Purpose

• To assist procurement practitioners handle complaints from suppliers/bidders in a fair and timely manner.
• To improve suppliers’ understanding of the procurement process and open feedback on their bids/proposals and identify areas for improvement while encouraging their participation in future tenders.
   

Description

Supplier debriefings promote a constructive and transparent dialogue between procuring authorities and suppliers. For suppliers, a debriefing provides:

• a better understanding of the procurement process, evaluation methodology and due diligence taken by procurement practitioners during the tendering phase of the procurement cycle; and
• an opportunity to receive open feedback on bids/proposals in order to identify areas for improvement while encouraging their participation in future tenders.

A debriefing can also be made available to successful suppliers (i.e. contractors) as a first step in establishing a sound working relationship and a precedent for a constructive feedback.

The benefits of a supplier debriefing are not, however, confined to suppliers alone. The procuring authority can also benefit in a number of ways: As mentioned above, debriefings provide an opportunity for procurement practitioners to demonstrate the procedures, evaluation methodology and due diligence taken during the tendering phase. It may also identify ways of improving the procurement process and encourage better bids from suppliers in the future.

A supplier questionnaire provides an alternative approach to gather information from suppliers on the tendering process. It helps procuring authorities to identify ways of improving the procurement process. It is not, however, a substitute for a supplier briefing.

Template for supplier questionnaire

General view of tender documentation

Were the instructions to suppliers easy to understand?

Were the find the specification clear and unbiased?

Was the time for response reasonable?

What is your assessment of the overall documentation?

Compared to other public tenders, how was the amount of work associated with the tender?

Contact with procuring authority

Was the procuring authority contacted to clarify any issues that you may have had with the tender documentation?

If so, were the queries dealt with professionally?

Was it easy to contact the staff of the procuring authority?

Were queries dealt with speedily?

Were the staff helpful and courteous?

Were staff able to answer technical questions?

Do you have any further comments on the support received?

Tender Feedback

If unsuccessful, were you offered a debriefing?

If an offer was accepted, was the feedback provided useful and constructive?

What other information did you request?

General

Have you completed a tender for the procuring authority before?

How did you find out about the tender?

Any suggestions to improve overall service (e.g. systems in place, documentation, service levels)?

Other areas suggested for improvement?

Signed: ………………………………………

Company: ……………………………………

Date: …………………………………………

Thank you for completing this survey. The results will be used to improve the service of procuring authority.
Please return by post to: …………………………… or e-mail: ……………………………

Source: Adopted by Office of Government Commerce (United Kingdom) (2003), Supplier Management, Supplier Debriefing, OGC Publications, London, www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/Supplier_Debriefing.pdf.