Tenders

[Gazed416]

I work for a well respected company and I have the opportunity to submit some tenders under the company's name.

The only problem is that I have never done it before. What I need to do is find (and hopefully "win") a telecommunications tender.

1) Is bidding for a tender really hard to do?
2) Should I prepare myself for long hours of work?
3) Is it best for me to work on maybe 5 different telecommunications tenders than to depend on only getting awarded one?

Bonus question: If I registered my own company, should I be willing to tender as a supplier only?

 

[^^vampire^^]

Tendering can be a hard process, especially depending on the size of the tender.

There is a ton of documentation that needs to be done, most of it laborious but it is what it is. Requirements for submission would be outlined in the tender documentation.

1) Yes and no. Applying for tenders is open to everyone, however, you need to meet the "requirements"
2) Yes. Generally putting together a good tender submission can take days of work if you want to get it right. It needs to be concise, to the point but also cover all the bases and more. This is your first point to prove you are a worthy candidate to do the work. That being said also choose your tenders wisely. Tendering is an official process but from my experience there is always a favoured or often used provider that is submitting their documents just because they have to and they will usually win anyway.
3) If you're doing your tendering submissions properly you would probably not be able to handle more than one tender at a time.

B) depends on what the tender calls for.

 

[TheMightyQuin]

I work for a well respected company and I have the opportunity to submit some tenders under the company's name.

The only problem is that I have never done it before. What I need to do is find (and hopefully "win") a telecommunications tender.

1) Is bidding for a tender really hard to do?
2) Should I prepare myself for long hours of work?
3) Is it best for me to work on maybe 5 different telecommunications tenders than to depend on only getting awarded one?

Bonus question: If I registered my own company, should I be willing to tender as a supplier only?

Don't waste your time with tenders. It is fraught with corruption and backhanded payments.

If you are not connected via the right people, you will NOT win a tender.

It is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow like it might seem.

 

[Zyk1]

Don't waste your time with tenders. It is fraught with corruption and backhanded payments.

If you are not connected via the right people, you will NOT win a tender.

It is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow like it might seem.

This

 

[Recallza]

Don't waste your time with tenders. It is fraught with corruption and backhanded payments.

If you are not connected via the right people, you will NOT win a tender.

It is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow like it might seem.

While most are like this, some are not. Don't let these people discourage you OP, if its a loss, think of it as experience

 

[Emjay]

I work for a well respected company and I have the opportunity to submit some tenders under the company's name.

The only problem is that I have never done it before. What I need to do is find (and hopefully "win") a telecommunications tender.

1) Is bidding for a tender really hard to do?
2) Should I prepare myself for long hours of work?
3) Is it best for me to work on maybe 5 different telecommunications tenders than to depend on only getting awarded one?

Bonus question: If I registered my own company, should I be willing to tender as a supplier only?

1) It can take some time to understand all the requirements and the ins and outs. You can attend some workshops to better understand the bidding process and the legal framework within which you will be working. They are not expensive and usually run over a few days. If you don't understand anything about bidding, you should really attend one of these. Be prepared, it is a full time job that requires some pretty good coordination and writing skills.
2) Yes, it is long and unforgiving work. It is also expensive because your win rate is going to be very low. Think around 5 or 6% once you have your process and pricing bedded down. I managed to get my company's win rate up to 12%, but it took years of fine tuning our bidding process, pricing and sales process. It is not something you can do on your own. Your company needs to be behind you in this effort.
3) Due to the low win rate, you will have to do a number of bids to make something.

If you are in telecomms, you are in for a lot of competition, and you are going to be competing against many big and established companies. The big guys usually take everything because they have more skills, better pricing (as there are no middlemen), better BEE credentials and a track record. If you are taking someone else's solution and pricing, rebranding, and submitting that, that is fronting. Also, many people do this so be prepared for tough competition.

There are companies that do consulting on bids and help you with content. They charge hourly though. If you have the cash, this is a good place to get some help.

 

[Beyond.Celsus]

Is your company majority black owned?

If not, don't waste your time.

 

[Craig_]

Don't waste your time with tenders. It is fraught with corruption and backhanded payments.

If you are not connected via the right people, you will NOT win a tender.

It is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow like it might seem.

Is your company majority black owned?

If not, don't waste your time.

