​​Planning to tender

1. Know the market

Before you start competing in the tender market, you should have a good idea of your capabilities and limitations, and what makes your business stand out. You should also know who is likely to compete against you and how you compare to them.

Check out business.govt.nz for information and tools to help with this, including:

How to research your market and competitors

2. Know the buyers

Research the agencies you most want to work with – check their websites and annual reports for information on their strategy and priorities, and consider how they could align with your offering.

Keep an eye on what kinds of opportunities they are advertising. By reading general RFx documents from buyers, you can start to understand the kinds of suppliers they are looking for.

Look for ways to build contacts within your target agencies – a buyer who knows you and your product or service is more likely to support your company than one they're unfamiliar with.

3. Look for opportunities

Register for GETS

GETS (the Government Electronic Tender Service) is where public sector agencies advertise and manage tenders. Mandated agencies must publish any tender opportunities worth more than $100,000 (or $9 million for construction projects) there.

You can view a list of current tenders on GETS without registering, but you'll need to register as a supplier to view detailed information for any tender and get notifications of opportunities in the areas relevant to your business.

To register for GETS, you'll need:

• your business or trading name
• your business address
• your name, email address and phone number
• an individual RealMe login.

GETS

Check the contracts register

Check our contracts register for upcoming opportunities and to see when current contracts are due to expire.

Contracts register

Future procurement opportunities

There is a complete list of upcoming future procurement opportunities (FPO) under the FPOs section in GETS.

Future procurement opportunities - GETS

4. Prepare key documents in advance

To reduce the pressure when you're completing a tender, build up a collection of documents that you're likely to need regularly and keep them in one place.

Things you're likely to need for most tenders you complete include:

• performance evidence and statistics
• case studies and success stories
• referees and their contact details
• health and safety management plans and policies
• compliance and membership certificates
• standards, eg ISO certificates
• quality management plan and policy
• environmental management plans and policies
• company information like legal name and capacity
• any market research you might want to refer to in your bid.

It’s also important to have CVs for key people who will be delivering the work. You can then adapt these as required for each tender.

5. Build your business profile and network

Consider:

• becoming an active member of your local chamber of commerce, industry or professional services organisation – attend events, keep your profile current, and send them your news and updates
• contacting your local economic development agency to find out if they can be of help.
• sending updates and news to industry publications – advertising in them will also lift your profile
• registering on tendering websites that buyers might be searching
• introducing yourself directly to a buyer – but have a good reason for making contact.