After the introduction of the ProZorro system, the public procurement scheme completely changed the face. The state structures undertook to make all their trade flows public and open their previously closed procurement club for all suppliers willing to try their luck in public tenders.A huge number of enthusiastic participants gained access to new markets. Skeptical attitude to public procurement was replaced by the desire to quickly demonstrate their goods to the state customer. After all, a successful supply agreement can be the key to further cooperation, and for small and medium-sized businesses, such opportunities are a pass ticket to a new level of trade development.
The leading wave of purchases caused much excitement on the part of the winners as well as questions on the part of the losers. What is the logic for selecting the best offer? Does the system really work on the principle of primitivization and simply choose the lowest price? Why cases of disqualification or non-admission of participants altogether are so frequent? It is here that the main pitfalls lie that impede the work of suppliers.

According to the letter of the law

Before you start monitoring them, it makes sense to notice important advice for all participants – to examine the legislative framework for public procurement. All the necessary information is in the Law of Ukraine "On public procurement". Armed with this knowledge, any representative of the company will be able to operate with undeniable facts in case of problems. Despite the absence of a law regulating the conduct of commercial tenders, commercial customers in most cases are guided by the main provisions of the public procurement law. Therefore, familiarization with it will be useful for all participants.
As for the lowest prices offered by suppliers, the system is not the final authority in determining the winner. The customer makes the final choice, and it is up to him or her to decide whether the minimum price is a priority or it makes sense to consider other criteria in order to find the optimal economic effect. Moreover, the participant whose proposal is not recognized as the most profitable has the right to request the customer for full information about the winner’s proposal and his or her advantages in comparison with the loser.

Tender documentation VS Supplier

The most common problem is the inconsistency of the proposal with tender documentation. This can be a mutual miscalculation of both the customer and the performer. The customer may unintentionally or consciously use the ambiguous wording, submit an incomplete set of documentation and thereby prevent the supplier from compiling the tender proposal. When fixing unlawful, excessive or discriminatory requirements, the supplier has the right to contact the customer with the requirement to make the appropriate changes.
If the documentation is all right, but the supplier still has problems with participation, this may be for the following reasons:

The supplier has carelessly studied the requirements. Skipping a single point may be a reason to exclude a participant from the trading race. This may also include the requirement to submit a tender offer in the Ukrainian language, which is often ignored by suppliers. The need to submit a certificate of employees in the plural means the inclusion of at least two people in the document – having only one is a reason for disqualification. Overlooking such nuances, after rejecting the proposal, the participant will be sincerely indignant and consider the tender unfair.

Solution: eliminate any possibility of misunderstanding, oversight or misinterpretation. If necessary, make sure in advance that all documents are translated. If the certificate should contain certain points and attributes, make sure that all of them are available. Pay attention to the singular or plural of different concepts. Operate with the same terminological apparatus as the customer. Clearly follow the deadlines for submitting the documentation. If you have questions or need clarification, it is better to request them in advance. This will be the key to submitting the correct tender proposal.

The supplier has not followed the changes in the tender documentation. After making a change, the supplier may no longer comply with the requirements, or the new conditions may be inconsistent with his or her wishes. This is especially true for those participants who submitted a proposal in advance. Cases of changing certain conditions even a day before the end of the reception of proposals are fairly common – this is stipulated in the law.

Solution: choose an electronic trading platform that sends notifications of changes. For example, SmartTender has such a function, and you will always be aware of all tender modifications.

The supplier loads the same set of documents for all tenders of the same type. An attempt to standardize documentation by oneself may also result in non-admission to tender. Even if you have already participated in the tenders of this particular customer, if he or she has already purchased the same products and your interaction has been established, this is not a reason to ignore the current tender documentation.

Solution: do not try to typify the packages of documents in the hope that the familiar name of the product is the guarantor of the preservation of all previous conditions and customer requirements. Each time carefully review the tender documentation and adjust your proposal to it if customer requests satisfy you.

The supplier ignores file format requirements. The fact that now there is the possibility of converting documents from one format to another does not mean that the customer is eager to do this. Providing a file in a format other than specified by the customer equates to the absence of the file at all. The customer may want to see the digital signature on all the submitted documents and if at least one certificate does not meet this requirement, your tender participation will end without starting.

Solution: this point echoes the first one like nothing else. Your further tender fate depends on the correct submission of documents. Make sure that there are no contradictions in formats, ensure the availability of the digital signature wherever the customer wants, check bank guarantees.
Paraphrasing a well-known quotation, if there is a tender documentation, it means that someone must follow it. This will provide you with a right trading navigation system and help to avoid all the pitfalls of participation in tenders.