[tab name=’Guidelines’]
Guidelines : Soliciting
Soliciting Bids
Guidelines and Alternate Phrases
- Invite the bid up front, giving an overview of the project.
- We are soliciting bids on plant-care service for our corporate headquarters.
- We have attached a list of shelving and other storage items we plan to purchase for our corporate headquarters in the next few months. If you are interested in bidding on these items, please give us your quote on the attached form.
- Barconte Inc. invites you to submit bids for its leasehold interest, wells, and equipment located on the properties shown on the attached data sheet.
- We have in mind a communications project for which we are actively seeking help, and we invite your proposal for consideration. The project will include three phases: ….
- We need a cost estimate for constructing an additional wing on the Huffines Medical Building at 2455 Park Way. Attached is a line drawing showing our plans.
- We are seeking bids on office furniture for four floors of the Two Riverway Chesapeake Building.
- Carolton and Associates requests your bid for weekly housekeeping and maintenance service of our office suites.
- State clearly and specifically what information should be included in the bid. Make your specifications exact so later you will not have to struggle with apples-to-oranges comparisons in bid evaluations.
- Please include all shipping costs in your bid.
- All travel expenses should be included as part of your bid on the developmental costs.
- Your estimate should include material, labor, overhead, and profit. Please show these as separate line items on your quote, because these four items will be the basis for our comparison of contractors.
- Please overview your study process. We understand your reluctance to reveal your entire method of analysis, but we must understand enough of your process to determine the potential benefits.
- Your bid should include your work plan, résumés of the key engineers on the project, brief histories of similar projects you’ve completed, and pricing information.
- Please provide the manufacturer’s name and model number, the quantity of each item you propose to install, and the cost of ongoing maintenance contracts.
- Anticipate the special problems inherent in bids in that companies often quote for “in lieu of” items, making your comparisons of bids difficult. Either caution bidders against substitutions, or state that you will accept them.
- Please do not quote prices for any items you cannot supply as specifically listed. We can make no substitutions on items L through R.
- We have listed our preferences for each piece of equipment; however, we will consider substitutions you deem of equal quality to those we’ve listed.
- We have decided not to consider any substitutions on the items we have listed here.
- Identify the criteria for selection.
- All bidders will be evaluated only on the specified items, with no substitutions. Therefore, our selection will be based on price alone.
- In our decision, we will consider delivery schedules, as well as the previous maintenance record on the reconditioned equipment.
- Our timetable is crucial. If you cannot deliver the products by July 31, we ask that you forego this bidding opportunity.
- Give the necessary information for submitting the bid, such as time, deadline, packaging details, and a contact person for inquiries. To minimize time spent on certain inquiries, you may also want to mention any information you are unwilling to provide.
- Please do not include your pricing information in the same envelope with your proposal; instead, forward each separately in the enclosed, labeled envelopes.
- We will not consider any bids received after June 2, at noon.
- At this stage in the survey process, we will not be able to provide information on any equipment we currently use in our remote locations. You can assume it is of equal quality to that used here at headquarters.
- As you prepare your bids, feel free to suggest methods not mentioned in our own description of the problem and potential solution. We are entirely open to your ideas about a better system of management and operation than we have overviewed here.
- Please do not include the cost for reproduction of the manuals. After we select the winning supplier, we will make arrangements to produce and assemble all necessary manuals with our in-house staff.
- Bids should be submitted in envelopes marked “Sealed Bid–Project #2388” and addressed to Mark Stanton, Purchasing Agent, P.O. Box 2444, Midland, TX 79702.
- Any bid received after 2:00 p.m., August 4, 19–, will not be opened.
- Each bid should be considered a bona fide offer to purchase and shall be binding upon the bidder after submission to us.
- Please detail your pricing information on the forms provided and submit this in a separately sealed package.
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[tab name=’Example 1′]
Example 1: Sample letters for soliciting bids
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State Zip
Gentlemen or Ladies:
After reviewing the fact sheets you provided Fairfield Company, we recognize your expertise in the energy-management field. Therefore, we want to invite your proposal to help us reduce our energy costs and improve our efficiency in our four local properties.
The proposal should include the scope of your analysis, the type of information you can supply, the amount of time you would spend on site, and your expectations for what type of recommendations your final report would include.
My objective in this project is to determine if there are ways to save enough energy to allow an attractive payback period on the properties before we plan to sell them. I will need to see your suggestions on how to operate the equipment more efficiently without affecting tenant comfort. And, of course, in the final report I will want to compare the approximate cost and savings of equipment and changes in procedure.
