6 tender non-negotiables and why the COVID-19 risk demands nothing less

No one expected a virus would turn into a global crisis.

COVID-19 presents us with unprecedented challenges in how governments, businesses and staff operate.

Complex tendering processes are already heavily scrutinized and fraught with risk, which is why the added pressure posed by the current climate demands strict adherence to their unique requirements. From physical, in-person workshops and locked room evaluations, the inefficiencies of legacy tender processes have been highlighted more than ever in the wake of COVID-19.
 
Managing these requirements in a newly remote working environment presents its own challenges, but the non-negotiable elements of these high-risk processes remain true. Here's the best way to manage those requirements.
 

Non-negotiable #1: Full lifecycle data security for documents shared with bidders and project teams, regardless of document location

Security is paramount in these processes. Successful projects are completed with solutions that have the most document security options and the flexibility to control who can do what, when and where - down to the most granular permissions. You should be able to disable user access to documents at any time, regardless of document location.
 

Non-negotiable #2: Staged, equal access for bidders to tender information

The best tendering solution will be one where the project team can easily implement, manage and prove that all bidders have equal access. This will be best achieved with the simplest and most intuitive solution, one that leaves complexities at the backend for a frictionless user experience.
 

Non-negotiable #3: A two-way RFI/Q&A process that is efficient, controlled and fully trackable

The Q&A process is the most time consuming and pressure packed aspect of tendering in a large complex transaction. With users and questions anticipated in the hundreds to thousands, getting this process to work quickly, efficiently and without error is crucial to a project’s success. The best solution will allow you to approve and answer questions directly through an integrated 2-way Q&A system, keeping questions and answers accessible and auditable in a single location.

Non-negotiable #4: Anonymity of bid teams

For fairness and accountability, it is vital in these processes that bidders' identities, their confidential questions and all of their submission files are kept completely segregated...and you must be able to prove that this has been the case at any stage in the future. The solution used should ideally have these requirements hardwired into it to ensure that the risks of failure are mitigated.
 

Non-negotiable #5: Secure, controlled transmission of bidder submissions and workflows

The optimal solution will offer a built-in ‘locked box’ bidder submission tool to handle these submissions in a controlled and secure environment. 

Non-negotiable #6: Tracking and reporting activity for probity/audit purposes

The strongest tendering solutions will not only meet, but automate all legal requirements for activity tracking for probity and audit purposes, and eliminate repetitive manual work. They will have intelligent reporting available on demand, so the project team can be armed with all required information and quickly identify their best course of action.


Now more than ever, large-scale infrastructure and government tenders will provide a much-needed economic boost – but they must be executed safely and efficiently. Learn more about the specific questions to ask your tender solution provider to ensure you are ticking all these boxes for the most efficient and secure process end-to-end.
 
If you agree that the above are essential, download the COVID-19 tenders checklist for the in-depth list of requirements needed for your next tender process in this environment.