UK Procurement Glossary
Bid / No-Bid
The structured decision to commit (or not) to writing a bid response for a specific opportunity, based on win likelihood and bid cost.
Definition
A bid/no-bid decision is the structured assessment of whether to commit time and money to writing a bid response for a specific opportunity. Strong bid teams run bid/no-bid before any drafting — scoring the opportunity against criteria such as strategic fit, win likelihood, contract economics, capacity and competitive position.
Good bid/no-bid discipline materially improves win-rate. Teams that bid on everything dilute their bid quality across too many opportunities; teams with rigorous filters concentrate effort on bids they can credibly win.
How this affects your bid
Use a 5-7 criterion scoring framework (strategic fit, win likelihood, economics, capability fit, capacity, competition, contract terms). Score each opportunity quickly; only bid when the weighted score crosses your threshold.
Common questions about bid / no-bid
What's a typical win-rate target for public sector bids?
Sustainable win-rates are usually 25-40% for UK SME bidders with good bid/no-bid discipline. Below 15% suggests undisciplined bid selection.
How long should a bid/no-bid take?
Typically 1-2 hours for an experienced reviewer with a structured framework. The output is a clear decision plus, if "bid", a high-level approach and resource plan.
Related terms
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