Tender Writing Requires Full and Complete Answers

It is important to ensure that all your replies and answers to tender questions are full and complete. It’s an old adage that an Accountant can provide you with information which is actual and factual, but absolutely meaningless. Without the whole context, this can be true of tendering.

An example of this was a client whose high technology business involves the forensic analysis of samples taken to confirm whether an individual has or has not been taking drugs. The Authority requiring the tests has sites all over the UK, and testing could occur at any of those sites. Due to the possible ramifications of a positive test, the testers require to be highly trained and follow very strict procedures.

One of the tender questions asked ‘How many testers do you have?’  My client proposed that the answer was 36 – which was actual, factual, and (almost) meaningless without further clarification. So we set about providing the complete answer which the question was really asking.

The final answer in the tender covered half a page.  It included

• The number of testers,
• The standard of training of testers, and who trains them.
• The frequency of re-training,
• That testers are audited and how frequently,
• To what accreditation testers work .

 

We also included a map of the UK, showing how many testers lived in which region, to confirm that the service would be a) delivered at short notice anywhere in the UK, and b) there is more than one fully trained tester in each region, so that back-up can be provided in case of holidays or illness.

My client won the business.