Participation in Open Bidding with Publication in English

To win Prozorro tenders, at first the supplier of goods, services, or works needs to learn how to participate in them – to start using the instrument of their victory.

 

What is open bidding with publication in English

Open bidding with publication in English (or Eurotenders) are above-threshold tenders conducted by government customers for purchase amounts of more than 133,000 euros for services/goods and more than 5.15 million euros for works. The main feature of open auctions with publication in English is an additional period – prequalification, during which the organizer selects participants based on technical and qualification criteria for participation in the auction.

 

Thus, the procurement procedure in the Eurotender format includes the following stages:

1. 1. Acceptance of offers – the period of announcing the purchase, the period of accepting offers and providing explanations.
   2. Prequalification – selection of participants based on technical and qualification criteria for participation in the auction.
   3. Auction – conducting a three-round auction and announcing the results.
   4. Qualification – determination of the winner, conclusion and execution of the contract.

 

Any supplier who can offer a procurement item with the proper characteristics and is not subject to disqualification by the requirements of the Law on Public Procurement can take part in the tender within the framework of open bidding with publication in English.

 

Participation in open bidding with publication in English on SmartTender

You can master the algorithm for participating in open tenders with publications in English using our simple instructions:

 

Step # 1 – Login into Your Account

To participate in open bidding, log in to your account on SmartTender.

 

Click the "Login" button in the upper right corner of the page. Enter the data in the form and click the "Login" button (Fig. 1) or select "Authorize with QES/AES" or "Authorize with EHealth".

 

Fig. 1

 

If you don't have an account, you can create one by following our simple Prozorro registration guide.

 

Step # 2 – Search for a Suitable Tender

Go to the public procurement section of the SmartTender electronic trading platform. To do this, click on the corresponding item in the main menu on the main page of the site (Fig. 2).

 

Fig. 2

 

In the filter on the left, select in the subsection “Type of bids” the item “Open procedure with publication in English” (Fig. 3).

 

Fig. 3

 

To find a suitable tender, you can enter the name of the desired procurement item (for example, sugar), the USREOU code of the organizer, or the procedure code directly in the search bar (Fig. 4).

 

For better results, use the other filters on the left. Then a smart search will return the most relevant results.

 

Fig. 4

 

Step #3 – Tender Documentation

If you have found a purchase that suits you, you can proceed immediately to apply for participation in the auction. However, before doing so, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the detailed information about the purchase to know which documents are required by the auction organizer. This can be done by clicking on the name of the purchase (Fig. 5).

 

Fig. 5

 

A page with detailed information about the tender will open on the screen. In particular, tender documentation is located here – the most important procurement information that every Prozorro supplier needs. All the customer requirements are here.

 

You can download the tender documentation for detailed reading by clicking on the appropriate marks opposite the file names or the "Download all files" button (Fig. 6).

 

Fig. 6

 

Step #4 – Questions, Requirements and Complaints

At the stage "Acceptance of proposals", if necessary, you can ask a question about the conditions of the purchase (qualification requirements for the supplier or the subject of the purchase).

 

To ask the organizer a question, go to the "Questions" tab, select the subject of discussion and click "Ask a question" (Fig. 7).

 

Please note: You can apply for clarifications no later than 10 days before the end of the acceptance of proposals period.

 

Fig. 7

 

At the stage "Acceptance of proposals", you can leave a requirement/complaint about the terms of the purchase.

 

To leave a requirement to eliminate the violation or a complaint about the terms of the tender documentation, go to the "Requirements/complaints about the terms of the procurement" tab, select the subject of the appeal and click "Submit a request" or "Submit a complaint" (Fig. 8).

 

Please note: Claims can be submitted no later than 10 days before the end of the acceptance of proposals period, and complaints – no later than 4 days before the end of the acceptance of proposals period.

 

Fig. 8

 

If necessary, you can order a free legal consultation or full legal support from SmartTender specialists. To do this, click the "Legal assistance" button on the page of detailed information about the tender (Fig. 9).

 

Fig. 9

 

Step #5 – Submitting an Offer

Please note that participation in public procurement is paid for by suppliers (Prozorro tariffs). Therefore, you first need to top up your balance by clicking the "Create Account" button (Fig. 10).

 

Fig. 10

 

Read more about how to pay for participation in the auction in our instructions for topping up the Prozorro balance.

 

To take part in the procurement, click the "Submit offer" button and go to the page for submitting an offer (Fig. 11). This can also be done on the trade search page (Fig. 12).

 

Fig. 11

 

Fig. 12

 

Uploading the Files

The offer submission page will open on the screen. First of all, download the necessary documents by clicking the "Choose files" button. Their content and design must meet the requirements specified by the procurement organizer in the tender documentation (Fig. 13).

 

Please note: The file size must not exceed 49 MB.

 

Fig. 13

 

You can add the following types of documents:

1. 1. Technical specifications – a detailed description of the qualitative, quantitative, and technical characteristics of the subject of purchase.
   2. Documents that confirm the qualification – compliance of the supplier with the qualification criteria established in the tender documentation.
   3. Price offer – the price provided by the supplier for the entire volume of the purchase.
   4. Cost estimate – calculation of the cost of production of goods, a provision of services, or performance of works, by the requirements of the tender.
   5. Documents that confirm the compliance – the documentation that shows that the customer has no reason to reject the offer.

 

After downloading the documents, you can sign them with the QES/AES. To do this, click "Signing QES/AES files" (Fig. 14), select the required files, and click "Sign selected".

