Business Process Management (BPM) is an ideal approach to assess and streamline your complex bid management processes.
In this Part 2 of our BPM series, we delve deeper into the benefits of BPM. And discover how a BPM platform, such as TenderEyes, dedicated to bid management, can deliver exceptional improvements across your whole bid journey. This includes processes, content management, teamworking and tender submissions.
Check out Part 1 for a definition of BPM and the six-stage process for implementing process improvements for bid management.
BPM for Technology Transformation
In the previous article we discussed the three types of BPM available. This includes integration-centric, human-centric and document-centric BPM.
All three approaches are relevant to tender management . Here we focus on the integration-centric approach which will also help address any challenges related to both human-centric and document-centric challenges.
The integration-centric approach focusses on the technologies used to implement the processes and how this impacts working efficiency and outcomes.
Many organisations will be relying on generic business tools such as email, word processing, spreadsheets, z folders, project management and collaboration tools to manage their bid processes.
These tools may not be fully integrated and cause the following challenges:
- Hard to qualify and prioritise best-fit tenders
- Multiple repeated data inputting required
- Errors in data entry and content creation
- Limited access and visibility to critical information
- Uncoordinated activities and poor collaboration
- Poor handover of projects to different teams
- Delays in and less informed decision-making
- Ultimately, leading to poorer tender responses and evaluation scores.
Implementing a BPM platform that is specially designed and dedicated to your bid journey, will help resolve your process inefficiencies and deliver on your BPM improvement plans.
“60% of all occupations across different sectors have at least 30% of work activities that can be fully automated with business process management.” McKinsey
Benefits of Implementing TenderEyes for BPM
In the previous article we discussed the benefits that can be achieved from implementing BPM bid management improvements. Here we expand on those benefits and demonstrate how a tender specific BPM platform, such as TenderEyes can deliver the results.
Each TenderEyes core module is dedicated to a specific stage of the bid journey, from sourcing opportunities, managing content, compiling bids, reviewing results, and delivering won contracts.
The modules can be implemented in a phased approach or as an entire integrated solution. In addition, TenderEyes offers a truly holistic approach to BPM and bid management with seamless integration with your Office 365 apps and CRM and ERP platforms.
Process Standardisation
TenderEyes enables organisations to standardise their tender processes across the entire bid journey. This ensures a consistent approach by all involved, proper alignment with business goals and focus on submitting quality best-fit tenders.
For example, the TenderEyes Opportunities Manager provides for the consistent approach to sourcing and qualifying tender opportunities. This includes:
- Improved opportunity targeting via custom filters on procurement codes, keywords and geographies. This ensures the sourcing of your best-fit tenders aligned to your business objectives and goals.
- Incorporating established sales methodologies such as SPIN, SCOTSMAN or TenderEyes 4 Cs Model to ensure all tender opportunities are assessed against the same criteria. Scores can be allocated with a benchmark total to help Sales Teams qualify opportunities in or out.
- Easy capture of vital information such as key facts, competitor profiling, risks, products, win themes etc, for better informed pursuit decision making. This intelligence and associated tender documentation can then be made easily accessible (via TenderEyes Project Workspace) to Bid Teams and Subject Matter Experts who will compile the bids.
Content Generation and Management
Managing the volume and variety of content required to compile tender submissions is a huge challenge. Content is often stored within different teams or data silos and can be inaccurate or out of date.
Valuable time and resources can be wasted repeatedly searching for and creating tender responses. Looming deadlines may force Bid Teams to reuse previous low scoring tender responses and potentially lose the bid.
Document-centric BPM can significantly help organisations to successfully streamline and better manage their tender content.
TenderEyes provides an ideal BPM platform to ensure all tender related content and information can be stored, created, reviewed, updated and accessed from one single source. This provides a quality content resource that your Bid Team can depend on.
The combination of the TenderEyes Knowledge Bank Module and the Bid Accelerator provides a powerful BPM platform for managing and using tender content. Benefits include:
- Automated directory set up for consistent cataloguing of different content
- Dedicated Q & A library for standard tender questions and responses
- Assigned content owners for ensured review and updating
- Sophisticated search using AI for quicker and more targeted returns
- Streamlined content creation with auto-population of content between TenderEyes and Microsoft 365 apps.
