The tender result arrives on one day. The outcome was usually decided months earlier.
In markets I have worked in, strong products rarely lost a tender on the day. It was something smaller and earlier: a certificate that had lapsed, a bid price that needed an approval nobody had asked for, stock that could not be confirmed for the delivery schedule.
So in my teams, tender work starts a year early:
Know the tender calendar. Which tenders, when, and what each buyer requires.
Have the file ready. Registration, dossier and certificates complete, well before the deadline.
Plan price and supply. A bid price approved in advance, and stock you can actually deliver. Winning a tender you cannot supply is worse than losing it.
Bid exactly to the rules. Every requirement met, on time, through the official process only.
That last one is not a formality. Tenders are public processes. There is no contact with the committee outside the official channel, and no shortcut is worth the next tender or the company's name.
After every result, win or lose, we review it with the team. What did the file, the price and the supply plan teach us for next time?
“A tender is won in the year before it, and lost in the week before it.”
Lesson 4 of 17 in Step 4: Distributors and market access, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.