APPENDIX P INVITATION TO TENDER TEMPLATE LETTER

Transcription

1 APPENDIX P INVITATION TO TENDER TEMPLATE LETTER ITT for the.. Issued xx/xx/xxxx

2 SECTION A INSTRUCTIONS TO TENDERERS ITT for the.. Issued xx/xx/xxxx

3 CONTENTS 1 GENERAL ITT DOCUMENTATION ENQUIRIES TENDER RETURN UNSUBMITTED TENDERS CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT TENDER VALIDITY TENDER COSTS FORM OF TENDER ACCURACY OF PRICE MODIFICATION AND WITHDRAWAL CONFIDENTIALITY FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT EVALUATION OF TENDERS AWARD CRITERIA USE OF ELECTRONIC REVERSE AUCTION ALTERNATIVE PROPOSALS MANDATORY STANDSTILL PERIOD BEFORE CONTRACT AWARD PUBLICATION OF AWARD CONTRACT MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING RETURNS CHECKLIST TENDER TIMETABLE OTHER GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS / AGENCIES... 8 ITT for the.. Issued xx/xx/xxxx

4 INSTRUCTIONS TO TENDERERS 1 GENERAL 1.1 Tenderers should read these instructions carefully before submitting their responses to the Invitation to Tender (ITT). 1.2 Failure to comply with these requirements for completion and submission may result in the rejection of your tender response. Tenderers should acquaint themselves fully with the extent and nature of the requirement and contractual obligations and are deemed to have done so before submitting a tender. 2 ITT DOCUMENTATION 2.1 The ITT documentation consists of the following: Invitation to Tender Letter Section A: Instructions to Tenderers Section B: Specification of Requirement Section C: Technical Questionnaire Section D: Commercial Questionnaire Section E: Conditions of Contract 2.2 Southend Borough Council (hereinafter referred to as the Client ) reserves the right to modify or amend the ITT documentation at any time prior to the deadline for receipt of tenders. Any such changes will be notified to the Tenderers in writing. Where the modifications or amendments are significant, the Client may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for receipt of Tenders. 2.3 This Invitation to Tender and its accompanying documents and publications, and any copies made in all or part, are and shall remain the property of the Client and must be returned on demand. 3 ENQUIRIES 3.1 Please contact the following person if you have any enquires regarding this tender; NAME, Southend Borough Council, Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue Southend on Sea, Essex, SS2 6ER Tenderers should note that all enquires must be made in writing and the Council at their discretion reserves the right to circulate any response to all tenderers. All enquires must be clearly marked ENQUIRY with the question and Tenderer details clearly set out. ITT for the.. 1 Issued xx/xx/xxxx

5 3.3 The deadline for receiving these enquiries will be six days prior to the tender return date to allow information to be circulated in time. 4 TENDER RETURN 4.1 The documents issued must be completed in full and enclosed in an addressed envelope 4.2 Tenders, to consist of one A4 paper original (to be clearly marked original ) and two further copies in the same format, are to be sealed in an envelope or package and forwarded to the Client as directed in the ITT letter, paying all carriage or postage as appropriate. The enclosed return label (clearly indicating the tender reference number) should be used and envelopes or packages should bear no reference to the tenderer by name. 4.3 The Tenderer must not mark the outside of the envelope in any way, to ensure that their submission is unidentifiable. Attention is drawn to the fact that the use of a postal franking machine, or return address details on the Tender envelope that includes the name, postcode or other indication of the Tenderer will invalidate the Tender. The tender must be returned; NO LATER THAN NOON on DATE. Any Tender received after this date and time will not be considered. 4.4 It is the responsibility of the Tenderer to ensure that the Tender Document is delivered to the Client no later than the notified deadline. 4.5 Tenders will not be considered if despatched by or facsimile. 4.6 The Client does not accept responsibility for the premature opening or mishandling of tenders that are not submitted in accordance with the above instructions. 4.7 The Client reserves the right to amend or modify the tender documents prior to the award of Contract. All Tenderers will be notified of any such amendment. 5 UNSUBMITTED TENDERS 5.1 It must be clearly understood that this invitation must not be passed to any other person. Should the invitee be unable to submit a tender you are requested to notify the contact detailed in 3.1 above by (Name@southend.gov.uk ) and return the documents in the envelope provided, marked No Tender. 6 CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT 6.1 Any contract(s) arising from this Invitation to Tender will be based on or subject to the Client s Conditions of Contract. ITT for the.. 2 Issued xx/xx/xxxx

