GeM Portal Bidding Tips and Tricks: Best Practices for Sellers

To succeed on the Government e-Marketplace, sellers must first understand the rules, workflow and evaluation system that shape every tender. GeM follows a transparent procurement mechanism and knowing these fundamentals helps you participate confidently.

At its core, the GeM rule for bidding is simple. Sellers must meet all technical requirements first and only technically compliant sellers move to financial evaluation. This aligns with government procurement norms and ensures that low prices alone don’t win. Quality and compliance matter just as much.

The bidding workflow on the GeM generally follows five key steps:

• Bid publishing by the buyer
• Document review by sellers
• Bid submission
• Technical evaluation
• Financial comparison and L1 declaration

In financial evaluation, GeM ranks sellers based on price:

• L1 is the lowest bidder
• L2 is the second-lowest
• L3 is the third-lowest and so on

However, price is only considered after the technical stage is cleared.

When you use the GeM portal for bidding, the process starts by opening the bid document, reviewing the specification sheet, checking eligibility and submitting your offer with supporting documents. Sellers can also search category-wise tenders, custom bids or service bids depending on their offerings.

If you are wondering how many types of bids in the GeM portal are present, here is the list of the main ones.

• Direct purchase
• Bid/RA (Reverse Auction)
• Bunch/Custom Bid
• Service Procurement

Each of the types mentioned above follows the same rules. Meet technical requirements and then compete on price.

A strong, complete and credible seller profile is one of the biggest deciding factors in winning bids on GeM. Before you think about pricing strategies or how to make L1 in the GeM portal tricks, your profile itself must meet the standards buyers expect. A well-prepared profile signals reliability, reduces the chances of rejection and helps you rank better during technical evaluation.

Start by completing every part of your seller registration, including business details, address, verification, bank account validation and KYC documents. If you are a manufacturer or OEM, ensure your brand listing and product categories are fully approved. For traders, secure proper authorisation letters from manufacturers. Buyers often reject bids simply because the seller lacked OEM approval, even if the pricing was competitive.

Your product catalogue is equally important. Upload accurate specifications, high-quality images, warranty details, compliance standards and updated brochures. Any mismatch between what you list in your catalogue and what the bid requires can lead to technical disqualification. If your business handles physical goods, keeping a fire policy, commercial insurance or a broader commercial insurance policy can also strengthen trust and ensure you are protected during storage and dispatch, especially for high-value items.

Service providers should maintain up-to-date manpower details, experience certificates, performance reports and GST returns. A clean track record that shows on-time delivery, positive buyer ratings and zero order cancellations quietly boosts your credibility and increases your chances of being shortlisted.

In short, your seller profile is your first impression on GeM. When it is complete, accurate and consistently updated, buyers trust you more, your bids pass technical evaluation more smoothly and your chances of winning improve significantly.

Study the Bid Document Thoroughly

Every strong bid starts by carefully reviewing the details. Before anything else, sellers should open bid documents carefully on the GeM portal and also know how to download bid documents from the GeM portal for deeper analysis. These documents contain technical specifications, eligibility conditions, delivery timelines, EMD requirements and compliance norms. Missing even one detail can lead to instant disqualification.

Look for red flags, like restrictive specs, quantities that don’t match your stock levels, unrealistic delivery deadlines or requirements that differ from your catalogue. Understanding this early allows you to decide whether to proceed or skip the bid. This also directly influences how to fill bid in the GeM portal correctly because you will know exactly what the buyer expects.

Analyse Buyer Behaviour and Past Purchases

One of the most underestimated tricks on GeM is studying buyer patterns. Use the portal’s tools to check buyer details, past orders and bid anticipation history. You will learn which brands they prefer, what price range they usually approve and how strict they are regarding delivery.

This also helps when learning how to search for a custom bid in the GeM portal because certain buyers frequently release customised, high-value requirements. If you find a buyer whose needs match your products or services, set alerts to receive their future bids instantly.

Understanding buyer behaviour allows you to price smartly, plan inventory better and avoid participating in bids where your chances are naturally low.

Optimise Your Pricing Strategy

Pricing is the biggest factor in becoming L1, but there is no single formula. Instead, focus on realistic, research-backed pricing. Don’t underprice so much that you lose profit and don’t overprice, assuming the buyer will negotiate. Most government buyers strictly follow L1 selection.

