6 steps to preparing a response to a call for tenders

Many companies are wondering how best to prepare a response to a call for tenders in order to win additional business, and thereby increase their sales.

But beware, this procedure requires particular rigor and compliance with certain legal constraints. Indeed, since October 1, 2018, the dematerialization of public procurement contracts has become mandatory in most cases, and often involves the use of electronic signatures.

On the other hand, it's an exercise requiring a certain amount of skill to manage to put together an application file and a tender file that are both complete and sellable.

So how do you respond effectively to a private or public call for tenders? What are the different steps to follow in order to proceed according to the rules of the art?

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Step 1: Find the calls for tender

The first step is to find the invitations to tender, or more precisely the Avis d'Appel à la Concurrence ( AAC) published by public or private buyers.

To find the right announcements, we recommend you register on specialized websites. For public procurement, you'll find platforms such as :

• BOAMP, or bulletin officiel des marchés publics,
• the OJEU, or Official Journal of the European Union,
• PLACE, or plateforme des achats de l'État.

There are also specialized newspapers (journaux d'annonces légales, or JAL).

💡 Tip: refine your search to find the public tender that's right for you! For example, on BOAMP, you can select precise criteria and set up an alert system to receive the most relevant tender notices according to your skills and abilities:

• words present in the notice,
• descriptor words,
• geographical area,
• market thresholds, etc.

There are also a number of online platforms for responding to private calls for tender. One example is MarchésOnline.com, which has a sorting system for targeting private works projects.

💡 Good to know: negotiated public contracts under €25,000 don't necessarily need to be advertised or put out to tender. If you don't want to miss out on any opportunities, we suggest you make yourself known to the decision-making departments, such as town halls or communities of communes. This way, they'll be able to think of your company if the need arises.

Step 2: download the Dossier de Consultation des Entreprises

The Dossier de Consultation des Entreprises (or DCE), valid for public procurement contracts, is made available to economic operators by the contracting authority or entity.

It can generally be consulted from the advertisement, and includes all the information needed to understand what is expected by the purchaser, from both an administrative and a technical point of view.

It also contains a number of downloadable documents. Although these may vary from one file to another, in most cases they include :

• the consultation regulations (RC): these complete the AAC and set out the consultation rules for candidates;
  
  
• acte d'engagement (Æ): this is a document to be signed by the economic operator as proof that he agrees to the clauses of the public procurement documents;
  
  
• the special administrative clauses (CCAP): this contains the various administrative provisions specific to this public contract, and comprises various clauses such as :
  • the list of contractual documents,
  • allotment,
  • environmental clauses,
  • payment terms and conditions, etc. ;
    
    
• special technical specifications (CCTP): these give details of the requirements for carrying out the service. It may be divided into lots if the consultation is subject to allotment;
  
  
• the all-inclusive price breakdown (DPGF): this document details the price breakdown in the case of a lump-sum contract;
  
  
• the unit price schedule (BPU): this document is used in the case of a public procurement contract based on unit prices. It lists the products or work elements, with a precise unit price for each.
  
  
• The Estimated Quantities (DQE): still in the context of public contracts with unit prices, this document can be defined as a simulation (taking into account the sum of the quantities estimated by the unit prices) to compare prices.

Step 3: Analyze the Dossier de Consultation des Entreprises (tender documents)

Once you have all these documents in hand, it's time to analyze the Dossier de Consultation des Entreprises in detail.

This is a fundamental step. It will help you decide whether or not it's right for you to respond to this call for tenders.

It's a very time-consuming process, and it would be a shame to waste resources and energy if the operation doesn't seem profitable for your company (for example, if the contract isn't expensive enough in relation to the travel involved).

On the other hand, this analysis serves to study the specifications as well as all the elements to be supplied in order to respond correctly to the call for tenders and not run the risk of seeing your application rejected.

In particular, this involves studying the capacities required (workforce, sales, qualifications, etc.) and the selection criteria.

