Tender – competitive fight in the context of a competition for the opportunity to provide certain services/perform work/supply goods for a competitive customer under certain conditions specified in the competition.
In current Russian legal acts, the concept of “tender” and its various derivatives (tender commission) are not defined and the concept of “competition” is used. However, in the business world everyone uses the term "tender", so we will use that too.
Tender participants provide the customer with their unique and most advantageous offers that comply with all the rules of the announced tender. All information on the tender is freely available, so each participant can find the information he is interested in regarding a specific tender.
The winner of the tender is the participant who, in the opinion of the customer, provided more profitable terms performance of work/delivery of goods and its documents fully comply with the requirements of the tender.
Today, in the context of fierce competition in the provision of services and beyond, it is quite difficult to find a potential customer, so issues related to conducting tenders are very relevant today, since the tender is one of the simplest and effective ways attracting the customer's attention.
After brief overview the concept of “tender” and the procedure for conducting it, let’s take a closer look at all the nuances relating to tenders.
Why are tenders needed?
Thanks to such tenders, small/young companies have the opportunity to receive Good work and conclude a profitable contract. As for the customer, he has a great opportunity Among the mass of applications, choose the contractor who, in his opinion, provides the most advantageous offer.
There are tenders that differ in the source of funding, namely: city, regional, federal, municipal, state, international.
Tender, competition, auction. What is the difference?
Some may have thought that these terms are synonymous, but this is not the case since there are important differences between all three concepts regarding the information provided to tender/competition/auction participants. An auction participant has the opportunity to see all offers and prices for a particular auction of his competitors. As for the tender participants, they do not have such an opportunity. Also, auction participants can change their offer by analyzing competitors' offers. Tender sites provide their proposal, which cannot be changed.
If we talk about competition, then in fact it is a synonym for the word “tender”, however, as mentioned earlier, the concept of “tender” cannot be used in official documents, and the concept of “competition” is indicated in Civil Code RF.
Types of tenders and methods of conducting them
There are the following types of tenders:
- closed;
- open;
- specialized auctions closed type;
- tenders consisting of two stages;
- request for quotations;
- purchase from one supplier.
Closed tenders
As you can guess from the name this type tenders are not intended for a wide audience, therefore invitations to participate and information about the results of the tender are not published. In other words, the customer himself personally invites each participant.
The first stage in conducting this type of tender is the selection and distribution of invitations to participants in a closed tender. The tenderer submits a request for tender documentation provided by the customer, upon receipt of which he draws up all the necessary documents in accordance with the described requirements. If a participant has questions, he can ask them to the customer in in electronic format. The customer is obliged to provide an answer to each question posed.
The customer is assigned the opportunity to make adjustments to the tender documentation at any time, however, when making changes, he must notify each participant.
The customer, having received all the proposals, evaluates them and selects the contractor who, in his opinion, offered him the most favorable conditions. The winner of the tender receives an invitation to sign the contract by mail. After the contract with the selected participant has been signed, all other participants in the closed tender are notified.
Closed tenders are held mainly when the customer is considering the purchase of goods with certain/specific characteristics/properties and this product can only be supplied by a certain number of companies. In this case, there is little point in holding an open tender. Also, closed tenders can be held when the volume of the total purchase is quite small and there is no point in spending money on conducting open bidding or the purchase of a particular product is strictly confidential.
An important point in holding closed tenders is that this type of procurement must be coordinated with government authorities.
Advantages:
- less cash costs are required than when conducting open tenders;
- saving customer time;
- confidentiality.
Open tenders
Any participating companies can take part in an open tender. Often this type of tender is used to conduct public procurement, since it accepts in the auction great amount participants and have the opportunity to choose the most advantageous offer.
The tender is usually announced through the media, since there is an interest in attracting large quantity participants.
The main disadvantage of such tenders is the timing, since the tender commission will have to process a lot of applications. Also, holding open tenders requires certain financial costs and human resources.
