| Action | Risk | Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Previous quotation/tender documentation is used without checking its content |
- Documentation contains information that is not appropriate to the requirement - Competitive bids are received for the wrong goods or services |
- Ensure template documentation is reviewed for appropriateness and, if necessary, amended |
| Use of own, departmental, documentation rather than institution’s documentation | - Differences in style and content may cause problems especially in respect of Terms and Conditions of contract |
- Where available, use template documentation provided or recommended by your central Procurement Office |
| Specification unclear |
- Submissions are received for the wrong goods or services - No compliant bids are received |
- Where possible, draft an output based specification that defines what you want done and not how to do it. - Have the draft specification reviewed by a colleague(s) who understands the requirement - Look at the sample tender documents in the Sample Documentation 'Book' see if there are any comparable requirements |
| Specification too restrictive | - No compliant bids are received
- A complaint(s) is received from potential bidders that the specification is unfair - The competitive process may be stopped |
- Where possible, draft an output based specification that defines what you want done and not how to do it. - Where a complaint is received about your specification, if there are grounds for concern, amend the specification, advise all participants to the process and, if necessary, extend the published closing date - If the competition is already closed (ie the closing date and time has passed) it may be necessary to stop and start a new competition |
| Electronic documentation and firewall restrictions (at both document issue and receipt stages) | - Potential bidders do not received or are unable to download the tender documentation
- Tender documentation is not allowed ‘through’ the firewall because of the software used to write the attachments or they are too large |
- Ensure clear download and return instructions are published on the web site along with contact name and telephone number should a problem arise - Require the tenderer to advise that the files have been received successfully - Ensure the tenderers know of any inbox size restrictions and provide information on what to do should their submissions be larger that the stated size. |
| Special conditions conflict with the institution’s standard Terms and Conditions of Contract | - Leads to confusion as to which terms and conditions take precedence should a problem arise |
- Use your institution’s standard Terms and Conditions of contract as advised by your Head of Procurement - Where Special Conditions are used in addition to the Standard ones, check with the Head of Procurement to ensure there is no conflict |
| Freedom of Information Act considerations | - Information held on file – earlier versions of specifications, may be discoverable documents should a FoI request be received. All text and comments made within these and related documents may need to be explained or justified. Likewise with related documentation. |
- Ensure all documentation, emails, comments etc are factual and not personal comments that could be viewed as favouring any particular bidder - On completion of a tender competition, if it is standard policy within the institution, review and ‘tidy’ the contents of the tender file. |
| Service Level Agreements (SLA) - not in place - not sufficiently detailed |
- The detail of the service provision is not clearly defined - The service provider and end users have different expectations - Where there is dissatisfaction with the service provided or there is no clear standard against which to assess the actual or perceived problem(s) |
- Ensure a clear, detailed SLA is prepared, agreed and signed by the parties - Ensure that its contents are communicated to the end users so that they understand the level and nature of the services they will receive and can expect - If available for your requirement refer to sample SLAs with F.E.L.P |
| Variant bids are not asked for in the advertisement | - An opportunity for innovative bids is missed | - Consider the requirement and ask yourself if there might be alternative ways of providing a solution and how these would be assessed |
| Variant bids are permitted | - Difficulties may be experienced when assessing variant bids against the published award criteria | - Define the award criteria in terms of outputs than can be used to assess the different solutions |
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