of experience, previous work…) and carry out any due diligence checks (references, company finances…). Ensure you collect everything you will need to aid the decision-making process.
Fitwise is an award-winning Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) and association management company with over 30 years experience. https://fitwise.co.uk/tender-proposals/
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