Case studies

Creatomatic Lands SOSE Contract Supported by SDP Training and Events

Creatomatic is a web design and digital brand agency that has been delivering human-led digital solutions from its Lockerbie studios since 2012.

In 2025, equipped with knowledge gained through the Supplier Development Programme’s (SDP) training and events, Creatomatic was able to secure a contract with South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) worth £5,000.

Early Days

Since its establishment in 2012, Creatomatic has been trusted by local businesses and big-name clients alike to deliver long-term growth and exceptional aftercare.

However, while the Creatomatic team found success pitching for private sector work, public sector contracts proved to be a bigger challenge.

Co-owner and director, James Miodonski, recalled: “We first heard about SDP events from Allan McNaught, who was the then team leader at Business Gateway in Dumfries and Galloway.”

He said: “After a run without public sector contract wins, I asked Allan if there was any tender training available, or somewhere we could go for some feedback, so that we could work out what we were doing right and wrong. That’s when we were told about SDP.”

SDP Training

In September 2023, the Creatomatic team attended the SDP training webinar: 1.2. Using Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) – How to Find and Bid for Opportunities.

James said: “The 1.2 webinar session about navigating the Public Contract Scotland website was incredibly useful. The site is not always that intuitive, so having somebody talk us through it was a big help. For instance, it’s much easier to be alerted to the type of jobs you are best suited for, once a trainer has shown you how to get your profile set up correctly.”

SDP Events

Creatomatic met the SDP team in person at Dumfries and Galloway Meet the Buyer in 2022, before attending Meet the Buyer South in 2023 and then returning to Dumfries and Galloway Meet the Buyer in 2025

James said: “Dumfries & Galloway is such a small community, we attended the networking events to stay in touch with people we knew and those we had already worked with.”

He observed: “For us, the most useful aspect of these events was being able to talk in person with people who really understand how public sector tenders are appraised and scored.”

Contract Wins

After attending these SDP networking events, Creatomatic went on to win the 1-2-1 Expert Help Marketing contract with South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE).

James said: “This was a £5,000 contract to support startup SMEs who needed help with their general marketing strategy. As we have an in-house team specialising across various marketing disciplines, we were able to offer traditional marketing support, as well as help with PR and press ads. We knew we were well positioned to deliver this work.”

He added: “This tender was heavily scored on price. SDP helped us understand the scoring process much better and tailor our approach when tendering for this work.”

Winning this contract led Creatomatic to expand its team, adding a part-time marketing specialist to help deliver the contract.

Future Training

The SOSE contract gave Creatomatic access to SOSE Enterprise and Business Manager Neil Johnstone, who was able to provide feedback on the successful tender, which was a useful tool for Creatomatic’s future bids.

Creatomatic also continued engaging with SDP and recently attended the 2.2 How to Write Outstanding Tenders - The Invitation to Tender (ITT) Stage webinar.

James remarked: “Our sales and marketing team have already completed another online session in the last few months, and we look forward to refreshing our knowledge with more SDP training sessions.”

Advice to Suppliers

Attending SDP training has helped Creatomatic simplify the bid writing process and save time.

James said: “If you are looking to get more public contracts, SDP is a sensible place to start rather than jumping in and wasting time on contracts that you have no chance of winning. The webinars help sharpen the focus and, if you are serious about working with the public sector, they’re well worth taking the time to do.”

He concluded: “Among SMEs, you always hear how laborious and unintuitive bidding for public sector contracts is. SDP removes all that negativity. The public sector is not that difficult to work with once somebody has shown you through it.”

Register with SDP today for free tender training and networking events