tender writing guide presentation
DESCRIPTION
Tender writing can be a complex issue for many business owners. Infodec Communications was engaged to provide information about the tender process and provide tips to writing a successful tender by the Sutherland Shire Council. The information in the presentation provides advice about tender writing for all levels of government.TRANSCRIPT
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Tender Writing GuideIntroduction to sourcing, preparing and writing request for tender
documents
October 2013
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About this workshopThis workshop will provide general information about:
• Sourcing tender documents
• Understanding what’s required
• Preparing to complete the tender document
• Writing the tender document, submitting and receiving feedback
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Note
• Each tender situation will be different and additional information will be required – the aims of this course is to provide a basic understanding of the tender process and some tender writing tips. It is based on my experience.
Will be tweeting points about the workshop #ssctenders from @jo_anneryan
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What about you?
• What industry or company are you from?
• Have you previous completed a RFT document?
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What is a tender?
• Also known as procurement.
• Obtaining goods and services on behalf of an authority.
• Not just government departments
• Rules about how tendering must happen
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Tendering rules
• Federal Government – Minister for Finance and Deregulation
• NSW State Government – Rules outlined at NSW Procurement
• Local Government – Tendering guidelines for NSW Local Government
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Australian Government position on tendering
“Successfully selling to government is similar to successfully selling to consumers or other businesses; it's important that you know your customer and how they make their decision to buy. When tendering for contracts with the Australian Government, knowing the rules and regulations for tendering and taking advantage of the right opportunities at the right time is critical”. Business.gov.au
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Value for Money? Not just about the $
Factors Non-cost factors
Whole of life cycle costs Fitness for purpose
Local business capability Technical & financial
Technical merits of the product or service Supplier capability
Contractual and technical compliance Sustainability
Risk factors that may affect cost & value Risk exposure
Capacity of the supplier Availability of maintenance, support, service
Wider political factors – buy local Compliance with specs
International economic factors Ease of inspection, communication & delivery
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S
• 48% became aware of the council tender through Tenders Online 17.5% by word of mouth, 14% through an advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald• 49% of unsuccessful tenderers felt that the tender documents were
too large, unclear and requested too much information.• 74% of respondents felt that their company had a fair and equal
opportunity of winning a tender at Sutherland Shire Council.• 62% of respondents said they would attend a Council workshop on
how to respond to and submit a tender bid.
Sutherland Shire 2012 Council Survey
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Getting ready to tender
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Your checklist
InsuranceCompany ProfileWHS Policies & ProceduresEnvironment Management SystemPricing, rates, schedulesEvidence of past performanceEvidence of marketplace knowledgeReferences
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Insurance DocumentsCertificate of Currency
• Workers Compensation
• Public Liability
• Professional Indemnity
• Vehicle, Plant & Equipment
• Other
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Business Profile
• Appendix 1
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Business Profile Document
• Name and address details, ABN, year established• Capability Statement (mission or vision statement, key people,
equipment, point of difference, certifications• Past experience• Safety, environmental and risk management• Customer service and market response• Working with the industry and others
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Capability Statement
• Core business and marketplace• Types of good or services that the company provides• What do you do for your customers? What benefits do you provide?• Does your company have a mission statement or vision? What are
your values?• Who are the key people in your organisation? What are their
qualification, etc?
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Capability Statement (cont’d)
• What equipment do you use and how does it benefit the business?• What is your point of difference compared to other companies?• Does your company have any certifications or certificates?• Do you use IT system?• Do you have a team of contractors to scale up – who are they?• What geographic area do you services?• Staff training?
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Past projects and experience
• Who are your major clients and what type of work have you successfully completed?
• Were the projects completed on time and within budget?
• Demonstrate how you met benchmarks etc.
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Work Health & Safety Policies & Procedures• Check out Workcover Small Business site.
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Customer service and market response
• Long term relationships with leading firms – provide examples
• New product development or innovation
• Customer follow up
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Working with industry & others
• Are you part of a network that jointly bids on projects?
• Are you a member of a Chamber of Commerce, etc. or professional association?
• Do you have a community focus through corporate social responsibility?
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Safety, environmental and risk management
• Safety management• Environmental• Quality measurement• Insurance• Risk Management• Effective systems
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Environmental Management System (EMS)
• Policy that articulates the organisations environmental commitments
• Template to develop EMS Appendix 2
• Next step to development is formal accreditation ISO 14001 and ISO14004
• Sometimes RFT will require 3rd party sign-off on EMS
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What is ISO/Australian Standards?
What is ISO?
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards.
What is a standard?
A standard is a document that provides requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose.
