INSIGHTS

Background Our client was seeking to win its first prime contractor opportunity with Australian Defence. Defence was seeking a certified military-off-the-shelf solution with enhanced communications capabilities for deployment in key operational areas. Defence ran open tender process seeking the Acquisition capability and a performance based in-service support contract under the AUSDEFCON complex materiel template. Red…

Opportunity A well-established, small business was seeking to grow its national presence by responding to an invitation for tender for a national contract from a telecommunications provider. With a tight deadline and limited tendering knowledge they needed specialised support to deliver a quality response. Approach Red Team facilitated an initial strategy session to conduct capture…

The Proposal Management profession is alive and well in ANZ. Red Team was impressed with the calibre, experience and enthusiasm of the professionals we met during a highly relevant and future looking APMP conference. The sophistication of the profession continues to evolve in response to increasing competitiveness, complexity and value expectations of buyers. Alisha Camplin’s…

Defence has faired comparatively favourably from the 2016 Budget handed down by Minister Morrison on 3 May 2016. The key highlights are as follows: Defence will get $32.3 billion for the 2016-17 financial year and increase of $590 million over last year, or 3.1 per cent in line with inflation. This matches spending as a…

Red Team would like to congratulate one of our valued clients, Newman and Barker, on recently winning a tender to provide contracted services to Campbelltown City Council. This is the second time we have ensured Newman Barker retain this key contract and we look forward to watching the business continue to grow and improve. Established…

In my experience organisations have misconceptions when it comes to ISO9001 certification. In many cases there is a belief that a perfectly documented and mature Quality Management System (QMS) supported by an extensive record database is required to achieve certification. Ideally this would be great but the reality is that a fledgling QMS that satisfies…

I regularly encounter business people who have frustrating tendering experiences. In many cases, they avoid tendering like the plague. That’s fine if you can successfully grow your business without having to respond to tenders. However, to pursue lucrative government or large commercial opportunities, tendering will likely become a necessity. Through my own experiences, I can…

Are you experiencing frustrations with your organisation’s tender win rate (e.g. the number of projects won, the number of projects bid)? Would you like to benchmark your business to evaluate your current bid development process and identify ways to boost your win rate? The Business Development Capability Maturity Model® (BD-CMM), developed by the Carnegie Mellon…

With a revised Quality Management System (QMS) ISO 9001 standard published in 2015 we thought it would be useful to outline the changes, the reasons for the changes and the arrangements for adoption and transition. Background The ISO 9001 standard is revised every 6 to 8 years. ISO released a draft in June 2014 that…

Most organisations we work with recognise the importance that pricing has on the development of a competitive proposal. In fact, many of our clients rightly acknowledge price as often being the most influential evaluated criteria in a winning bid. However, we continually find that these same organisations don’t understand what “Price to Win” (PTW) is…

At the recent ABDI seminar in Canberra, the Head of Navy Capability, RADM Jonathon Mead AM, RAN provided some interesting insights into Navy’s approach to Defence capability development. His presentation, Industry as a Capability – Capability Development View, highlighted: The RAN is about to embark on the most ambitious regeneration of the Navy since World…

Never start your Executive Summary with: “We are pleased to submit our proposal for.….” If we had a dollar for every time our clients commenced with this opening we would be very comfortably well off! It is dull, unimaginative and usually reflects that a poor level of effort has been applied to this key response…

There was a large attendance with quality speakers from Defence, industry and academia providing a diverse range of perspectives on the Defence White Paper, Industry Policy Statement and Integrated Investment Plan. The seminar helped attendees to join some of the dots. Our takeaways were: 1. While capability acquisition is necessary, a Whole of Life (WOL) perspective…

Pat attended this event for the first time. There was an impressive turnout of 250 attendees on a wet and cool Canberra day with an excellent line-up of Defence, government and industry speakers. The Defence White Paper identifies “Key Enablers” as one of the six streams in which the Government will strengthen Defence capability. 25% of…

The Federal Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon. Christopher Pyne did not quite make it to our stand but nearly. The Land Forces 2016 statistics were impressive. The attendance exceeded 13,000; there were over 500 participating exhibitors from 23 countries and senior representation by 16 of the world’s armies.  Overall the mood was upbeat, the…

Our client, a provider of  laboratory and consulting services to the coal mining industry, was seeking an ISO quality accreditation for their testing laboratories to maintain their leadership position in the industry and to expand their array of business opportunities. They engaged Red Team to implement a Quality Management System to help them reach their goals.…

Background Our client an overseas-based company with a range of high technology MOTS and COTS products identified an opportunity within the Australian Defence Industry. Although they had the technical knowledge and experience, they identified a gap in their proposal experience. They also recognised that they had limited knowledge with Australian defence contract processes and the…

A recent Financial Sustainability report from Curtin University’s Not-for-Profit Initiative and National Disability Services Centre for Applied Disability Research highlights the challenges being faced by organisations as they transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It was the first component of a two-year study monitoring the impact of the NDIS rollout on service providers.…

In his introduction to the 2017 NSW Disability Innovation Awards, NSW Minister for Disability, the Hon. John Ajaka MLC, said “…the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is triggering an unprecedented wave of growth and innovation. The Scheme requires staff and providers to consider new and better ways of thinking and doing”. This is an example…

Our client, a national infrastructure and system integration company operating in a high risk environment, was seeking AS4801 OHS certification and Office of Federal Safety Commissioner (FSC) OHS accreditation. Approach We managed the project and achieved a step change improvement in safety procedures and practices through a major cultural change initiative. The following key elements…

It took some time to come up with our business name but when the thought came to me one night out walking my dog, I immediately called Richard lest I forgot it. We had kicked around options for some time without success and frankly it was now frustrating us both. Instantly we both liked the…

Effective review is a powerful way to maximise your chances of submitting a winning proposal. However, I often observe even experienced Bid Managers handle the process poorly. So, below is some advice on how you can ensure sound proposal review becomes part of your winning bid strategy. What to review This is an area where…

“Win Theme” is one of the most oft used terms I encounter in proposal management. In project kick-off meetings team members usually nod their heads fervently when we mention win themes, alluding to a common and clear understanding. Recently, someone on a bid team we were managing had the courage to ask me what exactly…