What is a Tender Process?

Key Steps in A Tender Process:

1. A technical design is prepared by the architects and engineers.
2. The quantity surveyor (if required) produces a long shopping list called a “bill of quantities” based on the design.
3. Builders who want to do the job are provided with the drawings and bill of quantities.
4. They each give a detailed price based on their own cost- structures and expectations of profit.
5. The client selects the best proposal for their needs.

The end result of a tender process is a “real- world” determination of the building cost, backed up by a detailed pricing document and a main contractor who is prepared to sign a contract and physically build the building for their tendered price.

DKAD have overseen tenders for a range of projects, the administration of a tender process hinges on respect for time and resources of the builders involved, a strong sense of fairness and commitment to the design that the client wants.

“Tender process” is a fairly broad term for the process of showing a completed completed design to a panel of builders and having them say what they would each charge to build it. A tender process is the ideal way to find a builder who will build exactly what you want, because it requires you to produce a design before a builder has a say in the layout or choice of materials. You start with a written or graphical statement of exactly what you want which builders study, query, and put a price on.

There are many different types of tender processes. They can vary depending on whether the client is a company of individual, a public body or a semi- state entity. Procedures can be extremely formal, with strict legal status to every step. There is a general acceptance among architects and other construction industry professionals that the following values apply to all well- run tender processes:

• Respect for the commercial sensitivity of the price information.
• A need for fairness and a level playing- field among tenderers.
• A facility for builders to request information or explanations of the design.
• A need for various time constraints.
• Need for consistency in how the rules of the tender are applied by the architect.

The actual procedures to be followed are usually decided by the policy of the client- organisation for large commercial or publicly funded projects, or by the individual client in discussion with their architect in smaller projects. There are defined procurement procedures for European funds,  and for Local Authority projects. Even some large private sector companies state a tender policy for their contractors.