Prime
Best bidding practices
A lot is saved when suppliers have good bidding practices. FILE PHOTO.
What you need to know:
A bidder should know whether his or her application meets the criteria or not, before submission, Sarah Aanyu writes.
Competitive bidding can be stressing especially if you are not aware of the best practices of the process.
Best bidding practices are things that you do to improve your business and find a number of suppliers who are interested in investing in it.
But what are some of the best practices you should follow in a public bid process?
Stephanie Asekenye, procurement officer at Darfur Company, says one of the best practices is good ethics.
“A bidder must be honest and avoid indulging in acts that will get them disqualified from bidding for the product,” Asekenye says.
Pricing details
A good bid also provides pricing details and other information such as approach. Here, it explains how the requirements will be fulfilled, company qualifications, terms, guarantees, among others.
Asekenye advises suppliers to be knowledgeable about what the bid requires. This involves researching about whatever bid you are interested in and constantly filling in the application forms regardless of whether you are applying or not.
Criteria
Another best practice is a clear, objective and mensurable criteria.
A bidder should know whether his or her application meets the criteria or not, before submission.
The criteria must be clear and objectively measureable for that to happen.
You should also have specific bidder qualifications for different projects. This means there should be a clear basis and relationship between the project needs and the required bidder qualifications for the project.
“If a supplier is focused and needs bidding documents that are up to standard, then suppliers will find a way of matching their standards,” says Asekenye.
Patrick Ebil, a procurement officer, says the best way is consulting from those companies you think are better than you and finding out how they go about it or you can attend seminars that provide training for the skill.
Benefits
Using best practices in bidding help your company to:
•Become more competitive.
•Increase sales and develop new markets.
•Reduce costs and become more efficient.
• Improve the skills of your workforce.
•Use technology more effectively.
