Do everything right from the start

In public procurement, there is no room for delay. You are not given the opportunity to submit additional information. The deadline for submitting a bid is a strict deadline. If you are even one minute late, you have missed your chance. In other words, it's important that you get everything right from the start. So when you start planning to submit your bid, it's important to double-check the tender documents several times, so you don't miss any crucial information. There can be a lot to think about, so we've put it all together in a checklist for you.

Good luck now!
 

Step 1. Go through the procurement documents several times

Read through the procurement documents calmly, several times. Feel free to make notes of relevant information requested, must-have requirements or anything else that is good to know right away. There are many details, criteria and requirements that are important not to miss in your tender.

• What is the purpose of the tender? 

• Is there anything that stands out, that is particularly important to answer in the clearest possible way? 

• What do you, as a supplier, need to talk about and support with documentation? 

Requirements and wishes may be scattered in the documentation, make sure you go through everything carefully and write down what the buyer wants to know. Make your own checklist of the requirements that need to be answered in the tender documents, which you can then easily tick off to ensure you don't miss anything important that needs to be included.
 

Step 2: Start early and make a timetable

Submitting a tender can be time-consuming, so make sure you start well in advance. Make your own timetable, planning for important dates and when different documents need to be ready. Some tenders require third-party documentation, so it may take extra time to get everything in place. In the procurement documents you will usually find the following elements:

• Administrative conditions

• Requirements for the supplier

• Requirements for the subject of the procurement

• Basis for evaluation

• Contract terms and conditions

• Contract monitoring

For your own convenience, you may want to use these as headings and then summarise under the headings important details that you should not miss in the tender.
 

Step 3. Tender deadline - when is the deadline for submitting your tender?

We cannot remind you enough to start on time. The deadline for submission is a strict deadline. If the contracting authority is to consider your tender at all, the minimum requirement is that it is submitted on time. As a general rule, tenders must be submitted no later than 23:59 on the last day of the deadline.

It may be that the contracting organization has chosen a longer deadline than the legal minimum, in which case there is no obstacle to specifying a different time. 

Make sure to double-check the deadline several times, so that you don't spend all your time and effort creating your tender unnecessarily - which it will be if you submit it late. 
 

Step 4. Ask questions early in the process

Do you have any questions about the documentation? Make sure to ask questions early in the procurement process if there is anything you are unsure about and need clarification on, so that the buyer has time to answer.

Contact the buyer in the way you want, usually via the Q&A function in the procurement system, to get answers to your questions. Pay attention to when the deadline is for asking questions.

Remember that the general rule is that the questions asked by a tenderer and the answers given by the contracting organisation during the procurement procedure should be made available to all tenderers and other stakeholders.

Do not confuse questions during the procurement with a pre-procurement dialogue. A proactive pre-procurement dialogue with the procuring entity takes place in the way you/you want and has no formal requirements. This means that other potential suppliers do not automatically have access to your dialogue.
 

Step 5. Make it as easy as possible for the buyer

The buyer should review your tender and the tenders of others, i.e. your competitors, at the same time. It is important that you write a clear and easily understandable tender. Do what you can to make it easier for the buyer to get a clear overview.

• Clarify any terms and abbreviations.

• Answer what is asked for, avoid unnecessarily long and complicated explanations. 

• Do not refer to external sources and web links, but make sure that the buyer gets all the information directly in your tender.

It may seem unnecessarily strict with the structure, but it is incredibly frustrating for the buyer to have to search for relevant information in a mess. Many suppliers neglect this, even if you are not judged on how structured you are as a supplier, it gives good signals to the contracting organization about how you are to work with. 
 

Step 6. Be clear that your company meets all requirements

You need to be thorough, clear and not sloppy when answering all the questions in the procurement documents. Make sure it is clear that your company meets all the requirements, and clearly describe how you meet all the must-haves, should-haves and other evaluation criteria to get the best possible result. Pay particular attention to your compliance with the 'shall' requirements, which are mandatory.

It is important to remember that regardless of the evaluation basis of the tender, there are always mandatory requirements to be met. There may also be criteria relating to quality, environmental characteristics, competence, delivery time, guarantee, service and follow-up, etc. By highlighting how well your company meets these criteria in the tender, there is a chance that your tender will win even if you do not have the lowest price. Therefore, value all the requirements in the tender equally, whether they are mandatory or not.
 

Step 7. Double-check all information before submitting your tender

Make sure that your tender meets all the requirements and conditions set out in the procurement documents. An incomplete tender is unlikely to win the tender, so make sure that all elements are included. If you are answering questions in a stand-alone document, make sure you are clear about which question you are answering. Go through your own checklist you wrote at the beginning and make sure to double-check all the details, like: 

• Are all the contact details for you at the company correct?

• Have you provided the correct contact details for the references?

• Are you submitting the tender in the required language?

• Is the correct company representative signing as the sender?

• Have you attached all the annexes requested by the contracting authority? Are they the right annexes?

• Do you answer all the requirements?

You are well on your way

As you have probably gathered from this checklist, preparation and systematic work are essential before submitting a tender. Work in a structured way and double-check that all details are included. If you work in a procurement system such as Mercell Tendering, it is easier to get an overview and see that all parts are included.