Defining the need for change
Front and centre to any procurement should be defining the need for change.
Rather than being dazzled by the software, shoehorning it into your bidding function, ask yourself a couple of key questions.
- What problems are we trying to solve?Have a look at sticking points, bottle necks, and inefficiencies. Split the bid timeline into three equal sections: bid digestion and planning; writing; and reviewing and refining. If you’re spending a disproportionate amount of time on one or two of the parts, you might have a problem to solve.
- Do we have a fundamental issue?Technology won’t remedy poor strategic decisions, under-resourced teams, bad leadership, and toxic culture. Address these first. Technology will complement a thriving and high-functioning team.
When you’ve completed steps one and two, and before contacting a software provider promising bid paradise, I suggest you research and explore the software at your own pace (the Bid Solutions Bid Software Comparison Platform is a fabulous resource).
Learning the hard way
After failing to complete the above steps, I got involved in two proof of concept initiatives that left me feeling entirely deflated. The pressure was mounting and the FOMO was real, i.e., “All of your competitors are testing the system”.
I was being sold solutions that promised to increase my win rates by automating question responses. Yes we had challenges, but our problem was never putting fingertip to keyboard and turning win themes into winning answers. The live test spewed out a load of garbage that would have been a ‘back to the drawing board’ scenario in the real-world. It all felt a bit naïve and pointless.
Small gains
The proof of concept established that I wasn’t going to be an early adopter. While AI, proposal automation, and bid software still hasn’t changed my world, I am in the process of implementing a workflow management solution and I’m a regular user of Copilot and PowerBI. My small gains aren’t demonstrably improving bid outcomes, impacting team wellbeing in any way, or providing the types of efficiency gains that allow the team to spend time on value-adding tasks and learning. But they are:
- Helping me to interpret data and providing analysis and insights beyond my human capacity – I’m no longer losing hours over spreadsheets
- Enabling quick research on clients, competitors, and legislation, which seeks out nuggets of competitive advantage
- Automating parts of the bid workflow – this is still a work in progress, but I can see some bigger gains in bid triage and go/no go, bid programming, managing SME content, and review management
The technology isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s gently leading us toward better habits and quietly shaping helpful ways of working.
Alana McCarthy
Alana is Head of Bids and Marketing for a tier one construction company. She has 20 years’ experience in public sector bidding within the construction, facilities management, and transactional banking industries. With a passion for lifelong learning, Alana recently completed a Level 7 Apprenticeship in Senior Leadership and has embarked on a MSc with a focus on the bidding function to drive research into our profession.
