Bids and Proposals – At the Speed of Transformation

Trends affecting bids and proposals

The bid and proposal management industry’s workplace is changing at the speed of “digital transformation” as it responds to technology, data, and artificial intelligence (AI) trends. In the past several years, the field has:

• Moved its systems and data to the cloud
• Transitioned proprietary tools to open-source tools
• Implemented Agile processes and Kanban tools
• Managed the transition to virtual teams
• Increased use of digital media to reach customers

The industry saw the “big quit” during COVID-19 and the “big layoff” in early 2023. We also saw the growth of AI tools to support bid and proposal research, writing, and management.

Adapting to change in the bid and proposal field

Adapting to the speed of change takes vision, planning, analysis, and commitment. To facilitate your adaption to change:

• Develop a roadmap to reach transformational goals
• Invest in automation, tools, training, and mentoring to achieve your goals
• Implement transformation programs
• Analyze results to increase your return on investment (ROI)
• Maintain a commitment to change and celebrate success

For example, Lohfeld Consulting is piloting AI projects for individual companies. This involves training an AI platform to help SMEs create high-scoring technical and management solutions, and proposal writers to create sections more efficiently using a series of prompts. We use the company’s technical and proposal artifacts to train the AI platform. Let us know if you are interested in working with us on a pilot project.

New trends on the horizon

Anticipating change increases a company’s adaptability. Here are three emerging trends to expect shortly.

• Applied AI: AI is still in its early stage, and in the next few years, we will see an increasing number of AI tools that increase productivity, provide great insight into data, and provide analytics and visuals to support decision-making.
• Biometric technology and trust architecture: These tools will reduce our dependence on passwords and improve the protection of bid and proposal assets.
• An increased number of bids per capita: Instead of using AI tools to reduce the number of bid and proposal professionals needed in a company, AI tools will likely encourage company executives to bid more to increase company revenue. AI tools will also decrease manual activities and enable bid and proposals professionals to focus on more strategic work.  

In summary, your ability to adapt to change is only challenged by your vision, planning, and commitment to address it.

By Brenda Crist, Vice President at Lohfeld Consulting Group, MPA, CPP APMP Fellow

Lohfeld Consulting Group has proven results specializing in helping companies create winning captures and proposals. As the premier capture and proposal services consulting firm focused exclusively on government markets, we provide expert assistance to government contractors in Capture Planning and Strategy, Proposal Management and Writing, Capture and Proposal Process and Infrastructure, and Training. In the last 3 years, we’ve supported over 550 proposals winning more than $170B for our clients—including the Top 10 government contractors. Lohfeld Consulting Group is your “go-to” capture and proposal source! Start winning by contacting us at www.lohfeldconsulting.com and join us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.