17 Aug 2017

L2B Blog: Types of Tenders that require Consultants

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Consultant Tenders: Leads 2 Business

Tender Types that require Consultants

What do Consulting Companies do?

 

According to Wikipedia, a Consulting Firm is “A business of one or more experts (Consultants) that provides professional advice to an individual or an organisation for a fee. The primary purpose of a Consulting Firm is to provide access to industry – specific Specialist / Consultants and subject matter experts”.

 

There are many reasons why businesses appoint Consultants to solve an issue within the Company. Whether it’s because the company wants an unbiased opinion or because it doesn’t have the resources to address the issue internally. Consultants offer a way to problem-solving without costing a fortune.

 

The services provided by Consulting Engineers and other Professional Service providers involve a myriad of services in a range of disciplines and fields. These include, amongst others:

 

  • Civil Engineering Services: Civil Engineering is a Professional Engineering discipline that deals with the Design, Construction and Maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like Roads, Bridges, Canals, Dams and Buildings. Civil Engineering takes place in the public sector from municipal through national governments, and in the private sector from individual homeowners through to international companies.
  • Project Manager: Project Management is the application of Knowledge, Skills, Tools and Techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.

Project Management processes fall into five groups:

  1. Initiating
  2. Planning
  3. Executing
  4. Monitoring and Controlling
  5. Closing
Project Management knowledge draws on ten areas:
  1. Integration
  2. Scope
  3. Time
  4. Cost
  5. Quality
  6. Procurement
  7. Human Resources
  8. Communications
  9. Risk Management
  10. Stake Management

 

  • Electrical Engineering: Electrical Engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study of the application of Electricity, Electronics and Electromagnetism.
  • Geotechnical Engineering: The word “Geotechnical” refers to the geological components of the earth, like the earth and soil and also groundwater. Geotechnical Engineers evaluate the soil and other components of the earth to determine whether a particular project site is a good one for a given project and work with the lay of the land for the best results.
  • Mechanical Engineering: Mechanical Engineering is the branch of an emergency dealing with the Design, Construction and use of systems and machines.
  • Structural Engineering: Structural Engineering is a speciality within Civil Engineering. Structural Engineers create Drawings and Specifications, perform calculations, review the work of other engineers, write reports and evaluations, and observe construction sites.
  • Architectural Engineers: The building industry is made up of several professional groups: Developers, Architects, Engineers and Construction Teams. Architectural Engineers specialize in the technical aspects of architecture, including the structural integrity and resilience of buildings and the comfort and health of those who occupy buildings.

Please see DTA 651061: Multi-Disciplinary Tender Notice as an example for various Consultants needed.

Which Organisations look for Consulting Tenders?

Consulting Tenders will attract Consulting Organisations searching for Consulting Work. E.g. A Development of Municipal Offices – Architect / Quantity Surveyor / Consulting Engineer.

 

According to Michael Kromhout from D W P Civil & Structural Engineers, the Consulting Tenders that they look for are: “Any tenders relating to the Plan, Design and Management of Civil / Structural Projects; including Turnkey Projects”

It’s typical Civil / Structural Projects: Municipal Services (Roads, Sewer, Water), Bulk Services (Reservoirs, Pipelines, Water Treatment Plants, Pump Stations), Buildings, Structural Steel etc

 

To conclude this Blog, Consultancy is a specialised field required for a particular industry/field.

 

Sources:

https://www.cesa.co.za/sites/default/files/PCES_FullDoc.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consultant

http://www.cidb.org.za/publications/Documents/The%20Procurement%20of%20Professional%20Services.pdf

Michael Kromhout – D W P Civil & Structural Engineers

About Lungile Buthelezi

I started working at Leads 2 Business in May 2014 as a Content Researcher in the Daily Tenders South Africa Department. I oversee Eastern Cape and Limpopo Regions.

7 Aug 2017

How to make the most of our Tenders?

by | posted in: Did You Know | 0

The Inside Scoop:

Ssssshhh, don’t tell the boss! I wanted to share some insider secrets with you. A brief look behind the scenes and into the research “engine room” of our company. I am hoping that you can use this information to your advantage. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

As you know, Leads 2 Business is keenly focussed on smarter ways to do and create business opportunities.This approach is not just about the information we deliver to you, but an integral part of our business ethos. Each month we capture literally thousands of tenders, yes, you read it correctly, THOUSANDS!

With this much tender information being pumped out on a daily basis, we have to find a smart and effective way to prioritise researching the subsequent tender awards.

How do we know?

Every Tender we send to you has an option to be monitored.
Monitoring a lead allows you to follow it through its life cycle
or assign it for follow-up within your team.