Specialized closed auctions
This type of tender implies certain restrictions imposed on participants, for example, the presence of a particular clearance, belonging to a particular state, etc.
As a rule, such tenders are held when the exact number of participants is not certain or the specifics of the tender work are complex and require certain qualifications of the performer. Only invited companies can take part in such auctions.
Tenders consisting of two stages
This type of tender is carried out for rather complex procurements or when solving non-trivial complex technical issues.
At the first stage, the customer draws up an initial version of the technical specifications, on the basis of which tender participants prepare initial tender applications. In initial applications, participants do not indicate the cost and other commercial terms. Next, the tender organizer conducts some negotiations, during which they agree various options solutions to the problem proposed by the participants. After negotiations, the organizer draws up the final version of the technical specifications.
At the second stage, participants who took part in stage 1 prepare and submit applications with technical and commercial (prices, terms, payment schedules, etc.) proposals according to the final technical specifications. After receiving all applications, the customer selects the most advantageous offer and enters into an agreement with the selected participant.
Request for quotation
Request for quotations means selecting a supplier of products with approximately identical characteristics, for example, office supplies. As a rule, the winner is given to the participant who offers the lowest price.
Restrictions imposed on this type of tender:
- the maximum contract price is no more than 500,000 rubles;
- the annual volume of purchases made in this way should not exceed 10% of the volume of funds provided for all purchases of the customer in accordance with the plan, but not more than 100,000,000 rubles/year.
This type of trading can be completed within 12 days. For this purpose, the customer provides a universal quotation form. The universal form allows the customer to quickly compare them and choose a winner.
The main reasons for rejection of a quotation bid are: first, the price you offer is higher than the initial price, second, if your bid does not comply with the notice.
If we talk about the procedure for conducting this type of bidding, then initially the customer often requests a specific model, and not a set of required technical characteristics. Each supplier in the quotation application indicates the price at which it is ready to supply this product. The participant cannot change this price as in an auction, so it is important to take this point into account when specifying the cost, since, as mentioned earlier, the winner is determined by the lowest price.
You can submit your quotation request by mail or electronically. If in electronic form, then the application must be signed with an electronic signature. You will be notified by email that your application has been accepted.
Purchasing from one supplier
This type of auction is carried out in the following cases:
- The supplier of goods/services is a monopolist in this area;
- In the case where all participants refused;
- When all applications were excluded by the customer himself.
The main feature of purchasing from one supplier is the direct signing of a contract without a bidding procedure with any participant in civil legal relations capable of fulfilling the conditions specified in the contract.
When conducting such tenders, the customer is obliged to justify in a documented report the impossibility/inexpediency of using other methods of determining the contractor. Also in the report, the customer must justify the price of the contract and the main features of the contractor. All this is done in order to eliminate corruption.
tender documentation
Tender documentation is a package of documents containing the terms of the tender, information about the tender, and the provisions of the future contract. Basically, the package of tender documents consists of two parts:
- technical (tender object, requirements for product/service, technical specifications, norms, general information, a complete list of contract clauses, instructions for the contractor, information cards, procedure for submitting an application, conditions for bidding);
- commercial (cost or conditions for its formation, payment schedule, payment terms, source of financing, insurance requirements, payment guarantees).
The volume and composition of tender documentation directly depends on the object/service of future tenders. The tender commission is responsible for drawing up tender documentation.
Rules for participation in auctions
Both domestic and foreign companies can participate in tenders. There is only one general rule– provision of documents for native language and in the language of the state whose representative also participates in the tender.
Basic Rules:
- Submitting an application based on the customer’s sample;
- By submitting an application, the participant agrees with all conditions of the tender and undertakes to comply with them;
- The application must be submitted exactly within the time specified by the terms of the tender;
- A participant can withdraw his application or make some adjustments to it only when the established deadline for submitting applications has not expired.
