Tender Management in Pharma: Best Practices

One of the greatest challenges in pharmaceutical tendering is visibility. Tenders may be published across multiple platforms (i.e. government portals, hospital procurement systems, or specialized marketplaces) often with short deadlines.

Best practice:

• Invest in tender intelligence tools or services to monitor opportunities across regions.
• Establish a qualification framework: define what makes a tender “worth pursuing” (contract size, profit margin, regulatory fit, supply chain feasibility).
• Maintain a centralized tender calendar to ensure no opportunities are missed.
• Being proactive avoids last-minute decisions and positions your company as consistently ready to compete.

Not all tenders should be pursued. Chasing every opportunity can waste resources and erode margins.

Best practice:

• Use ROI scoring models to weigh potential revenue against risks (penalties for non-delivery, aggressive pricing, operational costs).
• Prioritize tenders that align with your long-term strategy for example, tenders that open access to new regions, expand hospital networks, or strengthen brand visibility.
• Collaborate with market access and pricing teams to ensure tenders support broader corporate goals.
• A focused pipeline ensures that the resources spent on submissions generate maximum impact.

Price remains the dominant factor in tender awards. However, winning tenders is not always about being the lowest bidder.

Best practice:

• Develop a data-driven pricing strategy, considering competitor benchmarks, reference pricing systems, and internal cost structures.
• Enhance your offer with value-added services: faster delivery, product conservation and shelf-life, unit-dose packaging, minimum order quantity, as well as return acceptance conditions.
• Highlight the total value (not just price): reduced risks of shortages, improved compliance, or proven outcomes.

This combination of pricing discipline and value differentiation increases both win rates and customer trust.

Tender management is inherently cross-functional. Regulatory, supply chain, finance, market access, and commercial teams all contribute to a successful bid.

Best practice:

• Define clear roles and responsibilities for each tender submission.
• Use digital workflows or tender management platforms to avoid email bottlenecks and missed deadlines.
• Create standardized templates for documents and approvals to save time.

A smooth internal process reduces errors, accelerates response times, and improves submission quality.

Winning or losing a tender provides critical intelligence for the future. Yet many companies fail to capture lessons learned.

Best practice:

• Conduct win/loss debriefs to analyze why your bid was successful or not.
• Track metrics such as submission lead times, approval bottlenecks, and competitor pricing.
• Build a knowledge repository to ensure teams learn from past experiences and continuously refine approaches.

Post-tender analysis transforms every opportunity into an investment in future performance.

A US-based biotech in hematology wanted to launch its first generic injectable in the French hospital market. The molecule was well known and fully generic, used in critical care with recurrent supply tensions in Europe.

In France, many small hospital groups and individual hospitals were buying via wholesalers at high prices, facing backorders and emergency spot purchases.

The biotech partnered with a French exploitant & distributor focused on hospital-only products to secure market entry and reassure buyers on supply continuity.

Enter the French hospital market with a credible alternative source.

A key goal was to be selected as part of multi-award frameworks when supply tension was high, and progressively move from “second source” to “preferred partner” as contracts were renewed.

Tender discovery and prioritization in France

• Dedicated monitoring of French hospital tenders (GHT, CHU, UniHA, Résah), with explicit scoring of “supply risk” per molecule.
• Priority given to tenders where the product had a recent history of shortages and where the purchasing group was open to multi-award (two or three suppliers).

Pricing strategy and non-price conditions

• For smaller hospital groups, pricing was set clearly below wholesaler levels to trigger initial switches.
• For large and tensioned tenders, the offer remained competitive but focused on security of supply rather than the lowest possible price.
• The technical dossier emphasized non-price criteria that directly addressed the risk context:
  • Confirmed production slots and dedicated safety stock in France.
  • Standard 48-hour delivery and 24-hour emergency channel in case of shortage at ward level.
  • Guaranteed minimum remaining shelf-life at delivery (24 months) to avoid expiry-related waste when volumes fluctuate.
  • Adapted pack sizes and, where relevant, unit-dose or small packs to improve stock rotation in times of uncertain demand.
  • QML and minimum order quantities aligned with real consumption patterns, allowing hospitals to spread orders without overstock.
  • Clear return conditions for unopened, compliant products if protocols or volumes changed.

Biotech–exploitant collaboration and risk management

• Joint “France supply and tenders” governance, with monthly reviews of demand forecasts, production, and French stock.
• Early warning mechanisms with key GHTs to anticipate spikes in demand and adjust allocations.
• Transparent communication with hospital pharmacists during clarifications about contingency plans and backup transport options in case of disruption.

Year 1: Several tenders won in smaller GHTs. Market share moves from 0 to about 15 percent, mainly in hospital groups previously served by wholesalers.

Year 2: Strong references and positive feedback on service quality support bids in a major national tender. Market share reaches around 30 percent, with presence across most key regions.

Year 3: The biotech with Cevidra became one of the top two hospital suppliers for this generic in France.

Starting with small French hospital groups at a more attractive price is an effective way to break legacy wholesaler purchasing patterns.

Over time, non-price conditions (logistics, CSR, stability, unit packaging, QML, returns) drive preference and renewal more than pure price..

Since 2007, Cevidra has managed public tenders in France for hospital-only medicines, including under ATU, AAC/AAP, and post-AMM frameworks. This activity is at the core of our expertise and is provided exclusively when Cevidra performs the logistics.

Our tender management includes:

• Tender watch: Daily monitoring of public tenders via SAD platforms and traditional procurement channels.
• Product listing: Submission of product dossiers to hospital purchasing groups, including GHTs and centralized platforms (max. 2 listings per product).
• Tender submission: Full preparation and submission of responses to published tenders, including administrative and pricing documentation.
• Price offers: On-demand responses to direct price requests from hospitals, GHTs, or national procurement groups (e.g., UniHA, Resah).
• Purchasing platform & hospital interactions: Regular communication with hospital pharmacists and procurement officers to follow up on listings, allocations, and supply flows.

This integrated service ensures both regulatory compliance and operational efficiency in the French hospital tender ecosystem.