At The Tender Team, many of our clients are small businesses that are eager to get started on their first government contracts such as local council tenders. While large scale tenders more often than not can be out of reach for some of our client base (especially relatively new businesses), local council tenders are an excellent and appropriate opportunity to service major clients directly within our clients’ backyard.
Listed below are many common sections that we are able to advise on for our small business clients.
Tendering Conditions in Local Council Tenders
Before even beginning a bid response, the tendering conditions out the procedure itself that is applied by a local council for all of its tenders. It is a general section dedicated to informing a tenderer of the structure and submission guidelines that a bid response must adhere to from beginning to end.
These conditions are more concerned with the structure and style of a bid response over its substance. They cover aspects of a tender such as preliminary site meetings and discussions for all interested applicants. These meetings themselves are often mandatory and we always advise our clients that participation is strongly encouraged in order to peruse the location for a tender’s requirements and to pose as an opportunity to clarify or delve further information on the products/services necessary for the tender’s fulfillment.
Other aspects of the tender are also covered under these conditions such as the amendment procedure that consists of limited back and forth between our clients and the tender evaluation panel on sections within the RFT that are incorrect or need further clarification. As a result, there are strict regulated process on the implementation of new addendums that can possibly affect our clients’ bid responses as a whole depending on their nature.
Conditions also extend to the late acceptance or rejection of tenders themselves if they are submitted in an incorrect format. We always closely review these processes as all the hard work and effort put into a comprehensive bid response can be rejected on the basis of submission past the deadline or formatting mistakes that an evaluation panel simply would not accept.
In addition, the following conditions are usually specified as below;
- Tender validity period
- Alternative or non-conforming tenders
- Variation of tenders
- Opening of tenders
Contract Conditions
Moving away from the general tender conditions, the contract conditions for many local council tenders are obviously more legally focused, adhering to all relevant laws and regulations that are covered by the tender itself.
While we will always alert our clients to any terms or clauses that may conflict with their operations, there is always no excuse for any tenderer to closely review the contract themselves.
Like most legal documents, contract conditions specify all the details for how the tenderer will plan, deliver and support their products and/or services. Unlike the tender conditions, contract conditions are more concerned with what happens after our clients have been selected as the winning bidder as opposed to submitting the tender itself.
Furthermore, local council tenders often cover the following specialised contract conditions;
- Issues Reporting and Resolution
- Communication Requirements
- Standards
- Work by Others
- Project Duration
- Site Access and Security Measures
Specification
Alongside the contract conditions, we consult with the client closely on all parts of the specification for the tender. The specification is concerned with all of the following details;
- What exact products/services are required?
- Where do they need to be located?
- When do they need to be provided?
- Why are they required?
We always advise our clients that paying close attention to the specification is paramount for a relevant and effective bid response. The worst-case situation would be to provide a response that has misread the original specification and ultimately offers the tender evaluation panel something they don’t actually need or ever asked for. For local councils, we consult with our clients on how best to tailor their responses on a smaller scale to efficiently meet council needs.
Non-Price Response Schedule
This section is the main part of the bid response and where we consult closely with our clients to help persuade the tender evaluation panel of their competitive advantage and values.
In a non-price response schedule, all manner of questions will be asked on our clients such as the following;
- General information such as contact details, business structure and key personnel
- Client history and personal/business references
- OHS/WHS, quality and environmental management plans and more
A good bid response for local council tenders will adequately cover all questions asked with logical and clearly structured, factual answers. From completing a non-price response schedule, our clients have covered how their bid response is more competitive, from multiple perspectives, over other bidders. With The Tender Team, we focus our efforts mostly on this section to the client’s benefit and ensure that their response satisfies all tender requirements while distinguishing ourselves from the competition.
Price Response Schedule
While The Tender Team does not consult on price responses for our clients’ bids, we always encourage our clients to complete their pricing schedules as the first step whenever possible. Pricing is an extremely important part of any bid response and often is a leading criteria for being selected as the winning bid.
Call The Tender Team now on 0410 448 770 to speak with our expert tender writers on our local council tender services. We provide around-the-clock service, at great rates.
