Before Contracts Advance, how were you sourcing public sector contracts/ frameworks?
Since I started with Knight Frank 5 years ago, we have always used Contracts Advance to
source our public sector opportunities.
What were the key factors that led you to Contracts Advance?
We receive one daily alert via email from our Saved Search criteria which contains
opportunities that have matched what we are looking for and suit our business focus.
How easy did you find the onboarding process and set-up?
My colleague attended the onboarding and was able to train me on the back of this. The set
up is quick and easy.
What benefits does the Contracts Advance software provide you?
We receive a high number of opportunities in our daily alerts which are easy to filter through
as the information is sufficient, however attachments and documentation would improve
the time taken to qualify and opportunity. Although Contracts Advance does not register you
to the portals for submissions it is easy to navigate from Contracts Advance to the correct
portal. We love the awards notice feature as this supports us in building a pipeline of
opportunities and can engage early.
What have you found the most valuable aspects of the service?
I often utilise the chat function which is accessed through Contracts Advance software. It is
always available, and the response times and resolutions are provided in an effective
timeframe.
What other Contracts Advance services have you explored?
Bid Reviews
What benefits did you receive through these services?
Using the Bid Review service provided by Contacts Advance has changed the way in which
we approach answering the questions. We have moved away from using the standard
banked answers and look to ensure our responses fulfil the requirements directly. It has also
directed us to review our pricing and the way in which we present this in our submissions to
be more compelling. Although the Bid Review did not recommend implementing a full kick
off meeting, we have bought this in as part of our process after Contracts Advance
recommendation.
How happy are you to recommend Contracts Advance to a colleague/ peer?
I would be happy to recommend to peers with my advice being to concentrate on keywords
early in your subscription to ensure the relevance of opportunities provided.
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide us?
The Bid Manager Forum has been great and very insightful so far. Having the ability to view
attachment/ specification in the software would speed up the qualification process.
Contracts Advance obtain the information which has been published and sometimes key
information required to qualify an opportunity is missing however, the integrated Freedom
of Information tool supports us in sourcing the information we need.