4. PLAN DE MARKETING Y COMERCIALIZACIÓN
4.5. POLÍTICA DE VENTAS
Before the employer can obtain tenders from suitable contracting companies he must have prepared:
- a list of tenderers whom he will invite to tender; and - a set of tender documents (the tender dossier).
The employer must also initiate the appropriate notification procedures required by applicable laws and/or the funding agency(ies).
The list of suitable tenderers will normally have been arrived at following a prequalification process, as described in Chapter 8.
The tender dossier is prepared by the employer, or by a consultant on behalf of the employer. It will normally include:
- letter of invitation to tender;
- instructions to tenderers;
- form of letter of tender and appendix to tender;
- conditions of contract (general conditions and particular conditions) together with any sample forms such as bank guarantees;
- specification;
- drawings;
- schedules for completion by tenderers, including bill of quantities and/or schedule of prices;
- site data;
- list of additional documents/information to be submitted by tenderers.
Some of the above items, such as the letter of invitation to tender and instructions to tenderers will normally not form part of the contract agreement (see Chapter 19). It is therefore essential that all requirements and conditions applying after award of contract are incorporated elsewhere in the tender dossier.
Detailed features of each of the documents to be included in a typical tender dossier are described below.
149
Contents
14.1 Preparation of tender dossier 14.1.1 General
14.1.2 Letter of invitation to tender 14.1.3 Instructions to tenderers 14.1.4 Conditions of contract 14.1.5 Specification
14.1.6 Drawings 14.1.7 Bill of quantities 14.1.8 Site data
14.1.9 List of documents/information to be submitted by tenderers
Appendices
14.1.1 Example letter of invitation to tender 14.1.2 Example form of tender security
14.2 Issue of tender dossiers 14.3 Visit to site by tenderers 14.4 Tenderers’ queries
14.4.1 Correspondence method 14.4.2 Tenderer’s conference method 14.5 Addenda to tender dossier
14.6 Dispute Adjudication Board (DAB) 14.7 Submission of tenders
Tables
Table 14.1 Instructions to Tenderers Checklist Table 14.2 Information to be Submitted with Tenders
14.1 Preparation of tender dossier
1 4.1.1 General
14 Obtaining Tenders:
Dredging and Reclamation Works
General
The instructions to tenderers should be prepared by or on behalf of the employer to meet the particular requirements of the individual contract. The purpose of the document is to convey information and instructions that will govern the preparation, submission and evaluation of tenders. When tenders have been received and evaluated this document will no longer be needed, and it should not form part of any resulting contract. It should therefore not contain any text which remains relevant after award of the contract.
Tenderers should be notified of the language in which the tenders are to be written. They should also be notified of the number of copies of their tender that are required, stipulating that one set of the documents should be clearly marked “Original Tender” and the others (which should be photocopies) marked “Copy”
and that, in the event of discrepancy, the “Original Tender” shall take precedence.
If a power of attorney is required for the
authorised signatory(ies), precise requirements should be given.
The tenderers’ attention should be drawn to any requirement for documents to be notarised and legalised at the embassy or consulate of the employer’s country.
Tenderers should be informed whether the successful tenderer will be required to establish a locally
registered company for the purpose of the contract, or to have an agent.
The instructions to tenderers should state that the employer does not bind himself to award a contract to any of the tenderers.
Remuneration is not normally made to tenderers who submit tenders, so there should be a stipulation that all costs and expenses associated with the preparation and submission of tenders shall be borne by the tenderers. However, consideration could be given to offering some remuneration to tenderers if they have to undertake extensive studies and/or preliminary design work in order to submit a responsive tender.
Tender period
When determining the tendering period, the employer must ensure that adequate time is allowed for tenderers to prepare their tenders, taking into account the size, complexity and location of the project. An important factor to be considered is whether there is likely to be a number of major subcontractors from whom tenderers will have to obtain offers.
