TENDERS

'Tenders' are special procedures to generate competing offers from different bidders looking to obtain an award of business activity in works, supply, or service contracts. They are usually preceded by a Prequalification Questionnaire (PQQ) and an Invitation to Tender (ITT).

Contents

Types of tenders

Locating Tenders

Origin of the term

See also

Types of tenders

'Open tenders', also called advertised tenders, are open to all vendors or contractors who can guarantee performance. Example: results.
'Invited tenders', also called prequalified, short-listed or selective tenders, are only open to selected prequalified vendors or contractors. Example: ad and results.

Locating Tenders

European tender documents above the EU threshold are released on the Official Journal of The European Union (OJEU); previuously called the OJEC or Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) for free. A number of companies provide subscription alert services which send notification of relevant tender documents to the subscriber.
Every Public Sector organisation within the EU is legally obliged to release tenders for works and services above set thresholds. In the majority of cases these are listed on their websites. Birmingham City Council Tenders
Tenders from Europeantenders.com (commercial service)

Origin of the term

When merchant ships arrived at a port of call, they would post a notice describing the goods they wished to buy or sell. This notice was delivered ahead of the ship by a tender—a small boat—and hence the process became known as tendering.

See also

★ request for proposal

★ E-procurement

★ Reverse auction

★ Proposal

★ ERFx

★ Strategic_sourcing