Essentials of Participating in International Tenders

Tendering is a highly structured and well-defined system with the help of which both public and private sector organizations across the world invite bids from contractors and suppliers for the completion of certain projects. These projects are usually of a very large scale, and therefore require a significant sum of investments. Most of these projects are time sensitive as well, and thus a stringent deadline has to be adhered to for their completion.

In a typical tendering process, the buyer issues a document known as Request for Proposal or Request for Tender. This document underlines their requirements, needs, and expectations from the contract, as well as mentions the selection criteria. And, in response to this document, all interested firms operating in the particular industry can submit their individual bids while highlighting the details of their proposals, outlining their USP and quoting a price. The information mentioned in the proposal also includes the materials to be used for the project and schedule for its completion.

International Tenders
Tenders are issued by a number of well-established and reputed organizations across the globe, and can be related to diverse industries. Participating in global tenders can go a long way in assisting a firm to expand their business prospects and delve into the international market. Organizations issuing tenders on a global platform are usually major multinationals and corporates, NGO’s, and even government agencies and departments. Interested contractors can easily avail information about global tenders through prominent and reliable websites offering latest tender details, as well as through business focused newspapers, journals, and magazines.

While sourcing ideal global tenders to bid for, prospective contractors should take into account the following factors in order to ensure a profitable deal:

• The financial stability and the all-round infrastructure of the company issuing the tender.
  
• The goodwill and the market reliability of the buyer.
  
• The overall capacity of the bidder to orderly complete the contract with utmost efficiency and within the relevant deadline.
  
• The infrastructure, technical abilities, qualifications, experience and accreditations of the bidder and whether it matches with the expectations of the buyer.

The contractors must gain maximum knowledge about the reliability of the buyer before participating in a tendering process in order to avoid any kind of risk, especially when it comes to transnational transactions. They can even seek assistance from a reliable website where latest information about public procurement policies and procedure of various agencies across the globe are regularly published and even emailed to subscribers.

Advantages & characteristics of tendering

A tender is a type of transaction model which is used by government bodies, large organizations, and companies to find contractors for procurements or projects. In fact, it is a bidding process which is used by public as well as private organizations. Usually the organizations use Requests for Tender which is commonly referred to as RTF to invite bids for projects, large procurements or contracts from all proficient suppliers or firms in a given industry. Usually, most of these projects include a major sum of money.

Whether you are applying for global tenders or domestic tenders, it is vital to match the specifications required by the buyer. Important characteristics of tenders are listed below:

• The bid must include all the essential and applicable details about the materials to be used and the projected cost of the project, etc.
  
• All prospective contractors and suppliers should submit their bids within the time frame as determined by the client.
  
• The tendering process begins with an invitation to tender or a RTF.
  
• All bids are evaluated by the client after the cut-off date has passed, on the basis of a set of given criteria for instance price and quality.
  
• The process concludes with the public evaluation procedure, after which one of the firms that has submitted a bid becomes the winner.
  
• Before they are floated by the client, tenders are widely publicized in a range of media, to allow all concerned suppliers a chance to bid for the project.

Advantages of Tendering

• Tenders offer the maximum value for money from the point of view of the client. This is because the client has the liberty to select from a wide range of potential suppliers.
  
• Tenders are assessed on detailed set criteria, such as price, quality, and value for money. This means that the firm providing the top quality product at the lowest price point has the chance to win the contract.
  
• The tendering method makes it hassle-free for new firms to enter the market. This is because the contracts under this method are given on the basis of objective, predetermined criteria.

To know about the latest tenders you can browse through the website of a reputed online tendering portal as well as business magazines.