The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) recently released a new refreshed and new selection questionnaire. The selection questionnaire will replace the pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ).

The standard selection questionnaire is a critical first step in the procurement process. It is an important first step to reaching the tender evaluation stage of the procurement process. Passing this stage is critical to securing a tender and generally requires a combination of compliance and general writing.

Strategies our bid writers use to help you score well and achieve success

Strategies which you can employ, and which we will employ when you engage our services, to complete an SSQ include:

• Ensuring accuracy and completeness of all company information. This is absolutely critical as any small error can result in a non-compliance. You need to double check all of the details and attach the required supporting documentation.
• Provide detailed case studies and information on your experience. The key here is evidence. You need to provide facts and figures and detail exactly what you provided to what client. Make sure you include experience and qualifications that are relevant and show your expertise and capabilities.
• Cover off any exclusion grounds. If there is potential for exclusion on financial or legal grounds oy need to address these. You can do this by showing that you have taken concrete steps to address any issues internally to ‘clean’ your entity or business. By concrete steps, this means taking action and providing supporting documentation (legal / financial) demonstrating the action you have taken and how you will now comply (and there is no reason for exclusion).
• Demonstrate your financial stability from an external source. Providing financial statements is great however, you can strengthen this by providing letters from suppliers, accountants and banks. This can all support your financial standing.
• Write in a clear, concise and well-structured way. You need to make your submission is to understand, and break large chunks of text up with bullet points and sub-headings. Lists and structured content help to make it easy to read and mark.

Key components of Standard Selection Questionnaire Writing

The SQQ is designed to streamline the supplier selection process, particularly for Small and Medium Enterprises. It makes the process easy and efficient. It ensures complete compliance with the European Single Procurement Document (ESDP). SSQ’s are divided into three distinct parts:

1. Company/Applicant Details – This requests basic company information, generally including name and bidding model, as your entity and entity structure.
2. Selection Criteria – This section requires you self-certify that you comply with the selection criteria. You need to review the mandatory criteria and ensure that they do not apply to you. You then need to confirm this including technical capabilities and licenses.
   Capabilities, Experiences & Services – In this question, there are different questions about your capabilities, experience and the services which you are applying to deliver. These are generally simple and easy to complete if you are a specialist in your field.

How our team of bid writers can help you?

Our team of expert consultants have completed hundreds of PQQs and Standard Selection Questionnaires for businesses across the UK from UK to Dublin. We know how to navigate these documents and are experienced in completing them for a range of industry sectors. We will work with you to review your submission in detail and ensure that you submit a compliance and engage proposal. Our team of bid writers will help you:

• Write your SSQ response or tender and complete your questionnaire
• Documentation review – We work through and review the full range of documentation including the specifications, framework agreements and other related contract documentation. We will collate all of the salient points and assist you in conducting a bid/no bid decision process.
• Project manage your response  
• Completion of the questionnaire – Here our team will work with you and your internal stakeholders to complete the questionnaire.

Contact our team of writers at Tsaks Consulting to discuss how we can assist.

Client testimonials

We had never completed an SSQ in the past as most of our contracts were with private companies. So when this opportunity came up we looked for a writer who could assist. We spoke with the team at Tsaks Consulting including Jason in detail and were impressed by their knowledge. So we engaged them to help us complete write the SSQ. It was a positive experience and a good outcome. They know their way around SSQs and have completed many of them in the past. They have helped lots of companies be awarded to frameworks with CCS and other public sector procurement bodies. They provided us a well organised and professional bid writing service. Their writing is very polished and concise and they are across all of compliance requirements. Overall, I would recommend them to any business or organisation in the UK that is looking for help to complete a Standard Selection Questionnaire.

Joseph P | Product Supply | London 

Thank you Tsaks Consulting for your assistance with this SSQ. It was a must-win for us and we were successful and have passed through to the next stage. You guys really know CCS and SSQ’s and you did a great job of helping us. The written submission was easy to read and covered all the key points we wanted to cover and communicate. Your attention to detail was great and nothing was overlooked. Overall I would like to thank you and I think you are one of the best bid writing firms in the UK.

Tracey T | Community and Social Services | Leeds