Effective Tender Preparation and Evaluation Techniques

About

Whether your organisation is seeking better prices or services from its suppliers, or contracting out and outsourcing areas of activity, effective tender/RFP preparation is a way of assessing what a competitive marketplace can offer. Effective tendering techniques are now being employed by organisations as a way of ensuring that they are contracting with the suppliers that have the best prices and levels of service.

Key Learning Outcomes
• Reduce the effort, time and costs involved in preparing and evaluating supplier proposals
• Understand how to write and advertise a tender/RFP
• Learn how to prepare tenders/RFPs that solicit better and more competitive bids
• Analyse best practices for filtering and rejecting proposals
• Develop an elimination and ranking criteria within your organisation, for suppliers
• Grasp techniques for actively managing and measuring supplier performance
• Incorporate effective proposal evaluation models and criteria
• Define performance terms to guarantee effective delivery and minimise costs
• Improve the services provided by your suppliers through effective negotiation skills

Course methodology
The emphasis is on a practical, easy-to-follow process rather than a rigorous theoretical dissertation. This two-day course will use case study examples and group exercises as well as tutorial sessions. All attendees will be provided with a workbook and a certificate of attendance.

Who should attend?
• Procurement Professionals
• Purchasing Professionals
• Supply Chain Managers
• Operations Managers
• Project Managers
• Logistics Managers
• Production Managers
• Contract Managers
• Finance Managers
• Internal/External Auditors
• Heads of Department
• Facilities Managers

Outline

Day one

Introduction to procurement
• The big picture of procurement
• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
• Best Practice

Developing your sourcing strategy
• Examining the tender/RFP process as a concept and its significance and place in the procurement and project management process
• Defining your objectives, scope and boundaries
• Examining the relationship framework
• Can this process itself be outsourced?
• How to prepare budgets and identify purchasing authorities
• Planning and staffing requirements for procurement projects
• How to reduce effort, time and costs
• Analysis of the reasons why tenders/ RFPs can fail to deliver

Understanding the professional tender/RFP process
• Exploring the various stages of the purchasing process:
- Quotations
- RFPs
- Expressions of interest
- Requests for information
• How to use the RFI conference and/or briefings
• RFP closure process
• How to assign the right staff and professionals
• Techniques for goods/services analysis

Writing and advertising the tender/RFP
• Writing the proposal and specifications to attract high quality bids
• How prescriptive should your specifications be?
• The role of performance based specifications
• How to apply TCO
• Ensuring the design of your contract captures all of your objectives and expectations
• Tailoring your contract to guarantee the terms and outcomes meet your needs
• Incorporating performance measures into your contract
• The pre-qualification process - when to use it

Examining the sign-off and approval process
• Analysis of the role of the sponsor and user group in the tender/RFP process
• How to develop your business case before the approval meeting
• What techniques are available for streamlining the approval process?
• Successful techniques for how to plan and staff the evaluation team
• How to be objective and fair when assessing tenders/RFPs

Day Two

Developing effective evaluation models for the tender/RFP process
• What are the most effective evaluation methodologies available?
• Effective techniques for filtering tenders/RFPs to reduce effort while increasing effectiveness
• Best practice techniques for documenting evaluation models

Best practice procedures for rejecting proposals
• How to rank and shortlist tenders/RFPs
• Designing benchmark criteria to evaluate expressions of interest and bids
• Establishing a review panel: Who should be involved?
• How to assess minimum conformity to process when evaluating tenders/RFPs
• Effectively assessing negotiable contractual arrangements
• Recognising the signs of minimum compliance
• What is tolerable risk and how do you assess it?
• How do you assess costs?

Evaluating your suppliers: Developing key measures for a total cost and value approach
• What are the roles and responsibilities of a procurement manager in the supplier relationship?
• Creating a supplier development plan
• What are the key phases of supplier management?
• Analysis of the practical tools available for effective supplier management
• Developing tools and techniques that can be applied to any supplier relationship
• How can you measure supplier performance?
• The future of supplier relationships in the electronic age
• Assessing the value of moving to a partnership agreement
• How to move towards a total cost value partnership

Managing the legal issues in the process
• The growing demand for performance- based contracts
• Determining the rewards/penalties to encourage contractor performance
• What do you do when it all falls apart?
• The remedies available for breach of contract including damages, specific performance and injunctions
• Examining the risk factors for the claimant
• Termination of the agreement

Post tender/RFP activities: Negotiating and awarding the contract
• Methodologies for responding to client queries
• Advising the successful applicant
• Obligations regarding tender/RFP rejection
• The legal pitfalls
• Post tender/RFP negotiations
• RFP tags
• Letters of intent

Facilitator

Stu Wards, Associate, Strategic Sourcing

An entrepreneurial management professional possessing superior interpersonal skills, networking acumen, strategic vision and commitment to quality, Stu has led many successful projects within some extremely challenging environments. Stu has extensive experience in finance, purchasing, inventory management, logistics control, warehousing, freight forwarding, tendering and supply contract negotiation - co-ordinating multi-site depots. He has a history of analysing key organisational imperatives, applying a strategic vision of possibilities, articulating to the team, designing new systems and procedures, and leading the group in needed change. Stu possesses highly developed interpersonal, networking, negotiating and relationship-building skills with an innovative approach.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

Currently: Teaching Supply Chain/Inventory Management at the University of Auckland’s E2E Supply Chain Management Course – leading teams to develop a compliant and compelling response to a Government tender. Recently: Consulted to a software company, writing functional specifications for a new release of warehouse management software; Consulted to a 3PL distribution centre re-establishing discipline and processes to correctly employ RF barcode technology, and reconfiguring the layout for efficiency

To 2007: Provided distribution and maintenance expertise to an enterprise wide integrated computer system project; while project managing the New Zealand branch implementation.

To 2005: Delivered process improvement initiatives and lifted team efficiency and motivation while acting as the National Procurement Manager (New Zealand) for an Australasian office supplies company.

To 2003: Led a project team in the implementation of an integrated RF barcode warehousing technology solution.

To 2002: Project managed the procurement and implementation of credit card services for Auckland City.

To 2001: As Distribution Manager, established a new e-commerce enabled warehouse operation in Albany, including the implementation of an advanced warehouse management system and associated RF barcode technology and processes. Managed the procurement of support services to the supply chain business.

To 1999: Negotiated the key logistics aspects of the acquisition of the RNZAF’s fleet of F16 aircraft from the United States Air Force. Procuring services to meet the operational and pastoral needs of the 800 personnel at RNZAF Base Auckland.

To 1998: Responsible for the E2E supply chain for RNZAF’s Auckland based fleet of aircraft.

To 1996: Three years in Washington DC representing the New Zealand Defence Force, to develop relationships and lines of supply from agencies of the United States Government, and associated manufacturers and suppliers.

To 1993: Various warehousing and purchasing appointments as a Supply Officer in the RNZAF.

To 1985: Five years as an aircraft mechanic (engines and airframes).

Stu Wards is also facilitating:

• Successfully Negotiating, Documenting and Managing Service Level Agreements
• Winning Tenders: Preparing, Writing and Submitting Superior Tender Proposals

In-house Training

Prices and Registration