We would like you to win big tenders! We will be extremely happy if one of you wins a big tender….this is good growth. But however there is no school of winning tenders!
Noone is also going to come and teach you how to win tenders unless you bump into an article like this, chances are high you will remain in the dark.
I have been fortunate enough to review a huge number of tenders especially in foreign governments and NGOs and in this article will share what I have observed over the past years.
- Prepare your company to win tenders from day 1
- Register it, prepare financial statements, pay your taxes and follow good corporate practices
- Analyse budget allocations by governments. If there is a budget allocation for dam constructions and you are an engineering company, then get prepared from the day of the budget presentations.
- The Donor community spends hundreds of millions in Zim, do you follow their priorites and budget allocations?
- Get your PRAZ registration early
Rule No 1: Meet Requirements
I have articulated the basic requirements above….very easy but most of you take them for granted.
Rule No 2: Align your company for tenders
Do a lot of good work, get references and document them
Do great work of neat filing and improving your brand
Buy newspapers on a constant basis and follow the tender winds
Allocate time for tenders; it can be 2% of your time
Rule No 3: Tender Task Force
Who will assist you in tender applications? Will you hire outsiders or use own team?
Do you have sufficient time for application, review and quality control and submission in time?
Common mistakes with tender applications
First stage: Not following the rules resulting in failing at the first stage (Tender references, late entries, wrong marking , no tax clearances, no bank statements, no audit reports etc)
Second stage: Quality review test, value analysis (cost benefit analysis) business models, sustainability, little innovation or considerations of trending issues.
Third Stage: References check. At the end of a long process of review, 3 finalists are short listed and references are checked. Many take this stage for granted and unfortunately pay a heavy price.
My experiences of reviewing tenders
I have concentrated on conducting financial analysis. Compliance issues-registrations, tax compliance, audit reports review, corporate governance, financial ratios analysis, business models reviews, cost benefit reviews and more financial matters reviews.
Biggest regret was disqualifying a Zimbabwean based company tendering for a multi million dollar project. They were on their way to winning but there was one small thing missing…an audit report worth US$4500! And a tender worth more than US$10 million was blown away. Accounting and audits may be a small matter but they can cost you millions of dollars.
Is there corruption in tenders?
Stories abound of corruption in tenders. People who pay brown envelopes to tender committee members and from as early as 2003, I heard of 20% kickbacks but however in the many tenders I have reviewed, everything was done above board. All processes were documented ensuring the best won.
Additional Tips
Have a checklist of the tender-use it in tender preparation and submission. For first timers, this process is not easy as you may have to spend sleepless nights with no guarantee of winning. For every tender you fail to win, ask for feedback on why you failed and then work on your weaknesses.
The best case study of how to win tenders is how Dr Strive Masiyiwa won the MASCOM tender in Botswana, search on his Facebook page the experiences he shared.
So prepare your company for winning the next big tender and remember its not an event but a long process. Zimbabwean companies encouraged to also look beyond the borders for tender opportunities and when you apply, make sure you partner with locals.
