As a well-recognised IT consultant in Harrow, Aspiring Panda boasted 25 years’ experience delivering ad-hoc IT support and consultancy to the private sector, seeking to expand into the public sector via tendering. After initially seeking to complete the tender exercise in-house, the delivery team sought expert assistance to both produce substantial content within a short timeframe and subsequently gain an understanding of the tender process.
We were tasked with preparing a proposal for Harrow County Council to deliver training and consultancy for local businesses to support a transition to online business following the impact of COVID-19. Informed by support already delivered the preceding year, Aspiring Panda had begun to develop a solution in-line with the tender requirements.
We were tasked with assisting with project management and 3-large quality questions totalling approximately 7,000 words. Understanding that the client was new to the tender process, we supported them throughout by clearly breaking down the information required as part of an initial plan. This plan was then discussed in a follow-up meeting via Microsoft Teams, in which the allocated writing team utilised the opportunity to discuss Aspiring Panda’s proposed delivery model in the context of the tender requirements, as well as the formulation of positive working relationships with the Aspiring Panda project team. Thereafter, draft responses were relayed to the client for review following an internal review by Head of Bid Management Daniel Hall, with amendments actioned based on client and internal feedback.
A key challenge was producing a substantial amount of content entirely dependent on Aspiring Panda’s input – 14 sides of A4 paper (circa 7,000 words) in such a short timeframe. To overcome this, the scope of work was assessed by our management team: Head of Bid Management, Daniel Hall, and Global Bid Director, Beverley Park, after which Alex, Hannah and David were assigned to liaise with the Aspiring Panda Team and retrieve the information required via Microsoft Teams. Moreover, Aspiring Panda’s responsive input enabled seamless information sharing, with documents shared via Google Drive, ensuring that responses accurately reflected Aspiring Panda’s substantial ability to deliver the project.
The combined support from both Hudson and Aspiring Panda enabled the content to be produced, reviewed and finalised prior to the submission date on Monday 1st February 2021. Not only was the tender completed, but Aspiring Panda have since expressed interest in seeking further tenders via our Hudson Discover service, complemented by increased knowledge and understanding of the tender process. Indeed, they testified:
“A massive thank you to you and your team for being magicians and helping us submit our first tender! This has been a big learning curve for the company and we could not have got to this point without you. It was by chance that I came across Hudson online after sleepless nights wondering how I would get the tender application together by myself! I could not have asked for a better team to work with. I felt supported throughout and beyond relieved that the quality of work is as high as it is. If we could take you all out for lunch we would! For now, this will have to wait until COVID restrictions are over! Many thanks for your hard work and dedication to help us get this submission over the line.” – Anoop Panesar, Project Lead at Aspiring Panda