What is included in the tender document package?
More accurate and complete scope necessary documents specified by the customer, however there are General requirements to the package of documents provided for participation in the tender, namely:
- a certified copy of the state registration certificate;
- a copy of the notice of assignment of a taxpayer number;
- copy of the Charter;
- documents confirming the financial independence of the participant (certificate from the bank whose services are used when carrying out activities);
- a certificate from the tax authorities confirming the absence of debts;
- balance sheet for the previous year and as of the date of application;
- application security (set by the customer);
- certificate of a dealer/official representative (if the product is not of its own production);
- if the product is subject to mandatory certification - certificates, declarations of conformity;
- a list of documents provided, certified by the head of the company.
Bank guarantee
Since holding a tender is a rather expensive procedure filled with mass financial risks, especially for the customer, it requires careful preparation and financial security. This type of security can only be provided by a bank guarantee for tenders. A bank guarantee is a document issued by a bank confirming the fact that if the tenderer fails to comply with the terms of the tender, the customer will receive a guarantee amount from the bank.
The contractor violates its obligations to the customer when:
- after signing the contract, does not fulfill/does not fulfill the agreed conditions with high quality;
- after the customer has identified him as the winner, he refuses to sign the contract;
- withdraws/changes the terms of its tender proposal after the deadline for submitting applications.
A tender bank guarantee makes it possible to take part in tenders/competitions/auctions. It also acts as a guarantee that the winning bidder will fulfill its obligations under the contract. Its validity period is limited to the moment the contract is concluded between the customer and the winner, and its size is no more than 5% of the amount of the future transaction.
There is a bank guarantee ensuring the return of advance payments. It is provided by the winning bidder in the case where advances/prepayments of up to 30% of the contract value are provided, therefore, before receiving an advance, the contractor must provide the customer with a document confirming the customer’s right to claim the bank’s payment of the guarantee amount.
To issue a guarantee, the bank only needs to provide statutory documents and documents confirming participation in the tender.
Tender loan
One of the types of bank loans provided to participants in bidding to secure an application for participation in a tender/electronic auction/competition.
Today, banks issue two types of tender loans, which differ in the terms of the contractual relationship with the bank, namely: with a revolving credit line, one-time loans. The only difference between them is that a tender loan with a revolving credit line allows you to participate in several tenders throughout the year.
A tender loan makes it possible to take part in one or more tenders simultaneously without taking out cash from the company's turnover. Also, this type of loan allows you to participate in auctions with budgets in the millions.
This loan is issued on the following terms:
- period – up to 3 months;
- interest from 14 to 21% (depending on the bank);
- processing time – 9 days;
- cost – from 1 to 5% (depending on the term and amount).
Loan or guarantee?
A bank guarantee is a more convenient and financially advantageous option than a loan, since it requires less cash outlay and is issued within a few days. A participant who has taken advantage of a tender guarantee may not worry about preparing to check his company to obtain a loan, about collateral for the bank, or about collecting funds to repay the loan.
A bank guarantee, as a rule, is provided by the most reliable banks that have a great and impeccable reputation, therefore financial risks clients are reduced to zero.
What do you need to know about tenders to successfully participate in them?
- Securing your bid is the main condition for your bid to participate in the auction to be accepted;
- It is necessary to carefully study the customer's requirements in order to correctly draw up tender documentation;
- Provide the customer with valid data/technical specifications for a particular service/product;
- Balanced assessment of your financial and economic potential.
Tender winning deposit
The first step to successful participation in a tender is a sober, realistic calculation of financial capabilities. It is acquired with experience in participating in tenders. The more you take part in various tenders, the faster you will win in a future tender, based on the negative/positive experience gained and previously made mistakes.
The second stage is the quality and correctness of the documentation for participation in the tender. Approximately 25-40% of applicants are eliminated precisely because of incorrect preparation of the tender application. The application must be completed in simple language, 100% comply with the bidding requirements and contain only those characteristics of the product/service that are of interest to the customer.
