Finding and bidding for Public Contracts in Scotland
Most businesses that are looking to find tender and contract opportunities in Scotland start the process by registering with Public Contracts Scotland (PCS). This is the correct avenue as it lists all of the tenders and contract opportunities that have been made available by Councils, the NHS, housing associations and other public sector bodies. By receiving notifications for PCS, and searching PCS on a regular basis for opportunities, you will ensure that you stay abreast of any opportunities and can quickly assess whether you have the skills and capacity to put forward a winning submission.
Our team of bid writers at Tsaks Consulting, including our Director, Jason Cooney, have been helping businesses both in Scotland, from across the UK and internationally, win public sector bids in Scotland for over 12 years. We have helped businesses and organisations from a range of different industries and understand the procurement process.
Our skillset is transferable and no matter what the industry, our team of bid writers will ensure you submit a compliant and compelling submission. When you approach us for help in finding and winning Public Sector Contracts in Scotland the first thing we will usually tell you is to register with PCS and put together a robust bid/no bid decision process (which we can assist you with of course) to ensure you optimise your time and the result of any bid you submit.
Where else can you find Public Sector Contracts in Scotland?
As outlined above, most contracts are on PCS – publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk however, we believe it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder.
Find a Tender is UK wide and very popular for public procurement. Contracts finder is generally only focused on tenders and England but we have seen some bids related to Scotland and England posted on there from time to time to it’s a good idea to keep an eye on it periodically.
Our tender notification service helps clients in Scotland identify tender and other public contract bidding opportunities and it’s service we provide at an additional cost. There is nothing stopping you from doing this yourself and our team is ready to help you and show you how if that is your preference.
What public sector buyers and organisations procure through the PCS and what types of products do they procure?
Nearly every (well at least most) public sector organisations in Scotland use the PCS for their procurement activities. Examples of public sector bodies that use the PCS include:
- Local authorities and councils
- NHS Scotland and health boards
- Scottish Government departments and agencies
- Universities and colleges
- Housing associations
- Government-backed organisations
- Emergency services
They post frameworks, DPSs and other contracts which you can bid on.
Techniques you can adopt to win more public contracts in Scotland
Techniques and strategies you can adopt to help you win more public contracts in Scotland include:
- List your company through PCS Supplier Finder. When and where there are contracts and bids which are lower in value (otherwise known as quick quotes), many buyers will look for providers on Supplier Finder. By listing on supplier finder, they will see your capabilities and general profile / marketing and will have the opportunity to contact you for your services. The key benefit is that completing even smaller amounts of work for the government or other public sector organisations is very helpful for your experience and puts you in a stronger position when you are bidding for larger contracts.
- Tailor your proposal to the public sector and the proposed project. It’s important that you write for the public sector. Public sector organisations such as local Councils in Scotland are very process and compliance driven. They will want to be confident that you are a credible and reliable supplier to select you. Not only that you can do the job, but also that you can follow the processes, reporting and other requirements of the contract. Your bid needs to give them the confidence you can do this and hat you will take a consultative approach to delivering them a quality service. In addition, you need to ensure your methodology, CVs, case studies and bid overall is highly tailored. Procurement teams can easily see through it if you write and submit a generic response which is AI generated or based on general marketing material. You need to tailor your response to submit a compelling submission.
- Bid for what you have a good chance of winning and ensure you meet the mandatory criteria. Generally speaking, it’s our view that it’s better to submit one quality bid that you may win rather than three mediocre bids. The reason is because, even if you engage us to assist with your tender, there is still an opportunity cost for your time in providing input and information for any bid and tenders, especially public sector tenders are generally competitive. You need to review the requirements and ensure you have the experience, expertise and capacity to deliver a project. Once you have done that, complete a bid/no bid process and start the bidding process. The idea that ‘you have to be in it to win it’ generally doesn’t apply with tenders as there are strict evaluation criteria and they are often quite competitive.
