All You Need To Know About The Bidding Process
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According to the Cambridge Dictionary, Bidding refers to the act of offering to pay a particular amount of money for something, by different people. There are two types of bidding;

Competitive Bidding. This is where companies and other different MDIs that require large delivery of either goods or services. Normally, the agencies must issue a Request for Proposals which involves the product and service that the vendor may show interest in.

Negotiating Bidding. What happens here is that the owner negotiates a price for services condensed with the respective contractor. In this type of bid, the allocated contractors usually don’t compete against each other for the lowest possible.

Research and Planning.

This is an applied investigation that uses practical observations in the development and assessment of plans or planning inquiry. It an also be called an “applied research” strategy in that the planner investigates everyday situations that are commonly faced by local residents. For example, You can look at your business plan as a resource, and if the project aligns with your company, then you should start working on a plan. That plan must include why your business is the one to best take on the project, so do research on the company you’re bidding on. Use all the information you can to structure your bid to meet their various requirements. (Westland, 2018, p. 1)

Prepare the Bid.

Once you’ve done the research and plan in place to show how your company is right for the project, you now must customize your business plan to show how you can fulfill the bid request. Often times, you must consider the cost of materials, time and labor, but never under bid for the job. For resistance, while you might think that whoever reads your bid will skim the details and only look at the bottom line, it’s simply not true. In other words, it should be noted that one who offers the lowest bid for the project doesn’t always win.

Submit the Bid.

The bid can be submitted in any number of ways take an example, the Government Ministries, Departments and Institutions (MDIs) usually have an online portal where bids are uploaded for consideration. A case in point was in the New Vision of 16th October, 2018 where bids were submitted from the Bank of Uganda in expression of interest in provision of consultancy services. (Nanyonjo, 2018, p. 22)  You don’t want to make any last-minute mistakes and lose all that work so most cases it very significant for one to plan in advance for better results.

Moving on to the private sector bids may or might not require bids to be delivered online digital delivery. Here, what happens is that these files are easily distributed, but one needs to always check the submission requirements from the company because some stakeholders might prefer hard copies. Follow the rules.

Presentation.

After submission, you’re called for presentation. This is done at the company or government agency but irrespective of where you’re, the most important thing is making sure that you’re prepared for whatever questions you’ll be asked, and you’ll be asked a lot of questions. You will also likely find yourself negotiating the price of the bid, so be prepared to have a counteroffer or to hold firm. Remember, you can negotiate too. If the bid price is a deal-breaker, then have quality, labor or some other factor of your bid ready to adjust.

Selection Process.

After various presentations, the panel will therefore make its final decision to the best presenter. Here we release that the best candidate depending on various requirements exhibited is selected. This could also be called duo diligence.

Being Awarded the Contract.

Once everything in the tender procurement process is finalised, contract(s) are awarded. A case in point was in the New Vision of 19th March, 2020 where local contractors were awarded contracts worth I trillion Ugandan Shillings. (Kayiwa, 2020, p. 14)This is to allow unsuccessful bidders to challenge the tender procurement process should they feel it was flawed. Contracts will not be issued until this has been completed. Unsuccessful bidders should have a chance to get feedback on tenders. This helps companies to help gain a better understanding on how to improve in future.