The third stage is guarantees. Warranty obligations are a good incentive for a customer to conclude a contract with you, so you should take care of this point in your tender proposal. With this item you will attract the customer’s attention and earn a reputation as a reliable company.
If this is your first time participating in a tender and you are not confident in your abilities, it is best to seek help from experienced specialists who have experience in these tenders. However, even if the first auction ends in fiasco, it is important to understand that success in tendering comes with experience.
Today, many domestic and foreign companies participate in tenders. This procedure is beneficial for both customers and performers. The first to find best quality and the price of goods or services, the latter make a profit and gain a reputation in the market.
However, some firms are still wary of engaging with competitors because they are not fully aware of what a tender is and what benefits it can bring.
Concept "tender" directly related to English word tender – "offer" . In Russian speech it has such synonyms as auction or competition. The tender system first appeared in the United States after World War II and was used to select the best contractor to restore the destroyed infrastructure of Europe.
In Russia, something similar to a tender was known back in the 17th century, but in the modern sense, such events began to be held only in the 1980s. At first they concerned only the construction industry, but now they are used everywhere in all areas of economic activity.
A tender is a competition for order executors, based on the results of which the customer selects the one who offers the best conditions. It can be carried out both for the supply of goods and for the provision of services or the performance of some work.
The customers are public and private organizations, the performers are legal and individuals. Despite the widespread belief that tenders are “bought,” in most cases they are conducted on the principles of transparency and fairness. 
Classification of tenders is made depending on the characteristics that distinguish them. Thus, closed auctions are characterized by a personal invitation to each selected participant. In other words, the tender organizer selects several companies based on their reputation and invites them to take part in the procedure, while the list of participants is not disclosed in order to exclude possible collusion between them.
In open tenders, everyone is invited to participate, and the message about the event is disseminated in the media and other information sources.
Depending on the timing, there are one-stage and two-stage tenders. In the first case, the performer is selected immediately based on the proposed conditions. In the second case, participants first offer their services without indicating the cost of the goods.
After considering their applications, the organizer can weed out some of the companies, as well as make adjustments to the competition documentation. The contractors, in turn, supplement their documents with these changes and submit an application for the second stage indicating the price of the proposals.
The main goal of the tender for the organizer is to choose a performer who suits him in all respects. In other words, with this procedure the customer can receive best product at the most reasonable prices. 
For participants, tenders become an excellent opportunity not only to provide themselves with work and receive financial benefits, but also to express themselves in the market, improve their image and find new clients.
To take part in tenders, the contractor first needs to study the customer’s requirements and assess his strengths and capabilities. Attention is paid not only to the cost of goods or work, but also to methods of transportation of products and payment terms.
Next, you need to fill out an application for participation and prepare a package of documents, which includes a questionnaire with information about the company, a commercial proposal, explanatory note With financial calculations and a list of specific contractors or subcontractors.
This documentation is provided to the tender organizer, who in return issues a document receipt form and indicates the exact date holding auctions.
Although tender and auction are often considered similar concepts, in fact there are some differences between them. The subject of sale in an auction is only a product that has a price, while in tenders the subject may also be work or services. 
At auctions, the customer wants to sell products at best price, at tenders the contract additionally provides for the receipt the best conditions transactions. IN tender system the customer can independently choose the contractor, and at auction his hands are tied, since he is forced to appoint the winner as the one who offers the highest price.
Parity– the rules by which you can participate in tenders are equal for everyone. Due to this, it is not possible to evaluate participants personally.
- Security. If a participant notices violations during the auction, he has the opportunity to submit an application to the FAS.
- Availability. You can take part in tenders remotely, which makes it possible to simultaneously test your strengths in different tenders.
- Transparency. Each participant monitors the bidding procedure and is also aware of the terms of the contract with the winner.
