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Business support organizations (e.g. Chamber of Commerce) may offer a variety of (online) resources to support companies accessing government tenders. These services may include training, advice, mentoring, publication of guides and manuals to help companies’ access procurement opportunities. Some organizations also organize “Meet the Buyer” events, which are very useful for networking and business development. You can also check with professional or trade associations for your industry and your personal network.
Governments, both at national and local levels, may have a dedicated section on their websites about public procurement resources, including bidding templates, publication of tender notices, manuals and guides.
Procurement terminology may vary by country and may be confusing for SMEs that are new in this business. The following vocabulary is widely used in procurement, but the list is not exhaustive and only includes some of the most common procurement terms.
Bid advertisement [also called procurement or tender/bid notice]: public announcement from a procuring authority of the intention to purchase goods, works or services.
Consortium: it is a temporary association of two or more companies to bid together. A consortium is formed by contract and each company retains its separate legal status.
Invitation to/for bid [also called bid solicitation or request/invitation to tender]: invitation to suppliers to submit a proposal on a specific project, whose details are specified in the bid or tender documents.
Joint venture: a new legally and temporarily formed company by two or more companies to achieve a specific purpose. A joint venture is a separate company, has shared ownership and it is governed by its own rules.
One-stage procurement process consists of an invitation to bid, followed by an evaluation process and a contract award. A two-stage procurement process consists of an invitation to express interest (or a pre-qualification process), followed by an evaluation process and creation of a shortlist of candidates (normally 3 to 8 companies are shortlisted). Then all the shortlisted candidates are invited to bid, followed by an evaluation process and a contract award.
Pre-qualification: preliminary stage in the bidding process where procurement authorities determine if a bidder is qualified (has the required experience and qualifications) to complete the job successfully.
Prime contractor [also called main contractor]: an individual or a company that has a direct contract with a procurement authority and who has the full responsibility for its full execution. A prime contractor may hire several subcontractors to perform parts of the contract on his behalf.
Procurement plan: document that describes or lists what a procurement authority intends to buy, when, from what source and within what budget. Usually, procurement plans are one year plans revised every 3 to 6 months.
Request for Expression of Interest (EOI): an EOI is used to assess interest and capabilities from prospective suppliers in the project. The EOI usually serves to shortlist potential suppliers in a two-stage procurement process, before the invitation to bid. It can also be used to gather information from potential suppliers interested in the project, and to refine the project itself according to what is available in the market.
Subcontractor: an individual or a company hired by a prime contractor to provide a specified product or service as part of an overall contract.
Terms of reference: document that describes de scope of work of a procurement, including the background, work to be performed, the timeline, and deliverables.
Thresholds: the procurement thresholds establish the procurement method that procurement entities need to use (e.g. international competitive bidding, national competitive bidding, request for quotation, etc.) according to the contract value of the procurement. The thresholds also establish who has the rejecting and signing authority for procurement contract awards at the entity level. Procurement thresholds are established