Initial document review

The next step for the tender support person or team is to review the documentation. For tender documents issued in hard-copy, this is straightforward – just a case of reading through the document package.

Where tender documents are issued electronically, the individual documents may not be organized in the way in which they are meant to be read, and may be just a collection of files sorted by file name. If so, then the files should be sorted into the intended order as best as possible. This can often be done by reviewing the actual documents and looking for a contents list, which can be used to determine the file order. 

A simple method to organize files is to add a number prefix to the file name and adjust until the files display in the order they are to be read. It may be worth creating a sorted PDF copy of the entire inquiry, to make it simpler for others to review the parts they are interested in.

Key tender information

The person assigned to the tender support role will read through the tender documents to ascertain several key pieces of information.

1. Find the key dates – typically deadline for acknowledgment, deadline for asking any clarification questions, and deadline for submitting the response
2. Instructions for where and how the response should be submitted, such as how many copies, if electronic, where and in what format
3. Structure – such as separate technical and commercial submissions, priced and unpriced copies, etc.
4. Official contact point – often all communications should be made through an assigned person or specific email address
5. Security – there may be passwords or authentication codes issued for access to the client's tender portal to access additional tender material
6. Questions – it is important to find all the specific questions to be answered – some bids are less well organized and may have questions in different parts of the tender
7. Direct data entry – in some cases where a tender is to be managed on a client's server or portal, some of the response may be by direct input into data fields on the portal
8. Completeness – to ensure that all documents are provided by checking the index, any references to additional information, and that links to websites function, etc.

Scope of work

It is also important to check the scope of work, as that has a bearing on who needs to participate in the tender response. So while reading through the tender documentation, the following aspects are included in this initial review:

1. Specific types and quantities of products and/or services to be tendered
2. Any parts of the products and/or services that are not normally provided by the bidder, which may mean outsourcing from a third party
3. Location(s) of where these products and/or services will be delivered or performed
4. Product samples required?
5. Laboratory testing required?
6. Health and safety information required?
7. Quality assurance information required?
8. Environmental information required?
9. Financial performance information (company accounts, etc.) required?
10. Contract terms and conditions – has a draft contract been included?
11. Duration – start and end date of the initial contract
12. Options – start and end date of any option periods for extending the contract
13. Timing – any milestone requirements for things that have to be done or in place by when

Review and marking 

It is likely that the tender support team will duplicate a set of the tender documents or files to use as their working copy during the tender process. They will retain the client originals in case additional copies are required by anyone else.​ This will allow the tender team to read through the tender and highlight relevant text, either on a paper copy or electronically with a color code, to separate out client questions, tender instructions, deliverables, etc. 

Note that this should only be performed on a separate working copy, not on original documents or files. The highlighted copy will help with some of the administrative work that lies ahead, such as preparing information for the kickoff meeting, setting up the response, assigning tasks and compiling the final submission.

Identify bidder's response team

Once the tender document review is completed, the tender support person will if relevant share the information with whomever is the lead person for the tender response, so that the relevant persons in the bidder's organization can be identified. They will form the tender response team and work together to prepare the information to be submitted.

Where the bidder has been planning for a tender, it is likely that they will have already identified the key members of the tender response team. If so, it may still need to be adjusted if the scope of work differs from what was expected, or if some of the team members are unavailable during the period of compiling the tender response. 

The goal is to identify the core team of persons expected to be involved in preparing the tender response, and is likely to include any or all the following roles:

1. Management – for approval of the tender response
2. Client account manager or contact person
3. Legal for contractual aspects
4. Finance for the commercial aspects
5. Health, safety and environment
6. Quality assurance
7. Technical (subject matter experts on the products and/or services to be provided)
8. Logistics
9. Procurement (if the bidder needs to subcontract any parts of the scope of work)
10. Tender support – to manage the tender administration, compilation and delivery of the final response