OP, @^^vampire^^ gave you good advice there. These two guys have no idea what they are talking about. While some tenders are corrupt, most are not. You also don't need to be majority black owned to tender. It is a lot of documents but ensure that you fill them in correctly. A mistake or two is not the end of the world as you they might call you while doing the first Bid Evaluation meeting if some are missing or needed. Just ensure that you comply. And don't quote unnecessarily high, but also don't under quote. You'll be very surprised how many companies does the last mentioned and then get the tender, screwing themselves over on a project. Read the requirements very carefully as well.

 

[Beyond.Celsus]

OP, @^^vampire^^ gave you good advice there. These two guys have no idea what they are talking about. While some tenders are corrupt, most are not. You also don't need to be majority black owned to tender. It is a lot of documents but ensure that you fill them in correctly. A mistake or two is not the end of the world as you they might call you while doing the first Bid Evaluation meeting if some are missing or needed. Just ensure that you comply. And don't quote unnecessarily high, but also don't under quote. You'll be very surprised how many companies does the last mentioned and then get the tender, screwing themselves over on a project. Read the requirements very carefully as well.

I did the tenders for a tree felling company for years.
Yes, you do not have to be a black owned company to tender, however
51% black owned companies are preferred.

That's just how it is.

 

[Pineapple Smurf]

I was just about to tag @Craig here for some advice as he has a lot of experience in this field but i see he beat me to it

 

[Mista_Mobsta]

Very strange that it is so difficult for Eskom to enact accountability towards the companies that did sub-par work on Eskom and Medupi considering they won the numerous Eskom tenders for said power stations even though the tender process is so laborious?

@ people that are knowledgeable on tenders - do any of the tender documentation requirements stipulate SLA's as part of the process?

 

[Craig_]

I did the tenders for a tree felling company for years.
Yes, you do not have to be a black owned company to tender, however
51% black owned companies are preferred.

That's just how it is.

There is a scoring system, where BEE adds some points(max 20). For tenders BEE counts for a higher percentage than for RFQ's, but tenderpreneurs(sp?) tends to over inflate their pricing so it's relatively easy to outbid them if you know what you are doing.

 

[Craig_]

Very strange that it is so difficult for Eskom to enact accountability towards the companies that did sub-par work on Eskom and Medupi considering they won the numerous Eskom tenders for said power stations even though the tender process is so laborious?

@ people that are knowledgeable on tenders - do any of the tender documentation requirements stipulate SLA's as part of the process?

Every single tender I have ever worked with goes hand in hand with a signed SLA. Not sure if eskom is different but they shouldn't be.

Enforcing those SLA's after payment was done can be a pain in the behind though.

 

[Beyond.Celsus]

There is a scoring system, where BEE adds some points(max 20). For tenders BEE counts for a higher percentage than for RFQ's, but tenderpreneurs(sp?) tends to over inflate their pricing so it's relatively easy to outbid them if you know what you are doing.

Are you still involved with tenders?
If so, OP should rather listen to your advice.

Last time I was involved with tenders, was before the company went bust, which was around 2008 -9
I have a very different experience with how the tenders were eventually awarded.
There were instances where the tenders clearly specified the equipment required.
For example a cherry picker truck and 8 ton truck. Submit tender with relevant required equipment and a competitive price only to lose the tender.
Go to the site a few weeks later to see 6 guys with a bakkie and a ladder to prune 180 trees.

But, that is my experience. Above scenario played out a majority of the time.

 

[Craig_]

Are you still involved with tenders?
If so, OP should rather listen to your advice.

Last time I was involved with tenders, was before the company went bust, which was around 2008 -9
I have a very different experience with how the tenders were eventually awarded.
There were instances where the tenders clearly specified the equipment required.
For example a cherry picker truck and 8 ton truck. Submit tender with relevant required equipment and a competitive price only to lose the tender.
Go to the site a few weeks later to see 6 guys with a bakkie and a ladder to prune 180 trees.

But, that is my experience. Above scenario played out a majority of the time.

I'm currently involved with a few yes, I am aware of some tenders working like above, I heard a few stories from suppliers over the last 2 years (have been very active with it in that time) of government employees demanding back handers and if you don't comply, you are not considered. But that's the exception. If you have proof of this, and you submit it nowadays government are quick to send an audit team out.

 

[Emjay]

Very strange that it is so difficult for Eskom to enact accountability towards the companies that did sub-par work on Eskom and Medupi considering they won the numerous Eskom tenders for said power stations even though the tender process is so laborious?

@ people that are knowledgeable on tenders - do any of the tender documentation requirements stipulate SLA's as part of the process?

