Global Perspectives: How Tendering Practices Differ Around the World

In this blog our international bid writers discuss how tendering and bids differ in various countries and regions around the world.

In the ever-evolving arena of global commerce, tendering is shifting from an optional advantage to a critical lifeline. More and more buying authorities in a broadening range of industries are recognising and reaping the benefits, as are their suppliers. Why is this system so highly valued? The tendering process not only levels out the playing field, it elevates it.

It forces suppliers to be competitive with a tapestry of USPs, such as pricing, training, efficiency, quality and adaptability. And most of the time, it sniffs out the most economically advantageous solution, product or service. However, when it comes to tendering practices, what creates a splash in one part of the world can cause a drift in another. So how do these vary between countries, continents, cultures and economic systems? And how can you mobilise certain practices to your advantage?

Tendering Practices in the UK

Age: The UK tendering process is nine years old.

Regulatory Framework: In the UK, the public procurement process is governed by the Public Contracts Regulations, 2015. When the UK government enacted these regulations back in 2015, they were acutely aware of the benefits to tendering. Benefits that include transparency, fairness and ascending standards of quality for vital sectors such as healthcare and infrastructure. And it didn’t take long for the UK to push these advantages all the way to a competitive economy. As we speak, UK-based bid writing is propelling small businesses towards profit, expansion and intense market share growth.

The regulations themselves set out compulsory procedures that public bodies are obliged to follow when awarding contracts. For example, they must do what they can to make tendering opportunities equally accessible and transparent to all potential suppliers. One method is to advertise sub-threshold opportunities on Contracts Finder, a government portal for public procurement. Higher threshold contracts (above £139,688) on the other hand, have to be advertised on the Find a Tender service. Another alternative is to use region-specific procurement services such as Public Contracts Scotland or Sell2Wales.

The Process:

All the submissions received in response to the tender notice may lead to a selection stage, where credibility of the bidding suppliers is assessed using a Selection Questionnaire (SQ) or a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ). Suppliers may be shortlisted based on the required qualifications and can then progress to the next stage, where they receive an Invitation to Tender or an ITT. The ITT provides an opportunity for the supplier to showcase their experience, credentials and offerings through a written response and pricing sheet, among other documents. The submitted bids are then evaluated by a Tender Evaluation Panel after which the winning bid is awarded the contract.

Government Expenditure: According to Public Spending Statistics, approximately £393 billion was spent in the UK for the public sector, in the year 2022/2023. This is up from £379 billion spent the previous year. Additionally, public procurement accounts for around a third of all public expenditure in the UK as well.

Tendering Practices in The US

Regulatory Framework:

The public procurement process in the US is heavily regulated by several statutes in the United States Code, with the 53-part Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) laying down the primary set of rules that regulate Government procurement in the United States, codified in Chapter 1 of Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). It includes contracts issued by the US Department of Defence (DoD) and NASA, as well as other civilian federal agencies. The promoted key principles of the practice are competition, transparency, non-discrimination.

The Process:

For contracts that are likely to exceed US$25,000, an abstract of the contract action has to be posted on a government-wide point of entry or GPE. The primary GPE used for government procurements is the System for Award Management (SAM) website.

Agencies must post a notice of the proposed contract action at least 15 days before the issuing of a solicitation for proposals. They also must provide a minimum response time of 30–45 days. Like the UK, there are two main types of bids, competitive (or “open”) sealed (“closed”). For sealed bids, the selected potential suppliers have to submit a bid in response to an Invitation for Bid (IFB), which is issued by the agency.

For competitive procurements, bidders must submit proposals in response to Request for Proposals (RFP) and the set evaluation criteria. After the suppliers submit proposals, agencies may choose to engage in exchanges with them to discuss, negotiate and sort out points in their proposals, or raise any concerns or potential weaknesses.

Government Expenditure: The U.S. Federal government spent a record $765 billion in awarding contracts, in the year of 2023, a 9.5% increase over the previous fiscal year; out of which $162.9 billion worth of contracts were given to the small business.

Tendering Practices in The Middle East

In the Middle East, the Request for Proposal (RFP) procedure varies based on the nation in question and its system of government. However, the majority of the typical procedures and factors apply to many countries in the area.

Variations By Country include:

• Saudi Arabia: The Government Tenders and Procurement Law (GTPL) outlines particular rules from the Saudi government. Electronic procurement is commonly conducted via the Etimad platform.

• United Arab Emirates (UAE): Each emirate in the UAE has its own protocols, and the UAE uses a variety of e-procurement technologies. Tejari, for example, is available in Dubai.

• Qatar: With certain rules and regulations, government procurement is supervised by the Central Tenders Committee (CTC).

• Kuwait: Tenders are managed by the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT), which adheres to stringent legal guidelines.

Further information is available in our Middle East bid writing guide.

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:

How to win a tender
Tender Compliance: What does it mean to be non-compliant?
What is a Bid Writer?
Writing winning bids
Bid Writing Consultants