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Reuters (2014) Morocco to drill 30 oil and gas wells [online] available from
<http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/29/morocco-energy-
idUKL6N0NL39320140429> {02 May 2014}


Tender Process in:
Private & Government Sector
& Their Differences
The Tender Process used by Governments differs from the private sector in that it is
more formalized and more strictly managed to ensure consistency between
departments and locations. In addition, it manages public money and is therefore
accountable to taxpayers to run its operations efficiently.
Both sectors use Request for Proposal (RFP) as their main document to attract bids
but the terminology may differ and there may be additional steps, before and after,
in a Government tender process. Because it is a highly regulated
process Government RFPshave a standard format and structure and usually
require certain statutory documents that are not necessary with private sector
bids.
Government Tender Process
In most countries they are required by law to publish or announce their tenders in
one or more public media such as newspapers, trade magazines and more and
more, on their own websites. For sourcing purposes, Government Departments
usually keep a list of approved suppliers which is used to invite bids.
Government and local authorities may ask for Expressions of Interest to allow
other suppliers to be added to their list of potential suppliers before they issue
formal documents. Some Governments are now issuing electronic tenders but it is
still regular practice for them to ask bidders to submit their bid in hard-copy form.
The Private Sector Tendering Process
Both listed and non-listed companies have more latitude to use a
customized sourcing process that suits their industry and their organization. They
are not bound by the requirement to spend a given budget in a defined financial
year and are therefore free to schedule their buying process to suit business cycles.
Private companies wishing to be seen as ethical and honest adopt what is accepted
internationally as best practice. One area where they may not achieve this fully is
in the providing details of evaluation criteria and weightings to prospective
bidders. This is standard practice in government and generally regarded as the
fairest and most transparent way to award contracts. Private companies are often
reluctant to disclose their weightings in advance.
Selecting a list of bidders to be involved in the tender process is not subject to any
limitations so private companies can limit who they send their documents to as
they see fit. They are also not bound to publicly publish details to whom the
contract was awarded or even to formally advise the unsuccessful bidders.
Managing and completing their tendering process in less time than governments is
really achievable when they are not bound by tight rules. Price negotiation between
the sourcing company and short-listed bidders is normal practice which is limited
by certain protocols in government.
Bureaucracy Hurts the Government Tender Process
Because of the bureaucratic tender process used in government many qualified and
experienced suppliers decline to bid due to the many delays that occur in
the sourcing process. This decision is a difficult one as the majority of the high
value opportunities are offered by public sector organizations as they have large
budgets.
Leave this article about the tender process and find out more about the art of
tender management

Government Tenders - How to Really
Profit from Government Tenders
Government tenders are very competitive and many companies exist only on them.
That is because they are steady work and there is a guarantee of payment. Many
projects provided by central or local governments have a great deal of prestige
attached to them.
The contracts can be any size from large to $multi contracts and be for anything
from ditch digging to massive computer systems.
In some highly specialized areas such as some defence contracts there may only be
a few bidders. In other government areas such as cleaning, road repair or staffing
there may be hundreds of businesses all competing for the same work.
So how do you succeed with such tenders?
Winning government projects is very price dependent as a competitive price is a
major factor in awarding contracts. This has led to companies offering minimal
services and products that will just meet the tender requirements and then building
in as many profitable extras to the project as they can manage.
This is one of the reasons that government projects often end up costing more than
originally expected.
The government office originally purchases a project that it thinks will meet its
needs. During the project implementation, it discovers that the service offered is
only basic and then starts to ask for upgrades and changes.
The perceptive, experienced bidder knows this and has built in some extra services
at a greatly enhanced price. The extras that will almost always be required are
how the bidding company makes its profit.
Of course, many overruns are also caused because the government office has not
specified what it requires in enough detail. Government and public tenders can be
very difficult to manage when they are won. The experienced company
understands this and prices to make a profit.
Many Government Tenders Open Only Within the
Country
Many governments are keen to attract small businesses in order to improve the
countrys business environment and encourage business growth. As such many
tenders are only open to business within that country, although some countries
have to also tender internationally.
Government Tenders Are Firmly Controlled
Many countries firmly control their tenders by following a fixed format and having
a common question structure. This ensures fairness and a removes the potential for
corruption.
It also means that companies are faced with the same questions on multiple
tenders. This makes them easier to answer but familiarity makes it more difficult to
differentiate yourselves from other bidders.
Government Tenders Are Centrally Advertised
Governments usually centrally advertise their tenders, so that there will be a web
site for central government contracts and another for all local government
contracts. The European Community (EC) also advertises all EC contracts on one
web site.
This makes it very easy for a company to identify and apply for new projects.
Unfortunately, it also means that there are a considerable number of companies
that all bid for the same work.
Profiting from Government Tenders
To summarize then, to become that experienced company and make a good profit
from such tenders ensure at least 2 things:
1. Tender a low price that covers only the basic requirements of the tender.
2. Then include build in optional services at a higher price.
Certainly this article covers the main aspects where government and public tenders
are transparent. Many times depending on the country government tenders are
decided by 'undertable money'. But we don't want to go into that here, as that will
open a can of worms - we shall leave that subject matter to wikileaks.