6 6.2 The Client reserves the right to amend the Conditions of Contract, but any amendment or exception requested by a tenderer will be subject to negotiation. 6.3 Any such proposed exceptions or amendments to the Client s Conditions of Contract must be submitted with the Tender, using the appropriate schedule in Section D, and not at a later stage of the procurement exercise. 7 TENDER VALIDITY 7.1 Tenders shall remain open for acceptance for a period of 90 Days from the closing date of receipt of the tender by the Client. 7.2 If awarded a contract, the tenderer must comply with all the provisions contained in the tender documentation, subject only to any agreed exceptions and amendments. 7.3 The Tenderer warrants that the performance of the Contract shall be undertaken in accordance with the requirement of the Contract and any codes of practice for the industry. 8 TENDER COSTS 8.1 Tenderers will not be entitled to claim from the Client any costs or expenses that may be incurred in preparing their tender. This applies whether or not the tender is successful and it also applies to any additional costs that may be incurred if the Client modifies or amends the tender requirements or the specification of the required goods and / or services. 8.2 Tenderers are responsible, at their own expense, for obtaining all information necessary for the preparation of their Tender. Information provided to Tenderers by the Client is supplied only for general guidance in the preparation of the tender. Tenderers must satisfy themselves by their own investigations about the sufficiency of information and no responsibility is accepted by the Client for any loss, damage or expense of whatever kind arising from the use by Tenderers of such information. 9 FORM OF TENDER 9.1 Tenders must be fully completed by duly authorised personnel. Prior knowledge of any aspect of your organisation or of your ability to meet the requirement must not be assumed and all schedules and questionnaire questions must be completed in full as applicable.the sections (and associated schedules) that require completion or a specific response are: Section C: Technical Questionnaire Section D: Commercial Questionnaire 9.4 Tenders may not be considered if complete information is not given or if the particulars asked for in the tender documents are not supplied. Schedules should be fully completed and returned as directed. Answers must be in the ITT for the.. 3 Issued xx/xx/xxxx

7 tender format and in the order requested, with references to accompanying sales or technical literature kept to a minimum. Evaluation of the technical and commercial elements of the bid will be undertaken independently. Accordingly, to assist the evaluation process, technical and commercial questionnaire responses should be submitted as separate documents and in the format requested in the respective sections. 9.5 The Tender response shall be submitted in English. Any printed literature furnished by the Tenderer may be written in any other language, but must be accompanied by an English translation of its relevant pages. In such a case, for the purpose of interpretation in relation to the tender, the English translation shall prevail. 10 ACCURACY OF PRICE 10.1 Tenderers shall ensure that before submitting a tender all arithmetical calculations are checked for accuracy, at the same time ascertaining that forms have been completed and signed and all necessary information supplied. 11 MODIFICATION AND WITHDRAWAL 11.1 Tenders may not be modified subsequent to the deadline for receipt, but Tenderers may modify their tender prior to the deadline for receipt by giving written notice to the Client. Consistent with paragraph 3.1 any such notice should be forwarded in a sealed envelope marked externally with the tender reference number Tenderers may withdraw their tenders at any time prior to accepting the notification of award by sending a notice of withdrawal to the Client. 12 CONFIDENTIALITY 12.1 All information contained in this Invitation to Tender, or which is communicated in further correspondence or in the course of any subsequent negotiations, is confidential Tenderers should not disclose the fact they have been invited to tender and must not communicate, disclose or otherwise make available this information to any third party other than as set out below, nor use this information for any commercial or industrial purpose not connected with this tender The Tenderer may communicate, disclose or otherwise make available this information to an employee or a professional adviser who requires the information in connection with the preparation of the tender or to support any subsequent negotiation, provided they are bound by equivalent conditions of confidentiality All information provided by the tenderers will be treated as Commercial in Confidence by the Client and (except where required in law) will not be disclosed to a third party without the written permission of Tenderers. ITT for the.. 4 Issued xx/xx/xxxx

8 13 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 13.1 The Client is committed to meeting its responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). All information submitted to the Client may be subject to disclosure to a third party in response to a request for information under the Act. The Client may also decide to include certain information in the publication scheme that we maintain under the Act Tenderers are accordingly required to complete and return Schedule FOI1 with their Tender for the purpose of identifying any information included in their submissions that they consider exempt from disclosure under the Act If the Client receives a request to disclose the information identified, it will consider whether the information is, in fact, exempt; consider whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information (unless the information benefits from an absolute exemption); and consult with the Tenderer prior to disclosure of information whenever reasonably practicable The Client will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by the Tenderer, whether in contract, tort or any other way as a result of the Client disclosing information in response to a request made under FOIA, if the information is not specifically considered by both the Client and the Tenderer to be exempt The Tenderer should note that the receipt of any information marked confidential or equivalent by the Client should not be taken to mean that the Client accepts any duty of confidence by virtue of that marking Further information on the FOIA can be obtained from the Department of Constitutional Affairs or from the office of the Information Commissioner responsible for enforcing the Act. 14 EVALUATION OF TENDERS 14.1 Tender proposals will be subjected to a thorough evaluation. This may result in an award (or awards) of contract or it may produce a short-list of the most promising technical and commercial offers requiring further assessment The Client will examine tenders for completeness and may seek clarification where necessary. Prior to detailed examination, the Client will determine whether a tender substantially fulfils the conditions in the tender documents. A tender determined as not substantially fulfilling the conditions in the tender documents will be rejected Short-listed tenderers may be further requested to clarify their bids or provide additional information in support of their proposals Further assessment of short-listed tenders may include attendance at the Client s premises for the purpose of clarifying aspects of a bid or may involve a visit by the Client s representatives to any relevant facilities operated by the Tenderer. In each case, Tenderers will be responsible for their own costs. ITT for the.. 5 Issued xx/xx/xxxx