 

Fig. 14

 

After that, a pop-up window of QES/AES overlay will appear on the screen (Fig. 15). Download the signature file, enter the key protection password, and click the “Sign” button.

 

Fig. 15

 

You can also set the confidentiality of documents by restricting access to other providers for viewing. To do this, check the box next to the uploaded document and indicate the reason for confidentiality (Fig. 16).

 

Please note: Confidentiality setting is possible only for document types: specifications, estimate and price offer. Documents confirming compliance and qualifications are available for public viewing.

Fig. 16

 

If the Customer Applies Non-Price Criteria

When creating a tender, in addition to determining the winner by price, the organizer can also specify other (non-price) evaluation criteria, such as payment terms, work completion time, warranty service, operating costs, etc.

 

The organizer can define one or more non-price criteria, according to which it applies the total weight and evaluation logic. The total weight of all non-price offer criteria cannot exceed 30%.

 

When submitting an offer in this case, it is necessary to indicate non-price indicators (1), according to which the offer correction coefficient is automatically calculated. This coefficient is used to determine the reduced amount of the offer (2) (Fig. 17).

 

Fig. 17

 

If the Customer Uses a Multi-Lot Purchase

The organizer can divide the purchase into separate lots, while maintaining the homogeneity of the subject of the purchase between all lots (the first four characters of the classifier DK 021:2015 match).

 

Lots may differ in the quantity of goods or services, the expected cost, the place of supply, the level of classification of the subject of the purchase, and non-price criteria.

 

In a multi-lot purchase, the supplier can submit one offer for one or more lots at the same time. For a detailed review of information on lots on the page for submitting an offer, click "+ Participate" (Fig. 18)

 

Fig. 18

 

If the Customer Applies the Qualification Criteria

When creating a tender, the organizer specifies the criteria that the supplier must meet. The list of requirements is displayed on the page of detailed information about the tender/lot in a separate block "Electronic tender documentation" (1). To view the list of requirements (2) and the confirmation method, expand the list (3) (Fig. 19).

 

Fig. 19

 

Read more about the criteria in our article.

 

Price Offer

After completing the upload of documents, enter your price offer for the subject of purchase in the appropriate field (Fig. 20). If there are subcontractors, also provide additional information about them.

 

Please note: The price offer should not exceed the expected purchase price indicated by the organizer in the tender announcement.

 

Fig. 20

 

Submission of Proposal

Be sure to put a check mark to confirm compliance with the qualification requirements (Fig. 21).

 

After completing all the steps, you can submit an offer. To do this, click the "Send an offer" button at the bottom of the page (Fig. 21).

 

Fig. 21

 

Your proposal will be saved as a draft. To activate the offer, it is necessary to impose a QES/AES, because without imposing a QES/AES it will be invalid. Specify the key type, select the signature file, write the password to it and click the "Sign" button (Fig. 22).

 

Fig. 22

 

After the successful submission of the offer, the message "Offer submitted and signed by QES/AES" will appear on the screen, and the status of the offer will change to "Offer submitted. The proposal is signed by QES/AES" (Fig. 23).

Fig. 23

 

The counter on the procedure page will show when the auction for your purchase will take place (Fig. 24).

 

Fig. 24

 

Step #6 – Prequalification

At the "Prequalification" stage, the customer reviews all tender offers and publishes the review report.

 

Fixing Inconsistencies (24 Hours to Fix)

In case of inconsistencies in the offers of the participants, the customer publishes a notice with the requirement to eliminate the inconsistencies in the offer. In response, suppliers must justify the deadline for proposals.

 

The message contains the following information:

• • a list of identified inconsistencies;
  • reference to the requirement (requirements) of the tender documentation regarding which discrepancies were found;
  • a list of information and/or documents that must be submitted by the participant to eliminate identified discrepancies.

 

The message about the need to eliminate inconsistencies in the supplier's offer will be displayed on the tender's detailed page (Fig. 25).

 

Fig. 25

 

You will also receive an email notification (Fig. 26).

 

Fig. 26

 

In this case, you need to justify an arbitrary form, that is, upload the documents to the proposal as "Documents confirming qualifications" (Fig. 27).

Fig. 27

 

If several requirements were presented to you, information about them will be stored as history on the detailed page of the tender, indicating "Period" and "Description" (Fig. 28).

 

Fig. 28

 

Please note! The proposal will be considered corrected after the end of the 24-hour correction period. At this time, the organizer will receive a message as many times as the offer will be changed during the allotted time.

 

Before the justification period ends, you have the opportunity to add confidential documents to the proposal and/or replace them. At the same time, the privacy settings are copied from the previous version of the document. It is impossible to delete sent documents.

 

After the completion of the time for correction, the organizer may reject your proposal if justification is not provided or for another reason provided for by the Law of Ukraine "On Public Procurement", or recognize the proposal as justified.

 

Completion of Prequalification

After the customer publishes the tender review protocol, the electronic procurement system automatically sends a message to all tender participants and publishes the list of participants whose tender offers have not been rejected by the Law of Ukraine "On Public Procurement".

 

Next, the system automatically assigns the date of the auction, no earlier than 5 days after the publication of the review protocol. During these 5 days, suppliers can appeal the customer's decision on admission/non-admission to the auction.

 

After that, you just have to wait for the auction stage and take part in it. In case of victory, provide the customer with documents confirming that there are no grounds for rejecting your offer.

 

Find interesting tenders, apply for participation and win with SmartTender!