- Publicity. Each potential participant has the opportunity to learn more about the auctions that interest him most, as well as about the procedure for conducting them and the terms.
Quote concept
There are tenders in which everyone is allowed to participate without restrictions. The winner is the one who can offer the best low price. However, at the same time, the cost of the contract cannot be higher than 500 thousand rubles.
To participate in the tender, you must indicate in your application:
- cost of work, service or product;
- requisites;
- Your agreement to fulfill the terms of the contract; the draft contract is submitted in parallel with the notice.
It is very important to read the contract carefully because once you agree to comply with its terms, you will not be able to make amendments.
Only in the case where the notice indicates the need to attach documents to certify inclusion in small businesses or socially-oriented non-profit companies, it is worth attaching them.
The quote request process includes the following steps::
- submission of applications (from 4 days for an amount up to 250 thousand rubles; from 7 days for an amount up to 500 thousand rubles);
- evaluation of applications (during the day);
- protocol of summing up;
- waiting for the conclusion of a contract (7-20 days);
- direct conclusion of the contract.
Benefits and weak sides quotes
Among advantages requests for quotations can be distinguished:
- I analyze and evaluate applications throughout the day;
- very simple and quick scheme carrying out;
- submission of a quotation application only;
- no need for collateral.
It is important to note that the customer does not have the right to request the submission of additional information and data. As a result, the scheme is simplified for suppliers, but the customer in such a situation risks ending up with an unscrupulous supplier.
Minuses:
- a huge number of participants, and therefore the price determines everything;
- the number of quotes has decreased significantly.
The concept of an electronic auction
In essence, an electronic auction is a trade in which the winner is the participant who names the most low price. This event takes place on specialized electronic platforms. Bidding is reported publicly by placing an advertisement in one information system.
There are open and closed auctions. A closed auction format occurs when information about the tender is closed; in this case, only invited persons act as participants. More often, open auctions are held - this is a simple form that involves evaluating applications, conducting bidding, sometimes a slightly more complicated form of auction is used, when the participant must submit an application in two parts. Such an auction is more efficient and fair. Since the first part of the applications does not have information about the participant, it contains exclusively technical information according to the topic of the tender. All participants who are allowed to take part in the tender are anonymous. Only the second part of applications contains information about the participant, and it is considered after the auction.
The auction procedure includes the following stages:
Submission of applications (from 15 days);
- evaluation of the first part of applications (up to 1 week);
- waiting for the auction (3 days);
- auction;
- evaluation of the second part of applications (up to 3 days);
- protocol of summing up;
- conclusion of a contract.
Competition concept
A competition is a form of bidding in which the winner is the proposal that has more effective conditions execution of the contract. This means that for the competition main parameter evaluation of the application is not only the cost, but also the high quality of the product or the volume of costs for Maintenance etc. There are closed and open competitions. In turn, they are divided into a two-stage competition, as well as a competition with a limited participation. More common open competitions. Closed competitions are held when we're talking about about state secrets.
The competition procedure includes the following stages:
- accepting applications (from 20 days);
- evaluation of applications (up to 20 days);
- protocol for consideration of applications;
- waiting for the conclusion of a contract (10-20 days);
- conclusion of a contract.
How can I find tenders?
For this purpose, a specialized resource of the Enter Group company has been developed - a program for searching tenders and auctions free of charge for 14 days. It stores a complete database of tenders, information is constantly updated in real time. Searching for tenders on all sites for free directly in 1C is simple and straightforward. If you have any doubts, please contact us. We will answer your questions.
Today, many companies constantly take part in tenders. This procedure brings certain benefits to both customers and performers: the former can find the most favorable price-quality ratio of the goods and services supplied, the latter can earn an excellent reputation and receive a large contract. However, despite the widespread use of tenders, many people are still afraid to engage in a fight with a competitor, not fully understanding the meaning and benefits of the procedure.
