Cheap wins come with expensive lessons.

If you win construction tenders by cutting prices, you're basically choosing to earn your profit later or not at all. Competitive tenders are the lowest technically qualified subcontractors, so you bid low to get it. But here's the problem: construction isn't a volume game, and you don't have that Tesco, Woolworths volume to survive with tiny margins. So the real play is this: is you win the job at a number that covers your costs and gives you room for mistakes and a small profit. Then you make up the margin post award. The margin and the cash flow are hidden in how changes and delays are handled. Meaning if you don't have a fast system to identify, document, submit, and get approvals for variations and delays, you're not unlucky, you're leaving profit on the table. Most subcontractors try to win the margin at tender. The pros win the project at tender and then win the profit in the post-award process.