Presentation given at Association for Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) regional event in Reading, UK. Following a survey of 178 bid professionals, Amplio Director Alex King shares people's attitudes on 'how Technology is changing bidding'

1. How Technology is it changing
Bidding. And what’s to come...
Alex King, Sales & Marketing Director
Amplio Software
Mitie Facilities Services Ltd
Tuesday 20th May 2014

2. Agenda
1. Welcome and Speaker Introduction
2. Presentation – Technology - how is it changing the
way that bid teams work?
3. Questions
4. Future Events
5. APMP Updates
6. Networking
2

3. Presenting the results of our bid
technology survey:
Alex King
Sales & Marketing Director,
Amplio Software
Tweet: @AmplioSoftware
3

4. 4
Fact: In 1214 Genghis Kahn
breached defensive fortification
13,170 miles long. Known as the
Great Wall of China…
… He bribed a guard to open the
gates…
Lesson: Even in 1214, people
were the critical link in the success
of technology

5. Does tonight's audience match
our survey?
We surveyed 178 bid professionals to produce the
data in this presentation
5

6. 6
Over half of the
respondents
came from:
1) IT &
Software
2) Consultancy
3) Telecoms
4) Defence
5) Construction
Does this match
our audience
tonight?
What industry do you work in?

7. 7
64% of
respondents are
Bid Managers or
Bid Directors.
Does this match
our audience
tonight?
What do you do?

8. The current state of bids &
technology
Is there such thing as a standard tool-kit for a bid
manager?
What benefits have bid teams gained?
Have the changes been positive or negative?
8

9. 9
There are 4 tools
that over 70% of
respondents say
they already
have:
1) A pipeline of
bids
2) A database of
best practice
examples
3) A library of
past bid-text
4) A shared bid
environment
This is our bid
managers
‘standard kit’!
What do you do?

10. 1) Electronic submission saves
time we used to spend
printing
2) Our teams are more
geographically diverse
3) Our costs per bid have
reduced
4) Our percentage of bids won
has improved
5) We respond to more tenders
6) We respond to tenders in
new countries
7) Our internal bid processes
have become more efficient
8) We have better information
management when
producing a bid
9) It is easier to retrieve past
bid data
10) We have better competitive
intelligence
What benefits have bid teams experienced?
10 © 2014 Amplio Software

11. 11
There is a disconnect
between the benefits
claimed and reported…
Only 21% of companies
said their costs per bid
have reduced
Only 18% said their win
rate had increased
What benefits have bid teams experienced?
However, 56% said that
changes in the last 3 years
had been generally
positive. The most
common answer was that
there were a mixture of
positives & negatives
(41%)

12. © 2014 Amplio Software12
Comments from respondents
“things that make it more
challenging are
submitting hard copies as
well as online
submissions”
“Clients don't change
their behaviour - they
expect both electronic &
paper copies, meaning we
have to put in a lot more
work to meet their needs”
“Apparent cost savings
from technology will
provide excuses for higher
activity rates at the
expense of qualification
and better bid decisions”

13. Summary:
The current state of bids & technology
Is there such thing as a standard tool-kit for a bid manager?
Yes, there are 4 tools most bid managers have.
What benefits have bid teams gained?
Information sharing has improved but win rates have not
Have the changes been positive or negative?
Generally positive but a mixed response from most people
13

14. The future state of bids &
technology
What do people want to see more automated?
What would have the quickest impact on bid
performance?
14

15. 15
First we asked which
bidding tasks would benefit
from more automation…
…We compared this to the
things people said would
have the quickest
improvement on bid
performance
What you want to see automated
Note: Capture
Management was ranked
the 4th lowest task

16. 1. Better qualification during Bid/ No Bid decisions
2. Better customer engagement in the capture phase
3. Better competitive intelligence
4. Better pricing decisions
5. Improved efficiency of bid reviews
6. Improving the quality of bid writing
7. Forming bid teams earlier
8. More senior management support to bids
9. Increased bid budgets
Quickest improvement on bid performance?
16 © 2014 Amplio Software

17. Better qualification during Bid/ No Bid decisions - 51%
Better customer engagement in the capture phase - 45%
Better competitive intelligence - 39%
Better pricing decisions - 36%
Improved efficiency of bid reviews - 35%
Improving the quality of bid writing - 34%
Forming bid teams earlier - 32%
More senior management support to bids - 30%
Increased bid budgets - 15%
Quickest improvement on bid performance?
17 © 2014 Amplio Software
Pre-Bid
Pre-Bid
Early in Bid Phase
During Bid
During Bid
During Bid
Early in Bid Phase
During Bid
Pre-Bid
Bid Pricing Decisions varied significantly depending on industry. 91% of
Aerospace & Defence ranked it highly. Whilst only 27% from Services &
Outsourcing said the same.

18. Bid team want tools that…
 Bid Plan Scheduling
 Competitive Intelligence
 Cost Estimation
They believe the biggest
improvements would be
from…
 Better Bid / No Bid Decisions
 More Capture Phase work
 Better Competitive
Intelligence
© 2014 Amplio Software18
Discussion Point
Is it the case that the current tools make us more efficient at
bidding… but most of our problems occur before we start
bidding?
If so, are tools limited in how much they can affect win rate?

