State Vendors' Common Bid Mistakes

Companies that offer their work under government contracts often make multiple bids a year. Several companies can bid on the same contract at a time, but it isn’t always price that causes a business to lose a contract.

Misunderstanding the bid’s qualifications or making a common mistake can be the end of a company’s chance. Monica Hassan, spokesperson for the Department of General Services, listed the most common mistakes for Techwire.

A few of the common mistakes vendors make when bidding on RFPs:

1. Not fully reading the RFP
2. Offering conflicting or conditional responses
3. Not asking questions or seeking clarification in a timely manner
4. Offering products or services that do not meet minimum RFP requirements

Understanding terminology and the weight each qualifier holds in a scored RFP is also important. All administrative and functional evaluations are reviewed prior to references and cost viewing.

“[The] administrative section usually lists business needs, acceptance of [terms and conditions], customer references, etc. The 'technical' or 'functional' section usually lists minimum performance criteria, detailed technology, and description of features where extra evaluation points may be granted.”

The evaluation process builds one qualification on top of another. If a company does not present each qualification, they can be knocked out of all consideration. For example, references will not be evaluated if narrative responses fall short.

Once a best and final offer has been reviewed, then cost envelopes are opened.

Some entities, including the federal government, have argued for changing the bidding process to a qualifications-based selection. In 1972, the Brooks Act offered a system where a firm is selected on merit and then a cost is negotiated.