Why Tendering Is the Illusion of Intelligence
(And About as Effective as a Chocolate Teapot in a Heatwave)
Monday 7th April, 2025
So, you’ve asked for three quotes. Bravo. Pop the champagne. You’ve officially entered the lowest tier of procurement achievement — just above “didn’t set the building on fire.”
Because here’s the thing no one wants to admit: tendering doesn’t get you the best deal. It gets you a deal. A safe, beige, middle-of-the-road deal that’s been dragged through a risk-averse committee, rinsed in generic templates, and stripped of anything that might resemble commercial flair.
Procurement, as it’s commonly practised, is less Formula 1 and more shopping for trousers at a department store. Sensible. Sturdy. Uninspiring. And yet everyone walks away thinking they’ve done something clever. “Look,” they say, “we followed the policy!”
Yes. And in doing so, you missed the fact that your scope was written by someone with the commercial instinct of a potato. Your evaluation criteria had all the depth of a puddle in a drought. And the suppliers? Oh, they know the game. Add 20% because this company is a nightmare to deal with. Bad specs. Never-ending clarification questions. Tenders issued, then cancelled. Again. And again.
And then, procurement — bless their overworked souls — skim through 100-page proposals like they’re scrolling Instagram, pick the quote that’s “not too high, not too low,” and declare victory.
Meanwhile, someone with actual experience looks at the same bids and finds half a million dollars in savings… in an hour. Half a million. That’s more than the salary of the person who missed it. By quite a bit. Unless they’re a Kardashian.
So here’s the brutal truth: tendering doesn’t find you the best deal. It just ensures no one ends up in jail.
And if that’s your definition of success, then congratulations. You’ve built a process that’s legally defensible, functionally pointless, and financially mediocre.
The real problem? You don’t need more process. You need better people looking under the bonnet. Otherwise, you’re just polishing a turd and calling it a strategy.
Simon Thompson is the founder of Acquire Insights, a commercial advisory firm specialising in large-scale procurement. With over 20 years’ experience, he helps organisations uncover real value — not just run compliant processes. Simon’s known for cutting through noise, asking better questions, and helping good businesses avoid bad deals.
