HELP! Need advice on wording for a school bid.........

[pizzagirl]

Hi all, I am still fairly new here. We own a pizza place that does school lunches. One of the schools that the previous owner got for us, is now having us re-bid for the account (normal procedure they say). We have no idea how to do a bid. What information should go in there? How long should it be? What points should we highlight besides nutritional facts, price, and service? Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[j_r0kk]

pizzagirl,

What kind of bid is the school board conducting? Here, we had a sealed bid process where they sent me the form, I wrote the price per pizza, and then I mailed it back to them. It was pretty plain and simple and took all of 5 minutes to complete.

-J_r0kk

 

[pizzagirl]

This is a “open” bid so we send in a proposal with highlights about our service, product, price, nutritional facts, etc. I want to make it look appealing and stand out above the rest. I did a little research yesterday and saw that some people include letters of recommendation so I thought that was a good idea. This is all new to us. We didn’t have to do this kind of bid last year, it was more like the one you did. Its a whole new ball game this year and I am scrambling for ideas!

 

[paul7979]

You have the ultimate upper hand in this process in the fact that you are the most recent provider of pizzas for this contract. I would focus primarily on that, and not try too hard to sell your service, price product. They are already very familiar with all of this, so unless you are changing anything, just briefly touch on all of this. Type your proposal to show your confidence that you have already shown you are the best prepared to handle this contract. Make the decision makers feel your confidence and believe that taking a chance with another place will come back to bite them in the a$$.

 

[NicksPizza]

I suggest including any improvements in your operation, services, and product since last year. If you haven’t presented nutritional info before, now is a chance to emphasize “no trans fats”, low sodium, local ingredients, all fresh ingredients, etc that are applicable to your operation, and that fit into dietary guidelines for children (if you know any of that).

Also, include any and all food safety certifications and classes your staff have completed. Adds a touch of professionalism. May consider other commercial contracts you have had and been successful with. Also I would suggest you include a section on community involvement/participation and contributions just in case they are inclined to look that over.

Did they send out an RFP document? Request For Proposals. That usually establishes the baseline service requirements for the contract bid.