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How tenders and bids are changing amid COVID-19
Instead of a slowing down of projects, it appears that coronavirus has given rise to a lot more work for firms to bid for, albeit with a tech-focused slant, say BD professionals.
Jerome Doraisamy
Pinsent Masons head of business development (Asia Pacific) Debra Filippin has been keeping a close eye on the volume of tender and bid activity since the outbreak of COVID-19, having witnessed the “distinct drop-off” in such activity during the global financial crisis (GFC) over a decade ago.
“If anything, we’ve seen an increase in bids in the region. I kept waiting for a lull or delay in projects, and I just haven’t seen it,” she mused.
That, Ms Filippin surmised, is a “really good sign” for Australian law firms.
“My wariness and paranoia led me to wonder if we are bidding for things that actually aren’t there, are there real opportunities or if this is speculative targeting, but surprisingly, we have a really [win rate], even for capability statements, so it’s quite unusual because you would expect a natural delay,” she outlined.
“There are some delays, but I think what’s different is that people have managed to do a workaround. Clients and companies have decided there is another way of doing things. People have accepted this pandemic is happening but we have to keep things moving.”
Ultimately, the pandemic has “forced us to adapt, it’s forced us to be innovative, and it’s forced us to think about what’s important”, she submitted.
When asked by Sally King from Client State Consultancy, who served as the webinar’s moderator, if clients have been asking law firms for new conditions that weren’t prevalent in a pre-pandemic world, Ms Filippin said there has been “nothing notable”.
“There’s the standard value-add that clients always want, because it forces firms to think outside the box, so there’s definitely an increase in focus on value, and there’s natural pressure on pricing, but that’s always been there,” she responded.
“I haven’t seen anything that has practically changed the nature of how we bid for work and any sorts of client requests coming in. But, again, I’m waiting for that, as clients have to navigate this new normal as well.”
One major difference in such tender and bidding activity, however, is that “the bids have become more tech-focused”, said Holman Webb chief marketing and client relations officer Adriana Giometti.
“They really want to understand the processes we have in place and I think that if you haven’t met those requirements you’re going to be in a lot of trouble,” she noted.
“We’ve been very fortunate in that we’ve been innovative in tech, but if you’re a firm that didn’t take those steps prior to COVID-19, you’re going to be at a disadvantage moving forward.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. In June 2024, he also assumed the editorship of HR Leader. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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