Responding to the market: preparing the bid package

What is a technical offer?

It is a technical brief or a methodological note that responds precisely to the specification included in the consultation documents.

Indeed, the specification sets out the technical provisions necessary for the performance of the services of each contract. It provides information on the buyer's needs, delivery times, warranty conditions, maintenance, after-sales service. The applicant company must therefore answer each point the specifications, specifying all the powers and means employed.

It must reassure the public purchaser and give him confidence by indicating the qualifications, qualifications and references of the applicant company.

How to value the technical offer?

The offer or technical memorandum must be constructed as a business case. The applicant company must indicate that it meets all the criteria and that it hasassets.

It must first make a general presentation to demonstrate its expertise: activity, know-how, organization, human and material resources.

It must then detail its methodology to explain how the market will be realized, controlled, delivered. In particular, it may be based on the following:

• Quality of the product manufacturing process (e.g. quality control procedure, skill level of the workforce)
• Technical quality of the product (e.g. product durability)
• Product-related services (e.g. quality of after-sales service, possibility of emergency response, including weekends and holidays, cybersecurity)

Public buyers can take into account the environmental characteristics the tender where they are directly linked to the subject of the contract. The applicant company can thus present a carbon balance relating to the service requested in the contract (for example, the analysis of greenhouse gas emissions linked to the production of the product requested by the buyer). It may mention the existence of a circuit for the reprocessing of waste produced under the contract. It may also indicate that it has certifications or labels recognized environmental. Examples are: Ecolabel, such as Ecolabel Type 1, NF Environment Certification, Organic Agriculture Label, Oeko-Tex Certificate for Textile Products.

The applicant company may also highlight the social implications of its offer where the buyer has provided for social criteria. These include:

• Measures for the integration of members of the public in difficulty which may be carried out in connection with the performance of the contract.
• Training and apprenticeship efforts in the context of the market (collaboration with a job center or local employment agency, hiring of apprentices, vocational training actions)
• Respect for human rights in the context of the execution of the contract (fair remuneration of producers, location of suppliers and subcontractors)

The buyer may also require capacity levels (e.g. in terms of the number of employees or professional qualifications).

Information may also be requested, such as the turnover statement, the appropriate bank statement or balance sheets for example.

Is there a form for responding to the procurement?

There is no response framework or standard form for submitting the technical brief.

On the contrary, it is recommended to avoid any standardized response.

The technical offer must be suitable to each contract: each of the points requested in the consultation rules must be answered in a precise manner. The applicant company has an interest in personalize its offer to show that it has understood the buyer's need.

Tenders must also be submitted in a legible and clear. Layout is very important. You have to insert a table of contents, titles, pages. Styles and fonts should also be aligned.