In the hectic landscape of India’s procurement market, where government tenders alone contributed much to the GDP of Indian procurement, we all know that the Indian procurement sector is growing rapidly, and we see many initiatives being taken by the Indian government in this modern-day. But we also know that if you do not win the tender then it will cost you. Let’s explore the high-stakes world of tendering in India, where a single misstep can give you a disastrous failure; it ruins your reputation, and you also lose your money because some tenders will not give back your deposit money if you lose the contract. An estimated 30% of tenders face disqualifications due to unavoidable errors in their submission process. In this cutthroat competition for winning a tender, you need to be more focused and conscious about the process, documents, and deposit money.
In this eye-opening world, where everyone has internet access and sufficient information about anything, we will discuss the top tendering mistakes to avoid when you apply for a tender, and we will guide you on how to overcome these mistakes. In this article, we will try to know the top mistakes made by people while they are applying for tenders. And how to solve these mistakes. Whether you’re a seasoned player or a newcomer to the game, the insights you’re about to discover could be the key to unlocking your next big win in India’s trillion-dollar tender market.
Mistakes You Need to Avoid While Tendering
Unrealistic Pricing: Striking the right balance is key to success. In this field you face a large number of big players, and when you compete with big players, you need to avoid being underbid or don’t do underbidding because, in this competitive environment, if you underbid then your chance of losing is maximum. In this situation of underbid no one believes in your credibility, technical support or finances to complete a big project, so try to offer a competitive price and show your financial strength, this gives you an extra edge in the evaluation process.
Confusion of Tender Requirement: One of the most common mistakes made by people while applying for tenders is that they do not read and comprehend the tender documents carefully. People sometimes are not able to meet the eligibility criteria for some specific tender, but they apply for that tender and lose the bid. Another common mistake is that all tenders have their own evaluation process, and people think this one is also evaluated the same as the previous one in this category of tender, and people do not take it seriously and lose tender maximum time due to this mistake and regret after losing contracts.
Missing Deadlines: Late submissions are automatically disqualified, which means if you do not submit all your documents on time and if you have not completed the application process within the deadlines, then you will be automatically disqualified from the further process of bidding. Missing deadlines creates a bad image or bad impression in the minds of bidders, and they feel that you are not an accountable person, if you miss deadlines then you are not a responsible person for big projects. You need to submit applications on time to even qualify for consideration or visibility. And ensure that your submission process is done before the 72-hour (about 3 days) deadline for applications.
Incomplete or inaccurate information: Uploading wrong documents, incomplete documents, incorrect documents, and misleading information all lead to your application disqualifications whether you apply for private tenders or public tenders. If you apply for public and upload the wrong documents, then sometimes it leads to legal action against you and potentially disqualify you for future tenders. So, double-check everything before submission.
Forgetting Earnest Money Deposit: Many tenders required an earnest money deposit, EMD shows your seriousness for tenders. It’s a refundable money deposit, if you do not win the bid then this money will be refunded to your accounts. And if some tenders ask for some amount in the form of EMD and you are not given that money then your application will be considered invalid, and you lose all your temperament and hope for winning the bid.
Not Answering the Question Asked: There are too many people who fail to answer the questions that are on the tender response forms. They ask these questions so that they can easily compare them with the other bids that they received. To be visible to them, make sure to answer all the questions clearly. If you do not understand the question, then ask experts who have prior knowledge to resolve those questions but do not give them the wrong answers. All the questions must be answered effectively and shouldn’t be left unanswered.
Basic Writing Error: If you complete all processes effectively and as expected you, done everything up to mark, but some small mistakes give you bad impressions and show your unprofessionalism. Errors like writing errors, grammatical mistakes, and negative or abusive language used in content lead to disqualifications, and sometimes you overstate the answers. To avoid these mistakes, tender documents should be carefully checked and proofread to correct any errors before sending them over to the client.
Plagiarized content: In this floating information world, everyone just copies other contents and does not write their own content, other written content is not sometime able to express your feelings, and sometimes you try to express other things, but your client interprets other things due to your copy content. So, write original content in easy language and express everything as per the guidelines and expectations of tenders. Gaining trust and convincing clients is very crucial for you, so you need to write original content and communicate clearly.
Conclusion:
In this situation where Indian procurement is in rapid growth and attracts so many international people to do bidding in India and it’s not easy for small and medium enterprises to win tenders for big projects, and still if small and medium enterprises make silly mistakes in the submission of applications then it is not good for them. Additionally, when everyone bids to show their technical and financial strengths just like in a consultancy tenders bidders assess their bids on two parameters. The first one is technical capacity, and the second one is prices quoted by bidders. 70% of the weight is given to the technical capability of a firm, and the remaining 30% is allotted to the price that bidders quote. So, even minor errors can lead to disqualification and financial losses.
Everyone can take a key takeaway from this article: do your bidding very carefully. Offering an unrealistic price for a tender leads to undercutting competitors and can damage your credibility.
So, carefully read and understand tender documents to ensure you meet all eligibility criteria. Also meeting the deadlines is necessary for the further evaluation process, so submit bids on time. And double or triple time check all your documents for accuracy and complete the application process before the last date, and don’t forget to pay the Earnest Money Deposit if required. Finally, proofread your bid carefully and avoid copies of others’ content by crafting original content that effectively showcases your company’s strength and professionalism. By following the above steps, you can navigate the competitive Indian procurement landscape and position yourself to win valuable contracts.
