Tendering for contracts
Under a restricted procedure, only those suppliers that have been successful at pre-qualification stage are invited to tender. Under an open tender procedure, any interested supplier may express an interest and submit a tender.
The tender will be conducted entirely electronically using the capitalEsourcing system and will be in the following format:
- Qualification response envelope: this envelope asks suppliers to confirm basic contact information and that they meet the Council's minimum standards.
- Technical response envelope: this envelope asks suppliers to submit responses to method statement questions, relating to how the supplier intends to provide the service, including supporting evidence demonstrating relevant experience. This will be used to help evaluate the quality of the bid. A supplier will be expected to demonstrate their commitment to the Council’s policies as outlined in the documentation and supporting information in its responses.
- Commercial response envelope: this envelope requests pricing information to be submitted.
There will also be a number of attachments, forming the Invitation to Tender pack:
- an invitation to tender and instructions to tenderers: this will provide guidance on completing the tender response and advise when tender bids should be submitted.
- the contract specifications: sets out what needs to be achieved including policies, procedures or guidelines to be followed. It sets out all the performance standards and the outcomes expected
- the Royal Borough’s conditions of contract: provides definitions of the obligations of both parties and the legal framework
- the tender evaluation criteria: advises how the tender bid will be evaluated and the contract awarded
- any other relevant supporting information.
Suppliers will be asked to complete and submit the tender response by a specified date and time. If they fail to return their tender before this deadline it will be excluded from the rest of the tender process. All tenders received within the deadline will be held securely by capitalEsourcing until after the deadline has passed.
Suppliers will be informed as to whether or not they have been successful with their tender application. If it is not successful, a supplier can request feedback as to which aspects of its tender were assessed as unacceptable in meeting the best value for money requirement.
Debriefing of suppliers will be undertaken within the limits of commercial confidentiality. Unsuccessful suppliers should use this information to help with any future bids. Being unsuccessful in one contract does not mean that a supplier will be unsuccessful in future.