We also advise you to pay close attention to the deadline for submitting applications, to ensure that you take the time you need to put together a solid, compliant and sales-oriented dossier.

Step 4: Draft your response to the invitation to tender - application and offer documents

Now that you have all the information and constraints in mind, it's time to draft your response to the invitation to tender.

This consists of two elements: the application file and the tender file.

The tender application file

With this document, you guarantee the purchaser that you meet all the expected criteria, in financial, economic, technical and professional terms.

To begin with, it includes a declaration on the candidate's honor (Articles R2143-1 to R2143-4 of the CCP), proving that he or she is not in any circumstances barred from bidding for public contracts.

This file then contains all other documents needed to assess the financial, technical and professional skills of the economic operator. The elements to be supplied must be included in a list established by regulation. These include, for example

• For the assessment of economic and financial capabilities:
  • balance sheets or extracts from balance sheets for the last 3 years,
  • sales figures for the last 3 years,
  • bank statements, etc.
    
    
• To assess technical and professional capabilities:
  • references for work carried out over the past 5 years,
  • academic or professional qualifications,
  • details of the tools to be used to carry out the contract, etc.

Tender documents

The bid file is the document of greatest interest to the buyer. It must therefore be carefully drafted, and customized according to the information contained in the CCTP.

In other words, this is where you really " sell yourself".

The bid file includes :

• A financial offer, including all price-related documents (DPGF, BPU, DQE, etc.).
  ☝️ Remember that the buyer will most likely favor a proposal that is economically advantageous!
  
  
• A technical offer. This is where you explain to the buyer the means and methodologies used to achieve the objective defined in the project.
  For this reason, the technical brief is a key component of the bid.

☝️ The technical brief is one of the most important elements in a response to a call for tenders. With this document, you demonstrate your strengths and the means deployed to satisfy the buyer. We therefore advise you to write it carefully and to personalize it for each bid, especially as it can differentiate you from some more attractive competitors in terms of price.

💡 Please note: to save time and make responding to calls for tender easier, some experts recommend drawing up a standard application file, to be modified according to the elements specific to each bid (especially for the technical brief).

Step 5: Submit your response to the invitation to tender

Once your application file is complete, send it to the purchaser before the deadline indicated in the advertisement.

❗Attention: since October 1, 2018, the process has been via dematerialized response for calls for tenders worth €25,000 or more. This threshold was raised to €40,000 in January 2020.

How do I respond to a dematerialized call for tenders?

In this context, the tender documents are transmitted via a specialized e-tendering platform, known as a buyer profile. Its address is generally indicated on the contract notice.

💡 Good to know: we recommend that you also send a backup copy (on paper, USB key, etc.), within the same timeframe as the tender.), within the same timeframe as the electronic version, to compensate for any malfunctions (computer viruses, for example) that might prevent the buyer from accessing your application.

Finally, it's worth noting that the question of electronic signatures is regularly raised in this context. Even if it is not a regulatory requirement, it is often requested by the buyer to sign the documents in the response file. What's more, it becomes compulsory as soon as the final offer is submitted.

That's why it's a good idea to equip yourself with an electronic signature solution, like the one offered by Lex Persona. With one of these solutions, you can install electronic signature software on your workstation, link it to your personal certificate, and then sign your documents simply and correctly.

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Step 6: Learn from your failures

Your application has been submitted... but your offer has unfortunately been rejected. But your work doesn't stop here!

If the economic operator so requests, the purchaser must be able to communicate the reasons for rejection, as well as the characteristics and advantages of the selected proposal.

In this way, you'll be able to identify areas for improvement (unsuitable prices, technical briefs that don't sell enough, etc.), so that you can improve your responses to future invitations to tender. After all, winning contracts is not easy. It's through experience that you'll be able to identify the most appropriate bids, put together more polished and relevant bids... and get your growth off the ground!