.jpg)
What exactly do we mean by “tender”?
A tender is a procedure by which a company or organization, public or private, puts suppliers in competition for the implementation of projects or the supply of goods and services.
The call for tenders allows guarantee the transparency of the selection process, to stimulate competition and to obtain the best offer at the best price.
On public procurement, as soon as the amount of the contract is significant, it is mandatory to go through a call for tenders.
In the private sector, the Anglo-Saxon terms RFI/RFP are commonly used.
- The RFI (Request for Information) is used prior to the call for tenders, with the aim of:
- Understanding the market (actors and solutions)
- Identify potential suppliers
- Refine future specifications
- The RFP (Request For Proposal) is used when the buyer is able to clearly express their needs, and aims to:
- Receive tailor-made proposals
- Compare the proposed solutions
- Selecting the best supplier
The impacts of AI on the stages of tenders
1. Identifying good opportunities
In the public sector (public procurement)
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐⭐
To find public tenders, you must navigate and create alerts on the sites where contract notices are published, such as BOAMP or TED. Or alternatively, pay a subscription on monitoring platforms such as Plus vector.
Regardless of the method, you will have to spend several hours each week sifting through the reviews received, to select only the most relevant ones.
✨ AI makes it possible to select only the most relevant tenders, based on your past successes, through learning
In the private sector (RFI/RFP)
Impact of AI : -
In the private sector, the only way to retrieve tenders is to have a commercial network that is very active and visible to clients.
You have to participate in sectoral events, work on your network and build partnerships with key players such as consulting firms. A long term job.
✨ AI won't be of much help. Your field sales representatives are not ready to be replaced!
2. Understanding the need, risks and chances of success
Verify that you are eligible to apply
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐
In the specifications (or the consultation regulations for public tenders), the customer can define elimination criteria before applying, such as a turnover threshold or certifications for example.
You have to research and check these criteria.
✨ The AI can list all required criteria right away
Ensure the ability to respect the framework and deadlines imposed
Impact of AI : ⭐
The customer must impose their rules of the game, such as deadlines or the use of an online response platform.
It is necessary to validate internally that we have the necessary resources to respond on time.
✨ AI saves you time to meet deadlines
Identify and understand the selection criteria
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐⭐
Understanding the selection criteria is absolutely essential. The client expects a very academic work from the candidate, who must demonstrate his abilities point by point.
In public tenders, it's simple: the criteria are necessarily identified.
In private tenders, it is more complex. You have to know how to read between the lines of the specifications to understand what is important in the eyes of the customer, in order to optimize their response.
✨ AI can identify the selection criteria at a glance.
Analyzing legal risks
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐⭐
The legal department often has to intervene very early to identify potential risks, which can be “red flags”, such as deterrent penalties.
✨ AI can draw up a list of identified legal risks and propose solutions to counter these risks
Evaluate the ability to perfectly meet the customer's needs
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐⭐
Understanding the client's needs in detail is essential to assess the ability to deliver a quality service.
Since the devil is often in the details, this requires a thorough reading of the specifications, and the constitution of an exhaustive list of requirements.
You then need to engage in discussions with technical and operational experts to confirm that you can meet all requirements.
✨ AI can synthesize customer needs by focusing on the most critical aspects. No need to read the 100 pages of the specifications anymore!
Deciphering the chances of competitors
Impact of AI : ⭐
The specifications are likely to have been oriented for a competitor.
The game consists in finding in the specifications standard phrases, functionalities, and services that are characteristic of a competing offer.
Again, this requires expert and detailed reading.
✨ AI can highlight clues, or identify patterns already seen in tenders lost in the past
3. Elaboration of the response strategy
Analyze account and relationship history
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐
Before responding, you need to gather and review all past interactions with the customer.
The history of the commercial relationship helps you to develop the right response strategy, and to anticipate possible obstacles.
This means that you have to dive back into the CRM, read the reports, past commercial proposals and discuss with the managers to have a good understanding of the context.
✨ AI can do a complete summary of the relationship by exploiting all the data available in the CRM, in the specific context of this call for tenders.
4. Organization of a decision-making committee
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐⭐
It is necessary to summarize the main aspects of the tender in a readable and understandable format, so that decision makers, especially sales management, can quickly position themselves.
This involves organizing a decision-making committee and presenting all the key points at the meeting.
✨ AI can very easily draw up a summary sheet of the call for tenders to be presented during the committee.
5. Stakeholder coordination
Composition of the tender response team
Impact of AI : ⭐
It selects the right people, based on their skills and availability. Roles and tasks must then be assigned according to the specific skills of each person.
