How to win a proposal?

At the current oil and market situation, we see merging of companies, layoffs, restructuring, boosting innovation and many more things. To win a proposal is challenging now but it was never easy before also.

First thing is to get information about new proposal which are in market.Oil and gas or energy sector journals and news web pages give a quite good feel of the market condition and any major change. Sometimes government regulations (like cleaner fuel, environmental acts) can create opportunity.

Personal /Professional contact is the key to get ITB (information to bid).

After getting the ITB, It is necessary to understand the need of the client. Sometimes the ITB is not is not proper and many information is missing. Few times Client is very flexible on things, and other time may be put many restriction on final design.

Before start spending hours on any proposal we should know:

• Do we want to win (Not all jobs are interesting)
• Can we win
• How do we win

To start on any proposal,internal review should be first step to finalize the strategy.

At least one sale's person and one technical person should go through the ITB and identify the key requirements. Whether client is interested in low OPEX (operating expenditure) or CAPEX ( Capital expenditure).What is the time period for uninterrupted operation. Any specific demand of client has to be noted down. eg:

• Evaluation criteria
• Payback time
• Opex Vs Capex
• Minimum equipment count
• Ease of operation in terms of less operators requirement /ergonomic solutions
• Reference of proven technology
• Geographical location along with plot space and location constraint
• Equipment dimension limitation
• Utility availability and limitation
• Feed type, impurities and different cases
• Feed and utility cost
• Any vendor preference or not prefered
• Deliverables with deadline

Any clarification on ITB needs to be verified with client as soon as possible to avoid rework. Assumptions to listed in basis of design .

Process needs to give input on available options and sales has to guide them on finalizing the scheme. Sometimes analyzing the operational references and their feedback and use it for new projects/proposals can be starting point. If client is strict in reference list of proven technology with same scheme then chances to include new ideas is minimum. If not, new ideas to be included whenever possible. But is is highly recommended to see the pros and cons of new scheme. The safety issue and mitigation of that has to be verified is very first phase. Once the strategy is final then it comes to :

• Man-power planning,
• Work sharing,
• Action plan and Follow-up
• Checking of documents
• Intermediate/ internal review with Sales/client
• Log sheet for management of change based on change in assumption or new input from client
• All deliverables on agreed time frame
• Sometimes, educating new clients.

To conclude, i would like to mention that expanding the knowledge is really important. Sales person with good Process knowledge and process technologist with understanding of sales strategy can form a great team. All team members should be aware of the discriminators from competitors. Try to do the SWOT analysis:

• Strength
• Weakness
• Opportunity
• Threat

Apart from above mentioned points creative, hardworking, helpful and Diverse team is required to win a proposal.

At the end a proposal submitted on time can be winning one if the offer is cost optimized, competitive and meeting all client's requirement.

At last one should properly handover to project to take it further. Any lessons learnt in terms of technology solution and reduction in hours must be shared within the organization.Continuous improvement and innovation is key to make strong position in market.

This article is intended for anyone working in technical proposals especially in Oil and gas /energy sector. It covers the basic approach to win a proposal.Based on the type of proposal (BDEP/EP/EPC), additional consideration to be taken. Later I will write something in detail.

About Author: Nasreen Perween is a chemical engineer with more than 12 years of experience. She worked in Reliance industries limited and currently working in Technip (Now TechnipFMC). She worked as field and panel operator, team member in management of change activities in petrochemical plant, involved in basic and detail engineering, technical services activities and now working on Proposal team.

It is personal View of author .