A practical bid/no-bid process
A bid/no-bid decision determines whether an opportunity deserves your team’s time. First check whether you can enter and meet the mandatory requirements at the required stage. Then assess the service fit, evidence, capacity, commercial case and competition. Record the reasons, unresolved conditions and person approving the decision. A strong total score should never hide a failed mandatory requirement or an offer the business cannot deliver.
Before you start
Who this helps
- A team deciding whether to commit to a live tender
- Leaders comparing several opportunities that compete for the same people
- A business spending heavily on bids that were weak from the start
Points to check
- Treat an unknown requirement as a question to resolve, not a pass.
- Keep framework access separate from service fit.
- Revisit the decision when scope, price assumptions or capacity change.
Start with the facts needed for a decision
Use the complete pack where available: notice, instructions, specification, evaluation, pricing schedule, contract and portal messages. Record the submission and clarification deadlines separately. Check the lot, eligible suppliers and the route to the documents.
Give each material point a source reference. “The sales team thinks we qualify” is less useful than a condition, the relevant evidence and the person who has checked it. If the documents are unavailable, label the assessment preliminary and avoid presenting it as a completed qualification.
Keep hard gates outside the score
A gate asks whether there is a permitted route to bid and whether a requirement can be satisfied when it must be met. Check legal identity, exclusions, capability, financial conditions, required evidence and submission feasibility. Cabinet Office guidance distinguishes conditions of participation from award criteria under the Procurement Act: passing one does not compensate for failing the other.
Check timing carefully. A requirement to hold something before performance is not necessarily a requirement to have it today. Where the wording or permitted alternative is unclear, use the formal clarification route and record the answer.
Assess whether the bid is worth pursuing
After the gates, consider the questions below with delivery, finance and the bid lead. A simple supported rating can help compare opportunities. Avoid a precise win percentage unless you have a method and results that justify it.
- Service fit: can the proposed work be delivered without inventing a new capability?
- Evidence: can you prove the important claims with relevant examples and data?
- Capacity: are the bid contributors and delivery resources available?
- Commercial case: does the likely price support the required service and risks?
- Competitive position: what would give the buyer a reason to select your offer?
- Strategic value: is the contract useful enough to justify the work and commitments?
Use conditional decisions sparingly
An illustrative decision could read: “Proceed with initial planning only. The operations lead must confirm regional cover by Tuesday; the commercial lead must approve the mobilisation budget by Wednesday. No full drafting commitment until both are resolved.” This is a bounded decision with owners and dates.
“Bid, subject to sorting out the details” is not. If a condition has no realistic resolution before the work must be committed, record a no-bid or return the opportunity for a different approach. Do not keep the team drafting simply because it has already started.
Keep the decision record short and usable
One page is often enough: opportunity and lot, document version, gate results, strongest reasons to pursue, main risks, estimated bid effort, conditions, approver and review date. Link the supporting documents rather than repeating the entire pack.
If several bids overlap, make the decision across the portfolio. Two attractive tenders may both depend on the same pricing lead and operations director. Make that resource conflict visible before approving both.
Recheck and learn
Reopen the decision when a clarification changes the scope, a partner withdraws, a price assumption fails or the delivery team can no longer meet the plan. The purpose is to protect the business, including after work has begun.
After the result, compare the original reasons with actual effort and buyer feedback. If reference relevance was repeatedly overstated, change the evidence check. If the bid was well chosen but lost on price, investigate the commercial position rather than simply tightening the writing standard. For your next opportunity, begin with the gate list and assign one decision owner.
Common questions
01Who should approve a bid?
A person authorised to commit the business’s resources and commercial position should approve it, informed by delivery, finance and the bid lead. An external provider can investigate and recommend, but cannot accept those commitments for you.
02What should we do with an unknown answer?
Record the uncertainty, who will resolve it, the evidence needed and the decision date. Use the buyer’s formal clarification route where necessary. Do not quietly treat an unverified point as either a pass or a failure.
03Should we use a weighted scorecard?
It can help compare suitable opportunities if the criteria and evidence are clear. Keep mandatory gates separate and review the reasons behind the score. A numerical total should support the decision, not make it automatically.
04Is a no-bid decision a wasted opportunity?
It can save time for work the business is better placed to win and deliver. Record any future action, such as developing evidence or joining an appropriate route, so the decision still improves readiness.