Bid Plan
description producers & consumers template example
Description top
Bids are Projects
A detailed Plan for producing and approving the Proposal and submitting it by the Prospect’s deadline. Reflecting the variety of the work that Prospects require, Bid Plans range from very simple to very complex.
A successful Bid must not only win the work, but do so with a Proposal which meets the needs of your Prospect and the needs of your organisation. Producing even a simple Proposal needs the systematic discipline that a Project provides.
Common project disciplines and processes
Managing a Bid Plan involves the same disciplines as any other Project. In some cases the processes and Management Products are common to Bid Management and Project Management (e.g. Manage Issues, Plan Work, Risk Management). Other processes may have similar objectives but are specific to the Core Process - for example Initiate Bid is different from Establish Project. This is because Initiate Bid is an internal process, it has no direct interaction with the Prospect and it must interface properly with your sales process.
Structure of a Bid Plan
The Bid Campaign Plan is the start point for a Bid Plan. Establish the Bid Mandate and Bid Brief by summarising the key information in the Bid Campaign Plan. The same approach can be taken for the Prospect's Requirement and Business Case, and your Commercial Objectives. Attach any Job Descriptions as Appendices The Bid Plan should address a set of topics which are very similar to those for a Project Plan. They will include the Prospect's Business Case and your Commercial Objectives, the Mandate and Brief, the Approach, a Schedule, Milestones and Deliverables, Organisation and Resources, Risks, and so on.
But keep it simple
To do his/her job effectively a Bid Manager must establish an effective framework for managing his/her Bid. Make your Bid Plan appropriate to the Bid. For a small, simple Bid the Bid Plan might be a single sheet of paper or even clear notes in your daybook. Copies of emails may well be a satisfactory record of instructions and agreements, and the Proposal may simply be a letter to the Prospect.
It is the quality of your thinking, the way the Proposal explains it to the Prospect, and the clarity of the Provisional Project Materials that really makes the difference. Large amounts of information on paper or in computer files are only useful if they are necessary.
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Templatetop
The following Templates are available:
- for all Bids:
- a Word skeleton document called "Bid Plan".
Example top
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