Pre-submission clarifications

It is not uncommon that the tender package may contain errors or omissions, or contradictory instructions or information. A bidder may also want to ask for additional information, or the reasoning for certain requirements, if substitutions will be acceptable, or any manner of things. 

There are some important considerations that should be built into the bidder's tender process.

1. Follow the instructions for asking questions
2. Centralize the process to avoid asking the same or similar things already asked
3. Consider whether you want the competition to know what you are asking
4. Maintain and share a detailed log of all questions and answers
5. If relevant, update the tender questions being answered
6. Understand if a question should be asked – or if a qualification can be used instead
7. Review all clarification questions before submission

Follow the instructions for asking questions

The tender will usually describe the process for asking clarification questions prior to tender submission. It is likely that all questions will have to be sent to a specific person or persons in the client's organization or to a designated email address. The process may require a certain form to be used, file name format to be followed, password or encryption to be used, and questions may need to be separately submitted for commercial, contractual, or technical topics. It is important to check and follow the instructions carefully so as to not to annoy the client or risk disqualification.

Centralize the process to avoid asking the same or similar things already asked

Sometimes the tender instructions will request the bidder nominate a central person for tender communication, but regardless, it is always best to designate someone to manage the clarification communication process. Make sure everyone knows who this person is, and that they should forward their questions to them.

Consider whether you want the competition to know what you are asking

Normally, all clarification questions and answers will be shared with all of the bidders, although there can be exceptions for some very specific questions that are either confidential or should have no impact on the other bidders.

Knowing that the information is shared should mean that care should be taken about what is asked and how it is asked. The first rule is to avoid using the bidder's own name or any terminology that would signal to other bidders who is asking the question. So trade names, product or technology names should be avoided in order to remain anonymous.

Most clarification questions are likely to be straightforward, and address instances where the tender did not clearly or fully explain what was required. Since the information will be shared amongst all bidders, this does open the door for some strategic opportunity for a bidder to create an advantage, so consideration should be given to what a competitor will gain from reading a question. Will it for example tip them off to the fact that another bidder cannot supply everything, or perhaps cannot meet a deadline, or may have some issue or problem that they are seeking a way around? If so, it might be better to not ask the question, but include a qualification in the tender response, together with some mitigation to make it acceptable to the client. 

In some cases it may be a good idea to ask a question to highlight a commercial or technical risk that the competition may not know of, so as to influence them to price in mitigation, or in some other way compensate for the possibility. You may well know the answer already, but suspect that not all the other bidders do – so this will help level the field for all bidders. 

Maintain and share a detailed log of all questions and answers

It is important to maintain a detailed list of all the clarification questions and answers, as these form part of the inquiry documentation and may provide corrections or additional information relevant to the tender. This information may later be important and provide protection to the bidder when the contract award is being finalized.

If relevant, update the tender questions being answered

In cases where a clarification answer impacts a question or questions, update the question accordingly, so as to ensure that the updated question is now being addressed. This can easily be done by adding a copy of the clarification text to the question together with any appropriate communication reference or date, so as to make it obvious to the bidder and client how the original question has been affected.

Understand if a question should be asked, or if a qualification can be used instead

Not all questions are in the bidder's interest, particularly if they concern some form of shortcoming in terms of capability, capacity, experience, reliability, etc. In such cases, it may not be a good idea to ask the client if they will accept some sub-standard proposal, since the client may choose to reject this and cause the bidder unwanted expense to remedy the situation or in the worst case eliminate the bidder from the tender. 

A better option would be to explain in the tender response the nature of the issue, and the bidder's proposed remedy, hopefully in such a way as to bring the client on board with the proposed solution. Taking this approach means that discussion of this issue can be conducted in private between the bidder and client during the tender evaluation phase.

Review all clarification questions before submission

It is important for the bidder to review and think about their questions before submitting them – for several reasons. For example:

1. To check that the question or something very similar has not already been asked
2. To decide if it should be asked or not
3. To check if the wording needs to be improved to try to extract the specific answer being sought. (A poorly worded question often leads to an unsatisfactory answer.)
4. To decide when to ask, perhaps waiting a day or two to see if another bidder asks instead