Bid document(s) issued

With the dramatic growth in technology, there have been various new forms of communication developed, some of which now play or have played a part in the procurement process. These include the following:

1. Traditional printed tender document package delivered to bidders, with printed response documents returned within a given deadline
2. Electronic tender documents distributed and received by e-mail
3. Electronic tender documents distributed and received by electronic storage media such as CD/DVD or USB flash storage devices
4. Electronic on-line tender process with an auction conducted in real-time to allow bidders to compete anonymously, reducing prices until the final lowest bid wins
5. Electronic tender documents distributed on a third party or client-owned server or portal for download by approved bidders, and responses to be uploaded to the same portal

Note that in most cases, where electronic submission is mandated, the client will also request printed hard-copies of the bidder's submission.

Bidder's tender resources

Most medium or large enterprises with regular tendering activity are likely to have a dedicated tender person or team to coordinate and manage the tender process. This has a number of advantages, such as allowing for a consistent, efficient and streamlined process, a focal point for internal and client's tender communication, full-time focus on compliance with tender instructions, deadlines and deliverables, etc.

Whenever an enterprise receives a tender invitation from a client, the first task is to ensure the information is forwarded as quickly as possible to the relevant responsible tender response person or team. 

Tender receipt

The tender response team's first task will be the responsibility for receiving or downloading the tender documentation, checking they have secured all the documents, and acknowledging receipt to the client.

The bidder's tender team will be responsible for managing the electronic aspect of procurement, keeping track of the variety of client portals, systems and maintaining updated passwords and or access authentication information. This is important not only to obtain the tender documentation, but also for the delivery of finished response documentation within the tender submission deadline.

Note that this is not always as simple as it sounds, as many server or portal based tenders have security, access and password requirements. Often these are not controlled by the client procurement team themselves, but by an IT department or third party service that they have contracted. Experience has shown that often the bidder's tender team has had to contact the client or their service provider multiple times to resolve issues relating to specific software requirements, passwords or file formats before being able to access and download the tender documentation.

Once receipt of the tender document package is acknowledged, the tender team will inform designated persons of the arrival of the tender, and a few key details such as client name, scope of work, duration and submission date. They will need to make the documents available to their colleagues that will be working on the response. If the documents have been issued as paper copies, the tender team will either request electronic copies from the client, scan the documents to create electronic copies, or copy the documents for use by their colleagues. If the client documents were issued electronically, then copies will be placed on the bidder's network or workplace portal and may also be provided in hard copy if needed.