This means organizing a meeting and successfully motivating managers and contributors.
✨ AI can constitute the best team taking into account the skills of each individual and the needs expressed in the tender.
Management of the response project
Impact of AI : ⭐
Managing the project is essential to coordinate the actions of team members and ensure a quality response on time.
This means setting up monitoring and collaboration tools, and organizing progress reports on a regular basis.
✨ Good project management software is still key
6. Development of the technical response
Development of ideas and strategies
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐
A tender is rarely won by responding with a generic solution. It is necessary to innovate and stand out, with intelligent proposals adapted to the needs of the customer.
This involves organizing collaborative work sessions to develop the best technical proposal.
This solution must then be validated by technical experts.
✨ AI is very good at providing ideas and accelerating this phase
Response to customer questionnaires, in the required format
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐⭐
The client frequently requires answers to formatted grids, with questions and answers on various topics:
- Technical-functional requirements
- Quality of service
- Computer security or RGPD
- CSR policy
These questionnaires can include 100, 200, sometimes 500... questions.
They require in-depth knowledge to answer very specific and, above all, contractually engaging questions.
You also have to be meticulous in writing, which cannot be a simple copy and paste.
It is therefore tens of hours of work spent to find the knowledge scattered in thousands of pages of documentation, then synthesize it to formulate an answer.
✨ AI can use a knowledge base to answer the questionnaires automatically and save a considerable amount of time
Writing the technical proposal
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐⭐
The technical proposal is obviously the Holy Grail that opens the doors of a new customer. There's no question of copying and pasting, or sending a generic proposal.
The proposal must first be personalized with the logo, the name of the customer, the understanding of the need. Next, the plan must be adapted to meet point by point the requirements mentioned in the specifications.
You have to find the right structure, words and illustrations to demonstrate your abilities and the value of your offer.
It's a long process, where each paragraph, each slide can take several hours.
✨ AI can generate a tailor-made commercial proposal with a plan and content perfectly adapted to customer expectations
7. Establishing the financial proposal
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐
Of all the selection criteria, it is obviously still the most important. A good technical proposal is not enough, you have to know how to position yourself at the right price.
It is first necessary to determine how much the service will cost, so assess the cost of human and material resources. Simulations must then be carried out to calculate margin levels and maintain a good level of profitability while remaining competitive.
Finally, it is very often necessary to fill in the price list in a format imposed by the customer, which does not always correspond to his way of estimating. It is therefore necessary to adapt, review and break down your prices. A job that can be very tedious.
✨ AI can exploit past pricing models to make proposals based on the characteristics of the new tender
8. Compiling and sending the response to the call for tenders
Audit of administrative compliance
Impact of AI : ⭐
It is necessary to ensure that the response file is complete. You have to check the documents one by one, so as not to forget a form, document or signature along the way. You have to be careful about the length of the answers, which is sometimes constrained.
✨ The AI can check the completeness of the file
Technical compliance verification
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐⭐
It is then necessary to ensure that all technical requirements are covered. Repeat all the selection criteria one by one to check that you meet them.
✨ The AI can check that each requirement is covered and that you have not forgotten anything
Proofreading, harmonization and correction
Impact of AI : ⭐⭐⭐
The buyer's first impression is hard to change. Writing quality is an important indicator of a candidate's motivation.
It is necessary to review, harmonize and correct the entire response, both in content and form, to ensure consistency and clarity.
Several trips back and forth are often necessary.
✨ The AI can reread the entire file, correcting mistakes, harmonizing the vocabulary
Sending the response according to the procedures imposed by the specifications
Impact of AI : ⭐
The first step is to have the submission instructions in the terms of reference and regulations in mind.
It is necessary to centralize all the documents and put them in the format desired by the customer. Sometimes there is even an imposed convention for file naming.
In particular, it is necessary to anticipate the submission on public or private platforms (such as Ariba,...) which may require the creation of an account, the use of the tool and an electronic signature (this often requiring the purchase of a signature certificate from a qualified authority).
✨ AI can allow you to format files in bulk, which can save you tedious and value-added work
9. Preparing for the defense of the call for tenders
Impact of AI : ⭐
Last step: prepare for the defense.
To do this, it is necessary to plan a scenario adapted to the agenda and the limited time of the exercise.
It is therefore necessary to produce a new support in Powerpoint format, with a condensed structure and biases, which give rise to debate and discussion.
Finally, roles must be divided and rehearsals organized.
✨ AI can help you synthesize content, give more impact to your presentation