March 31, 2025
8:24 am

Building Winning Consortium Bids

Developing an effective pricing strategy for framework applications requires careful consideration of multiple factors to ensure both competitiveness and sustainability. It’s important to strike the right balance between winning a place on the framework and maintaining viable service delivery.

Understanding Framework Requirements

When developing your pricing strategy, it’s essential to first understand that framework agreements typically require fixed pricing for at least the first year. Your initial pricing submission must be carefully calculated, as it will set the foundation for your service delivery throughout the framework period. Under the Procurement Act 2023, there are now both closed and open framework options. For open frameworks, the duration

can be up to eight years, while closed frameworks maintain the four-year limit. This affects long-term pricing strategies and should be factored into initial calculations. 

One benefit of these changes is that as a supplier, you now have multiple chances to join frameworks during their lifetime. Open frameworks can run for up to 8 years and must reopen at least twice – once within the first 3 years and again within the following 2 years. This means that if you initially missed out or were not ready to bid, you can join later, removing the previous barrier of being locked out for the framework’s entire duration. Similarly, if an open framework re-opens, you don’t have to apply to re-join, but you can if you want to amend either your offer or pricing approach.

Cost Analysis Fundamentals

Before setting your prices, conduct a thorough analysis of your true service delivery costs. This should include direct costs such as clinical staff time and materials, indirect costs like administration and management oversight, and framework-specific costs such as reporting requirements and contract management. Remember to factor in potential cost increases over the framework period, as your initial prices must remain sustainable.