TENDER TIPS IN THE UAE

Tendering can be a time-consuming process if you are not prepared. It can also be a daunting task – especially if you do not have the right skills or expertise.

Businesses that are looking to respond to tenders as part of their business development should have a dedicated team that get together to construct the tender response. This would be greatly helped if the business had all the ‘always required’ information ready.

Create a Tender Pack. The Tender Pack is the collation of all the ‘always required’ information in one place. It’s the first place to start when constructing a tender response. Top of the list of documents is the essential checklist to be completed prior to even starting to create the tender response. This checklist asks the following questions:

Within your business is there sufficient understanding and capability to give credible answers to the following in any Expression of Interest, PQQ, Proposal or Tender?

• Administrative information (Trade Licence, etc).
• Business probity.
• Economic and financial standing (Insurances, etc).
• Health and safety (ISO 45001:2018 OHAS Management System).
• Quality assurance (ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System).
• Technical capability (e.g. operations, specifications, manufacturing process).
• Customer care & service levels.
• Environment (ISO 14001:2015) Environmental Management System).
• References.

Is this Tender Right for my Company?

The tendering process is used to help buyers choose the right supplier(s) at the best value for money and to help them minimize risk. Not only do you need to ensure that everything mentioned above is in place, but you also need be confident that you can win the tender.

Is my company big enough?

• As a guide, the buyer will be checking that the tender contract value does not exceed 20-30% of the tendering company’s turnover (NB this is a guide, not a rule).
• This is because the buyer wants to be sure the contract value will not be too much for the company to handle.
• The size of your company may dictate the maximum size of contract it is likely to win.

Can my company meet the buyer’s needs?

• You may look at a contract and think that your company can do most of the work but if there are areas that it cannot manage, your chances of qualifying or winning can be seriously reduced.
• This may be in terms of specification, geographical location/coverage, mandatory accreditations etc.

Can I show relevant experience?

• Buyers like to see that suppliers can prove they can do the job, therefore references from similar organisations for similar work are ideal.
• If you haven’t got these, you will need to show you have ‘transferable skills’ from customers with similar needs.
• If the work you are bidding for is not a ‘core competence’ (ie it represents only a small element of your company’s overall turnover) it can reduce your chances of success.

Has my company got sufficient trading history?

• As shown in the above Tender Documents Checklist, public sector buyers generally ask for audited accounts for the last 3 years (sometimes 2 years is enough).
• This means that Start-Ups are not always in the best position to win bids.
• Has my company got sufficient resources, time & tendering expertise?
• Tendering is time consuming – you will need to invest a lot of your time and resources to create a winning bid.

When creating you’re your tender response the golden rule is to follow the requirement as stated. There is nothing worse for the tender evaluators to have to sort through a tender response to find the relevant information because the response doesn’t follow the order stated in the tender. This mistake could see you being removed at the first sort!

Whether it is an electronic submission or a paper submission, make sure that all the necessary documents are included in the relevant sections of the tender response, or within an identified Annex. Many government tenders or construction tenders across the UAE now require ISO certification. Again, if you haven’t got one, this tends to be where you will leave the tender process. It should be noted that if you make it through the first sort and get short listed, you may need to substantiate your ISO certificate with your Management System Manual and other documented information.

When you make it through to the interview stage, ensure you are prepared. Again, it is important you send the right team to the interview. You need to be able to confirm all your responses in the tender response verbally, so you need to have someone who is confident and knows what the requirements of the tender was. From there on, it is down to you and the bridge you build with the evaluating team.

Remember, PREPERATION is the key to a good tender response. Build your Tender Pack now with all the ‘always required’ information, ie, Trade Licence, Quality Management certificate etc and include all the standard business background statements so you wont need to re-type from scratch. Ensure the latest financial information is ready at short notice. Identify your tender team that you can gather at short notice to assess the tender and create the tender response.

Finally, have your tender ready at least 2 days before the DEADLINE! Make sure that the person required to sign on behalf of the business is available to read and sign of the tender submission. Book your driver or courier early and get a receipt that the document was delivered before the deadline.

Wishing you all good luck for future tenders.

If you require any further information email info@csa-consultants.me