Nine Tips on Selecting Strategic
Sourcing Consultants.
Strategic sourcing consultants offer a means to energize employees when companies
change their strategic sourcing methodology.
Most strategic sourcing consultants are not individuals. Rather, they are teams of
consultants trained and experienced at taking organizations with classic transactional
procurement systems and transitioning them to effective a form of strategic sourcing
methodology.
Here are nine tips of finding the right strategic sourcing consultants for your business:
1. Ensure they are independent and not aligned with any provider.
Many PSP companies and other e procurement companies offer strategic sourcing
consultants. These individuals can indeed help you, but they are biased in the systems
they will recommend.
2. Review the quality of the individual consultants resumes.
Birds of a feather flock together. Failing to screen the quality of the individual consultants
can result in you paying top dollar for mediocre people.
3. Ask for references from companies or a similar size or from within your sector.
Not all implementations are created equal. The strategic sourcing consultants you select
should be familiar with your industry and comfortable working with a business similar in
size and function to yours.
4. Meet team members, ensure they get you excited about strategic sourcing.
If they are not energized, they cannot energize your team. Consultants should be
passionate and confident about the gains they can achieve for your company.
5. Review their training plan for your team.
Ensure the plan includes both formal training and documentation of the informal learning
along the way.
6. Leverage their knowledge to select the right strategic sourcing manager for the
road forward.
If you do not already have a strategic sourcing manager in mind, ask the strategic
sourcing consultants to draw up the job description they would recommend for that role
at your company. If it does not match your concept, either you are not thinking in the
right direction or they are not the right company for you.
7. Review their plan for centralizing your purchasing data.
This will let you know quickly if the company understands the complexities of your
business.
8. Understand their methodology for forming cross functional teams.
Strategic sourcing consultants do not necessarily understand your business but they
should if they are to win the contract to implement your strategic sources.
9. Find out what internal support the consultant or consultant team will need.
Rather than viewing it as a weakness, find out if their proposal involves requirements for
you to provide support staff. That indicates they have respect for keeping your costs
down during implementation.

