Do you own or manage a catering company? If so, we are sure you understand the importance of expanding your company and clientele. The tendering process is a highly effective way to achieve this, so being thoroughly prepared and understanding exactly what the buyer wants to see in your responses is key.
At Tender Victory, our team is composed of professionals who have years of experience writing high quality tenders, bids and proposals. Our writing team have a deep understanding of tendering across a wide range of service areas, including writing tenders for a wide range of catering and foodservice contracts. So, with a clear grasp of what is required, we have compiled some of this insight here with the aim of helping you understand how to write a winning bid and win your next contract.
What should you prepare to include in your catering service tender?
At Tender Victory, we believe that being as prepared as possible always pays off. We are also aware of the importance of the ITT process, and how much the questions can vary depending on the requirements of each contract. Being prepared will help you to make the most of each opportunity and get ahead of the competition.
With this in mind, we’ve compiled here a list of topics that are frequently asked about within catering service tenders. Giving you some insight and the opportunity to prepare for these in advance:
- Food ordering: The buyer needs to know your precise process of ordering to ensure that it will run smoothly when implemented into their business. Use such a question to showcase your company’s organisation skills and use of innovative (or interesting) technology that creates levels of efficiency and accuracy in the process.
- Allergen management: This is a crucial question for many catering contracts because the buyer wants to be assured that you have a reliable and effective method of managing allergens and dietary requirements. This is especially significant if you are tendering for catering services in a school setting.
- Team expertise and management: Beyond operational training, buyers need confidence in the stability and depth of expertise that you offer. Make sure you detail the backgrounds, relevant sector experience and key qualifications of your assigned Contract Manager and/or Account Manager. Then, back this up by attaching their CVs or pen portraits to clearly show this experience and how it will benefit your organisation’s management of this tender.
- DBS and safeguarding: This is another vital question for buyers in education settings, or where there are children, teenagers or vulnerable adults. You will need to be as clear as possible about your DBS processes and requirements when recruiting and inducting staff to work on the contract. Many settings require enhanced DBS clearance and robust safeguarding policy and processes to be in place. Be prepared to answer questions on your arrangements for safeguarding training – being clear about this and provide a detailed description of how it is delivered and how such training will be maintained throughout the contract.
- Staff training: Here, the buyer is interested in your process of staff training regarding all aspects, including food safety, allergen management, customer service, and safeguarding (if the contract relates to a setting that includes children and vulnerable adults – as outlined above). Make sure you provide full details around how you deliver staff training, training modules for different levels of staff role, the frequency of training throughout the contract, and include whether parts of it are online or in person.
- Food offering and menus: As you would expect, this is a critical question in catering tenders. Here, you will be expected to detail your menus, perhaps also detailing their nutritional value. In school settings, School Food Standards are relevant – in other catering contracts Natasha’s Law and allergens are also highly relevant. Make sure your menus are up-to-date – it is very common to be asked to attach copies of your proposed menus as examples. Make sure they are relevant to the service you are tendering for.
- Supply chain and quality management: The buyer will be looking to see how you successfully and diligently manage your suppliers to ensure the quality of the food you use. This is a great opportunity to detail any local suppliers you have to provide clear evidence of food miles and sustainable food supply chains. Noting supplier and producers accreditation is relevant here as it demonstrates that you are a responsible catering service that ensures high food standards.
- Mobilisation: When answering questions about mobilisation, you need to reassure the buyer that your proposed mobilisation process is clear, detailed and will ensure a smooth and seamless transition. Don’t forget to include information on how you will liaise and communicate with the incumbent supplier, and include key people, timings and the duration of each stage in the process. TUPE is often a key part of catering tenders and should be covered in mobilisation responses.
- Added Value: Buyers are often keenly focused on value for money, so make sure you have this in mind. You can detail what you offer in addition to the core service. This could include showing time efficiencies and automation through software, any cost-saving initiatives like waste reduction programmes, community engagement, or non-monetary benefits like informative workshops for the end customers.
We recommend that if you are struggling to begin a tender – or if you simply want a head start – that you note down these topics, linking any relevant information about your business to each one. This will give you a clear starting point for your tender responses and help you build a bid library to be fully prepared for future tenders.
Another way to get ahead with planning, is by thinking about what makes your business stand out against others. We believe that by doing this, you will be able to really communicate to the buyer about what makes your service special. This will make achieving higher scores on your tender submission more likely. Read Tender Victory’s blog on ‘Knowing your USPs’ for more information: this is a helpful resource if you would like to learn more!
Finally, from our experience with hundreds of tenders, we know that you should never underestimate the power of visuals! Diagrams and photographs are a fantastic way of further emphasising the unique quality of your business, as they create a more original and memorable feel within your tender. They also validate and back-up the statements you make about how you are going to deliver the service. Our blog post ‘The Benefits of Including Graphics and Pictures in Your Tender Responses’ is a useful and available resource if you are interested in learning more in this area.
Please contact us for any tender-related help or queries on admin@tendervictoy.co.uk or call – 07971 526587.