Goods and services must be described in a way that contains the information necessary and sufficient to ensure that the correct item is purchased. There must be room for competition by avoiding references to an individual manufacturer's product. For example, rather than asking for 10 tins of Heinz Baked Beans, the requirement could be for 10 tins of baked beans in tomato sauce. The suppliers will then submit prices for various brands and a decision made based on award criteria that consider a combination of the prices and quality of the products offered.
For more detailed guidance, please see:
- Writing specifications
- A Guide to Specification Writing
- See also the Template section for sample specification for a range of categories that could give you a starting point to drafting a specification