International Competitive Bids Big
Bids, Big Risks, Big Returns
So what are international competitive bids? The easy answer is that they are bids
for contracts that are offered internationally. Why would a company or
organization do that?
Countries and large organizations such as The World Bank offer the option of
international competitive bids because they want to find the best companies in the
world to provide their products and solutions.
International bids are expensive to hold and even more expensive to complete so
the value of services and products required are usually in the $ millions and the
projects involved are very complex.
Many of the projects involved are infrastructure projects where it is expected that
large consortiums of bidders will tender for the work. A significant others are
manufacturing projects where large companies are seeking new manufacturing
premises or services.
The third area is defense, such a specialized area that countries need to search
internationally for products and defense services.
The large funding agencies such as The World Bank and The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) often provide the opportunity of international competitive
bids on third world country projects.
Many of the consortiums that bid for these projects come from several countries
and all of them must, as part of the bidding regulations, contain companies from
the host country.
To solve language and currency misunderstandings, most of the bids are completed
in UK or USA English and priced in US dollars. This means that when companies
bid for these projects they need to hedge their own currencies against the US dollar,
and often for many years. This provides an extra layer of risk in what are often
extremely risky projects.
Countries, as expected, require their bids to be in their native language and
currency. This means that international companies need to employ local bid
writers or those that can speak a foreign language. Some countries, luckily stick to
USA or UK English, but most still want paying in their own language and funds.
So where do you find these projects so that you can make your own international
competitive bids? Well, luckily they are grouped together on just a few different
web sites. The major funding agencies have their own web sites and there are a few
large web sites that have international projects as well as project feeds from the
funding agencies.
If there is a large project being set up such as the Olympic Games Venue then a web
site is also set up offering companies all over the world the opportunity to place
their own international competitive bids.
As already stated, these projects are extremely risky to complete, particularly those
within any third world country. The usual risks found are:
Finding the skilled staff who are prepared to live away from home for some
months or even years.
Transporting goods, materials, tools etc to another country or sourcing them
from within that country.
Purchasing goods and services to work on the project in one or more
currencies and being paid in a completely different currency.
Any political unrest that may make completely the project or being paid
difficult.
Working in several different languages and training staff in yet another
language.
The volume and sheer size of the projects as well as the sometimes long wait
to be paid.
When writing any international competitive bids, a company must be very skilled
in managing large scale risk in order to both win the project and more
importantly, make a profit from the project.
So why do companies place international competitive bids on projects? The simple
answer is that winning one of these bids can be several years work and profits for
a company.
Of course that can also be a major risk factor! The fact is that international
competitive bids are a growing trend and this kind of work will continue to be
available.

Choosing RFI RFP RFQ as a sourcing
tool
The choice of which document to use: RFI RFP RFQ for which type of sourcing project
depends on the desired outcome is it information, a firm proposal or a detailed price bid
that is needed.
A Request for Information (RFI) is a method of collating information from different
suppliers prior to formally sourcing products or services. It is normally used where there are
many potential suppliers and not enough information is known about them. It is a
structured process where a long list of potential suppliers can be reduced to a short list of
those organizations that are willing and able to fulfill your requirements.
An RFI should include
Table of contents
Introduction and purpose of the RFI
Explanation of scope
Abbreviations and terminology
Template to complete
Details of next steps - RFP or RFQ
Why use an RFI?
To compile detail about potential suppliers and their capabilities
To advise potential suppliers that you intend to source this product or service
competitively
To show that you are acting fairly and including all participants
To gather information in a way that decides the next step
A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a formal method of receiving detailed and comparable
proposals from different suppliers for a defined product or service. It is a comprehensive
document that should provide all the required information needed to make an informed
purchasing decision.
Preparation of the RFP is important and time spent at this stage will ensure good responses.
Often an information meeting is held to brief suppliers and answer any questions. An RFI
may be used prior to an RFP if needed.
It should include at least
Table of contents
Confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement
Basic information about the client and the process
Extent and scope of the project
Proposed time frame
Detailed design information and requirements
Commercial requirements
Budget
Evaluation and award criteria
Submission instructions
Why use an RFP?
You are notifying suppliers of your intention to buy certain products or services.
You get a formal submission from the chosen suppliers to enable comparison of the
proposals
You show that you have a formal and fair process without favoring a preferred supplier.
A Request for Quotation (RFQ) is a competitive bid document used
when inviting suppliers and subcontractors to submit a bid on projects or products. An RFQ
is suitable for sourcing products that are standardized or produced in repetitive quantities. A
technical specification must be provided as well as commercial requirements. Sometimes an
RFQ can be preceded by an RFP where the shortlisted suppliers are requested to provide a
more detailed price quote.
The RFI, the RFP and the RFQ are all tools that can be used separately or in combination to
achieve a successful sourcing solution.
The Tunisian public procurement structure was found to be in high compliance with the
international standards, with perform even exceeding legislation in some areas. A positive
characteristic in the public procurement guideline in practice is that contracting entities
are allowed to go together with the rules of the public procurement law.
The entities also play a significant role in providing training to public procurement officers
regarding their duties, rights, and obligations in the public procurement process. A general
downside however is that the structure does not recommend specific deadlines for the
completion of the procurement process, which results in significant delays in practice.