New to the world of procurement and uncertain about the terminology? In this blog post, we’ll break down what tender notices are, the differences between the notice and the tender documents, and where to find them. Let’s dive in!
Tender notice definition: what exactly is a tender notice?
A tender notice is a short description of a procurement. It’s a formal and public invitation to potential suppliers to submit bids for a specific project, contract, or procurement opportunity. Tender notices are issued by a buyer, typically government bodies, public sector entities, or large corporations, to ensure transparency and fair competition in procurement activities. The notice provides essential details about the tender.
The role of the tender notice
With the publication of a tender notice, a tender process is begun. Often, bids need to be submitted with a certain number of days, for example 30 days, of the publication of the tender notice.
The tender notice serve as a way for suppliers to find relevant business opportunities. It’s not exhaustive, but gives a short introduction to the tender opportunity and is designed to be findable for suppliers monitoring new tender opportunities. It contains information like the tender name, a short description, and CPV codes (codes identifying what is being procured). It does not contain any detailed information.
Difference between tender notice and tender documents
While a tender notice and tender documents are interrelated, they serve different purposes in the procurement process.
A tender notice is a public announcement that informs potential suppliers about the procurement opportunity. It includes a few short details about the procurement. The primary purpose of a tender notice is to invite suppliers to participate in the bidding process.
On the other hand, tender documents provide comprehensive information and detailed specifications about the project or procurement opportunity. These documents typically include instructions for preparing and submitting bids, technical requirements, pricing structures, contract terms, and evaluation criteria. Tender documents offer a deep dive into the project’s intricacies and are essential for suppliers to develop well-informed and competitive bids.
Where to find tender notices
Finding tender notices is an essential step for suppliers looking to participate in bidding opportunities. Various sources can be explored to locate these notices:
- Government websites: Many government departments and public sector entities publish tender notices on their official websites. This is a reliable source for finding up-to-date information on public procurement opportunities.
- Online procurement portals: Several public platforms aggregate tender notices from different sources, making it easier for suppliers to search for relevant opportunities. Examples of such portals include Ted.europa.eu (for European Union tenders) and Tenders.gov.au (for Australian tenders).
- Industry-specific publications: Trade magazines, journals, and industry-specific publications often feature tender notices relevant to particular sectors. Subscribing to these publications can keep suppliers informed about new opportunities.
- Tender monitoring services: To make the tender monitoring process more efficient, there are several tender monitoring services. These often come with better search functionality and tender management tools. They might also aggregate tenders from different markets.
Tender monitoring by notice vs notice + documents
Most tender monitoring services find matches based on the tender notices. It allows you to monitor using CPV codes, filtering on certain buyers, regions and searching for keywords mentioned in the short notice.
This way of monitoring new tender opportunities has a couple of limitations.
- The buyers doesn’t always write a notice summary that matches what suppliers actually monitor for.
- The buyer might use unusual terms, or describe the project rather than the services required.
- Additionally, the buyer might use unexpected CPV codes, or simple pick the wrong CPV codes by mistake.
Tender monitoring services based on the full tender documents, however, search for matches based on the entire tender documents. This has some key advantages:
- You can monitor for keywords mentioned in the detailed technical descriptions, included details about goods and services being procured.
- You can be sure to find all relevant tenders, even if they have unexpected or poorly selected CPV codes.
- You can use document keywords search to find tenders in markets you might not think to monitor for.
If you’re opting for a tender monitoring service, consider one that processes tender documents. One such service is Tendium’s smart tender monitoring, which uses AI and smart search tools to make the full documents available for tender monitoring.
In conclusion
Tender notices play a central role in the tender process. Efficiently monitoring for new tender notices is key for suppliers looking to win contracts. If you want to learn more about smart and modern tender monitoring, learn more about Tendium.
