Winning the bid through a consultant-managed bid process.
Planet Platforms are synonymous with bespoke access platforms into Aircraft, Vehicle and Rail sectors. They have been a leading manufacturer and supplier of access equipment since being established in 1977. They pride themselves on safety and innovation with their client base including; Rolls Royce, BAE Systems and even The Orient Express.
Planet Platforms’ Head of Marketing approached eXceeding to support a strategic ‘request for proposal’ by the Airbus group for; docking, staging equipment and services.
Planet Platforms did not have their own internal bid writing team so, when a key client opportunity arose, they chose to outsource the bid writing process, to benefit from expert bid help.
eXceeding had worked with Planet Platforms on a successful bid in 2016 and were familiar with their culture, strengths and win themes.
They had developed a close business relationship with the eXceeding consultant during that particular project and so requested that he manage the process for Planet Platforms once again.
We identified 3 key challenges which needed to be addressed as part of the project:
Planet do not employ a dedicated bid writer so, when a key client opportunity was presented to them they needed to outsource the bid writing process.
The requirements were particularly technical so Planet needed a bid writer with specific category knowledge.
The response had to be planned and delivered within only 3 weeks – including collating responses from a number of high-level stakeholders at Planet.
The response planning, writing and review processes followed these key stages:
We are happy to confirm that the input from the eXceeding consultants meant that Planet Platforms were selected for the presentation stage and subsequently successful overall.
The contract they won is to support the maintenance of a fleet of 22 Airbus A400M’s which the Royal Airforce had purchased. This contract became the biggest single order in the company’s history and the scope of the work went on to be even bigger!
We have worked with eXceeding on two projects now and on both occasions, we have found their service to be of a very high standard and with a high degree of efficiency. They are able to deliver our information clearly and we have found them easy to work with. We will certainly be speaking to them when we require bid services again.
