The team here at EuropeanTenders would just like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Hopefully everyone will be taking a well deserved break over the festive period so that we can eat too much, recharge and get ready to start again in the New Year but if you're still working hard over the Christmas period chasing down tenders, we wish you luck!

See you all next year!

The EuropeanTenders Team

We have looked at what it takes to be a winner when it comes to tenders before, but I think that it pays to continually look at the central strengths that every tender bid should have in order to be a success. 

A bid with a chance of success should:

• Be unique and stand out from the crowd
• Describe how the business can meet the tender criteria 
• State project objectives and aims clearly, while being concise
• Offer a proposed project plan
• Analyse the job at hand for any potential risks or faults
• Provide straightforward costings
• Offer value for money

Combining all of these elements in one tender bid will give you the boost that you need to win more tenders. Of course you should ensure that the tenders you are bidding for are perfectly suited to what your business can offer. 

With global leaders meeting in Copenhagen to discuss climate change and what we are going to do about it, now is a good time to think about your business and how you are helping the green effort.

We have looked at this before and how offering a greener alternative is helping some businesses to boost their stakes in the race for tenders. Public sector organisations tend to be at the head of the push for greener solutions, simply because they fall more directly under the Governments scheme to reduce carbon emissions significantly, therefore they are increasingly looking for private contractors that can offer a helping hand in their efforts.

Spring 2010 will see the enforcement of the UK Governments new CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, that targets businesses with a large carbon footprint. This scheme will be looking to cap emissions across the UK, with many of the larger public, and private sector organisations coming under fire. 

The trade aspect of the scheme is looking at businesses that use over 6,000MWh per year, aiming to encourage them to reduce this number significantly in coming years.

No doubt countries across the EU will follow suit, if they haven't already and implement more stringent regulations against larger businesses with excessive energy bills. 

No matter what size your business is, or what your carbon footprint looks like at the moment, looking for greener solutions will not only help your campaign to win tenders, but also be hugely beneficial to the global push to help the environment.

It was recently reported by European Union News that e-procurement and online tenders are a step closer to having a common standard.  

Tenders online have become big business in recent years, with more businesses choosing to look to generate leads and create opportunities using the internet. Therefore, it is good news to hear that the a new common standard will increase the efficiency of tendering online, and even the playing field of EU-wide public sector competition. 

The idea of the common standard aims to increase transparency in the public sector enabling more companies to get involved with tenders across the EU, with the whole project linked to improving market efficiency within the EU market. 

As reported, the project is budgeted for Euro 30.8 million and the pilot is due to be completed by the end of 2010.

With various economic fluctuations and the fact that budgets across the EU will see a cut in 2010, it is good news that there are plans that will see smaller businesses encouraged to aim higher and for regulations to be set to govern how business is conducted europe-wide.

Tenders in the construction industry have been amongst the worst hit by the global recession. With the housing and industrial sectors amongst the worst affected, the availability of construction jobs in general has diminished, let alone opportunities in the public sector.

While the number of jobs available has been much lower than in previous years, the value of those jobs has also decreased in line with smaller budgets and the decreased availability of funding.

A recent report by the Building Cost Information Service now predicts that tender prices will not rise again until 2012. With budgets certain to fall in 2010 the public sector construction industry looks set to have another tough year, with questions remaining as to whether we will ever see tender prices at pre-recession levels.

The construction industry and the tenders involved need to to see an improvement in the economy as a whole if there is to be any hope for full and speedy recovery.

To find out more about what the BCIS has to say on the matter, and more construction news, visit www.cnplus.co.uk

The world of tenders and tender procurement has always been a highly competitive one. Given that the vast majority of public sector contracts come for the Government or Local Authorities, it is expected that competition will ensure that the best company, with the best value for money wins the contract. 

With the Government and public sector organisations looking at smaller and more restricted budgets in coming years, what does that mean for businesses that tender in the public sector?

The tightening of public sector budgets will most certainly mean that procurement will occur under stricter conditions to ensure that the best company is retained for the job, at the best price. This will ensure that those businesses that bid for tenders, but fail to follow procedure or neglect to fill the tender forms out in full will find that they are more quickly ignored than in previous years.

The promotion of healthy competition amongst more able suppliers is good news for the tendering industry. Not only should there be increased levels of competence in the workforces that are chosen through successful tender bids, but there should also be more opportunities for smaller businesses to get in on the action.  

Smaller businesses now have more opportunity than ever to strike at the high end of the public sector when looking for new leads. Often being able to offer better value for money and a more personal working relationship with the contracting organisation. 

New, more restricted budgets will cause a decrease in the acceptance of laziness and halfheartedness when tendering, while seeing greater value being placed on sincere and value-conscious bids.

It was announced last year that Newcastle-upon-Tyne was to create the best and most advanced Science City in Europe. Plans are now underway to secure the best people for the job in creating this  huge hub of scientific activity through tendering. 

