Participation in Simplified Tenders Using the Electronic Procurement System (Negotiated Procurement Procedure for Defense Needs)

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 Simplified Bidding With the Use of an Electronic Procurement System (Negotiated Procurement Procedure for Defense Needs)?

Simplified tenders using the electronic procurement system (negotiated procurement procedure for defense needs) are procurements used by government customers during a special period in Ukraine, the introduction of a state of emergency or martial law, implementation of measures to ensure national security and defense, etc., if the subject of procurement is not a state secret.

 

State customers in the field of defense are the central bodies of executive power and military formations, established by the laws of Ukraine, that are determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

 

This procedure has the following characteristics:

• • there is no stage of negotiations after the auction;
  • a separate list of qualification criteria;
  • a separate procedure for applying non-price criteria;
  • changed grounds for qualification and disqualification;
  • the possibility of applying the norm "24 hours" with certain features has been introduced.

 

Stages of simplified bidding using the electronic procurement system:

1. 1. Acceptance of offers – the period of announcing the purchase, accepting offers, and providing explanations.
   2. Auction – conducting an auction and announcing the results.
   3. Qualification is the period of consideration of proposals and determination of the participant in the negotiations.
   4. Signing the contract.

 

Any supplier who can offer the subject of procurement with appropriate characteristics and is not subject to disqualification by the requirements of the Law "On Public Procurement" can participate in the first stage. Only suppliers approved by the customer can participate in other stages.

 

Participation in Simplified Tenders Using the Electronic Procurement System for Defense Needs on the SmartTender Platform

The procedure for participating in the simplified tenders using the electronic procurement system for defense needs is most similar to the procedure for participating in an open tender. You can master its algorithm using our simple instructions.

 

Please note that only those users who have been identified can take part in the competitive dialogue. For information on how to do this, read the instructions for identifying a Prozorro trader.

 

Step # 1 – Login to Your Account

To take part in the simplified tenders using the electronic procurement system for defense needs, log in to your account on the 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 – Finding a Suitable Tender

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

 

Fig. 2

 

In the filter on the left, select "Negotiation procedure for defense purposes" in the "Simplified bidding using an electronic procurement system" section (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3

 

To find a suitable tender, you can write the name of the proposed subject of bidding, the organizer's Unified State Register of enterprises and organizations of Ukraine code, or the procedure code 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.

 

Please note: Each file you upload must be of the correct type, as the document containing the price quote and estimate should only open after the auction.

 

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

In addition to the price, the organizer can determine additional quality indicators that relate to the subject of procurement and that will be taken into account during the evaluation of the received offers. The total weight of such indicators cannot exceed 60% in the formula for determining the winner.

 

Non-price criteria can be indicated as a whole for the purchase, and separately for the lot and the nomenclature. Depending on this, the non-price criteria will be displayed in different places on the submission page.

 

If non-price criteria are indicated in general for the procedure, they are indicated in the general part on the proposal submission page (Fig. 17).

 

 

Fig. 17

 

When submitting an offer, it is necessary to specify non-price indicators, the amount of the offer, after which the offer correction coefficient is automatically calculated, which determines the quoted amount of the offer (Fig. 18).

Fig. 18

 

If non-price indicators are specified for a separate lot and/or product range, they must be specified when submitting an offer for the lot (Fig. 19).

Fig. 19

 

It is necessary to specify non-price indicators, the amount of the offer, after which the given amount of the offer will be calculated, taking into account the specified non-price indicators (Fig. 20).

Fig. 20

 

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. 21)

Fig. 21

 

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. 22).

Fig. 22

 

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. 23). 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. 23

 

Submission of Proposal

Be sure to put a check mark to confirm compliance with the qualification requirements (Fig. 24).

 

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. 24).

Fig. 24

 

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. 25).

Fig. 25

 

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. 26).

Fig. 26

 

The counter on the procedure page will show when the bidding for the selected tender will take place (Fig. 27).

 

Fig. 27

 

Please note that the customer has the right to make changes to the tender documents during the entire application period. If changes are made, he must extend the filing period so that there are at least 7 days left until its completion. Under such conditions, if you submitted your proposal before the changes were made, its status changes to "Requires confirmation". To participate in the auction, you will need to familiarize yourself with the changes made by the customer and confirm your offer or replace the files.

 

At the prequalification stage, the customer will analyze your proposal for compliance with the requirements of the tender documents and decide whether to admit you to the next stage – the auction.

 

Step #6 – Participation in the Electronic Auction

If you have been accepted to participate in the auction, the system will send you an email with the link to the auction, information about submitting a bid, admission to the auction, and other necessary information.

 

According to the results of the auction, submitted proposals are sorted by the final price of the proposal, taking into account the "submission date". The winner is the participant who offers the most favorable price during the auction.

 

If you win the auction, you will need to additionally provide the organizer with documents confirming that there are no grounds for rejecting your offer.

 

Fixing Inconsistencies (24 Hours to Fix)

At the "Qualification" stage, the organizer can publish a notice with the requirement to eliminate the inconsistencies of the proposal, and the supplier must provide justification before the deadline for consideration of 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. 28).

Fig. 28

 

You will also receive an email notification (Fig. 29).

Fig. 29

 

In this case, you need to justify an arbitrary form, that is, upload the documents to the proposal as "Documents confirming qualifications" (Fig. 30).

Fig. 30

 

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. 31).

Fig. 31

 

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.

 

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