First, it’s worth finding out what a tender is. Tender translated from in English means competition, bargaining. That is, this is a procedure for selling a product or service based on competitive selection: suppliers offer their services, and the customer selects what suits him best. Despite the prevailing opinion about the complexity and “purchase” of tenders, the procedure itself is quite transparent and is not interested in deception, especially during large auctions. Any violation of the competition rules will result in serious punishment according to the letter of the law, and first of all, the company’s reputation will suffer.
The tender can be appointed by both the state and private company. In both cases, the reason for this is simple: searching for the most advantageous offer. The state tender is held in accordance with the provisions normative document 94-FZ and consists of three procurement schemes: requests for quotation, tenders and auction. All this is carried out using budgetary funds. Commercial tender is self-sustaining, that is, it exists at the expense of the company’s own funds.
In turn, services or goods can be offered by both physical and legal entities, if they fully comply with the customer's requirements. Legal entities can also participate. persons, and individual entrepreneurs, if they are confident of their victory. There is no difference between them, the only difference is in the form of taxation, which will only be noticeable when submitting documents.
What kind of tenders are there?
Tenders are divided into several types:
- An open tender is held for everyone when the customer is looking for a reliable supplier for long-term cooperation. If the tender is carried out by the state, it is usually associated with construction work. Among the differences of the competition: absolute transparency, healthy competition and openness. Information about such a tender can be obtained from the media and the Internet; to participate, you must collect the necessary documents and send them to the commission;
- A closed tender is necessary to find suppliers of specific goods or services, for example, for government procurement for defense needs. Participation in such a trade is strictly limited by the number of participants and the availability of certain licenses;
- a two-stage tender is necessary when searching for a supplier of complex products and services: research, design, technology. The 2-stage competition helps to better understand the supply market and pricing policy and make timely additions and changes to the documents that the competitors must provide;
- a request for price quotes is applied if the order amount does not exceed 250 thousand rubles. Typically, such procurement is carried out without the participation of intermediaries, but has at least 3 suppliers;
- Purchasing from a single source is possible if the required product or service is rare on the market. These could be works of art or copyrights.
Before participating in a tender, you need to determine which competition you can supply a product or service to. You should not refuse a tender even if you are not confident in your abilities - now more and more products are bought and sold on the basis of a competition.
How to prepare for a tender
Before you start fighting for a lucrative contract, you should properly prepare for it and study available material. Each customer has his own list of documents that must be submitted for consideration by an independent commission, but there are some general rules.
- Before you start collecting your own documents, carefully study the tender documents, pay attention not only to prices, but also to all conditions and methods of payment. If there are gross technical errors in the document, it means that the customer himself does not have necessary preparation, and working with him may be unprofitable or even losing. You may also come across inaccuracies and omissions in the lists of documents that need to be provided. In this case, it is better to clarify the requirements in advance.
- Be sure to include in the final cost the costs of product preparation, support, and the involvement of specialists and outside companies. This will allow the customer to have a better idea of what he will have to deal with and will provide a higher payment.
- Make sure that your application is entered into the company data register. This is a guarantee that you will not be forgotten in the chaos. If there is no such register, ask for an act of acceptance and transfer of documents. Also, immediately find out the timing of consideration of the application, the timing of possible additions and corrections to the documents, and the procedure for announcing the results.
- The execution of documents must strictly comply with the customer's requirements. If the requirements seem too vague or incorrect, it is better to clarify what is meant in advance. Violation of the deadlines for filing applications and corrections is not allowed. If the customer requests additional documents, they are provided.
How it all happens
The tender is very simple: the customer creates a special independent commission that has all necessary information about the subject of the competition. She will monitor the auction. After this, information appears in the media and the Internet about the start of accepting applications for participation in the tender and a list of required documents, also indicating deadline acceptance, day and place of announcement of results.
All received applications are recorded in a journal, stitched and numbered by the commission. The participants themselves pay for the services of preparing a package of documents, the issuance of which ends 5 days before the announcement of the result. 1 day before the announcement of the result, applications are closed.
