How To Take Advantage of Plan Holder Lists

Many times, when bidding on government opportunities you may see a section that includes a plan holder list. A plan holder list, which can also be referred to as a document request list or a document holder list, is a compiled list of vendors who have accessed a solicitation’s documents and specifications. This can often be very helpful during the bidding process for both suppliers and buyers.

Why Is It Important for Suppliers?

Viewing the plan holder or document request list is a great way to network, build relationships with your competitors, and identify possible subcontracting opportunities for your business. Typically, you’ll be able to see information like the company name, main contact name, email, and phone number, giving you the ability to do research on other companies or reach out if you’re interested in working with them. A lot of times you’ll see plan holder lists attached to construction bids or other bid opportunities with a strong sub-prime relationship. To make it easy to find plan holder lists, Bidnet Direct provides an option for our buying organizations to make this list available per solicitation. When you click on a solicitation on Bidnet Direct, if the buying organization has chosen to make the list accessible to all registered suppliers, you’ll be able to see it right on our platform without having to search for it or ask the organization for access.

Here's an example of what you will be able to see on Bidnet Direct if the solicitation has the plan holder or document request list available:

Why Is It Important for Buying Organizations?

In addition to plan holder lists being a great tool for suppliers, they can also be used for government buyers in their public or internal audits to show the steps taken during the solicitation process, like which suppliers were notified of the opportunity, which suppliers had an interest in bidding, and how many bid responses were submitted. As mentioned above, participating buyers on Bidnet Direct have the option to make this list accessible to all registered suppliers, or only use the information internally within their buying organization. Just remember that all suppliers who download one or more documents/specifications will be added to the plan holder list whether it’s accessible to the public or not.  

Stay Ahead of The Game

The next time you’re interested in bidding on an opportunity, check to see if the plan holder list is available. By seeing who else may be interested in the opportunity, you can potentially improve your bid response and you can also reach out to other companies for potential partnerships or subcontracting opportunities. If you’re already a registered supplier on Bidnet Direct, go ahead and browse through our participating agencies’ solicitations that match the products or services your business sells to see if they have their plan holder list available. If you’re new, register today to access thousands of new solicitations every month and start simplifying the way you do business.