Invitation to tender

An invitation to tender (ITT, also known as a call for bids[1] or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business activity in works, supply, or service contracts, often from companies who have been previously assessed for suitability by means of a supplier questionnaire (SQ) or pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ).

As a result, whereas ITTs are often decided based on the best price offered, decisions on RFPs may also involve other considerations such as technology and innovation.

The European Commission has suggested that requesting variants is one way in which suppliers can be asked to offer more socially responsible solutions to meeting public needs.

[2] Public sector organisations in many countries are legally obliged to release tenders for works and services.

A sole source tender may be used where there is essentially only one suitable supplier of the services or product.

Research has shown that the length of this period might affect the number of bids and, as a result, the level of competition among tenderers.

Some organisations issue a standard pre-qualification questionnaire, for example the UK government has developed standard core PQQ questions which have been revised several times and are mandated for use across government, and has also stipulated that PQQs should not be used by central government contracting bodies when procuring goods or services valued less than the threshold values set by UK procurement legislation.

Some relevant methods are these of examining the overall or in parts and in total discount in a given price list or on a given budget.

[15] The contract is awarded to a bid close to the mean value of the proposals received.