In 2019, over US$155 billion was allocated for international development. Big donors operate with big money and two of the most important aspects of spending it are transparency and competitiveness in the tendering process.
For Luc Vocks, founder and CEO of DevelopmentAid, this is not news. For 12 years, the company he runs has been involved in aggregating tender data and offering business intelligence to those involved in the development sector. Recently, DevelopmentAid launched a new innovative tool with a symbolic name – Tenderwell.
Luc, one of the solutions released recently by your company – the Tenderwell App – caught the eye of Tekwill Project, supported by USAID and Sweden. Why?
“We launched an innovative tool that will help our customers pursue more tenders and become more efficient. Usually, bidding companies face difficulties when preparing for a project acquisition. There are very few companies that bid on just one project at a time. The vast majority bid continuously. If the size of the company is significant, then there may be dozens of people working on a number of different bids at any one time so at any point there might be ten, twenty, forty active leads! Somehow you need to keep that manageable in order to maintain an overview as to what is happening with each different bid. You need a tool that allows you to track those 20-40 leads with minimal effort”.
So, the tool you have developed helps companies that bid to be more productive and efficient?
“Exactly. Tenderwell is all about reducing by half the time needed to prepare for a comprehensive, international tender. But, besides this, it provides important assistance for bidding companies allowing them to stay up-to-date with the current procurement opportunities by combining this with business intelligence downloaded from DevelopmentAid platform.”
Does this mean only DevelopmentAid members can use Tenderwell?
“The app we have developed can be used by any company. It helps to track the leads, maintain a tight grip on your own track record – your past project awards (references) – and keep these up to date. Ideally, you should also keep an eye on the references of your usual normal partners and/or your competitors. The Tenderwell App is perfect for this but we do need to make some improvements.”
And is this why Tenderwell is now being upgraded under the Private Sector Engagement Initiative, led by Tekwill?
“The current version that we have of Tenderwell is extremely good in terms of the registration of the data that is essential for a company during the bidding process. However, you want a little bit more than just data – you want a tool that helps you to work with other people because only a small part of the tender process involves a one-man band scenario where one single person sits down to write the proposal. When you apply for big tenders, one person alone cannot do this. You will have a team in place – a main drafter, someone looking for profiles (CVs), a proof-reader, you might even have a designer in the process, perhaps a technical specialist or a researcher so there could be five or possibly more people. This means you need a tool that allows for cooperation, that enables people to work together. And that type of challenge is exactly what the Tekwill project is all about: building additional functionality that allows people to work together.”
In other words, the bidding process will become simpler?
“People will be able to better understand what other people are doing and what they are going to do and consequently it is possible to gain a much better grip on the entire process.”
What about the costs of bidding?
“Yes, this is also about the minimization of costs. Think of it as basic maths. Working on a bid can easily cost up to €30,000 – it’s very expensive even just to participate, without any guarantee of winning. So, rather than have a 5% chance of winning the bid, far better to have a 25% chance because you must maximize your chances while, at the same time, minimizing the inputs. Tenderwell can help you with this.”
International procurement is a very narrow field with not too many companies competing for contracts. How can one be successful?
“If you are focused on what you are doing and you are efficient in what you are doing, if you know the chances of winning can begin to move in your favour – you can be successful in this market. And of course, you should use the appropriate tools that can make the path to success much shorter for you.”
The project “Tenderwell: Collaboration Tools” is currently implemented by DevelopmentAid with the support of the Tekwill Project within the ”Private Sector Engagement Initiatives”, financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Sweden.