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Where to find tender opportunitiesLOCAL GOVERNMENT STATE GOVERNMENT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Individual Council website NSW Government website Federal Government website ‘Austender’
Local newspaper eg., St George & Sutherland Shire Leader
Procurepoint Individual department and agency websites
Sydney Morning Herald (Tuesday) Individual department and agency websites
Tenders Online Tenders Online, Tendersearch
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Email notification for tenders
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Different tender arrangements
Open Tender Open approach in the form of a Request for Tender
Prequalified Tender Agency selects a number of potential suppliers
Limited Tender Agency approaches one or more potential suppliers to make submissions
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Expression of Interest
• Used when actual services required have not been strictly defined
• Potential tenderers may be chosen from those who reply to EOI
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Tendering categories NSW Government
•Open
•Multi stage
•Limited
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Things to thinks about before tendering
• Cost to put RFT together
• Expertise
• Competition
• Compliance
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Questions & 10 minutes break
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Planning your tender response
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Downloading the RFT document (page 21)
• There will be several components to the RFT document
• Some may be in zipped files
• There may also be additional documents that have been added as addenda in response to questions from interest participants in the process
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• Download and print all documents then tick off that you have them all
• Read through the document and highlight any issues that you think require additional research
• Make notes about sourcing additional information
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Common components of RFT document
Details about the tenderer and their overall objectives
Scope of work, how tenders will be evaluated, where information is exhibited, purpose of the tender, structure of the RFT document
Conditions of RFT Rules, process, GST requirements, closing times, confidentiality, code of conduct, disclaimers
Information schedules or information to be supplied by the tenderer
Tender form, conformity to specification, insurances, company structure, tender price & rates, WHS, Environmental, capabilities, key staff
Contract Tender contract
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Clarify and evaluate your suitability
• Can we provide examples of previous experience that’s directly relevant to the tender?
• Do we have correct insurances and compliance information?
• Can we offer competitive prices that won’t undermine profitability?
• Do we have a current relationship with the buyer?
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Weighting
Weighting can involve:
•Price •Non-price criteria
• See appendix 3 for example
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Tender planning template
• Use a template to determine the information that will be required
• Assign duties
• Set due dates
• Tick off when finalised
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Research before you start writing
• Parliamentary reports: www.aph.gov.au
• Annual Reports
• Prospectus documents
• Trade & Industry Associations
• Newspapers and news websites
• Bureau of Statistics: www.abs.gov.au
• Government department or entity
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Drafting the document
• Font style and size• Margins• Headers and Footers• Headings• Images and diagrams • Page breaks• Spacing• Index • Paragraphs
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Tone, language, spelling & typos
• Use plain English
• Be concise and also direct
• Don’t use words like may, could, might, etc. Instead use active words – like effectively, demonstrated, had a positive impact, etc
• Try and emulate the writing style of the RFT
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Tone, language, spelling & typos
• Naming conventions should be the same throughout the document
• For example, Pacific Plumbing Solutions Pty Ltd (Pacific) should be consistent throughout the document
• Don’t change half way through
• Have someone proof read your document
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Drafting answers to RFT questions
• Use bullet points to develop answers
• Use some of the information already gathered in company profile
• Review bullet points against the relevant criteria
• If the information isn’t at hand during the first draft make a note to follow up
• Review the contract and if you don’t understand it get your solicitor to review
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Being clear about your capabilities
• How can you demonstrate your ability to complete the work required?• Qualifications • Accreditation• Skills of Management team• Financial capability• Physical location • Facilities
Don’t include information that isn’t relevant!
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Demonstrating how you will add value
• Remember back to the beginning of the presentation about the concept of value for money.
• Return to that checklist and determine if you RFT document addresses some of those criteria.
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Executive Summary
• An executive summary should be written last• Sums up the components of the RFT document• Use prospective clients name in the opening paragraph and tender
name in the opening paragraph• Acknowledge the stated need from the RFT document• How you have demonstrated that you will meet those needs• Timescales, etc.• Maximum 2-3 pages
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Pricing Structure
Schedules of Rates and prices will differ in relation
to the client’s requirement.
For example a Sutherland Shire Council Tendered
Prices and Rates schedule requests information
about items, descriptions, unit rate $, hourly rate $
and working hour multipliers that are applicable to
hours of operation.
Check whether the fees include or exclude Goods
and Services Tax (GST).
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Review the tender document
Go back to the tender planning checklist
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Submit the tender document
• Submit the tender document either electronically or in hard copy to a tender box.
Keep a copy of the receipt
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Seeking feedback
• Successful or unsuccessful
• If unsuccessful request a de-brief about the RFT document
• Use that feedback when developing your next RFT document
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Successfully managing the contract
• You have been successful in winning the tender
• Once the contract has been signed you will have to meet the relevant benchmarks as outlined in the contract
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Questions
Joanne Ryan, Infodec Communicationswww.infodec.com.au
Email: [email protected]: 9531 5595
Twitter: @jo_anneryanSlideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/JoanneRyan01