Some straightforward or repeat work may not require a long tender period. On the other hand, complex projects, works requiring considerable pre-tender investigation of site conditions, and projects likely to be tendered for by consortia, may require tender periods of a number of months.
14.1.3 Instructions to tenderers
The letter of invitation to tender should be on the employer’s official headed paper and should include:
- tender reference and title;
- list of documents issued (i.e., included in the tender dossier);
- receipt form for the tender dossier (to be signed and returned by each tenderer);
- instruction to inform the employer/engineer in writing of any significant changes to the data supplied in the prequalification application; and
- date, time and place of tender submission and of tender opening.
The letter of invitation should be kept as short as possible. Detailed information should be contained in the instructions to tenderers.
An example letter of invitation is given in Appendix 14.1.1.This example is a suggestion, and should be carefully reviewed and amended as necessary to take account of the relevant circumstances. It avoids repeating information contained in the tender
documents, in order to avoid inconsistencies.
14.1.2 Letter of invitation to tender
14 Obtaining Tenders:
Dredging and Reclamation Works
In any case, it is unwise for an employer to allow too short a period, resulting in tenderers having insufficient time to consider fully their risks and obligations, or to allow too long a period, which may result in tenderers not commencing serious preparation work until well into the tender period.
Documents
The instructions to tenderers should contain a list of the documents required to form a complete tender.
Tenderers should be informed that a tender will be rejected unless it is substantially responsive.
It should be made clear to tenderers that any
corrections must be initialled. Documents provided in electronic format should be protected so that they cannot be changed.
Alternative tenders
Tenderers should be informed whether alternative tenders will be considered or not, and if so, the technical and commercial conditions that will apply. In any event, a compliant tender is normally a precondition for considering alternative tenders.
Alternative tenders must include a comprehensive and precise description of the parts of the tender documents which have been altered. The alternative tender should include full details of commercial terms and conditions, specification, drawings, calculations, environmental impacts and costs for the parts of the works that have been altered in order to allow a fair, technical and financial evaluation of the alternative proposal.
Modification to tenders
Tenderers should be informed that, if a tenderer has delivered, posted or dispatched his tender prior to the formal submission date he has the right to modify or make corrections to it, provided that any modifications or corrections are received by the employer in writing prior to the deadline specified for submission of tenders. The original tender thus modified or corrected would then be considered as the official tender.
Financing arrangements
Tenderers should be informed of the source(s) of finance, their amount and related conditions for the proposed works.
Where tenderers are required to provide financing they should be instructed to provide information as to their
source(s) of finance and the conditions which will apply.
Currencies and payments
Specific instructions should be given concerning the currencies to be used in the preparation of the tenders.
Tenderers should also be advised in which currency/currencies payments will be made.
Where tenderers are required to express their tenders in a single currency (usually the currency of the country in which the works are to be carried out), it is necessary to define the rates of exchange which are to be used to convert the various currencies in which payment is required into a single currency unit. As more than one tenderer may request part payment in one particular currency, it is preferable that the exchange rates to be used should be consistent and, therefore, that they should be defined by the employer and notified to each tenderer a reasonable time before the date of submission. Normally, these rates should be the selling prices quoted by the local central bank, and the rates should be those quoted at the time of closing 28 days before the tender submission date. The rates quoted will then be incorporated in the contract when awarded.
If payments are to be adjusted for changes in the cost of labour and/or materials, the formulae for calculating such changes and the source(s) of the applicable published indices for use in the formulae should be included in the conditions of contract.
Preference for local products and services
Tenderers should be advised if and how preference, if any, for local products and services will be applied in the evaluation of tenders.
Tender security
The requirements for a tender security, if any, will be determined by the circumstances of each contract. If a tender security is required, a form should be included in the tender dossier. An example form of tender security is shown in Appendix 14.1.2. The amount and currency/currencies of the security should be stated. In all cases the surety or sureties must be satisfactory to the employer. If a tender security has been requested, any tender which has not been so secured will be rejected.