What is not so apparent is that we, in turn, use this monitoring
information as an indicator that this tender is important, creating
a priority flag back to the research team for follow-up.

It then becomes very important for you to monitor a tender!

How to Monitor a Tender

Monitoring a Tender can be done from selecting a recipient from the drop down box “Assigned to” on the tender.
Alternately, it can be done in bulk from the search results page first selecting which tenders you want to monitor, followed by “Actions”, “Monitor selection”. It will then present the same list of recipients as is available from the individual tender view pages.

Ways to get our attention

In the event you have not monitored a tender but still need the award information and the tender is now closed, you can email your request through from the tender page by clicking on “Request Award Information” button and someone from our research team will then follow up with you.

Tools you can use

There are more tools integrated into our tender notifications that we know will help you stay ahead. Specifically, our site inspection, follow-up and closing date reminders, which offer timeous alerts. An area for notes directly relating to the tender or contacts you may have reached out to. Our document collection and/or site attendance on your behalf through Infomessenger. (Gauteng only)

Making the most of your tenders is quite an exhaustive topic…

Here are the common points for consideration :

Subscribe

It may be seemingly obvious, but a valuable subscription to Leads 2 Business is a smart, streamlined approach.
We shoulder the cost of a research team and send you what is important to your business.

The number of filter combinations across categories, industries, geography and keywords creates a uniquely customised solution for your business lead pipeline. If you would like to know more about subscribing or taking a free trial, please send me an email on TarynD@L2B.co.za

Refine Your Profile

Making sure your profile on Leads 2 Business is tailored appropriately to your business requirements so that you get the lead information.

Your Advisory Settings Profile explicitly dictates what is received in the Daily Advisory email.

Steps to Action in Identifying opportunities


Go through the daily Advisory email thoroughly each day.

  • View the full details online.
  • Monitor & Request BoQ/ SI register/ Bidders Lists as soon as possible.
  • Set Reminders.
  • Email the researcher, if there are any discrepancies that you identify or if you need assistance.
  • Make Notes.
  • Download DTAs. (Daily Tender Advisory)
  • Keep a record of DTA numbers, instead of partial descriptions. This helps when searching.
  • Dismiss those unwanted DTAs, that are cluttering up your Search Result. (Be extra careful of dismissing DTAs by mistake)
  • Take advantage of our free online training, live support, telephonic support or in person training. (In person training is availble by appointment and only in selected areas)

Key Vocabulary to Understand:



  • Details Change:The details pertaining to the original tender have changed, please review the new details supplied in our notification.
  • Short Lead: This means there is a very short lead time or a very short time within which you can respond to this tender opportunity.
  • Awards: After the closing date, all the tenders are checked for basic compliance with the tender regulations. Non-compliant tenders are disqualified. The compliance of the products or services offered and the price is considered. Then all compliant tenders are listed in order of price. Those in the lowest price tender list are in the lowest price group. Preference points are given to suppliers on the list of lowest price tenders are first verified. Preference points are only awarded after the most expensive tenders have been excluded, as this makes the process faster and fairer. Those with verifiable information come out with the best preference points and are therefore awarded the contract.
  • Re-tenders: the issue of a second or subsequent request for tenders on a proposed contract.
  • Withdrawals: the contract has been withdrawn and there is no longer an opportunity to tender at this time.
  • Cancellations: the contract has been cancelled and there is no longer an opportunity to tender at this time.


About Taryn Duckham

I am a lover of marketing, customer centricity and the art of influence. Being able to effect this through analysis, content and front end design is part of my work, my great love of creatively solving problems that reach across as many parts of Leads 2 Business as I can.

16 Nov 2016

Tenders by CIDB – What do you need to get the job?

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Frequently Asked Questions, General | 80

What do you need to get the job?

cidb-what-you-need-to-get-the-job

The Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) – a Schedule 3A public entity – was established by Act of Parliament (Act 38 of 2000) to promote a regulatory and developmental framework that builds:

  • Construction industry delivery capability for South Africa’s social and economic growth.
  • A proudly South African construction industry that delivers to globally competitive standards.

The cidb’s focus is on

  • Sustainable growth, capacity development and empowerment
  • Improved industry performance and best practice
  • A transformed industry, underpinned by consistent and ethical procurement practices
    Enhanced value to clients and society

Construction companies is South Africa are required to register with the CIDB for various classes of construction works, if they want to be awarded Government tenders, and are assigned ratings based on their financial capability. CIDB ratings, when required, are listed on tender notices and perform two functions: The most obvious being that if a company is not registered in that particular rating or class of work then that company can not be awarded that contract (unless they form a Joint Venture); and the second is that the Rating gives a estimated value for the contract concerned. This is helpful for subcontractors to determine whether it is worth their while to approach those companies tendering.