The tenders process has begun to find businesses that will make the dream of Science City a reality. On the 19 acre plot of land set aside for the project, it is hoped that thousands of new jobs will be created in research institutes, learning facilities linked to the local universities, specialist business support groups for science focused businesses and state of the art facilities for start up science companies. There are also plans for living and entertainment spaces within the complex to really create a focal point for what is already quite a strong science community in the North East of England. 

Tenders are being selected for all kinds of contracts on this project, with new tenders becoming available as the work progresses and the specialist skills required change focus. To find out more information about Science City, visit the Newcastle Science City website.

The world's economic system completely depends upon foreign exchange rates. Having said that, it is essential for all business enterprises to understand and learn how it operates. Bottom line is, foreign exchange rates will affect businesses. It is like a thermometer that gauges the health of local and global economics.

Before getting into the meat of the details, it is first better to know by definition what foreign exchange rate is. Simply stated, foreign exchange rate is the comparative value of one nation's currency with another country. In other words, if I take one US dollar and compared it to British Pounds, the dollar would be of lesser value because the US currency is less than the UK currency.

The principle of supply and demand primarily dictates the fluctuation of the currency exchange rates and creates a ripple effect on global business. This is called a floating exchange rate. A floating exchange rate simply means that the currency's volatility depends on how much commodities are being demanded by one country in comparison to another. Because of this, it is the global market that determines a country's monetary value.

The government can also play an important role in global currency exchange rates. A lot of governments will sometimes impose certain actions that will purposely increase the value or devalue their currency. This action seems contradictory at first, but at a closer look, it is not. By reducing their own currency, they allow the country to increase its demand for supplies. It is also analogous to a store who puts up a sale in order to attract more buyers. This form of activity has been proven effective by some countries. By doing so, some countries have attracted a montage of foreign investors, which in turn boosted the country's local retail market, tourism, banking, manufacturing, and construction. With such an infusion, a country's economy can be revived.

In local businesses, foreign exchange rate still plays and important part. Investments, jobs, revenues and international payments are all dependent of foreign exchange rates. It is vital in determining a country's competitive advantage, and thus impacts the local economic outlook.

To put things in better perspective let's elaborate on an example. If a US product is cheaper than the product of Japan, given all things equal in quality and standards, other countries will flock into the US to buy their product and not to Japan. Since both products only differ on price and not quality, this is mostly a result of currency changes. The US currency has shifted down, allowing other countries to have cheaper access to their goods. As a result, local businesses thrive and the economy is given a boost.

By identifying other countries where the currency is stronger these differences in the market can be exploited. By quoting for tenders in other parts of Europe an advantage can be had over businesses localised to the tender. 

Tendering is undoubtedly a risky business on many levels. There are pitfalls at every stage of the process both for bidders and those seeking a service provider.

On this blog we have often talked about making sure that you are able to meet your end of the deal when either bidding, or offering a contract. You shouldn't bid on something that you're seriously not equipped to deal with and you shouldn't offer contracts which you can't yourself honour monetarily etc.

Aside from being discredited as a business and losing out on valuable work you can also be taken to court for breach of contract if you don't hold up every single aspect of your contractual agreement, which can result in big damages payouts and legal costs, both for you and your opponent. 

The regulations that are in place to govern public sector procurement are very stringent in terms of making sure that a multitude of checks have to be done to ensure that each party can meet their end of the bargain, but as with all contracts, things can go wrong.

Make sure that you manage the risks as best you can. Make sure that you have top level insurance cover in place that protects you if you are taken to court and that ensures that you don't get stuck with a bill that could effectively bankrupt your business.

We've previously discussed the issue that you shouldn't approach any tenders that your business isn't truly able to able to deliver on. We recommended that you take an objective look at your business, identify where the strengths and weaknesses are, and only enter into tenders that utilise your strengths until you have had time to work on your weaknesses.

There is also another alternative: joining forces with another business that succeeds, where you fall short. 

Joint ventures are far from unknown in the world of tendering. It makes sense that there will be big contracts out there that smaller businesses can not handle alone, but that they can more than manage if they are able to come to some working agreement with another business.  Therefore, joint ventures are a way of increasing the winning chances for smaller businesses.

However, we wouldn't recommend entering into a joint venture lightly. Partnerships are always going to be difficult, especially between businesses, simply because each business will have its own aims, its own way of working and its own end game for any project. 

Before entering into any kind of formal agreement with another business about joining forces to tackle a large tender opportunity, you should consider the following:

• Choose a partner that you can really trust, and have perhaps already worked with before and work together because you want to work together.
• Don't be naive - draw up contracts outlining the conditions of the partnership and what each business is to offer, and receive from the partnership (it helps to have set boundaries for roles and responsibilities) 
• Try and partner with a company roughly the same size as you, things might become difficult if you partner with a much bigger business
• Look for a business that compliments what you do, but offers different services and skills - approaching a company too similar to your own is no use to anyone

Tendering can be difficult for smaller businesses, who lose out on bigger contracts to bigger companies, but joint ventures are one way to get around filling in your skill gaps and presenting a stronger tender bid.