Planning to tender
Know your capabilities, limitations and the competition. Register for opportunities and have documents available that show your work.
Know the market
Before you start competing in the tender market, you should have a good idea of your capabilities and limitations, and what makes your business stand out. You should also know who is likely to compete against you and how you compare to them.
Check out Business.govt.nz for information and tools to help with this, including details on researching your market and competitors.
How to research your market and competitors – Business.govt.nz
Know the buyers
Research the agencies you want to work with most. Check their websites and annual reports for information on their strategy and priorities, and consider how these match what you’re offering.
Keep an eye on what kinds of opportunities they advertise. By reading general RFx documents from buyers, you can work out the kinds of suppliers they’re looking for.
Look for ways to build contacts within your target agencies. A buyer who knows you and your product or service is more likely to support your company than one they're unfamiliar with.
Look for opportunities
The Government Electronic Tender Service (GETS) is where public sector agencies advertise and manage tenders. Mandated agencies must publish any tender opportunities there if they are worth more than $100,000 (or $9 million for construction projects).
You can view a list of current tenders on GETS without registering, but you'll need to register as a supplier to view detailed information. Registering also lets you get notifications of opportunities in relevant areas.
To register for GETS, you'll need:
- your business or trading name
- your business address
- your name, email address and phone number
- an individual RealMe login.
Check our contracts page for upcoming opportunities and to see when current contracts are due to expire.
There's a list of upcoming future procurement opportunities (FPOs) on GETS.
Future procurement opportunities - GETS
Prepare key documents in advance
To reduce the pressure when you're completing a tender, build up a collection of documents that you're likely to need regularly and keep them all in one place.
For most tenders, you're likely to need:
- performance evidence and statistics
- case studies and success stories
- referees and their contact details
- health and safety management plans and policies
- compliance and membership certificates
- standards, such as ISO certificates
- quality management plan and policy
- environmental management plans and policies
- company information like legal name and capacity
- any market research you might want to refer to in your bid.
It’s also important to have CVs for the people doing the work. You can adapt these as required for each tender.
Build your business profile and network
Consider:
- becoming an active member of your local chamber of commerce, industry or professional services organisation; attend events, keep your profile current, and send them your news and updates
- contacting your local economic development agency to find out if they can help.
- sending updates and news to industry publications, or advertising in them to lift your profile
- registering on tendering websites that buyers might be searching
- introducing yourself directly to a buyer, making sure you have a good reason to make contact.