Below is a breakdown of the various Construction works and how the various ratings are determined:

Class of Construction Works

GB General Building

CE Civil Engineering

EB Electrical Engineering Works – Building

EP Electrical Engineering Works – Infrastructure

ME Mechanical Engineering

SB Asphalt works (supply and lay)

SC Building Excavations, shaft sinking, lateral earth support

SD Corrosion protection (cathodic, anodic and electrolytic)

SE Demolition and blasting

SF Fire prevention and protection systems

SG Glazing, curtain walls and shop fronts

SH Landscaping, irrigation and horticulture works

SI Lifts, escalators and travellators (installation, commissioning and maintenance)

SJ Piling and specialised foundations for building and structures

SK Road markings and signage

SL Structural steelwork fabrication and erection

SM Timber buildings and structures

SN Waterproofing of basements, roofs and walls using specialist systems

SO Water supply and drainage for buildings (wet services, plumbing)

SQ Steel security fencing or precast concrete

Class of Construction Works

Civil Engineering (CE): Construction Works primarily concerned with materials such as steel, concrete, earth and rock and their application in the development, extension, installation, maintenance, removal, renovation, alteration, or dismantling of building and engineering infrastructure.

Basic Work Types: Water, sewerage, roads, railways, harbours and transport, urban development and municipal services.

Examples: Structures such as cooling tower, bridge culvert, dam, grand stand, road, railway, reservoir, runway, swimming pool, silo or tunnel. The results of operations such as dredging, earthworks and geotechnical processes. Township services, water treatment and supply, sewerage works, sanitation, soil conservation works, irrigation works, storm-water and drainage works, coastal  works, ports, harbours, airports and pipelines.

Electrical Engineering Works – Building (EB): Construction Works that are primarily concerned with the installation, extension, modification or repair of electrical installations in or on any premises used for the transmission of electricity from a point of control to a point of consumption, including any article forming part of such an installation

Basic Work Types: All electrical equipment forming an integral and permanent part of buildings and/or structures, including any wiring, cable jointing and laying and electrical overhead line construction.

Examples: Electrical installations in buildings. Electrical reticulations within a plot of land (erf) or building site. Standby plant and uninterrupted power supply. Verification and certification of electrical installations on premises.

Electrical Engineering Works – Infrastructure (EP): Construction Works that are primarily concerned with development, extension, installation, removal, renovation, alteration or dismantling of engineering infrastructure: a) relating to the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity; or b) which cannot be classified as EB.

Basic Work Types: Electrical power generation, transmission, control and distribution equipment and systems

Examples: Power generation. Street and area lighting. Substations and protection systems. Township reticulations. Transmission lines

General Building Works (GB): Construction Works that: a) are primarily concerned with the development, extension, installation, renewal, renovation, alteration, or dismantling of a permanent shelter for its occupants or contents; or b) cannot be categorised in terms of the definitions provided for civil engineering works, electrical engineering works, mechanical engineering works, or specialist works.

Basic Work Types: Building and ancillary works other than those categorised as: Civil engineering works; Electrical engineering works; Mechanical engineering works; Specialist works.

Examples: Buildings for domestic, industrial, institutional or commercial occupancies. Car ports. Stores. Walls.

Mechanical Engineering Works (ME): Construction Works that are primarily concerned with the development, extension, installation, removal, alteration, renewal of engineering infrastructure for gas transmission and distribution, solid waste disposal, heating, ventilation and cooling, chemical works, metallurgical works, manufacturing, food processing and materials handling.

Basic Work Types: Machine systems including those relating to the environment of building interiors. Gas transmission and distribution systems. Pipelines. Materials handling, lifting machinery, heating, ventilation and cooling, pumps. Continuous process systems, chemical works, metallurgical works, manufacturing, food processing such as that in concentrator machinery and apparatus, oil and gas wells, smelters, cyanide plants, acid plants, metallurgical machinery, equipment and apparatus, and works necessary for the beneficiation of metals, minerals, rocks, petroleum and organic substances or other chemical processes.

Examples: Air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation. Boiler installations and steam distribution. Central heating. Centralised hot water generation. Compressed air, gas and vacuum installations. Conveyor and materials handling installations. Continuous process systems involving chemical works, metallurgical works, oil and gas wells, acid plants, metallurgical machinery, equipment and apparatus, and works necessary for the beneficiation of metals, minerals, rocks, petroleum and organic substance and other chemical processes. Dust and sawdust extraction. Kitchen equipment. Laundry equipment. Refrigeration and cold rooms. Waste handling systems (including compactors)

Specialist Works

SB: The extension, installation, repair, maintenance or renewal, or removal of asphalt.

