🏆Awards
How the winning bid is selected
Once a procurement process is complete, the winning bidder will receive a tender award.
The requirements for a particular tender are set out in the RFP or RFQ document and the winning bidders are usually chosen based on a combination of factors including:
Do they have the technical ability to do the job? - This characteristic is sometimes referred to as the bidder’s “functionality”.
Do they have the capacity to do the size of the job? This characteristic is sometimes referred to as the bidder’s “functionality”.
How do their BBBEE credentials measure up?
Does the bid meet the RFP’s requirements to make use of a certain percentage of local content (local suppliers or locally-made goods)?
Who had the lowest priced bid?
Usually the highest scoring bidder will win the bid. However, sometimes objective criteria may allow the procuring entity to award to a bidder who did not score the highest but may have met a special requirement that is identified in the RFP. These special requirements must be mentioned in the RFP.
Bid evaluation and selection
All of the bids will be sent to a Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC)
The Bid Evaluation Committee is a team of people from the procuring entity
This committee will evaluate each bid based on a points system which was described in the RFP For the BEC to conduct its work diligently, the criteria for awarding points should be clear and practical to evaluate.
This is something that must be kept in mind when the RFP is drafted.
Bids are usually evaluated using a two stage process.
Stage 1: Technical qualification
The bidder’s skill and experience enabling it to complete the job properly.
Stage 2: Price and BBBEE status
Only the pricing and BBBEE status will be considered for bidders who are technically qualified. If, as a supplier, you do not have the technical skill to perform a job, your pricing is irrelevant.
The BEC will add up the scores for each bidder to assess if they meet the threshold for STAGE 1, as stated in the bid documents. For example, if the technical threshold is 70 points, then only bidders who achieve 70 points and above will be assessed in STAGE 2, for price and BBBEE.
After Stage 1 and Stage 2 are complete, a Preferred Bidder will be selected.
Stage 3: Bid adjudication
The bids will now be sent to the Bid Adjudication Committee - the BAC
The BAC must ensure that the criteria were applied correctly by the BEC and the process was fair to all bidders.
If all is above board, the BAC must make a recommendation to the Accounting Officer of the procuring entity to approve the Preferred Bidder.
Once the Accounting officer has approved the selection of the Preferred Bidder, a letter of appointment will be prepared
Appointment of bidder
A Preferred Bidder will be appointed:
A letter of appointment, addressed to the preferred bidder, will be signed by a delegated official.
This is the tender award and should be followed by a signed contract from the organ of state and the appointed bidder.
When the tender award happens
The Bid Adjudication Committee awards the bid if this was delegated to them. Otherwise they make a recommendation for the Accounting Officer to award.
The tender award occurs when the preferred bidder receives their letter of award.
Now the winning bidder and the procuring entity must negotiate and sign a contract.
Where to view awarded tenders
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