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The numbers have been crunched, the bid set or the tender completed, and now it’s ready to submit.

Next, off to be printed, collated and bundled into lever arch files or wire-bound ready for the big review.

But just how do you make sure your submission stands out in a sea of black folders?

Whether it is tendering an offer to construct part of the new HS2 rail line, a government project, or the extension to a semi-detached house, a successful outcome has far-reaching benefits.

Certainly, it means guaranteed work for a specific period of time and, assuming all goes according to plan, a reasonable profit.
However, there is more to a successful tender bid than financial reward. If you are a business owner, it means you also take on the responsibility of making sure your employees have a continual stream of work.

Particularly in the construction industry, the winning of a major contract can result in not just a few months’ work, but several years of work, so a successful outcome is critical. However, it doesn’t always come down to the lowest tender winning – there are many individual elements which will be taken into consideration, such as past experience and financial capabilities.

In addition, at each and every opportunity, you are going to want to impress a potential client, and that will include the presentation of the bid itself with a highly-impressive and memorable bid box.

Often, to a contractor’s cost, too much effort is placed on the bid itself to be competitive, and little time spent on the actual bid presentation.

Your bid needs to stand out not just in terms of figures, but also in terms of presentation, which is where our bid services at Entwistle Group can help you stand out and impress.

You have the knowledge of your industry to put together the numbers - we have the know-how when it comes to the print and presentation.

How bid sets have transformed

With so many recent advancements in modern technology, bid sets have changed beyond recognition, and as a professional and multi-faceted printing company, the Entwistle Group has become far more involved in the process.

While our clients are some of the very best in their chosen fields, our responsibility comes in using our design and printing skills to show our clients at their best when helping to create a bid set.

Previously, bids might have been presented in a simple folder with a front and back cover. Wire binding would be the order of the day, while bid boxes would be compiled of drawings and held together with metal staples.
With the arrival of Perspex bid sets began to look more professional and in keeping with the time, but it was still difficult to make an individual tender bid stand out.

Today, all that has changed.

Whether it’s a stunning design for holding your bid boxes or a 3D model, there are numerous ways to create a memorable bid.

You will have already invested a great deal of time (and therefore money) in working on your bid, so it makes no sense to cut corners when it comes to presentation.
This is your time, as a business, to excel and create the right impact.

Bid boxes designed to stand out

Entwistle is a creative company and this is the part of the process where we really can help to get your tender document or bid set make its mark.
When we get involved early in the design process, we will produce a presentation that follows exactly what you want to convey but with true individuality and innovation.

The numbers matter, of course, but an innovative presentation goes a long way to explain why you and your business are the best fit for the final tender.

We’ve crafted boxes from recycled board to demonstrate a client’s highly held eco credentials with the final product as much a part of the bid process as the actual figures contained within.
As a net zero company with both FSC and ISO14001 status, we have access to a huge portfolio of environmentally responsible products.
If sustainability is your primary driver, we need to be on your shortlist.

Increasingly, we’re integrating audio/visual elements within the bid set to create a more immersive experience for the tender’s receiver.
We have added small screens within the box design coupled with USB driven presentations that play when the box is opened.
Not only can we provide the print for your tender documents, we can also create the video that explains why your bid should be successful.
Nothing explains simpler than a well-produced and relevant video – just look at why YouTube has become so successful!

This evolving use of cross media is something we are utilising more and more. With a wealth of experience here from the whole Entwistle team, we know we can bring imaginative ideas to everything from a government bid to a local business tender.

Many tenders are now supplied digital only. Don’t think as a print company we’d stumble with these submissions.
We have experience in creating BURL’s, CURL’s, and active emails links to download documents. Crucially, our systems can also prove when your files were received and who opened them.

What can Entwistle offer as your printing partner?

As professional printers, we work within a field where many immediately think about volume and print runs – the words ‘one-off’ and ‘printer’ are not often thought of together.
In the days when the major cost of printing was the creation of the plate, that was understandable, but today all that has changed. Digital technology has not only substantially reduced the cost of printing, it has introduced the element of versatility it previously lacked, and this is where a professional printer is now an essential element of any bid process.

While you need to be able to concentrate on the technical side of your bid, we can look after the visual aspects of the presentation.
You will be assigned a senior member of our team who will liaise with you from start to finish.
With the help of our designers, we can help you to create a bid set of exceptional quality and complexity, using design skills that are of an artisanal level.
What you can be assured of is that we can bring many elements of your bid ‘to life’ and ensure that you represent your company in the very best light.

Additionally, and particularly for major bid sets, there is a substantial volume of elements, and space can become essential in order to ensure that everything is faultlessly produced. As a consequence, we are able to provide dedicated areas which will be for your sole use.

We ensure confidentiality is guaranteed

Then there comes confidentiality.
By the very nature of a tender, confidentiality is critical, and at the Entwistle Group, you can be assured of this.
For all tender bids we are involved in, we will always sign appropriate non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality clauses as required. From a practical aspect, it is not uncommon for the specific financial details and executive summary to be printed the night before submission deadline.
We are no strangers to working through the night to provide additional peace of mind for our clients and to ensure maximum confidentiality. In other words, we will work around the clock to make sure that everything relating to a tender bid is presented correctly and of even greater importance, on time.

How do can Entwistle ensure your bid set is printed on time?

Finally, at one point or another we have all encountered that moment when you urgently need to run off a copy of a document and the office printer decides to play up, or die altogether.
Sometimes we don’t always appreciate the benefits of modern technology until they stop working!
Here at Entwistle group, we don’t like leaving anything to chance, and we would dread the consequences of months of work being put into a bid wasted as a result of a faulty printer. To ensure there can be no such problem, we don’t have just the one Indigo digital press, but we actually have three, because we simply don’t believe in taking any chances.

When we’re (almost) as involved in the bid set process as you and your company, we take it personally.
If your bid needs taking directly to the submission’s office by X o’clock – we’ll be there, box in hand ready to pass it over.

Interested?
If you haven’t considered using a printing company before for your tender bidset, then get in contact with us here at Entwistle Group and we will be more than happy to show you some of our past work. We think you will be pleasantly surprised with what you discover!