Non-compliance: How to lose a tender instantly
Procurement processes are full of compliance requirements that are often non-negotiable when responding to a tender. Failure to respond to them efficiently could result in automatic disqualification or reputation repercussions.
So, why is compliance important to a tenderer’s success?
Types of compliance and how to avoid falling foul of procurer’s requirements
Compliance requirements are littered throughout the tender documents and have different purposes (or implications) for the procurer and the tenderer. These range from mandatory compliance questions to technical, legal, and commercial requirements. Even document formatting. The following sections break each of these down by exploring what they are, why they are important and tips to avoid falling into the non-compliant trap.
Mandatory criteria
These are the Pass/Fail questions—answers are likely to be yes or no—and the procurer's first line of defence to sift out unsuitable respondents. Here is where they assess legal and industry standing (such as compliance with local law and legislation), insurance details or social procurement targets. Fail any of these questions, and you will likely be immediately disqualified.
Tip: Pay close attention to your responses to these questions. If you don’t think you are compliant with all questions at the time of submission, provide a clear plan explaining how you’ll become compliant by contract award.
Technical compliance
The technical requirements articulate exactly what the procurer wants and the problems they want to solve. Responding to each requirement with a solid solution shows your understanding of the problem and competence to get the job done.
All tenderers in the race will receive the same requirements, giving everyone a fair shot to demonstrate their capability to solve the problem. Offering a rogue solution could deem you non-compliant and, you guessed it, potentially disqualified (or at least left at the bottom of the pecking order).
Tip: Ensure you have fully read and digested all requirements. Break these down and assess, honestly, whether you can deliver them and whether you have any capability gaps. If you do have gaps, ensure you have a strategic plan articulating how you plan to bridge these gaps.
Also, be clear on any areas of potential technical departures with a clear explanation of your reasoning. But keep these to a minimum if possible.
Legal and commercial compliance
Legal and commercial requirements are there to protect both the procurer and tenderer. The purpose is to ensure the law is followed and there is full transparency between all parties. Non-compliance with these requirements could result in legal or financial implications for all parties. The last thing anyone wants is to be in breach of contractual obligations due to non-compliance or misunderstanding at the bid stage.
Tip: Ensure you have the correct legal and commercial expertise in the team to support these responses. Make sure all contractual documents are read and understood, and that you are recording the necessary commercial risks and departures. If any requirements or contractual clauses that are not clear, submit a clarification question (CQ) or request for information (RFI) to avoid misinterpretation.
Evaluation criteria and weightings
Tenders often come with a set of evaluation criteria and weightings that emphasise the order of priority the client places on each section of the bid response and associated scoring. They indicate the level of capability the procurer is looking for. The lower you score, the less likely you are to move on to the next stage.
Tip: Always aim to meet all evaluation criteria, or the highest-scoring criteria for each requirement in the list. Keep these in mind when preparing your response. Better still, add signposts—headings or a comment in the document—to your response blueprint to ensure they are addressed.
Formatting compliance
Formatting may seem trivial to some, but tenders often come with strict document formatting criteria such as specified font style and size, page caps, and graphics and table format restrictions. However, these are important considerations when you consider how your responses will be evaluated. Formatting restrictions are there to ensure that the text is legible and to keep responses concise and succinct, reducing workload for both the procurer & responder.
Non-compliance here may not get you an immediate disqualification. But may insinuate a lack of care or respect for the reader and the process that could result in reputational damage (especially when other respondents are following the rules!).
Tip: Pay attention to the formatting criteria and just stick to them.
Note: In some cases, page restrictions may not be sufficient for the complexity of your response. In these instances, ensure you follow the CQ or RFI process to query the page cap allocated or request an increase. Accompany your request with a clear justification explaining why the increase is needed. But only do this if necessary, and if it is, keep these types of requests to a minimum.
To summarise
To submit a successful tender, make sure you fully understand the requirements and whether you are compliant (or have a strategy in place to become compliant). Answer the questions honestly and directly. When you get the feeling to go rogue—ignoring that page cap or offering an alternative solution outside of the requirements—consider why the requirement is there in the first place. And if you respond non-compliant, how will you be perceived by the procurer?
Tender Plus has extensive experience when it comes to proofing and editing in line with compliance requirements. We are here to help! Feel free to get in touch to discuss how we can support you on your next tender.
Found this post interesting? You might like some of our other blogs, such as Why risk assessments win tenders and The benefits of working with a tender consultant.