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In the world of business today, tenders are widely known and mentioned. Before embarking on the process of bidding for a tender, any entrepreneur needs to understand first what the process entails.
According to SA Tenders, a tender is explained as "an offer to perform work, supply goods, services or products at a fixed price."
 
During the weekly Supplier Development Workshop hosted by the Gauteng Provincial Treasury, Deputy Director: BBBEE, Sphiwe Ndlovu from Gauteng Department of Economic Development highlighted some of the crucial elements entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs should know about tenders.
 
"Firstly, we must be able to distinguish between "tenderpreneurs" and business. A tender is an offer to do work or supply goods and once awarded to a client it becomes binding on both parties. This means that the person / company awarded a tender has to be able to provide the goods and services in the manner agreed to and at a price offered," she says.
 
In the same thread, Nldovu explains what an Open Tender is. "Open tender is a bidding process that is open to all qualified bidders and where the sealed bids are opened in public for scrutiny and are chosen on the basis of price and quality."
 
Before any tender submission is made, experience in the industry is one of the objectives business owners need to be aware. Ndlovu adds that in most cases, when a tender is advertised one of the key points being evaluated is experience or functionality.
 
"One has to prove if they have experience on similar work and credentials for the job. Secondly, capacity i.t.o. the personnel for example, do you have enough personnel to deliver the project with your current staff or what plan do you have in place to supplement the staff personnel," she explains.
 
It is also vital for any entrepreneur to have sufficient financial resources before taking on a tender project. To which Ndlovu supports, in stating that when bidding for any project one must check their financials because payment is normally not made upfront but as per the agreement / phases after delivery of each phase.
 
Note also, before any entrepreneur considers taking on any tender opportunity, they should weigh up whether or not a tender is worth bidding for by considering some of the following:
 
Get hold of the bid documents and analyse it on time.
Make sure you can match the technical, skill and experience required.
How much will it cost to prepare the bid.
Would the work fit in with your strategy and positioning of your business.