Tender Preparation

DMC Ltd are increasing called on to provide advice and direction on how best to approach a project from a commercial viewpoint, both from Contractors looking to bid for contracts, and from Operators looking to put contracts out to bid. We encounter Contractors faced with contracts that they are technically capable of, and who are keen to bid for an RFQ, but who are uncertain about the right approach, especially when faced with an unrealistic or ambiguous Invitation To Tender. By taking an objective view of the client’s requirements, researching the market that is out there to supply the client’s requirements and assessing the availability of the required resources, we are often able to better equip a Contractor to submit a well balanced and commercially viable bid. On occasion, when a high buyer’s market exits or the award to a certain contractor is a foregone conclusion, our input would dissuade a Contractor from expending a large amount of time, money and effort on a particular bid. Conversely, if a seller’s market exists, or our client is an ‘only solution’ we will advise a bullish position.

More and more however, we find ourselves providing alternative contractual solutions to a contracting Impasse whereby ‘Company’ seeks a complete turnkey solution from ‘Contractor’ who is required to assume all risks and liabilities. In the current climate of contractors having sustained heavy losses in the recent past by taking such contracting risks ‘Contractor’ is either unwilling to accept all such risks, qualifies out of such risks, or loads pricing inordinately to ensure that all possible risks are covered. The result is either no bid, a heavily qualified bid or an extremely high bid. DMC Ltd at this point is able to assist in constructing and phrasing a commercially acceptable alternative to the unacceptable ITB contract base-case.

When approaching the same task from ‘Company’s’ point of view, DMC Ltd are able to advise on how best to approach the market and to phrase an invitation to tender to obtain a good, competitive response. When working on such a brief we would endeavor to construct an ITT in such a fashion that it is simple to evaluate the responses. This would achieved by being proscriptive with the response format, but without constraining Company’s ability to be innovative with their bid. DMC Ltd have undertaken this role on behalf of ‘Company’ or the operator several times in the past.