Tender - Preparation

This page is an extract from the full topic guidance on Tender Preparation [97KB PDF]. It details any Constraints associated with tender preparation, provides a summary of the Authoritative Guidance and lists any essential reading, further reading or associated documents.

If you have any queries on this topic, please contact the Sponsor by email: DGDC CS-2C-1.

Constraints

The European Community (EC) Public Procurement Regulations apply to Ministry of Defence (MOD) contracts unless the nature of the work qualifies for an exemption. Reference must be made to the detailed guidance on the mandatory procedures to be followed.

Responses made to the Invitation to Tender (ITT) set up an implied contract between tenderers and MOD. It is therefore essential that the conduct of the tender mirrors the procedures set out in the ITT.

Authoritative Guidance Summary

Specific tendering procedures apply to United States of America (USA) procurements and reference must be made to the Procurement From The USA topic for detailed guidance.

The principles to be applied in competitive or single source tendering are broadly similar. The only procedural difference being the arrangements for receipt of tenders.

Invitations To Tender (ITTs) must be written clearly and associated with properly defined technical documentation and/or specification. A list of the documents that should normally be included and a summary of the main issues that should be addressed, together with other sources of guidance, are provided under Authoritative Guidance.

The ITT must comply with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) / Industry Codes of Best Practice; it must identify mandatory, desirable and optional data requirements and the criteria and weightings to be used in the tender assessment process.

ITTs for a competitive tender should be identical and issued to all tenderers simultaneously as far is practical.

The submission procedures to be followed for paper and electronic tendering are detailed under Authoritative Guidance.

For complex or substantial new requirements a Bidders Conference should normally be held soon after issue of the ITT to clarify any areas of doubt. Detailed guidance on managing these is provided under Authoritative Guidance.

All queries from potential tenderers or tenderers must be handled formally and even-handedly. They should be directed in the first instance to, and managed by, the commercial officer in the acquisition team appointed to perform this role.

If MOD intends to eliminate one or more tenderers during the course of the competitive process, or wishes to reserve the right to do so, this must be made clear in the ITT.

It is not MOD practice to reimburse tender costs. However, MOD is conscious of the level of resource needed to respond to its ITTs. MOD will normally seek to contain tender costs by limiting the number of potential tenderers. For complex military capability requirements and Private Finance Initiative / Public Private Partnership (PFI / PPP) contracts it will also consider operating an early or incremental tender assessment 'down selection' procedure.