The Rise of Capture Management in ANZ: Why Early Engagement Wins More Business

Madhur Advani - National Bid Manager at Citadel Group, and APMP ANZ Content Writer, addresses the growing importance of timely Capture Management

Across Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), competition for contracts is fiercer than ever. Procurement teams are more sophisticated, evaluation criteria more complex, and margins thinner.

For organisations chasing growth, one thing is clear: responding to tenders reactively is no longer enough. To consistently win, the conversation must begin long before the RFP lands in the inbox.

Here is where capture management makes the difference.

What is Capture Management?

Think of capture management as the discipline of winning before the race begins.

While proposal management starts once the solicitation is released, capture management focuses on the pre-RFP stage. It is the proactive process of:

• Engaging clients early.

• Understanding their drivers and decision-making.

• Shaping opportunities and solutions.

• Positioning your organisation as the natural choice.

 Done well, capture means you are not just one of many bidders scrambling at tender release but are the front-runner.

Why It Matters in ANZ

In mature markets like the US and UK, capture management has been a standard practice for decades. Entire teams are dedicated to shaping opportunities years before contracts are contested.

ANZ, however, has traditionally leaned towards a more “response culture.” Many organisations still wait for the tender to drop, then mobilise resources. The problem? By then, it is often too late.

The risks of reactive bidding are clear:

• Lower win rates. Without deep client insight, proposals sound generic.

• Higher bid costs. Teams spend valuable time chasing unwinnable opportunities.

• Commoditisation. With no pre-engagement, solutions compete on price alone.

As procurement in ANZ grows increasingly sophisticated particularly in Defence, Infrastructure, and Technology, the organisations that keep responding late will fall behind.

The Power of Early Engagement

The case for capture management can be summed up in one simple truth: early engagement increases win probability.

Why?

• You influence requirements. Once the RFP is issued, the ability to shape scope or evaluation criteria is minimal. Engage early, and you help frame the opportunity in ways that align with your strengths.

• You uncover the real needs. Tender documents describe the “what,” but early conversations reveal the “why.” These insights let you design a solution that resonates on a deeper level.

• You build trust. Buyers want to award contracts to partners they know. Capture gives you time to establish credibility and rapport.

• You position to win. By the time competitors are reacting, you’ve already earned a place in the client’s mind as the front-runner.

Opportunities pursued with structured capture discipline deliver materially higher win rates compared to those without. In other words: capture isn’t just good practice, but it is a competitive advantage.

Building Capture Capability in ANZ

The good news? Capture doesn’t have to be complicated. Every organisation- large or small can start embedding the discipline. Here is how:

1. Secure Leadership Buy-in

Capture is a business growth strategy, not an overhead. Show leaders how much time and money are being wasted on losing bids to unlock sponsorship.

2. Establish a Simple Framework

Introduce a capture framework with clear steps:

• Identify and qualify opportunities.

• Map stakeholders and engagement plans.

• Analyse competitors.

• Shape solutions.

• Review and decide whether to bid.

3. Invest in Skills and Training

Capture managers need a mix of sales acumen, market knowledge, and bid discipline. Upskill internal talent or use APMP certifications to accelerate maturity.

4. Encourage Collaboration

Capture thrives when sales, BD, SMEs, and bid teams work together. Break down silos and encourage joint ownership of key pursuits.

5. Start Small

Apply capture practices to your top five pursuits. Learn what works, refine your approach, then scale up.

Overcoming Local Barriers

ANZ organisations face unique challenges:

• Cultural hesitance: “We don’t want to bother the client before the RFP.”

• Lean resources: Many SMEs don’t have dedicated capture managers.

• Low maturity: Few businesses use structured frameworks or tools.

These barriers aren’t insurmountable. You don’t need a full capture office to start.

Assign capture responsibilities to existing roles, use simple tools like client maps and competitor matrices, and focus on quality of engagement over quantity.

The goal is not perfection, but progress. Each step towards earlier, more strategic client engagement improves outcomes.

Proof It Works

Evidence shows that even modest capture practices can shift outcomes. The 2024 State of Strategic Response Management Report (Responsive & APMP) highlighted a stark divide between “Leaders” and “Novices.”

Leaders- organisations with higher win rates, revenue growth, and employee satisfaction, consistently invested in structured, strategic approaches. They used tools and processes that supported early engagement, data-driven insights, and solution shaping.

One standout finding:

“80% of Leaders reported using data and analytics to improve win probability, compared with just 61% of Novices.”

Leaders also grew revenue faster, often without expanding team size, by optimising how and when their people engaged and using technology like AI to free up staff for higher-value client conversations.

For organisations still maturing their capture practices, this global research offers a clear signal. Success doesn’t hinge on bigger teams or expensive systems; it comes from shifting engagement earlier in the lifecycle and embedding capture discipline into everyday practice.

For ANZ businesses, the shift from reactive bidding to proactive capture is the next frontier. Early engagement, structured planning, and client understanding drive higher win rates and stronger growth.

Capture management is no longer optional- it is the discipline that separates organisations that chase opportunities from those that consistently win them.

The question isn’t whether ANZ organisations can afford to invest in capture. It is whether they can afford not to.