Winning a major UK rail franchise

 The Client

The client runs a number of rail franchises and contracts which together represent 22 per cent of the UK’s entire rail network.

The Challenge

The client was preparing a bid for the Rail franchise and needed a programme manager to run the bid process, including resourcing a team of around 100 people. The bid process covered a period of around 15 months.

Why CAS Max?

CAS Max had previously managed the successful prequalification phase for the franchise bid and the client knew we had the experience to run the main bid process. The company also needed a consultant who had print and e-production experience in order to ensure the bid was presented to the highest standards.

What did we do?

We worked with the company’s Bid Director to put together the initial team so that we were ready to go as soon as the ITT was issued. However, its release was delayed a number of times, which challenged us to manage our budget whilst also retaining the key people we needed. Open and honest communication with the team helped us to do this.

Once the ITT was issued, we:

• managed the day-to-day interface with the Department for Transport;
• programme managed the bid (plan, risks, issues, dependencies and assumptions);
• managed the bid data site;
• managed the bid quality review team;
• managed the formatting team;
• managed the production phase; and
• ensured a compliant bid was delivered on time to quality.

We used regular full team meetings, workshops and clear written communications to ensure that everyone working on the bid was up-to-date with specification and solution developments.

The Outcome

The client was successful in its bid for the Rail franchise.