4 Steps to sourcing tenders and applying for prequalification schemes

There are five major ways to supply to the Government:

1.    Tenders

2.    Pre-qualification schemes

3.    Competitive processes

4.    Special arrangements (existing contracts, small and regional business)

5.    Over the counter

Source Tenders

At Bidio.ai, our one-of-a-kind platform was built by procurement experts boasting over 22 years of procurement and Government knowledge. We understand that often the tendering process can be tedious and time-consuming, so we developed every function, chart and table to make it much, much easier for you.

When you register with Bidio.ai, our specially created dashboard displays all current information regarding tenders and contracts relevant to your industry and the locations where you operate. The dashboard presents a visualisation of data all over Australia in one central, easy to find place.

Step 1 – Create a Bidio.ai account

The first step is to set yourself up as a subscriber. We have a subscription to suit everyone! Simply go to https://bidio.ai/pricing, and by choosing a subscription level that best suits your needs you can proceed to creating a Bidio.ai account.

As part of the registration process, you will complete several questions relating to your business. This information relates to your industry, state, and jurisdictions that your business operates in.

It is important to select the right options at registration that are specific to your business as this information ensures the customization of your daily tender alerts and your specific dashboard.

Step 2 – Tender alert systems

All subscribers receive Free Tender Alerts. A tender is an invitation to bid for a project or offer. Government and financial institutions invite bids for projects that must be submitted within a specific deadline.

These Bidio.ai alerts let you know about public tender opportunities suited to your industry. Not only does this save you time and money, it ensures you don’t miss profitable business opportunities.

Step 3 – Search opportunities

The search feature in Bidio.ai is a great way to identify current, closed and awarded tenders that relate to your industry preferences. To search, simply go to https://bidio.ai/tenders/open/listing

Current tenders: are currently open and accepting bids from suppliers.

Closed tenders: are closed and are now being evaluated by the buyer. No further submissions will be accepted once a tender has been closed.

Awarded tenders: have been awarded to a supplier. You can view who won the tender including the contract value.

Step 4 – Apply for Pre-qualification Scheme

State and Federal Governments have a range of pre-qualification schemes covering a wide range of goods and services from various industry sectors.

These schemes cover both whole-of-Government and agency-specific schemes. This provides opportunities for suppliers who register and pre-qualify, although pre-qualifying is not a guarantee of receiving work.

Agency specific schemes apply for some agencies that have a specific need that is not met by an existing whole-of-Government contract and therefore require their own procurement contracts and schemes.

When Government agencies need to buy goods or services, it can approach these pre-qualified suppliers in several ways – including via a request for tender (RFT), request for quote (RFQ) or request for proposal (RFP).

It can sometimes also be to negotiate directly with suppliers - depending on the circumstances.

The application process for schemes varies and depends entirely on the nature of the goods and services covered by the scheme. Some schemes provide different levels of pre-qualification with fewer requirements for works up to certain values or thresholds.

Joining a pre-qualification scheme can be time consuming as a lot of information needs to be provided during the process.

It is advised not to rush starting on an application until you have read all the information about what is required and are in a position to dedicate the time and resources needed.