19. Summary:
The future state of bids & technology
What do people want to see more automated?
Bid Plan Scheduling, Competitive Intelligence & Cost
Estimation
What would have the quickest impact on bid performance?
Bid / No Bid Decisions, More Capture Phase engagement,
better Competitive Intelligence
19

20. What changes need to happen?
…
20

21. © 2014 Amplio Software21
At Amplio, we
recognise at
least 10
different types
of bid
automation
tools
The tools are
generally stand
alone and do
not yet integrate
fluidly
Types ofTools available

22. Digitisation of the Finance Function
22

23. Digitisation of the Finance Function
23

24. © 2014 Amplio Software24
Big Data could be
revolutionary to
competitive
intelligence
It requires a
change of mind-
set from ‘why’ to
‘what’
Big Data

25. © 2014 Amplio Software25
This Big Data
example from
Mail Chimp
showed that
more emails are
opened at
3:45pm than
9am
However, the
data gives no
explanation why
Big Data Example

26. Summary:
What changes need to happen?
New Technologies will enable greater benefits (e.g. Big
Data)
The Sales & Marketing function will develop more common
standards
These common standards will enable more integrated tool-
sets
26

27. What is in the way of change?
What are the end users most concerned about
when adopting new technology?
What stops organisations investing in more
technology?
27

28. 28
Most users are
concerned about
the benefits &
implementation
of new
technology…
… Most users do
not believe the
underlying
concepts are
flawed
User concerns

29. 29
Uncertainty over
benefits actually
tops ‘lack of
budget’ for the
most common
barrier…
…In a 2011
Shipley Survey;
only 51% of
companies were
confident they
knew how much
they spent
bidding!
Barriers to investment

30. Summary:
What is in the way of change?
What are the end users most concerned about when adopting
new technology?
Lack of benefits, linked to implementation, and
cultural change
What stops organisations investing in more technology?
Uncertainty over benefits & lack of budget – but are
they linked?
30

31. QUESTIONS:
A write-up of the full results & tonight's
comments will be added to my blog:
www.ampliosoftware.com/blog
31

32. www.apmp.org www.ukapmp.co.uk
© APMPUK Limited 32
APMP Top Member Benefits
Professionals join the APMP to be a part of a community and to take
advantage of the association’s benefits.
Our members tell us the top five benefits they value most…

33. www.apmp.org www.ukapmp.co.uk
© APMPUK Limited 33
The #1 Benefit: APMP Certification
Professional Certification
Programme
Level Industry Position Career Position
Foundation Starting point for professional growth Proposal professional with 1 to 3 years
experience
Practitioner Extensive knowledge of best practices,
demonstrated through rigorous, detailed
assessment of experience and mastery
of applying an expanded set of
competencies
Experienced proposal professional with 3
or more years in profession
Professional Advocate and thought leader in their
organisations
Senior proposal professional and BD
professional with 7+ years of experience

34. www.apmp.org www.ukapmp.co.uk
© APMPUK Limited 34
The #2 Benefit: Knowledge sharing
APMP’s website,
www.apmp.org is an
electronic library
featuring hundreds of
archived
presentations, articles,
and templates that
demonstrate best
practices in the
workplace

35. www.apmp.org www.ukapmp.co.uk
© APMPUK Limited 35
The #3 Benefit: Annual UK Conference & Awards
Themed 2-days
Inspirational
speakers
Training
Case studies
Prestigious awards and
black-tie awards ceremony

36. www.apmp.org www.ukapmp.co.uk
© APMPUK Limited 36
The #4 Benefit: APMP Publications
APMP has three
publications:
The APMP Journal
The Reporter is the
official e-news
weekly
The Perspective an
electronic quarterly
newsletter

37. www.apmp.org www.ukapmp.co.uk
© APMPUK Limited 37
The #5 Benefit: Chapter Events
The UK Chapter hosts over 15 networking and speaker events annually, covering
topics of strategic importance to bid professionals.
Wednesday 11th June in London
Courageous Insights – Winning Bids
John Iland from VCE Global at Tata Communications,
Old Bailey
Tuesday 1st July at the Royal Ascot Golf Club
SUMMER BARBECUE and ROOM 101… FOR
BIDS run by Jon Williams
And in Autumn… important stuff for those
targeting public sector contracts:
procurement rule changes made simple

38. 'The premier personal development event for the
bid & proposal professional‘
• APMP UK’s Skills Development Summit dates announced for 21-23 October
• DAY 1: Three certification courses DAY 2 & 3: 25 speaker sessions and
workshops
• Tickets for one and two day packages now available. For more than five
delegates attending both days, including the Awards dinner, please contact
Heather Bennett at conference@apmpukconf.co.uk for a quotation.
• Four top quality keynote speakers including Professor Lord Winston, IVF
pioneer and leading broadcaster on science and Michelle Mone OBE, founder
of international lingerie brand Ultimo and voted the most powerful woman in
business
• Tickets held at previous years’ prices
• Black Tie Awards & Networking Dinner
• Prime location venue with hotel offering APMP UK discounted room rates
• 10% Launch Discount available until 31st May – book now to receive the full
discount

39. The UK Chapter of APMP is a non profit organisation run by voluntary
members. Any person willing to dedicate some of their time and ‘get involved’
is asked to contact one of the Chapter Officers (details on our website).
Contact details:
39
events@apmpuk.co.uk
ceo@apmpuk.co.uk
accreditation@apmpuk.co.uk
marketing@apmpuk.co.uk
membership@apmpuk.co.uk

40. Thank You for attending this event
Please contact any member of the board
to see how becoming a member will help
your career