Construction bidding

A bid or the action of bidding is a contractor or supplier response to a tender process in which they are competing to win a construction projects or elements of a project by submitting proposals, tenders or bids. These documents will outline the cost, schedule, and scope of works but also include other information that might be requested by the tender process such as performance information, project experience, team description and project aftercare.

Bid proposals should generally always respond precisely to the invitation to tender, with all required documents and information correctly formatted and complete or the bid maybe discounted. It plays a central role in construction procurement, aiming to ensure transparency, value for money, and fair competition in both public and private sector projects.

The term tender itself generally means the formal request for proposals, while the term bid or construction bid is a supplier's response to that request. Today though the two terms might be used somewhat interchangeably, with contractor actions described as tender submissions or just tenders, which may refer to the whole package that is submitted, whereas the bid may refer more commonly just to the figure or sum proposed for the cost of the works.

There are however a number of different tender processes, each will have an impact on how the construction bidding takes place, what the bid contains, when and how it is submitted, how it is evaluated and ultimately which bid is selected. The tender processes used in construction, often have specific intentions aimed at specific outcomes, some examples of these forms of tender process include:

• Open tendering. Allows anyone to submit a tender or bid for the supply of goods or services required.
• Selective tendering. Allows only a pre-selected list of invited suppliers to submit tenders or bids.
• Negotiated tendering. Negotiating with a single supplier in specialist contracts, or extending contract scopes.
• Serial tendering. Typical or notional bill of quantities or schedule of works can be responded to with rates.
• Framework tendering. Longer term invited tenders from approved suppliers of goods and services.
• Single-stage tendering and two-stage tendering. Where all or part of project information is available at tender.
• Public procurement. Specific procedures which are prescribed by The Public Contracts Regulations.

In most cases early in the process, a meeting to resolve estimating overlaps, clarify construction methods, and define subcontracted work and any other onlaying pre-tender issues. A few days before the deadline, the estimating team meets with management to review costs, justify assumptions, and resolve any disagreements. Bid submissions are typically quite intense, for both parties, perhaps some missing the deadline or last-minute submissions, further information or revisions from subcontractors and suppliers.

Mistakes, can and often are made and difficult to rectify during the process which is why tenders tend to try to adhere to strict processes To reduce risks, in assessment sheets comparison sheets might be prepared in advance, with team members responsible for specific trades or suppliers to ensure accuracy and avoid overlap. There are also a number of examples where bid-rigging or the sharing of bid information between competitors has been exposed, leading to legal consequences. One example being where the CMA housing developer probe leads to 100 million affordable housing contributions commitment and a further consultation, whereby to avoid the regulator's decision on whether they broke competition law, seven firms that were to share commercially sensitive information "except in limited circumstances" have paid towards scheme.

Bid evaluation is most likely to consider not only price but other aspects such as technical competence, experience, delivery schedule, quality assurance and other KPIs such as sustainability, which should have been all clearly stated in the tender documentation. The way construction bidding happens has also evolved beyond the approach of sealed anonymous handovers with the possibilities brought by digital tools, e-tendering platforms, BIM-integrated estimating software and digital twinning, which can help enhance accuracy, speed, and transparency hopefully with better results.

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• E-auction.
• Exclusion grounds under the Single Procurement Document (Scotland).
• Form of tender.
• Framework contract
• Invitation to tender for construction contracts.
• Golden thread index.
• How to prepare tender documents.
• Key performance indicators KPI.
• Negotiated tendering.
• Open tendering of construction works.
• Pre-qualification questionnaire PQQ for construction contracts.
• Procurement route.
• Public procurement.
• Restricted procedure under the Single Procurement Document (Scotland)
• RIBA Plan of Work.
• Setting the Bar Final Report.
• Selective tendering
• Serial tendering
• Single-stage tender
• Sustainable procurement.
• Tender documentation for construction projects
• Tender evaluation.
• Tender processes for construction contracts.
• Two-stage tender
• Typical tender process for construction projects.
• The Building Safety Bill and product testing.