Infrastructure Law

How to Best Prepare Your Business to Bid on Infrastructure Projects

The government routinely spends billions of dollars every year on infrastructure development projects. As a construction company, your company can take advantage of this and find a source of continuously available work if you can successfully bid and win an infrastructure contract. There is a lot of competition for these kinds of contracts since they are usually among the highest paying and most reliable work that construction companies can get. In this article, a Nashville construction attorney discusses the keys to bidding and winning infrastructure projects.

Preparation Is Key

The most important part of successfully bidding and winning infrastructure projects is to be prepared. The more prepared your company is to submit high-quality bids, the more likely your company is to be chosen for the project. Bidding projects can be a time-consuming process in which your company has to come up with answers for a lot of different questions in a relatively short amount of time. To reduce the pressure from a looming deadline, your company should be prepared to answer specific questions ahead of time.

For example, your company should have a good understanding of what it costs to perform specific tasks, such as acquiring materials, subcontracting costs, and renting equipment. If your company understands these parameters for doing the work, it can provide a faster answer to how much a project will cost once the details of the project are known.

The best way for your company to prepare is to do research ahead of time. Make an effort to understand their internal operations and how it affects the work that you do. That way, you can respond to an RFP with a more accurate and timely estimate for the project.

Research Previous Projects

To prepare for new infrastructure projects, you should always look for information about previous projects that the same government organization completed in the past. This will give you an idea of how the project went, what potential problems could arise, and what the timeline for the project looked like. With this in mind, you can develop a proposal that is more aligned with what that organization expects. If you need help researching projects, a Nashville license defense lawyer or another type of construction lawyer should be able to help you.

Researching previous projects can also give you an idea of what they cost and what equipment is needed. One of the issues that routinely holds companies back from making faster and more accurate bids is that they do not understand the cost structure of a project. The cost of a project is determined by more than your internal processes and operating costs. There are requirements that need to be addressed, schedules that are out of your control, and other factors that will become important as the project unfolds. Understanding how previous projects were run will give you a better idea of how the current project will go.

It also gives you the ability to try to find a way to provide higher quality service than previous projects. Government agencies are always looking for ways of reducing costs, completing work faster, and avoiding problems throughout construction. If you are familiar with what has happened before, you may be able to develop a plan that is less likely to create problems and more attractive to RFP reviewers.

Follow the RFP Process

One of the most important things to plan for when bidding on infrastructure projects is to follow the RFP process closely. Every RFP goes through a slightly different process. Set up your organization so that you can adjust your internal processes to fit those of the RFP manager. That way, you can be sure to follow all the rules and meet the requirements for successfully completing the process every time.

Many companies face issues when they struggle to follow the exact process laid out for bidding on a project. This can happen for a number of reasons, but the result is usually a problem somewhere in the process that interferes with a successful bid. Furthermore, many organizations watch the bidding process to see which companies manage it well from their end. In a way, it becomes the first test of your ability to do the work as requested.

Examine the Bid Package Carefully

One problem where construction companies face issues in the bidding process is with the bidding package. According to Nashville construction law, the bidding package must be made available to everyone who wants to bid for it. The bidding package is distributed by the RFP manager and outlines the information that you need to know as well as the method of submitting a bid.

Study the bid package carefully before developing your bid. Companies tend to jump into the development process before fully examining the bid package. There may be more information that you need and stipulations for the package that make it a poor choice for your company. Make sure that you take a long hard look at the package to ensure you have everything you need to create a successful bid.

Use Your UVP Effectively

Submitting a bid for an infrastructure project can be a fairly dry and tedious process. However, many companies miss the opportunity to use their unique value proposition (UDP) effectively to help them win the project. Your UVP is what makes your business unique and uniquely qualified for the job that you are bidding for. Use it to your advantage to sell your company to the organization, not just your ability to do the job.

Many organizations that work on infrastructure projects try to develop lasting relationships with government entities that regularly have projects. Do this by selling your company on the values and specializations that make it the best fit for infrastructure jobs.

Preparing for the bidding process is something that your company needs to continuously work on in order to continue to bid on projects successfully. Each successful bid takes your company one step closer to being able to do it regularly, and you should use this chance to learn something about your bidding process. If you have any questions about how to bid on infrastructure projects or what the legal processes look like for such a project, contact a Nashville license defense attorney from Cotney Attorneys & Consultants.

If you would like to speak with a Nashville license defense attorney, please contact us today.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.