As you prepare your proposal, feel free to inspect our four sites at your convenience. Simply let the security guards know you are here. If you have any difficulty in gaining access to certain areas, ask them to call me or my assistant, John Grimes (ext. 2456), for authorization. We do not, however, plan to conduct formal tours for the bidders before they submit proposals; tours will be at your discretion. After we select the winning proposal, of course, we will be happy to provide you with all energy records and to make ourselves available to answer your questions and arrange formal tours through the tenants’ offices, as well as our own.
If you choose to propose an energy-saving plan, please submit your proposal package to us at the above address by April 30.
Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 2′]
Example 2: Example letters for soliciting bids
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State Zip
Dear Ms. Frazier:
Herrington Corporation is considering suppliers who can provide us with management training programs for our senior executives and our first-line supervisors. This letter, along with its three attachments, constitute our request for pricing and other seminar information.
We reserve the right to reject any and all responses to this request for management training programs and to negotiate further with any supplier.
Along with your pricing information, please include any anticipated price increases for the calendar year and any cancellation or rescheduling policies or terms. Your information should include a complete list of objectives and topics for each of the two training audiences.
Your written quotations must be submitted only in the pre-addressed envelope provided as part of our bid-request package. If we do make a final decision to provide this training, we will be selecting a vendor sometime in the first quarter of next year. If you have questions about this request or the submission process, please phone Helen Graves or Herb Jones (355-478-8889).
Enclosed are copies of all the agreements applicable to the service we are asking you to provide: our standard service agreement, a statement of the work to be performed, and our standard purchase order form with terms and conditions stated at the bottom of the page.
Thank you for providing this information so we may consider your firm to meet our current training needs.
Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 3′]
Example 3: Soliciting Bids Letter
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State Zip
Dear Mr. Long:
We want to invite you to bid on the 19– furniture requirements for Universal, Inc.’s two new branch offices in Northwest Houston.
The attached list details all the specifications you’ll need to identify the various items that match our corporate headquarters furniture. If, however, you do not handle a specific item listed but can supply an item comparable in color, design, and price, please quote on that furniture/decor piece. We also ask that you include a photograph and a catalog description of any substitution.
If you choose to quote, please have your bid in our office by Thursday, May 6, 19–. Thank you for your effort in preparing your bid and your prompt response on these purchases.
Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 4′]
Example 4: Letter of Soliciting
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State Zip
Gentlemen or Ladies:
Malvern Inc. invites you to submit a footage bid to drill a well to a depth of approximately 1000 feet at the following location: Blk 248, Section 38899, Irontide Bay.
If you decide to bid, please complete Section 6 of Exhibit B and return your bid along with the other information requested in this letter. Exhibit B–Bid Sheet and Well Specifications covers the basic drilling plan that will be followed with this project. Exhibit A covers the responsibilities of the contractor and operator in full detail. Please review these documents carefully and address any questions you may have to us before preparing your bid. Note particularly that the date your equipment will be available should be stated in your bid. Both exhibits will become part of the final contract.
The contractor’s safety record will be one of the major criteria influencing rig selection. Therefore, we will pay particular attention to the proposal’s discussion of your safety program, including a description of the degree of accountability you place on the on-the-job supervisor.
If you are the successful bidder, you will be required to provide a letter of credit from your financial institution. An example is attached for your reference.
Should you want to examine the area of the proposed well location prior to bidding, please make arrangements with Barton Holden at 713-456-6099. You may direct any questions about bid preparation to Harold Wyatt at 345-345-5555.
Malvern Inc. reserves the right to reject any and all bids. Your bid must arrive in the enclosed return envelope by 2:00 p.m. on August 4, 19–.
Thank you for taking the time to address our needs.
Yours truly,
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[tab name=’Example 5′]
Example 5: Bid Soliciting Letter
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State Zip
Dear Ms. Timberlake:
We are interested in receiving your quotation for the rental of a skid-mounted, packaged reciprocating gas compressor as specified on the attached design.
If you choose to quote on this equipment, please give us your prices and terms for a lease plan with purchase option after 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Also, include a quote for a straight lease plan without a purchase option. Both plans should include a maintenance contract and any installation charges.
We ask you do not submit any bid on a substituted compressor; our needs are very specific.
Your confidential bid should be in our office by noon, March 23, 19–. Thank you for your time in preparing this quotation.
Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 6′]
Example 6: Sample of Bid Soliciting Letter
Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State Zip
Dear Mr. Horowitz:
We would like to invite you to bid on the furniture requirements of Kilner, Inc., as specified on the attached list. Please forward your bid to me at the above address by February 13, 19–. If you have any questions on the bid’s preparation, please phone me at ext. 3368.
The enclosed furniture specifications identify our exact company needs; please do not include in your quote any substitutions for items on the list.
Sincerely,
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