BigCat Contracts, Building Contractor
"Working with a company like Intend, rather than struggling yourself, is a time saver and it equips you better for the tendering process. It was great having that input."
Perthshire-based BigCat Contracts was founded by Andrew Herd whose son, Willem, later joined him. Covering much of Scotland, they serve a number of different sectors in the construction and forestry industries.
Willem believes Intend’s advice and support – both through the training courses Intend runs and the one-to-one work which Intend’s Gill Joy and Owen Paterson have carried out with their company – have brought them success and saved them valuable time.
"While we had experience with private contracts, we had limited experience of the public contracts system and had never engaged with, or worked with, bid writers or other professional bodies," he explained.
"Having come from the private sector, it was apparent that there was much more work involved and different requirements to be met, when bidding for local authority, Forestry Commission, SEPA, NHS, colleges, or university, contracts.
"We first became aware of Intend through attending several: ‘Meet the Buyer’ events and ‘Supplier Development’ training events from Public Contracts Scotland (PCS). Intend discussed the challenges that companies like ourselves are faced with and offered services and potential solutions.
"It feels for us, and from speaking to other contractors and suppliers, that you have to use almost a different language when tendering for public contracts. Basic points about your business, that you may not feel are relevant, are needed to provide the council or other public body with the reassurance that you have all the necessary requirements they are looking for.
"I would absolutely recommend Intend. We are a family-run, micro business and a huge point in tendering with PCS is that much more time and effort are required in preparing a tender. That can leave you spending a ridiculously long time on it, when an extra pair of eyes and ears, sharing their ideas and input, can really speed the whole process up.
"Working with a company like Intend, rather than struggling yourself, is a time saver and it equips you better for the tendering process. It was great having that input."