151
14 Obtaining Tenders:
Dredging and Reclamation Works
Tenderers should be advised of the period of validity which is required for the tender security, and the events which will entitle the employer to cash the security. The period of validity of the security should equal the period of validity of the tender plus the time allowed for the successful tenderer to provide his performance security under the terms of the eventual contract between the contractor and the employer.
Tenderers should be informed that their tender securities will be returned to them as soon as the security is no longer in full force and effect.
The employer should select the type and amount of security most appropriate to the contract to be awarded. It is preferable that the amount of security should be stated as a specific sum rather than as a percentage of the tender price.
Evaluation criteria
The evaluation criteria, which will form the basis for the selection of the most advantageous tender, should be stated. The criteria should be consistent with the information which tenderers are asked to submit and may include updating of the information supplied as part of the prequalification procedure.
If a specific method of evaluation is to be used in selecting the successful tender, the method should be described in the instructions to tenderers.
While evaluation generally may be primarily on the basis of tender price, other factors which could be relevant to achieving best value for money may be applicable.
Performance security
If a security (guarantee or bond) for performance is required, the type and terms of the security should be specified in the conditions of contract. The terms should include the period of validity of the security, the
procedure to be followed in the event that the security is forfeit, arrangements for the release of the security, and the currency of any monetary transactions which are involved.
The procedure for the successful tenderer to submit the performance security should be described in the instructions to tenderers.
Table 14.1 – Instructions to tenderers checklist Language of the tender.
Number of copies of the tender that are required.
Which documents have to be filled in by the tenderer and returned by the submission date and which have to be signed.
Precise requirements for each tenderer to provide a power of attorney for the authorised signatory(ies) to the tender.
Any special rules regarding treatment of taxes, duties and other fiscal matters in the tender.
Validity period of the tender.
Any documents other than those issued as part of the tender dossier which the tenderer must include with his tender.
Procedure for issuing addenda to the tender documents.
Procedure for dealing with queries raised by tenderers.
Instructions for packing, labelling and addressing the tender (including a supply of standard labels if this is the practice of the employer).
Procedure to be adopted for tenderers to visit and inspect the site.
Procedure for inspecting any special documents not issued with the tender dossier (e.g., site investigation reports and environmental impact assessments) Circumstances under which alternative offers may be
submitted.
Confidentiality of tender documents.
Procedure for the return of tenders submitted by unsuccessful tenderers (if required).
Procedure for dealing with requests for extension of time by tenderers.
Arrangements for the opening of tenders.
Procedure for dealing with arithmetic errors found in tenders during evaluation.
Rules relating to disqualification/rejection of tenders (e.g., late arrivals, altered figures, incomplete submissions and deviations).
Any unusual features of the particular tendering procedure.
Information about requirements of local (national) regulations.
Information about the evaluation criteria and method.
Award of contract procedure, including submission of the performance security, appointment of the Dispute Adjudication Board (DAB), and other formalities.
14 Obtaining Tenders:
Dredging and Reclamation Works
153
The recommended form of contract for dredging and reclamation is the FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Dredging and Reclamation Works. This publication comprises:
- Agreement; Offer; Acceptance; Appendix - General Conditions
- Particular Conditions - Rules for Adjudication - Notes for Guidance
- Annexes: Forms of Securities (example forms of Performance Security, Advance Payment Guarantee, Retention Money Guarantee.
This form of conditions of contract has been prepared to provide a fair sharing of risk and responsibility between the employer and the contractor, and contains many
interdependent clauses. It should therefore be adopted
without alteration or with as few alterations as possible.
Where general conditions need to be changed, the amendments and additions must be contained in particular conditions, not in amended and/or retyped general conditions.
This is so that tenderers can rapidly identify any changes and assess their effects from the well-know and widely accepted FIDIC form of contract.