Bid Capture Planning
Position yourself to win before the tender is published
Public sector procurement is designed to be fair to everyone, so it's tempting to spot a tender and think "that's right up our street, let's give it a go." But your best chance of winning comes from the work you do before the Invitation to Tender (ITT) arrives. We help you plan that work, build the process to repeat it, and put it into practice on the opportunities that matter.
Rated 5.0 on GoogleAt a glance
Three modules
- Discovery
- Readiness
- Capture advice
- Best for
- Suppliers who want to improve what happens before the ITT, and win more of the bids they go for
- Delivered by
- Advice Cloud's in-house bid and capture specialists
Why it matters
Why the best bids are won before the ITT
Think of the ITT as an exam and capture as the revision. Suppliers who open the paper cold can write well and still lose to someone who already understood the buyer's problem, priorities, budget and people, and has spent months shaping a solution around them.
The period between spotting an opportunity and receiving the ITT is known as 'capture'. It can last weeks, months or years, depending on the nature and size of the opportunity. Used well, it tells you whether to bid at all, and if you do, it means your response reads as though it was written for that buyer - because it was.
- Improve your win probability before the tender is even published
- Stop spending time and money on bids you were never likely to win
- Show you understand the buyer's objectives, in a way experienced competitors can't simply copy
What capture involves
Six things strong suppliers do before the tender
A capture plan brings them together for each opportunity, so the work is deliberate rather than left to whoever has time.
Qualify the opportunity
Decide early, and honestly, whether it's worth pursuing, using a clear bid or no-bid process.
Understand the need
Get beneath the requirement to the buyer's real problem, budget, timescale and measures of success.
Map the stakeholders
Know who influences the decision, what each of them cares about, and how well you know them today.
Know the competition
Understand who else is likely to bid, including any incumbent, and where you can beat them.
Shape your solution and win themes
Build the solution, evidence and key messages around what this buyer values, before the clock starts.
Engage the right way
Take part in market engagement and build relationships properly, within the rules of public procurement.
How it works
Three modules, built around where you are now
Most suppliers start with Discovery. Add live support when you have an opportunity to pursue.
- 1
Discovery
Workshops or interviews to assess how you sell today, including your structure, processes and technology. We present what we find, with recommendations and clear next steps.
- 2
Readiness
We create a capture plan for you, or adapt the one you have, and run a workshop that gives your team the principles and process to use it.
- 3
Capture advice (optional)
Practical guidance during a live capture for a specific opportunity, with online sessions to review and challenge your progress and next actions.
Re-capture: defending what you already have
If you hold a public sector contract, it will be competed again when it expires. Being the incumbent helps, but it isn't a guarantee.
Re-capture applies the same discipline to the contracts you already run, so you go into the re-tender with the evidence, relationships and improvements that make you hard to replace.
This service suits you if you have
- Established sales skills, but want objective advice to improve how you approach capture
- Opportunities you've identified, with enough time to work on them before the ITT
- Existing contracts you expect to re-compete when they expire
- A growing bid team you want to build into a repeatable, standardised process
Why Advice Cloud
Built on recognised best practice, and real public sector experience
Our recommendations follow best practice recognised by the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) and the Institute of Sales Professionals (ISP). Our specialists apply it to the realities of public sector buying, where the rules on fairness and transparency shape what good capture looks like.
- 97%
- average quality score across other frameworks
- Over £2.5bn
- of business influenced across all frameworks
Talk to us about capture planning
Tell us about the opportunities you're pursuing and we'll come back to you, or book a call with Jack straight away.
Book a call with Jack Ball
Pick a time that suits you. We'll talk through how you approach bids today, the opportunities ahead and where capture would make the biggest difference.
Bid capture planning: your questions answered
What is bid capture planning?
Capture is the work you do between spotting an opportunity and receiving the Invitation to Tender: understanding the buyer, their needs and the competition, and shaping your solution. A capture plan sets out that work for a specific opportunity, so it's done deliberately and on time.
Is it allowed to engage with buyers before a tender?
Yes, within the rules. Under the Procurement Act 2023, buyers can run preliminary market engagement before a procurement, and many publish pipelines of upcoming work. Good capture means taking part properly and building genuine understanding. Once a tender is live, contact runs through the formal process, and every bidder is treated equally.
When should capture start?
As soon as you identify an opportunity worth pursuing. Capture can run for weeks, months or years. For contracts you already hold, start well before they expire, not when the re-tender is announced.
Do we need all three modules?
No. Capture advice is optional, for when you have a live opportunity. And if you've taken, or are taking, our Bid:Growth managed service, you won't need Discovery or Readiness, because that work is already covered.
Can you help with a specific opportunity?
Yes. That's what the capture advice module is for. We work alongside your team during a live capture, reviewing progress and challenging your plans, as long as there's enough time before the ITT to make a difference.
How is this different from bid writing?
Capture comes first. It decides whether to bid and builds the understanding your response depends on. Bid writing starts when the ITT arrives. When it does, we can support the response itself through our bid support services.
How much does it cost?
It depends on which modules you need and how much live support you want. We'll scope it with you and agree the cost before any work starts.
Who will we work with?
Advice Cloud's in-house bid and capture specialists, who work on public sector bids and frameworks every day.