Most companies now recognize that issuing and holding a tender is a profitable way to select a trusted contractor, building materials supplier, and subcontractors who will carry out the construction work. Finding a reliable company that will perform the required services is a half battle.
It is critically important to understand all the peculiarities of the tendering procedure. Additionally, it is recommended to use construction bidding software for potential tender participants. This way, all the forecasts based on cost estimating will be more accurate and attractive to the customer.
At the Very Beginning of the Tender
If the contractor is interested in the tender arranged by the government or commercial customer, the first step is to familiarize yourself with the tendering documentation. The next step should be an application for participation in the procedure, timely and correctly performed.
According to the general rules of participation in the construction tender, the first tendering document is accompanied by a range of paperwork.
Registration of the tendering application itself must also take place following several rules:
- This document must be certified by the seal and signature of the executive body.
- The application can be submitted in written and electronic form.
- The document must be filled in by the instructions to this effect contained in the auction documentation.
Together with the original, several copies of the application are submitted. The written exemplar should be given to the potential customer. The electronic form is not enough for this purpose. The client should have the document in hand.
The Verification Stage of the Tender
After accepting applications, they are checked for compliance with the requirements – the verification period depends on the contract amount. Then the customer selects the supplier who made the most advantageous offer and concludes a contract with this party.
Profitable does not always mean the cheapest, as the customer can look for an application that meets all their individual needs in terms of price and quality. For example, some clients are focused on building techniques. Another customer is searching for the most experienced performers with a reasonable quality-price ratio.
Alignment Tendering Process
Responding to the RFP, contractors send their offers, thus becoming bidders. In fact, from this moment, the actual tendering begins. The submitted bids are carefully analyzed and compared. The customer is searching for the best-matching construction company or the optimal individual contractor who meets all the requirements.
A good idea is to arrange a meeting between the parties to the tender. There are several goals for demonstrations and reference visits:
- Visually confirm the properties of the solutions that are stated in the tender bid offers;
- Confirm the experience of specific projects, also indicated in the tendering documentation;
- Demonstrate properties of solutions that cannot be evaluated based on paperwork only (for example, usability);
- Assess the ability of the tenderer’s team to interact with the customer;
- Assess the expertise of the bidder’s team.
That is why the perfect demonstration of skills, experience, and other significant achievements is a must for the contractors interested in winning bidding performance. For effective presentations, developing and providing tenderers with a single plan or several scenarios is recommended.
This will, firstly, make them show what the company is interested in (and not just the strengths but special offers, goals, priorities, and statistics). Secondly, it will make comparing the results of the detailed presentations easier than just printed portfolio data entries in tables and reports.
Tendering Interview
All bidders will receive a message about the results of the tender. They have the right to seek clarification regarding the competitive advantages of the selected contractor. On the one hand, this allows building companies to adjust their customer service and work on the attractiveness of their offers to potential clients. On the other hand, it prevents corruption.
If no one has complained, the parties sign an agreement and begin cooperation. Their results in each case are duly recorded and documented in the minutes of the Authorized person or the tender committee. Additionally, the interview at the final stage of the tender is a good way to negotiate anything unclear in the agreement to be signed. This is where the auction ends.
Be careful with the contract not to miss details concerning payments, costs, compensations, and scheduling. The tendering interview is not just one presentation but checking all the rights and conditions specified in your agreement.
