Guidance on completing the tender documentation including details on submission of tenders and the evaluation method.

A letter to all tenderers advising of the process, relevant dates and documents that are included in the tender pack and relevant tender information.

Before undertaking a tendering exercise a specification will be prepared. The specification is a description of what the Council wants to buy and what the supplier is expected to tender against and to provide. It will include performance targets or criteria for acceptance of the services, supplies or works. It must be agreed with the winning tenderer and forms the major part of the formal contract agreed between the Council and the supplier.

Template which must be used to complete tender.

This is the part of the tender document where the pricing structure is entered.

Defines the legal relationship between the Council and the contractor.

Form signed by the contractor agreeing to the terms and conditions of the tender.

Tendering instructions are issued to those invited to tender and you will be asked to complete and return the tender documents by a given date and time.

Tenders must be returned by the date given as no extension of time is allowed to individual tenderers and any tenders received after the deadline will be rejected. This is because in order to ensure a fair process all returned tender documents are accessed at the same time.

Council Officers will evaluate the tenders received by the due date on a fair and objective basis with evaluation criteria which is set out in the tender documents. A matrix is used for the evaluation process. Evaluation may focus on examining how the tender proposals will deliver the service and the pricing mechanism (Quality/Price balance) or may focus on price alone. The defined balance will depend on the nature of the contract.

Please note that the Council is not bound to accept the lowest tender or any of the bids submitted. Both successful and unsuccessful tenderers will be notified by way of letter via the London Tenders Portal.

During the tender evaluation period you may be invited to clarify your bid as part of the evaluation process. If invited you will be given information on the format for the day.

The Council will always endeavour to provide unsuccessful tenderers feedback on their submissions to help them find out why their bid failed. This information can be used to help with any future bids, as being unsuccessful in one contract does not mean that a company will be unsuccessful in the future.

Contracts have to be performed in accordance with the requirements set out in the contract documentation. The Council is continuously striving to improve its own performance and expects its contractors to do the same. Poor performance can ultimately result in the loss of contracts.