After this, the commission begins to consider the received applications and responds to the participants in writing whether they pass. Next, applications are printed in 3 copies and sealed in envelopes. The commission will print them out and announce the proposal in the presence of the companies that took part in the competition. The results are necessarily published in the media.
What documents are needed to participate in the tender?
Despite the fact that each customer has his own requirements for the list of documents provided, there is a general list of what is required:
- Application for participation.
- A questionnaire describing basic information about the participating company.
- Commercial offer.
- Explanatory note with financial calculations and their justification. This is a fairly important part of the list, without which the company may not be accepted into the list of participants at all.
- List of subcontractors with whom the company will work.
Internet tender
Recently, electronic trading, which takes place on certain platforms controlled by the Government of the Russian Federation, has become especially popular. This allows you to make decisions more efficiently and quickly. Any company can register on the sites. Today, trading takes place on the following five platforms:
- OJSC "Unified Electronic Trading Platform";
- OJSC "RTS";
- CJSC "Sberbank-AST";
- State Unitary Enterprise "Agency for government order Republic of Tatarstan";
- CJSC Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange.
What should a company be like?
Any company can take part in the auction, from newly formed to those that have already earned respect and name. Thanks to the recently adopted law No. 44-FZ, participation in the tender has become much more transparent and honest, which means that victory can smile on anyone.
But many potential participants are still concerned with the question: where to start? You should start by finding out the most popular industries, goods and services for which there is a high demand. It is worth paying attention to the financial viability of the company. It would be a good idea to study the law on tenders in order to be able to distinguish a “good” tender from a “bad” one, as well as to study the correctness of filling out documents.
It is worth checking the main documents of the company in advance: taxes must be paid and recorded on time, required licenses extended. The customer must see that your company takes business seriously and is ready for long-term cooperation. An additional advantage will be knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of competitors, their activities and what the customer wants to see in the contractor. But don’t forget about the seeker: if their terms seem dubious, it’s worth finding out about their activities and reputation in advance.
How to trade successfully
If you are concerned about the question of how to win a tender, then you have probably heard about courses and seminars that promise to teach you this difficult task. At such lectures, they talk in detail about the laws governing tenders in Russia, about electronic trading, about the rules for submitting applications, etc. However, the information received does not guarantee that you will become a professional after completing it. Do not forget that in addition to theory, there is also practice, which can only be obtained directly on the spot.
What can you do to start receiving profitable orders through tenders? The first step is to study the trades associated with your product or services. See what is in demand, what money they are willing to pay for it, what documents are required. Next, you need to find current tenders and their conditions. If you are confident in your abilities and are willing to take risks, it’s time to appoint a responsible person who will handle the documents and submit an application.
Remember that any tender involves the presence of not always healthy competition and bureaucratic delays. It’s better to double-check all the documents than to redo them in a hurry, and focus on your own strengths to please the commission and the customer.
For everyone who wants to work with electronic trading platforms and participate in any tenders, you need to know what types of competitions there are. Why is this necessary? To immediately understand where you have a chance of success and where you are not expected at all.
So let's start with this: competitions are open and closed. Almost everything is clear here with the definitions.
An open competition is a competition open to everyone. The information is published in the public domain; any interested person can obtain information about the request for proposals, its documentation and submit an application.
Closed competition – a competition available to a limited number of people . The customer informs potential participants about the competition and invites them to take part. Other persons cannot take part in the competition. The customer has his own problems with such a purchase: he must justify the choice of a closed competition and the range of invited participants.
Conclusion: It’s very difficult to get into a closed competition, so it’s worth switching your attention only to open requests for proposals that you can track yourself.
According to another classification competitions are divided into two-stage and those held in one stage. Everything is clear here too. If the competition is held in two stages, then at the first stage applications interesting to the customer can be selected, at the second stage there is a struggle for victory only between these participants. The conditions for each stage must be contained in tender documentation to purchase.