SJ: The development, installation, removal, or dismantling, as relevant, of piles and other specialised foundations for buildings and structures.

SC: The development, extension, installation, removal and dismantling, as relevant, associated with building excavations, shaft sinking and lateral earth support.

SK: The installation, renewal, removal, alteration or dismantling, as relevant, of road markings and signage.

SD: The development, extension, installation, repair, renewal, removal or alteration of corrosion protection systems (cathodic, anodic and electrolytic).

SL: The development, extension, installation, renewal, removal, renovation, alteration or dismantling of structural steelwork and scaffolding.

SE: Demolition of buildings and engineering infrastructure and blasting.

SM: Timber buildings and structures.

SF: The development, extension, installation, renewal, removal, renovation, alteration or dismantling of fire prevention and protection infrastructure (drencher and sprinkler systems and fire installation).

SN: The extension, installation, repair, maintenance, renewal, removal, renovation or alteration, as relevant, of the waterproofing of basements, roofs and walls using specialist systems.

SG: The development, extension, installation, renewal, removal, renovation, alteration or dismantling of glazing, curtain walls and shop fronts.

SO: The development, extension, installation, renewal, removal, alteration, or dismantling or demolition of water installations and soil and waste water drainage associated with buildings (wet services and plumbing).

SH: The development, extension, installation, maintenance, renewal, removal, alteration or dismantling, as relevant, of landscaping, irrigation and horticultural works.

SQ: The development, extension, installation, repairs, dismantling of precast walls, installation of wire perimeter fencing, diamond perimeter fencing, palisade steel fencing with posts and stay at intervals.

SI: The development, extension, installation, repair, maintenance, renewal, removal, renovation, alteration or dismantling of lifts, escalators, travellators and hoisting machinery

How contractor grading designations are determined

Your contractor grading designation is determined by your financial capability and your works capability.

Your financial capability relates to your financial history (turnover), and the amount of working capital you can muster to sustain a contract, i.e. available capital. Available capital is the sum of total equity, retained income, shareholders or member’s loans and any form of acceptable financial sponsorship.

Your works capability is determined by the largest contract you have undertaken and completed in your class of construction works (completed during the 5 years immediately preceding the application).

Your contractor grading designation will be used by Government (national, provincial, municipal and state owned enterprises) to qualify your tender to be considered for a particular construction works contract. For example: if you are registered as a 5CE, you will be considered for public sector civil engineering works contracts of a value not exceeding R6.5 million. You may register for different classes of works, for example, you may be registered as a 5CE and as an 8ME. This means that you will also be considered for public sector mechanical engineering works contracts of a value not exceeding R130 million.

Determining Financial Capability

The specific requirements that need to be satisfied in respect of the contractor grading designation being applied for, depending on the contractor grading designation applied for, the financial capability will be determined from:

  • the best turnover from the two financial years immediately preceding the application;
  • the available capital that you are able to mobilise;
  • the contractor must satisfy all the criteria relating to financial capability.

Determining Works Capability

The specific requirements that you need to satisfy in respect of the contractor grading designation applied are:

Designation

Grade 2: Must have completed a contract with the value of not less than R130 000.

Grade 3: Must have completed a contract with the value of not less than R450 000 and either have best turnover not less than R1 000 000 or have available capital not less than R100 000.

Grade 4: Must have completed a contract with the value of not less than R900 000 and either have best  turnover not less than R2 000 000 or have available capital not less than R200 000.

Grade 5 and higher: Must have works and financial capability not less than that tabulated in Table C(i) below, for the  contractor grading designation applied for.

Determining Financial Capability

Potentially Emerging Enterprises

 A registered, potentially emerging contractor may be awarded a contract at one level higher than the enterprise’s registered contractor grading designation, if the client or employer:

Is satisfied that such a contractor has the potential to develop and qualify to be registered in that higher grade; and

Ensures that financial, management or other support is provided – in the context of a targeted development programme

  • to enable the contractor to successfully execute that contract.

Joint Ventures

A joint venture is a grouping of two or more contractors who jointly undertake to perform a construction works contract.

Any enterprise that tenders or enters into a contract for construction works with the public sector, must be registered.

Once-off joint ventures do not have to register. Each partner of the joint venture must be separately registered and the lead partner must have a contractor grading designation not lower than one level below the required grading designation in the class of construction works under consideration.

