Reasons Why Tenders are issued for Government Projects

Tendering is a popularly used process of inviting bids from the various firms operating in a certain industry, for any particular contract or project. Tenders are generally floated for large scale projects that involve a substantial sum of investment. The tendering system is used by both private and public sector organizations of the world. Most Govt tenders are announced publically for the purpose of informing all the potential contractors and suppliers belonging to the given industry about the need of the relevant product or service by the public sector organization.

The tendering system ideally enables organizations to identify the contractor who is the most qualified and skilled to complete the project in hand, while eliminating the ones unfit for the contract. This system also plays a major role in encouraging contactors to add more innovations and advanced features to their products, while optimizing all the resources available to them.

Owing to the advantageous characteristics of the tendering system, it is commonly used for the completion of governmental projects. Here are a few of those characteristics:

• Value for money: In the tendering process, multiple suppliers belonging to the given industry compete for the same contract. In order to get an edge over their competitors, these suppliers usually offer superior quality of products at the most cost-effective pricing. They, at times, even provide incentives like additional innovations, price reductions and value adds to the buyers, in order to win the contract. Hence, with this system, governmental organizations are able to complete their projects for the minimum price. This factor subsequently provides assurance that the money of the taxpayers has been utilized optimally.
  
• Audit trail: A systematic audit trail is maintained for each and every step involved in the tendering system, as well as for the projects completed with its help. Therefore, in case of tendering, substantial evidence of how the taxpayers’ money has been spent is maintained, and any type of discrepancy in the financing of the projects completed with the help of tenders can be identified immediately.
  
• Adherence to regulations: All public sector enterprises are required to operate under strict legislative regulations, and projects issued under them are also undertaken while keeping in mind all these policies. The tendering system provides assurance that all the important regulations of the governmental organization are met in the completion of their project.

Detailed information about the latest Govt tenders can be easily found on popular online tendering websites.

Types of tendering process - Tender Detail

Before we proceed, it is crucial to know what tenders are. Tenders are bids that invite individuals or organizations to complete large projects. This helps the issuer to find the best prospective client to accomplish said task. Usually, financial institutions and governments issue tenders for projects that have a fixed deadline. Online portals can aggregate a large number of tenders from different sources and can be filtered country wise e.g. Malawi tenders, Western Asia tenders, European tenders etc. or according to category.

What is RFT and RFP?

A request for tender or RFT is a formal outline of the requirements for the project that invites bids from suppliers for the products or services. This is done to make things fair and competitive.

A request for proposal or RFP gives the suppliers details about said organization as well as details about the project that it needs to undertake. These details can include timelines, company process, prior experience and other information.

Tendering and its types

Tendering can be described as the process where the prospective clients share their proposals or offers to show their interest in the project. This gives all the prospective clients and equal chance to claim the project granted they can meet the requirements of the issuer. The process for tendering is decided by the issuer and can be done in 4 ways:

Open Tendering

Open tendering is when the issuer gives out the details through public advertisement so as to reach a larger number of interested parties.

Select Tendering

As the name suggests, select tendering is when the tender is open to only a select group of prospects who may have previously worked with the organization.

Multi-stage Tendering

This is when a huge number of prospective applicants show their interest in the tender. The number of applicants is brought down in different stages of the process.

Invited Tendering

This is when the issuer selectively invites a specific number of applicants directly.

Things to remember before writing for UAE government tenders

The writing style matters most in a tender response. A simple approach and addressing exactly what the UAE government has asked for are important. The writing style of the proposal should be consistent. The format and presentation of the response for UAE government tenders should also be professional. The response that is within context will always be more effective. Additional relevant information can be added in an Added Value or Additional Products/Services section.



Documents should be presented in a way that makes it as simple as possible for the authorities to evaluate. If the proposal is too sophisticated or different, it may not impress the evaluation team. You must know what the evaluation team is specifically asking for. Proposals put in in a consistent way can make the evaluation process easier and quicker for them to complete.

Effective writing style
The writing style in the proposal should combine a formal tone, used for providing the information needed, and a subtle selling tone, convincing the UAE authorities as to why they should buy from you. A too sales-oriented style may overload the buyer with information that is often outside the scope of what they need to know. The consistency of tense and voice should be maintained. Jargon and excessive use of acronyms should be avoided.

The overall design of the proposal document should make a statement to the authority about your professional abilities. A simple design with a header and footer makes the document appear more professional. Your company name or brand can be included in the header. The footer should contain the page number and proposal title.

Submission of documents
The documents should either be divided into clear sections, as specified by the tender authority, or arranged to provide a clear and logical presentation of the proposal content. The document should be consistent in font, text size, alignment, and the numbering sequence used. Short and punchy paragraphs with bullet points and images like simple flowcharts used to break up the text have more impact. For detailed information, appendices can be used.

The first thing the buyer sees is the front cover of the proposal,which should create an impression of the quality about the remainder of the document. The cover should clearly identify the owner by including the company corporate colors, an existing corporate ‘look and feel’, and logo. It should also include the bidder’s organization name, the title of the contract or tender, and any reference codes.
The proposal should include an introduction explaining the format and purpose of the tendering proposal. You must specify that you have understood the requirements, the buyer’s business environment, and the principles and values that are important to them.

The Approach/Solution
This section may include the following:

• Step-by-step explanation of how you propose to deliver the service/products asked for in the UAE government tenders.
  
• Who will be involved in the contract — a summary of their roles and responsibilities can be provided.
  
• Who will be involved in the management of the contract – this may include the contract manager, the project manager,and quality manager.
  
• How the communication will be managed between the supplier and buyer, including contract initiation, review checkpoints, regular reporting, and closure/handover.
  
• How you will ensure continuity of service.

Pricing
Tender notifying authority will usually mention the exact pricing information to be included in the proposal and how it should be presented. Normally, this will take the form of a table or spreadsheet, requiring a detailed breakdown of the cost elements to be provided and an indication of how they are calculated.