9 14.5 The Client will undertake enquiries throughout the tender process regarding fulfilment of obligations relating to payment of taxes. Tenderers demonstrating a poor revenue compliance record may be excluded from further participation in the tendering exercise. 15 AWARD CRITERIA 15.1 The Client does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender for the tendered goods and/or services and reserves the right to accept part of the tender unless the Tenderer expressly stipulates to the contrary The Client will have no obligation to Tenderers arising from this tender unless and until it enters into a formal contract with the Tenderer for the provision of the goods and/or services that are subject to this Invitation to Tender Any contract(s) awarded will be to the tenderer(s) whose tender, or any parts thereof, has been determined as substantially fulfilling the conditions and is the most economically advantageous The award criteria are as follows: [Please refer to the internal ITT Guidance Notes and insert details as appropriate] 16 USE OF ELECTRONIC REVERSE AUCTION [Please refer to the internal ITT Guidance Notes] 16.1 The Client reserves the right to use an electronic reverse auction as part of the selection process in this procurement exercise Procurements employing an electronic reverse auction are largely similar to traditional tenders undertaken by the Public Sector, the main difference being that tenderers are initially only asked to submit indicative prices. Final price proposals are then submitted during an e-auction bidding event, which is normally held following full evaluation of the non-price elements of tenderers bids At the conclusion of the e-auction, the Client will usually have all the price and non-price information necessary to decide upon award of contract and will normally notify the outcome to all parties within three working days of the event The bidding event takes place over the Internet through the Online Auctions website of the Client s e-auction service-provider. Training will be provided prior to the event in order to ensure that tenderers fully understand the e- auction process. Assistance will also be available on the day of the auction itself to support any bidding activities, such as surrogate or proxy bidding Tenderers will not require any specialised computer equipment to be able to access and use the Online Auctions website, nor will tenderers be required to download any software on to their own computer hardware. ITT for the.. 6 Issued xx/xx/xxxx

10 16.6 The only technical requirements for accessing the Online Auctions site and using the auction software are as follows: A reliable Internet connection (minimum recommended speed is 56kbps). A standard Internet browser such as Microsoft s Internet Explorer Version 4.0 or later (Version 5.0 or 5.5 is recommended). 17 ALTERNATIVE PROPOSALS 17.1 Tenders must be submitted in the required form, but Tenderers are additionally invited to submit alternative solutions and/or costing methods where it is believed they will result in efficiency and cost savings for the Client Alternative proposals will be subject to separate evaluation by the Client and should therefore be submitted by way of a separate second offer accompanying the primary or main proposal. They should also be fully detailed and costed so as to clearly demonstrate to the Client where the cost and efficiency savings will arise from relative to the Client s Specification and the Tenderer s primary proposal. 18 MANDATORY STANDSTILL PERIOD BEFORE CONTRACT AWARD 18.1 The Alcatel judgement (C-81/98) means that all public sector procurements covered by the full regime of the EU Procurement Directives must have a period of not less than 10 calendar days between the written communication of the award decision to all Tenderers and contract commencement. This is to allow unsuccessful Tenderers a reasonable opportunity to make any legal challenges to the award decision. 19 PUBLICATION OF AWARD 19.1 In order to comply with the EU Procurement Directive, the Client is required to publish details, including price, of the Contract award in the Official Journal of the European Communities (OJEU). Tenderers should communicate any reasons why these details should not be published within a covering letter to their Invitation to Tender response. 20 CONTRACT MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING 20.1 The Contractor will work with the Council to make sure that they fully understand the proposal and that there are appropriate processes in place for managing the service into the future The Client s contract manager for this contract will be: ENTER NAME 20.3 Day to day operational matters will be managed by: ENTER NAME For all queries regarding the tender please see 3.1above ITT for the.. 7 Issued xx/xx/xxxx

11 21 RETURNS CHECKLIST 21.1 You will need to ensure that the following information in included in your tender submission. Responses to the information requested in sections: Separate form Section 3 Section 5 Section 6 Section 7 Supplier Questionnaire (signed) Commercial Questionnaire (pricing schedule) Contract Variation Form (signed) Tender Form (signed) Bona Fide Tender Form (signed) 22 TENDER TIMETABLE 22.1 The key dates in the tender timetable are set out below. However, please note that these dates may be subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances beyond the control of the Client. Deadline for Receipt of Completed ITT Responses: xx on xx/xx/xx Presentation/Site Visits: xx/xx/xx E-Auction: [Insert, if applicable]: xx/xx/xx Award of Contract by: xx/xx/xx Contract Commencement Date: xx/xx/xx 23 OTHER GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS / AGENCIES 23.1 It is now standard practice in Government purchasing to invite any other interested Government Department or Agency to make use of the proposed Contract(s). If any changes to the requirement(s) below are needed, they will be negotiated with the successful Tenderer(s). [Now do project specification introduction.] ITT for the.. 8 Issued xx/xx/xxxx