Despite the fact tendering reduces the amount of contractual negotiation, some communication may be necessary to obtain clarification and to correct any errors in the tender documents or adjust to changing circumstances.
To that end, municipalities reserve the right to issue addenda to tender documents where they wish to change unilaterally the specifications or some other aspect of the tender before bids are submitted. Tender documents also will usually set out a procedure for inquiries by prospective bidders.
An example of a standard clause would be in the document, such as bidder inquiries should be faxed or emailed by the bidder to the agent who will forward these questions to the department.
As deemed prudent by the agent, these questions and their respective answers will be written and issued to all potential bidders prior to closing. Any questions and answers occurring during bidders meetings, site visits or information sessions will be treated in the same fashion, where possible.
It is important that all bidders receive the exact information pertaining to any questions or answers related to the tender in writing.
Any verbal information given to an individual contractor by a municipality could give them an advantage in the bidding process. Such is the reason why it is critical for all communication between the owner and municipality be done in writing and be sent to every contractor that is bidding the project.
To be completely fair, open and transparent even the questions and answers at a site visit should be sent to the contractor in writing to make sure the process is conducted properly.
In competitive contracting there is little dialogue between the municipality that issues the call for tenders and the contractors who bid for the contract to which it relates.
The municipality’s tender documents should define what it is looking to purchase, lease or otherwise procure. It is vital to any competitive contract award process that the bids received be comparable in all material respects.
To ensure this is so, the terms and conditions governing a tender invariably require bids to be submitted in a standardized form.
Indeed, it is difficult to imagine how the process might be conducted absent the use of such a standard form.
The biggest complaint I get from contractors is related to reasons why they get disqualified from a specific tender process. Most of the time it’s as simple as the contractor not following the exact instructions laid out in the tender document.
In some cases, it takes further investigation as to why some bids are deemed non-compliant by the municipality.
My suggestion to all contractors when disqualified by a municipality is to inquire as soon as possible if the reason for being deemed non-compliant is not abundantly clear.
This should be followed up with a debrief with the municipality to completely understand the reason for not complying with the tender documents.
Most contractors don’t take advantage of the debrief process. They feel it is a waste of time and they will just move on to the next tender that is issued.
By not fully understanding the reason why you were deemed non-compliant, you may make the same mistake on the next tender.
I have discovered over the years by attending debriefs that information may come out about the bidder that was an issue that would continue had the debrief not taken place.
One example is contractor performance. Many contractors have had issues of contractor performance on previous projects and not completely rectified the issues.
The municipality may be taking this into consideration when reviewing the tenders.
When you don’t take the time as a contractor to fully understand how you are perceived by a municipality, you may be continually bidding on tenders that will never be awarded to your company.
Stephen Bauld is a government procurement expert and can be reached at swbauld@purchasingci.com.
Some of his columns may contain excerpts from The Municipal Procurement Handbook published by Butterworths.
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