Bidding for Design Service

Within the spectrum of the Built Environment (BE); bidding for the Design Service (DS) is not intuitive nor lucky.. It is a resultant of rational and smart processes that combine Business Intelligence (BI) and Stakeholders Management (SM). 

Earlier, it was often carried out by particular Administrators; who have the skills and know how to "nurture" the Clients and skillfully "attract" their intentions. Also; the bilateral exchange of all types of benefits was commonly applied. Therefore, bad reputation was synonymous to those "conventional" practice of marketing and engagements. 

During the last two decades; solid codes were emphasized in creating and contracting the business opportunities. Thankfully,  standards of governance, audit and quality had shaped the today's organizations at their diverse capacities, magnitudes and specialties.

With the sizable supply of business oriented professionals, the DS organizations have no excuses to abandon the best practices move for the irrational practices. Technical professionals are no longer required to waste their valuable skills and time to chase Clients for opportunities. Business Development (BD) teams are now available in all types if business to handle exploring, analyzing and investigating the appropriate tenders for their organizations to bid for. Yes, these BD teams would engage some "gray-hair" or senior professionals, who would utilize their technical experience to strengthen initial approaches and screening of the market; subject to their personal skills of communications.

Functional Business Development

There are few empirical recommendations for the successful BD of DS:

1. Continuous Market Research, Intelligence and Communications; in order to know who is who, what is there, and why is there potentials. Screening the the news, reviewing the market date and effective communications has no rooms for gossips or favors to found a sustainable business. Certainly, such efforts shall be carried out by specialists, who had been well trained, experienced the business world and master the data analysis tools.

2. Continuous Performance Analysis and Optimization; in order to be ready for addressing the opportunities, a routine activity should be carried out by the Design Managers to calculate both cost and duration of various WBS and generate auditable pricing models. Also, this should examine the quality and generate the delivery models as per the various types of projects, and Clients. Work Distribution Techniques shall be managed in various scenarios to optimize the pricing of delivery models.

3. Practice the Best of Stakeholders Management; in order to join the fast progress and innovative business world, organizations should train their senior managers on new management techniques and applications. Training is part of the quality cost, which is the base of the market share. This is not only to inspire the loyalty among the team, but also establishing the succession process that is inevitably required to sustain the business and operations.

Yet, all above are subject to the sustainable implementation of best practices of management at it wider spectrum.

Example of Design Bid Analysis
"A compound of Townhouses in Dubai"

As illustrated above; when the conventional methods are applied to bid for Design Service; the outcomes are often unsuccessful to sustain the business. It had been based on Staff Cost, not on Client's Estimates.

Achieving 50% of the Client's Estimates is a sign of desperation rather than efficiency.. 

It is not only a business without Profit.. It is simply a Loss..!!

The Clients understand that Quality has a Cost..

Yes, Clients seek the cheapest cost, yet not the cheapest quality..!

In Design, quality is the value of smart, qualified, unstressed Human-staff.. 

These who can deliver comprehensive, efficient and error-free designs..

The Business Intelligence and development are critical to explore and understand the Client's estimates for his business; then the bid will be rational to the Client; assuming that the Client is rational as well..!!