Automation and Integration
‘Manual repetitive tasks’ is always in the top three of our customers’ challenges and frustrations. Such activities waste valuable time and resources and cause unnecessary delays throughout the bid journey.
The TenderEyes solution provides an ideal BPM platform for streamlining and automating many tender management processes and activities. Thus, freeing up time for teams to concentrate on more high-value tasks such as better-quality opportunity qualification, content creation and tender submissions.
For example, the TenderEyes Project Workspace Module and the Bid Accelerator allows Bid Team s to better manage the compiling of tenders in a more efficient and effective manner. The TenderEyes Contracts Manager Module offers similar BPM benefits.
This includes:
- Rapid project mobilisation via the automatic set up of the project, either with one simple mouse click or on pursuit approval in the Opportunities Manager
- Automatic population of sales insight and procurement agency documentation from the Opportunities Manager
- Automatic inclusion of project management frameworks such as PRINCE2, Agile or Six Sigma.
- The creation of standard or custom workflows to streamline and automate parts of the process, activities or tasks, such as project notifications, information requests and reminders being sent to Subject Matter Experts.
In addition, BPM looks at improving the integration of existing enterprise software. TenderEyes software can be easily integrated with CRM and ERP systems to ensure seamless data exchange and synchronisation with other related business activities
“BPM tools successfully automate tasks, increasing task completion speed by 42%, and improving the quality of work product by 38%.”Work Insight Report.
Collaboration and Communication
With so many stakeholders involved in the bid process, coordinating, and completing complex tasks on time, is a constant challenge. This is made more difficult when team members have other work priorities and are in different locations and time zones. Teams may also be using different and disparate technology platforms and tools.
BPM provides the ideal opportunity to identify and resolve collaboration gaps and roadblocks. The adoption of dedicated BPM, such as TenderEyes, will help facilitate effective communication and information sharing, thereby improving team engagement and commitment.
Benefits include:
- Everybody working within the same environment
- Seamless handover transition between different bid stages and teams
- Easy access to all bid information and activities
- Automated notifications, tasks, reminders, and schedules
- Clear visibility to tasks and content owners, deadlines and progress.
Performance Monitoring and Analytics
Delays in any stage of the bid journey can have a significant impact on deadlines and time to deliver high quality tender responses.
A BPM platform provides organisations with real-time visibility into their tender management processes. By tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), such as bid submission time, win rate, and resources, organisations can more easily identify roadblocks, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement.
The TenderEyes Business Analytics Module provides:
- Dashboards for quick, easy interpretation of critical project progress and results
- Better overview and assessment of sales pipelines, project Gantt charts and bid stages
- Access to task lists, Kanban boards and charts for individual and team review
- Easy analysis of tender results and scores to identify areas for content improvement.
Compliance and Risk Management
Your tender submission incorporates a great deal of your business information and Intellectual Property. It also commits your company to delivering high value won contracts, with both reputational and financial risks.
The use of poor, informal or limited approval processes and compliance checks throughout the bid journey can cause significant problems. This may include:
- Decisions to pursue opportunities poorly matched to your business objectives and product/service offerings
- Poor quality tender responses that will secure low evaluation scores
- Tender submissions with inaccurate or out-of-date content
- Miscalculated costs, budgets or delivery schedules.
A BPM platform, such as TenderEyes enables organisations to embed assessment criteria, compliance checks, risk assessments and formal approvals within all stages of their tender processes. This helps ensure adherence to regulatory requirements and mitigates potential risks, such as legal liabilities or financial losses.
In addition, the TenderEyes Governance & Security Module also provides:
- Risk registers, Kanban charts and RACI Charts
- Auditing of events, projects, contracts and activities
- Central storage of company policies and compliance procedures
- Review of decision gates, approvals and document sign-offs
- Accurate records of platform licences, users, and access rights.
The Next Steps to BPM Implementation
Undertaking a Business Process Management review of your tender journey can help identify and resolve your processes, content management and teamworking inefficiencies. However, without implementing a dedicated BPM platform, such as TenderEyes, improvements will be limited.
Engaging with your BPM platform supplier early in your review process will help ensure your BPM goals are realised and can be delivered through the technology platform.
The solution you choose should save you valuable time that can be better spent on finessing better quality tender responses and securing you higher evaluation scores. And ultimately, increase your win probabilities and business growth.