A smart strategy is to compare market rates, check portal price trends and track competitor pricing patterns.
Sellers who study this data understand how to make L1 in the GeM portal tricks while still preserving margins.
When reverse auctions are involved, analyse how quickly prices drop and decide your bottom limit beforehand to avoid losses.

Improve Your Technical Compliance

Even a perfect piece will not help if your technical offer fails. GeM’s evaluation rules are strict. If your product does not meet the minimum specification, even by 1%, the bid is rejected.

To avoid rejections, you can:

• Match your catalogue specs with the bid requirements.
• Upload correct certifications (ISO, BIS, OEM authorisation).
• Clearly state warranty or service terms.
• Avoid using outdated brochures or mismatched product codes.

Technical compliance is a major reason why many bids fail, even before price evaluation. Uploading the right documents ensures your bid proceeds to the L1 stage.

Use Auto-Bidding and Reverse Auction Strategies

GeM’s auto-bidding is a powerful tool that many sellers ignore. When enabled, the system automatically reduces your price within your preset limit during the reverse auction. This keeps you competitive without manually updating your offer every minute.

Use auto-bidding when competition is high or when you have tight margins. For reverse auctions, do not jump to the lowest price instantly. Let other sellers drop first, observe the price trend and adjust wisely. This is one of the smarter ways to secure L1 without panic-slashing your rates.

Bid Early

Many sellers rush to submit their offers minutes before the deadline, which often leads to technical glitches, upload errors or login problems. Submitting early gives you enough time to revise your bids if the buyer releases corrigenda or changes specifications.

Early bidders also get enough buffers to recheck documents, validate pricing and confirm that all mandatory fields are filled correctly. It is one of the most important steps in how to fill a bid in the GeM portal successfully.

Participate Consistently in Multiple Bids

Consistency is one of the simplest yet most powerful bidding strategies. Every bid teaches you something: buyer behaviour, category pricing, delivery expectations or competitor patterns.

Regular participation improves your visibility, strengthens your bidding intuition and increases your chances of landing repeat orders. Sellers who win consistently are those who treat bidding as an ongoing, data-driven process.

Clear, accurate documentation is one of the biggest differentiators in winning tenders on the GeM portal. Start by maintaining an organised repository of all essential documents, including GST, PAN, UDYAM, quality certifications, financial statements, authorisations and product catalogue, so that you can upload them quickly without errors. Always use the latest versions of certificates and ensure validity dates are clearly visible.

For technical bids, provide precise product specifications, compliance sheets and brochures exactly as requested in the bid. Avoid generic descriptions and match every requirement line-by-line. For financial bids, ensure pricing documents align with GeM’s format and include taxes, warranty costs and service terms transparently.

Before submission, run a full audit. Check file sizes, naming conventions, document clarity and whether all mandatory forms are signed, stamped and uploaded. Good documentation doesn’t just support your bid. It signals reliability and increases your chances of selection.

• Ignoring eligibility criteria: Many bidders lose by applying for tenders they don’t fully qualify for. Read the conditions line-by-line.
• Incorrect or outdated documentation: Expired certificates, missing signatures, or unclear scans often lead to rejection.
• Nothing matching exact specifications: Even small deviations in technical details can disqualify your bid.
• Pricing errors in financial bids: Entering prices without taxes, warranty, or delivery costs can make your offer non-compliant.
• Late submissions: GeM auto-locks bids. Always upload documents before the last hour.
• Skipping bid queries/clarifications: Not seeking clarification leads to assumptions and mistakes.

Winning on the GeM portal is not only about offering the lowest price. It is about understanding how the system works, preparing well and showing government buyers that you are dependable. A well-built seller profile, clean documentation, and thoughtful bidding decisions can make a big difference in how often you win tenders.

Government orders can help a business grow consistently, but they also bring their own set of risks, such as delay, damage and other unexpected issues. This is why for every business, whether small or expanding, the right commercial insurance is a must to back your bidding efforts. The right cover protects equipment, inventory and day-to-day operations so that even if something goes wrong, your work won’t stop.

Choosing solid business insurance for a small business ensures you stay protected while you focus on bidding confidently, delivering on time and building long-term opportunities through the GeM portal.

TATA AIG provides tailored SME insurance solutions, including marine, fire policy, burglary and other specialised policies designed to reduce business vulnerabilities. With the right protection in place, you can focus on bidding confidently, fulfilling orders efficiently and building long-term success through the GeM portal.