Yes - this will be part of the technical valuation of the bid. You will need to articulate what you can provide and they will give everyone a score based on their technical response. They should evaluate all the bids on technical score, and then anyone below a certain threshold will be disqualified. Then the pricing / BEE evaluation will take place.

A bid will go through a valuation as follows:

• Is it on time and delivered as per instructions? No --> tossed out.
• Is the format and layout as per the instructions? No --> Tossed out.
• Did you include a Tax Clearance Certificate? No --> Tossed out.
• Did you include a BEE Certificate? No --> Usually tossed out. Some SOEs will give you a chance and request this.
• Did you leave out any other critical supporting documents (such as licenses, etc)? Yes --> Tossed out.
• Are you on the Supplier's Database? If not, your bid will be tossed. This is not always a requirement, but is usually required for bids for the City of Cape Town.
• Does your bid pass the technical valuation? No --> Tossed out.
• Your bid is provided with a score based on your BEE score and pricing. (the 80/20 or 90/10 system). Highest scorer should be awarded the bid.

You can win business as a non-black business, especially if you are small. But your pricing will have to be way cheaper (up to 10% cheaper than a 100% black owned business). These evaluations are done on a transparent scoring basis, and you are well within your rights to request access to their calculation. Goods luck though. In my years of doing bids, I have requested the scoring and have never received a response. We didn't have the stomach to push through though, so maybe it is possible.

 

[Zyk1]

Too much politics with government tenders...

 

[Mista_Mobsta]

/snip
Goods luck though. In my years of doing bids, I have requested the scoring and have never received a response. We didn't have the stomach to push through though, so maybe it is possible.

Thank you for the detailed reply. Let me get this straight then, SLA's and a rigorously defined documentation process are part and parcel of the tender process alongside BEE scores and yet, enforcing accountability towards any of the companies that deliver sub-par work as part of their tender process is seemingly non-existent?

Surely there are major penalty clauses written into the SLA as part of big projects such as Medupi/Kusile and other critical infrastructure projects? Wonder if investigative journalists could access those tender documents under the PAI act?

 

[Craig_]

These evaluations are done on a transparent scoring basis, and you are well within your rights to request access to their calculation. Goods luck though. In my years of doing bids, I have requested the scoring and have never received a response. We didn't have the stomach to push through though, so maybe it is possible.

From what I've heard it's a legal requirement to provide this information if requested by a supplier. It's dodgy if they don't want to provide this.

 

[Emjay]

Thank you for the detailed reply. Let me get this straight then, SLA's and a rigorously defined documentation process are part and parcel of the tender process alongside BEE scores and yet, enforcing accountability towards any of the companies that deliver sub-par work as part of their tender process is seemingly non-existent?

Surely there are major penalty clauses written into the SLA as part of big projects such as Medupi/Kusile and other critical infrastructure projects? Wonder if investigative journalists could access those tender documents under the PAI act?

The SLA will become part of the contract once the tender is awarded. The SLA will be scored in the technical valuation of the bid. Each SLA requirement will have to be stipulated in the bid document though, and weighting provided to each SLA metric. For example, 99.9% up-time on a network is required. Being compliant will get you 10 points out of a potential 10, which will represent 10 out of the 100 potential total points (as an example). To pass, each bidder will have to score a 90, or whatever is dictated in the bid document. They however can have a disqualifying metric such as dropping below 99% network availability will disqualify you from the bidding process as they deem this to be a core requirement of the product. This is where it gets tricky, and things can get murky and questionable. It is not uncommon for SOEs to set up the technical requirements to exclude many bidders. It is legal to a point, and there are some Treasury guidelines iirc which talk to this. Many bids don't go into detail like this either, so that is a red flag.

And, your question around recourse for failed projects. It depends. An SLA typically only kicks in once the implementation phase of project is signed off. Delayed delivery timelines will be more dictated by the implementation/project plan. A massive project like that will have contracts that stretch into hundreds, if not thousands, of contractual pages. A financially responsible organisation would put down recourse for delayed timelines and shifting budgets. However, that organisation has an obligation to meet all of its responsibilities. If it has not, they have no basis to penalize any such contractor(s) on the basis for delayed or failed delivery. When timelines and budget shift dramatically, it usually indicates poor scoping (or massive scope creep).

Tender documents are all accessible by the public and just require an Access to Information request, unless it is protected, such as defense type docs. It is like pulling teeth however as they just don't respond.