Winning a bid or being appointed to the CCS (Crown Commercial Service) is business changing for most of our clients given the significant financial rewards that come with it. The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) procurement structure is one of the largest in the United Kingdom and offers a broad range of different framework and tender/bid opportunities for businesses from many different sectors.
Being appointed to a CCS framework often means being given access to many different public sector government departments and buyers who spend billion dollars annually procuring services.
Our team of bid, tender and proposal writers have helped many businesses, small and large, write framework submissions and applications to the CCS. CCS provides opportunities to businesses of all sizes, from small sole traders to national and international corporations. It is a highly competitive framework and its not unusual for multinationals and seasoned tenderers to have to experience rejection and have to make multiple submission.
Our team of bid writers can help you submit framework applications as well as respond to PQQ (Pre Qualification Questionnaire), ITT (Invitation to Tender) and other requests such as the completion of an SQ (Selection Questionnaire).
What are CCS Frameworks
The CCS is a trading fund of the Cabinet Office of the UK Government. It’s purpose and responsibility to undertake, improve and optimise government procurement. The way it increases the efficiency of the government procurement functionality is through procurement frameworks.
The CCS framework:
- Formalises an agreement between the government and suppliers.
- Has the terms and conditions for the specific procurement built into the agreement.
- Provides a list of suppliers that have been through the application process and comply with the relevant criteria.
- Provides this list of suppliers to government departments and public sector organisations so they can purchase goods and services from them.
In addition to offering access to sales and growth opportunities to government, being appointed to a CCS framework helps our clients and all businesses take the hassle out of tenders. This is because you only need to go through the tender process once and you don’t have to submit a full tender or bid for each subsequent opportunity.
Writing a winning CCS Framework bid or application
Key steps to writing a winning bid include:
- Bid no/bid decision. Chances are you have already made this decision, however, it’s important to decide whether or not allocating the resources to make a CCS application is a good investment of your time. Usually it is.
- Review and understand the framework. The best place to find information on the CCS Framework is their website. You need to understand the specifics of the framework you are bidding for including scope of services and the terms and conditions. Our consultants can assist you with this.
- Review and ensure you are eligible. Most frameworks have mandatory requirements for things like experience and financial compliance and any licenses and regulations. You need to ensure you are able to comply with these requirements or else you application will not be accepted.
- Ensuring your supporting documentation is organised and correct. We generally encourage clients (or when we are assisting with a bid or application) to get your supporting documentation together earlier. From insurance certificates of currency to other safety or quality documents, its important to have the appropriate supporting documentation. It’s best to get started on this process earlier, as you are often relying on external stakeholders and this can cause delayed.
- Answer each question comprehensively. You need to write concisely and directly respond to the question. In addition, sometimes in questions there are multiple different questions built in to them. Where there are two or three parts to the question, you need to make sure you answer each part of the question individually. Your response also needs to be comprehensive.
- Always provide evidence and quantify your claims. Anybody can write anything in a bid or CCS tender application. Procurement teams are well aware of this and approach many claims with scepticism. That is why it’s important to include evidence and numbers throughout your bid in order to backup your claims. In addition to evidence, you need to provide examples and case studies. These examples and case studies need to be detailed enough to showcase your capabilities.
- Introduce and emphasis win themes. Win themes, or key points of difference, are what sets your business apart. It’s important to make sure your win themes are aligned to what the CCS is looking for and are designed to set you apart from your competitors.
- Keep it public sector focused. I.e. make sure your submission reflects the core public sector goals of social value, sustainability and digital innovation.
- Write a tailored response for each individual lot. It’s more time consuming, however, it is the ‘proper way’ if you are applying for multiple lots.
- Use simply english, simply formatting and concise language. The evaluators aren’t always experts in your specific area or sector. Therefore, putting forward overly complex language can be to your detriment. You should generally avoid using jargon or industry terminology that the reader may not know. Try to keep your sentences short. Make your writing structured with bullet points and sub-headings where possible so that it is easy to read. The more structured and easy to read your bid is, the easier it is for the reader to mark it.
- Be sure to provide a comprehensive response to all the questions even if you think they do not apply to your specific service. Sometimes the questions are broad because there are a number of different services in one framework. You need to tailor your service to their question and you need to explain when there tender is not applicable.
- Work within their character limits. Don’t waste words. Write concisely and keep your writing as focused as possible throughout the bid.
The MEAT ‘Most Economically Advantageous Tender’ approach
When you are bidding or making an application for a CCS framework, it’s important to be mindful of the approach, processes and thinking of the procurement team. The CCS adopts the MEAT approach when procuring. Criteria that they use through this approach include (and it is not limited to cost):
- Innovation in your service offering: i.e. demonstrating how you will work smarter, not harder, and showing that you are a though leader in your industry.
- Qualifications and expertise that set you apart from competitors.
- Cost of your services: including the whole of life value cost of your services. I.e. you may be more expensive up-front for a service, however, less expensive over the long term.
- Exceeding service delivery requirements.
Benefits for SMEs
Our writers have helped hundreds of small and medium sizes businesses become appointed to CCS frameworks. Although the CCS framework is designed to ‘bulk buy’ and drive cost savings by purchasing high volumes, SMEs are often in a strong position due to a government commitment to purchase from SMEs. The government as a commitment to purchasing 33% of goods and services from SMEs.
Another benefit for CCS suppliers are the 30 day payment terms.
Examples of current CCS frameworks:
We have assisted clients to submit and secure a range of CCS framework applications including:
- G Cloud 13 – Agreement number: RM1557.13
- Digital Outcomes 6: Agreement number: RM1043.8
- Facilities Management Marketplace (FM) Agreement ID: RM3830
- Media Services Agreement ID: RM6123
- Occupational Health, Employee Assistance Programmes and Eye Care Services – Agreement ID: RM6182
- Office Supplies – Agreement ID: RM6059
- Payment Acceptance – Agreement ID: RM6118
Who we can help win CCS Frameworks
Talk to us today for help with any CCS framework bid or tender. Our team of bid writers have extensive experience helping clients win CCS framework bids. All of us are experienced in public sector bid writing and provide CCS framework application support to small, medium and large businesses alike across multiple industries. Some of the sectors we have supported include defence, office supplies, medical and health, legal, accounting, engineering, manufacturing, IT&T, digital, food and beverage, administration and office support and logistics and transportation among others.
If you want to find a CCS framework bid writer or are looking for help on how to win a bid on a CCS framework in the UK we can assist. We help organisations across the UK and have helped businesses from London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Sheffield, Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Newcastle as well as businesses in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, Wales and Northern Island to Yorkshire.
The Types of Services on CCS Frameworks
There are a broad range of services and products which are procured under the CCS framework. They fall into the following four categories and sub-categories:
- Buildings: (Construction, Energy, Workplace)
- Corporate Solutions: (Document Management and Logistics, Financial Services, Fleet, Marcomms and Research, Office and Travel)
- People: (Contract Centres, People Services, Professional Services, Workforce Health & Education, PSR & Permanent Recruitment)
- Technology: (Digital Future, Network Services, Software & Cyber, Technology Products & Services)
How our team can help you win
Our team of bid and framework writing consultants will help you:
- Write your CCS application to a CCS framework
- Develop the supporting documentation
- Project manage your response
- Identify suitable opportunities.
We have a track record of bringing success to our clients – by ensuring you showcase all your expertise and experience as well as social value initiatives in your response. We can also help you by reviewing your bid and providing constructive feedback. Call our team today to find out how we can help you succeed.