Corporate Procurement

Tendering Procedures over £50,000

Tendering is a formal competitive bidding process where suppliers compete under strict rules for contracts. The procedure is used to ensure competition, openness, fairness and accountability.

High Value - Class C Contracts

Formal offers are invited for contracts with an estimated value in excess of £50,000. 6 firms are usually invited either by advertisement or where possible through the Construction Line website database.

All contracts with a value of over £50,000 will be exposed to a formal competitive tendering process.

Contracts that require an advertisement will be advertised on this website on the Current Contract Opportunities web page.

They will also be advertised in a local newspaper for example, Barking and Dagenham Post, in a relevant trade journal like Construction News, Caterer magazine and on the Supply2.gov.uk website, aimed at small and medium size businesses in London and the Midlands.

If the value of a contract is above the threshold set by European Union, the tendering procedure follows the requirements of the Official Journal of the European Union. Tenders will be evaluated in terms of Most Economically Advantageous Tender and not simply lowest price.

European Union Regulations|

Tendering may be by more than 1 method - The 2 most common are:

1) The Open Tendering Procedure:

Tenders are advertised and it is open to all applicants to request tender documents and submit tenders if they so wish.

2) The Restricted Tendering Procedure:

Involves short-listing, i.e. 'Pre-qualification'. An advertisement is placed asking for expressions of interest.

Invitations to tender are then sent to the list of applicants who have been selected as suitable against pre-determined criteria.

What happens during the tendering procedure?

The value of the contract will be estimated
The award criteria will be established
The contract will either be advertised or suppliers selected from Construction Line. If the value of the contract is above the European Union Threshold the advert will also be placed in the Official Journal of the European Union. This publication is available to view on the Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) website. This is in addition to local press, a trade journal, on this website and Supply2.gov.uk
Suppliers can then apply for tender documents. If the restricted procedure is being used and or you are not registered with Construction Line you may be asked to fill in a 'pre-qualification' questionnaire. If you meet the minimum criteria you will be sent tender documents
Quotation or tender documents are issued and contain full tender instructions including a bill of quantities or specification, contract conditions and a return envelope for tender. A specific time and date is given by which offers must be returned. All offers must be submitted in the envelope provided and bear no indication of who sent it on the envelope
The tender documents will be opened at a specific time and placed under strict procedure to ensure fairness. Any tender documents received late or not in accordance with the instructions will not be opened. Each tender is checked for accuracy and the appropriate technical officer or panel of officers evaluate it to ensure compliance with the specification and makes a recommendation of acceptance. A record is kept of the opening of tenders
We will usually evaluate the tender bids on the basis of the Most Economically Advantageous Tender. Please note that we are not bound to accept the lowest or any of the bids submitted
The successful and unsuccessful tenders are notified
The contract is awarded and a contract drawn up agreed and signed
The contract is monitored