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From my11-year experience at a civil / environmental engineering contractor:
- check whether your company meets all (ALL) the pass-fail technical criteria (past experience being stronger than what is required, human/mechanical resources and financial strength higher than required, etc). If not, seek a partnership with one technically competent company which has specific expertise in one or more of the scope of work.
- once ascertained that can compete technically, plan for submission date in mind. Ensure that all teams are well aware of the deadline and what is required from them and in which form/format by distributing and explaining the programme scheduling: what is expected from the QS dept, procurement dept, the M&E / automation / civil specialists, any design input, environmental / health & safety / quality assurance requirements. Schedule a joint meeting of all concerned departments well in advance and schedule of deliverables on a weekly basis. Appoint one person as sole point of contact for joint-ventures and management of correspondences towards the Employer.
- Request for testimonials, bonds and insurances from banks/financial institutions or insurance companies, as may be required by the specific tender documents.
- perform a site visit with one of your site managers for assessing the level of difficulty. Do not rely only on the official site visit. Tendering people can attend, but only if the team includes at least one former site person with strong experience in the nature of work being tendered for.
- After first1 or2 meetings assess level of difficulty encountered: if need be, write to the Employer requesting for an extension of the time for tendering.
- Send queries / anomalies to Employer as and when required, paying particular attention to the last date allowed for these in the tender. Ensure that all correspondence received in reply to queries are properly sent to concerned departments.
- using your updated internal cost components to build up a competitive selling rate. Thorough knowledge of your internal cost structure is essential - attending cost meetings regularly is a must.
- in your technical write-up, emphasize on the fact that your company / partnership not only meets but EXCEEDS the minimum / pass-fail criteria. Make use of the Employer's prescribed format at all costs.
- plan all the tendering process to ensure that all the components forming part of the submission are thoroughly completed and combined, ready for packing up at least24 hours before submission date.
The above are the most general pieces of advice that anyone can give. Should you need more specifics, please feel free to send more queries.
