A successful tender is about more than achieving a competitive price.
For schools and MATs, a tender can be a significant opportunity to improve service quality, strengthen supplier performance and deliver better value. But achieving those outcomes depends on how the process is structured from the outset.
So, what does a high-performing tender actually look like?
It starts with a clear understanding of what you need, creates a fair and transparent process for suppliers, and sets clear expectations for what happens once the contract is awarded.
1. Clear objectives from the outset
Before going to market, you need to know what you’re trying to achieve.
Is the priority reducing costs? Improving service quality? Addressing compliance issues? Changing the operating model? Or a combination of these?
A strong tender begins by understanding the current service and identifying the outcomes that matter most.
This provides a clear foundation for the specification and gives potential suppliers a better understanding of what you’re asking them to deliver.
Tender Truth: Don’t start with the question, “Who can provide this service?”
Start with, “What do we need this service to achieve?”
2. A transparent and competitive process
A high-performing tender should give all bidders a fair opportunity to demonstrate what they can offer.
That means having a clear specification, consistent information, defined evaluation criteria and a structured approach to assessing responses.
Transparency matters too. Suppliers should understand how bids will be evaluated and what is expected of them, while the organisation running the tender should be able to demonstrate how and why the final decision was reached.
Competition isn’t simply about getting more suppliers to bid. It’s about creating the conditions for meaningful competition, where suppliers are comparing themselves against the same requirements and expectations.
3. KPIs that measure what actually matters
A contract shouldn’t simply state what a supplier will provide. It should establish how performance will be measured.
The right KPIs will depend on the service and the objectives of the tender, but could include measures around:
- Service quality
- Customer satisfaction
- Compliance
- Financial performance
- Staffing and productivity
- Sustainability
- Meal uptake or participation, where relevant
- Response and resolution times
The important thing is that KPIs should be meaningful, measurable and linked to the outcomes you want the contract to deliver.
Tender Truth: If you can’t measure whether the service is delivering what you expected, it becomes much harder to manage performance.
4. Mobilisation starts before the contract does
Choosing a supplier is only one stage of the process.
Once the contract is awarded, there is often a significant amount of work to do before the service goes live. People need to be briefed, systems established, processes agreed and communications put in place.
For multi-site organisations, this can be particularly important. A change of supplier may affect staff, pupils, customers and operational teams across multiple locations.
A high-performing tender therefore considers mobilisation from the outset, with clear responsibilities, milestones and measures of readiness.
The aim is to make sure the new contract starts as intended, rather than trying to solve issues once the service is already live.
5. The tender sets the foundations for the contract
It’s easy to think of tendering as a project with a start and an end date.
But the tender process should establish the foundations for the relationship that follows.
The specification, KPIs, reporting requirements, governance arrangements and review processes should all help create a framework for managing performance throughout the contract.
And that means the conversation shouldn’t end when the supplier is appointed.
Regular performance reviews, benchmarking and continuous improvement can help ensure the service continues to deliver against the objectives that led to the tender in the first place.
What does “good” look like?
There isn’t one perfect tender process.
The right approach will depend on the organisation, the service being tendered and what you’re trying to achieve.
But high-performing tenders tend to have some common characteristics:
Clear objectives
Everyone understands what the tender is designed to achieve.
Transparency
The process is fair, structured and clear to all parties.
Meaningful competition
Suppliers have a genuine opportunity to demonstrate their value.
Relevant KPIs
Performance is measured against outcomes that matter.
Planned mobilisation
The transition from tender to live service is properly prepared.
Ongoing performance management
The contract continues to be measured and managed after award.
Ultimately, a tender shouldn’t simply be about selecting a supplier.
It’s about creating the conditions for the right service, at the right value, with clear expectations around performance from day one.
See our tender success stories
From catering and cleaning to wider managed services, we’ve supported schools and trusts through tender processes designed around their individual requirements and objectives.
See our tender success stories here.
