Misplaced Pages

Call for bids: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 18:08, 17 September 2014 editDaytonian Historian (talk | contribs)80 editsNo edit summary← Previous edit Revision as of 12:20, 10 October 2014 edit undoFgnievinski (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users66,983 edits references after see alsoNext edit →
Line 55: Line 55:
* Timetable for choosing a supplier * Timetable for choosing a supplier
* Requirements * Requirements

==References ==
{{Reflist|2}}


==See also== ==See also==
Line 73: Line 70:
* ] * ]
* ] * ]

==References ==
{{Reflist|2}}


<!---- Please do not post external links to this article unless you are familiar with Misplaced Pages's policy on ]. Misplaced Pages is not a collection of links. ---> <!---- Please do not post external links to this article unless you are familiar with Misplaced Pages's policy on ]. Misplaced Pages is not a collection of links. --->

Revision as of 12:20, 10 October 2014

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Call for bids" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A call for bids, call for tenders, or invitation to tender (ITT) (often called tender for short) is a special procedure for generating competing offers from different bidders looking to obtain an award of business activity in works, supply, or service contracts. They are usually preceded by a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ).

Types of calls for tenders

Open tenders, open calls for tenders, or advertised tenders are open to all vendors or contractors who can guarantee performance.

Restricted tenders, restricted calls for tenders, or invited tenders are only open to selected prequalified vendors or contractors. This may be a two-stage process, the first stage of which produces a short list of suitable vendors.

The reasons for restricted tenders differ in scope and purpose. They are called because:

  • There is essentially only one suitable supplier of the services or product
  • There are confidentiality issues such as military contracts
  • There are reasons for expedience such as emergency situations
  • There is a need to weed out tenderers who do not have the financial or technical capabilities to fulfill the requirements

Origin of the term

Dictionaries explain the etymology as coming from Old French tendre, which means "to offer".

The following false etymology is sometimes heard:

  • When merchant ships arrived at a port of call, they would post a notice describing the goods they wished to buy or sell. This notice was delivered ahead of the ship by a tender—a small boat—and hence the process became known as tendering.

Double envelope system

In an open bid or tender system, a double envelope system may be used. The double envelope system separates the technical proposal (based on and intended to meet the statement of work) from the financing or cost proposal in the form of two separate and sealed envelopes.

During the tender evaluation, the technical proposal would be opened and evaluated first followed by the financing proposal.

The objective of this system is to ensure a fair evaluation of the proposal. The technical proposal would be evaluated purely on its technical merits and its ability to meet the requirements set forth in the Invitation without being unduly skewed by the financial proposal.

Tender box

A tender box is a mailbox that is used to receive the physical tender or bid documents. When a tender or bid is being called, a tender or bid number is usually issued as a reference number for the tender box. The tender box would be open for interested parties to submit their proposals for the duration of the bid or tender.

Once the duration is over, the tender box is closed and sealed and can only be opened by either the tender or bid evaluation committee or a member of the procurement department with one witness.

Security deposit

Registered contractors are usually required to furnish a bond for a stipulated sum as security or earnest money deposit to be adjusted against work done, normally in the form of Bank Guarantee or Surety.

Locating tenders

Public sector organizations in many countries are legally obliged to release tenders for works and services. In the majority of cases, these are listed on their websites and traditional print media. Electronic procurement and tendering systems or e-procurement are also increasingly prevalent.

A number of companies provide subscription alert services which send notifications of relevant tender documents to the subscriber.

An array of private organisations also assist businesses in finding out about these tenders. Cost may vary from a few pounds a week to a few hundred.

Because of the specialised language and sometimes difficult-to-grasp procedures, some organizations also offer companies tender writing training, or do the writing for them.

Typical template contents (in project management)

A typical invitation to tender template in any project has the following sections:

  • Introduction
  • Project background
  • Legal issues
  • Maintaining issues
  • Supplier response required
  • Timetable for choosing a supplier
  • Requirements

See also

References

  1. Consular reports: Commerce, manufactures, etc, Issues 164-167. United States. Bureau of Foreign Commerce, United States. Dept. of Commerce and Labor G.P.O., 1894. Pg 361
  2. The Electrical Journal, Volume 58. 1907 Pg 826
  3. Invitation to tender, information for bidders, contract, specifications, bond and contractors' proposal, Issue 1. Delaware Bridge Joint Commission of the States of Pennsylvania and New Jersey Enterprise Pub. Co., 1921
  4. Lasa Information Systems Team. "Invitation to tender". PM Hut. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
Categories: