In a recent survey, we delved into how apartment communities develop their budget, and one question in particular asked about what frustrations and challenges they had in finding suppliers.  One of the most common responses was surprisingly simply getting suppliers to submit a bid!  Now the layperson might be thinking that is ridiculous - We are trying to give them business and they don't even bother to submit a bid!  But there is often another side to the story, and I have heard an alternate response from suppliers:  Essentially, a supplier can spend so much time submitting bids that they lose focus on the service itself that they provide.  And with many quality bids losing out to unqualified companies with lower bids, it can be a frustrating process, leading to wasted time.  So instead, it is a better use of time to focus on the personal relationships with their contacts where work is obtained without going through as many hoops.

So this is a request for suppliers to share their side!  What are some of the frustrations with submitting bids?  What would you suggest property management companies do to increase the number of bids they get, by making it easier/less time consuming/etc for the supplier to take the time to submit a bid?

Share your thoughts in the comment area below!