Conclusion: You can participate in competitions with both one and two stages.
Another division of competitions is made according to the procurement’s compliance with the principles of competition. There are non-competitive and competitive procurement methods. In the first case, there is only one participant in the competition and has no competitors; in the second, several potential contractors participating in the procurement compete with each other.
Conclusion: It is unrealistic to become a participant in a non-competitive competition; only monopolistic companies, as well as those who offer goods and services of an “exclusive” nature, have this opportunity.
Purchasing from a single supplier – classic example non-competitive way procurement. In essence, this is a direct issue of a contract to a specific contractor. Customers have the right to use this type of competition only in cases established by law (for example, with natural monopolies or in accordance with orders or decrees various organs authorities).
This type of procurement includes all procedures for preparing the tender procedure and related documentation, publishing a notice, notifying the regulatory authority and agreeing with it on the procurement. In this case, it is important for the customer to document the impossibility of conducting competitive selection, the advisability of purchasing from a specific person, as well as the price and terms of the future contract.
Request for proposals – competition for competitive basis, when the customer informs potential participants about his needs for any goods or work. It can be carried out in one or several stages. When summing up, each participant receives a score, and the winner is determined based on the maximum score. Any person can take part; several proposals can be submitted, differing in both cost and other conditions.
The result may be that the customer prescribes a rebidding (or bargaining) procedure. Rebidding or bargaining– sending proposals to participants to reduce the cost of their applications. It can be carried out both in absentia and in person: in the first case, participants submit new commercial proposals if they wish, in the second - bidding is held online by reducing the bid price.
Request for quotation – a competition in which the winner is the participant with the lowest bid price. Any interested person can participate; only one quotation application is submitted - changes are not allowed. Using this type of competition allows the customer to receive available proposals in a short time and select a winner. The disadvantage for participants is the fact that the quotation of each of them is known to the commission in advance - there is a possibility that interested parties can influence the result of the competition.
We will separately tell you about competitions held in accordance with Law No. 223-FZ. Here a competition is understood as a procurement in which participants’ applications are assessed both by cost and by other criteria . Goal: to identify the best possible offer. Applications of participants are evaluated and ranked in accordance with a previously known methodology, a participant with highest score becomes the winner.
Information is published in open access, the notice of the tender is posted on the ETP and the Procurement Portal. Any person who can provide a commercial proposal that meets all procurement conditions can take part.
When placing a competition on an ETP, applications are submitted electronically, and their registration and acceptance is carried out by the ETP operator. If the competition involves the submission of applications on paper to the customer, then an authorized representative of the customer is responsible for their acceptance.
When the acceptance of applications is completed, the envelopes with the participants’ applications are opened - for “paper” competitions, or access to applications is opened - for competitions on the ETP. Based on the results of the procedure, a protocol is drawn up, which indicates: how many applications were received, from which participants and at what prices. The specifics of this procedure must be clearly stated both in the procurement regulations of the customer company and in the procurement documentation.
Next, the customer can declare a renegotiation (rebidding). Participation in this procedure is optional; you can reduce the price of your offer to get ahead of competitors, or you can not participate at all. Based on the results of the competition, a protocol is drawn up indicating the winner, with whom the customer is obliged to sign an agreement. If the winner avoids signing the contract, the customer has the right to contact the participant who took second place.
Competitions under Law No. 223-FZ can also be open and closed. The differences between the latter are that neither the documentation, nor changes or clarifications to it are published in the public domain: they are available only to persons invited to participate in the procurement. In this case, applications are usually submitted in paper form; protocols for opening envelopes are also not disclosed.
Conclusion: For companies and individual entrepreneurs that do not have positive experience in participating in tenders, it is not possible to submit an application to a closed competition. The only option for working on the ETP in this case is participation in open requests for proposals.