- Build a bid or tender library and integrate software. Our team will help you use technology to write bids more efficiently. We will work with you to create bid or tender library of quality control which you can leverage on in the future. We take a very open book and transparent approach to bid writing and will work with you openly and constructively, including in a shared document, to help you develop a compelling and persuasive bid.
- Write concisely and go into detail as required. It’s important not to fill you writing with a lot of marketing fluff and irrelevant or generic information. However, going into detail is also critical and there’s nothing wrong with writing a comprehensive response with detailed information as long as it is relevant and written concisely.
What are quick quotes on the PCS and how can I bid for them?
Where the is a low value project or requirement for a public sector organisation or entity, they do not need to advertise it. They are able to identify and select suppliers through the Supplier Finder directly. If you are selected, you will receive an invitation via email to say that you are selected. When you receive the email, you simply need to login, review the details that they have provided in terms of project scope and the requirements, and then submit your quotation.
There is a functionality called PCS postbox which you use to submit. Of course, our team of bid writers here at Tsaks Consulting is always ready and able to assist. We can also help you optimise your supplier Finder and Alert profiles. This is important as they will generally search based on keywords and you need to ensure you come up as an option in order to increase your chances of being invited to provide a quick quote.
What is an SPD Request?
An SPD (Single Procurement Document) request is used by public authorities or public sector entities to understand and assess how suitable a supplier is. Sometimes, SPDs are a requirement of a notice, and you need to access them through the PCS Postbox. It is relatively straightforward to complete it online / electronically, and you can quickly and easily save your profile for future tenders. This means that as you keep tendering for different contracts or other opportunities in Scotland, you will not need to submit your SPD request each time.
When you are using the online system (Postbox), you will need to upload all of the documents for your bid or quote. You then receive a reference number for your quote or bid, and everything on the system remains confidential. You can amend your submission easily by logging in and making an update or amendment. From our experience, it’s always a great idea to ensure you have your bid finalised a day or two before so as to avoid any potential technical difficulties, difficulties uploaded or even black-outs.
What type of Public Sector Procurement Categories are there in Scotland and how can I win more tenders?
There are four key public sector procurement categories in Scotland. It’s important that you understand the different categories, and also, have in mind or target the types of contracts / categories that your businesses may be able to bid for and win. This depends on your organisational size, the type of goods or services you provide, and your location and presence. The four categories are:
- Category A: National contracts applicable across Scotland (e.g., stationery, utilities).
- Category B: Sector-specific contracts for Local Government, NHS, Central Government, and Education (e.g., medical supplies for NHS).
- Category C1: Regional collaboration contracts, such as those managed by local council consortia.
- Category C: Individual organisations managing their procurement independently.
When you are considering what contracts to bid for across Scotland, it’s important to have an idea of how you will fit into these categories and the type of clients you are geared towards serving.
How Tsaks Consulting UK can help you win more public sector contracts in Scotland
Tender and bid writing is what and all that we do. We’ve helped lots of businesses across the UK bid for contracts with the Scottish Government, as well as local councils, the NHS and other government (and also private) organisations who have released tenders and adopt a formal procurement process.
Our team will help you:
- Write your tender or bid from start to finish. We will need your input for pricing and some technical areas of course, however, we project manage it and write your responses, so you have more time to spend on other critical tasks.
- Finding and identifying contract opportunities. Our team will help you identify and track suitable opportunities. We can also assist you to create your profile, and communicate with potential clients where / when possible, in order to build your profile and bid for and win the right contracts.
- Win tenders and contracts. Our job is to help you get a place on public sector frameworks and DPSs that you are suitably qualified and experienced for. We are expert writers that help businesses in Scotland, including in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen and across Scotland.
Our team helps Scottish businesses from all different industries such as healthcare, defence, medical, manufacturing, services, community and charity and other sectors write winning tenders. We provide bid writing support to large clients as well as end-to-end professional bid writing help for smaller business looking to win contracts.