Four Majors Steps Involved In Applying For a Tender

Bid Detail
3 min readApr 10, 2018

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A tender is essentially a formal invitation that is published to acquire bids for a particular project. This process creates a platform where distinguished bidders belonging to the same industry can provide information about their product or services, as well as the amount to be charged for it.

In the process of tendering, you would be required to go through a number of vital steps if you want to bid for one. Four of the major ones among them are:

  • Identifying the right contracts: The first step of applying fora tender would essentially involve actively sourcing contracts on the basis of your industry, with the help of renowned websites providing up-to-date tender information and details. Through these websites you can get the latest information about the relevant tenders floating in the market. Whether you want to secure a Hyderabad tender or a Vietnam tender, you would be able to get information about industry-specific tenders, floating in both national and international market on these online portals. While identifying the contracts, you should keep in mind your company experience, turnovers, as well as certifications and affiliations. It is imperative that you not only think of your ability to put in a compliant bid from the outset, but also of your chances of securing the contract.
  • Express your interest: After identifying the tender, you would be required to let the tendering company know that you are interested in submitting a bid. After submitting your expression of interest, further documentation would be issued to you, in the form of pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), or the invitation to tender (ITT) itself, if it is a one-stage process. You should never delay in expressing an interest, as the sooner you submit your interest, the more time you would get in order to prepare the bid. In case you change your mind, ideally you would not be under any obligation to submit the bid and can opt out of the process at any time.
  • Pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ): This document is specially designed to eliminate any under-qualified suppliers participating in this process, in order to reduce the number of companies bidding for the contract. The tender review board essentially removes the companies who do not have the experience or ability to be considered for the contract through this process. Therefore, you should aim at providing the evidence and firm reassurance of your company’s capabilities at this stage. Even though ideally, the evaluators consider PQQ and ITT stages in isolation, any positive impact made during the PQQ stage can also help you in the ITT process.
  • Invitation to tender (ITT): If your company successfully passes the PQQ stage, it would receive an invitation to tender (ITT). While the PQQ document discusses what you have done in the past, the ITT requests a proposal for what you would be able to do in order to efficiently fulfill the contract. In this process, you should focus on how you can add value to the process or project and what innovations can you bring about to complete the task at hand efficiently. You should lay emphasis on the unique selling proposition (USP) of your company and the factors that make it stand out among the competitors in this process.

If you want to participate in any Vietnam tender, or the tenders issued in some other country where major infrastructural projects are underway, you can easily visit an online portal providing detailed information about the national and international tenders.

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