The contractor grading designation for a once-off joint venture is assessed by the client, based on:

the sum of the best annual turnover of all the members of the joint venture;

the sum of the available capital of all the members of the joint venture; and

The cidb has developed a calculator to enable assessment of joint ventures. This calculator is available on the cidb website at www.cidb.org.za

Leads 2 Business subscribers have the option to filter by CIDB ratings as well as set up their Advisory settings, so they only receive the Ratings that they are interested in. My advice in this regard, would be to go “one above and one below”. The idea of the CIDB ratings is progression. New companies start out with a CIDB 1 and as the company grows in experience and financial standing, they would progress up the ratings. So a subscriber would select “one above” (as in a Rating above their current Rating) and select “one below” to make sure that they are notified of any tenders where only the PE (Potentially Emerging) rating has been specified on the tender. Keeping an eye on the next rung up the ladder, but ensuring your foot is still firmly in place on the rung below (if you like metaphors).

Examples of  tender notices of various CIDB Ratings and Classes:

CIDB 1: Upgrading of School Ablution Facilities – DTA 609616 CIDB 4: Construction of a large Ablution block at Thusego Intermediate School – DTA 609710 CIDB 7: Upgrade and Extension of the Warrenton WTP (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and C&I) – DTA 609603
CIDB 2: Supply, Deliver and Erect 6000m wire Barbed Wire Fencing for Bambanani co-op – DTA 609446  

CIDB 5: Replacement and Maintenance of Traffic Signal Equipment  – DTA 609486

 CIDB 8: Reseal of National Route N1 Section 29 between Km 70 and Musina – DTA 608049
 

CIDB 3: Construction of a bridge at Alberton Campus – DTA 609447

 CIDB 6: Resurface and Upgrade Boksburg Athletics Grounds – DTA 609500  

CIDB 9: Observatory Forensic Pathology Laboratory: Replacement – DTA 609086

 

cidb HELPLINE  | 086 100 2432  |  CIDB

 

Construction Industry Development Board Act, 2000 (Act No 38 of 2000)  

Application for Contractor Registration Grade 1 (July 2016)

 Application for Contractor Registration Grade 2 – 9 (July 2016)

 

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

9 Nov 2016

Market Intelligence: Tenders by Category

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Uncategorized | 0

Tenders by Category

tenders-by-category

There are many tenders out there, but Leads 2 Business specialises in the supply of tender notices related to the Building and Construction Industry. Even in this industry, there are different tenders for the different work required. Consequently, we have Tender Categories that are divided as follows:

The Tender Categories assist in making sure that our subscribers can choose to receive the tender notices relevant to them and prevent an inundation of irrelevant information. If the company’s services fall into a very broad category, they can narrow down the tender information, by making use of our “Keywords” function to assist them in receiving the correct tender notices according to their scope or when they are searching on our website.

Are you involved in any of these Tender Categories and interested in receiving leads?

Contact me on CecileD@L2B.co.za for more information.

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Cecile Van Deventer

I joined the L2Q Team in 2006, as a L2Q Support Assistant and have been the HOD since 2010. I supervise L2Q Bills, Daily Tender Bills, Control Lists and Directory.

26 Oct 2016

The timing of Tenders – Award Dates

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Uncategorized | 0

Award Dates

97-blog-award-dates

I work in the Private Projects Department at Leads 2 Business, following the progress of construction developments. Once a project reaches Tender stage, we endeavour to source the award information for the tender linked to that project. In my nearly 5-year experience in dealing with tenders, I have come to learn about a few of the procedures and regulations that need to be adhered to throughout the tendering process. I have no doubt that there is more to learn, but in this blog post I will talk about some of the processes and procedures that I have encountered in the public tendering process, through my understanding.

Public tenders seem to be awarded after a period of between 90 to 120 days from the closing date, however, this time frame could vary – The award can be made before or after this period, provided that the validity period has not expired.

Once the successful bidder is notified, the tender award is not simply finalised with the contract starting immediately thereafter. A public notice should be advertised to indicate the intention to award. There should also be an appeals period, rejection letters, an appointment letter, a contract, and certain construction regulations to adhere to.

Notice of Award / Intention to Award
Once evaluation and adjudication is finalised and a recommendation has been made, the bids should be opened and read out in public, for transparency purposes. A bid register should be published on the client’s website so that the tenderers are able to view the prices that were submitted by the other service providers, should they not have been able to attend the opening of the bids. Successful and unsuccessful tenderers should then be provided with written notice, and a notice of intention to award should be publicly advertised to allow for possible objections from the other bidders.

Appeals Period
Once the intention to award has been advertised, a certain period should be allowed for objections, if any, from other service providers. A tenderer can appeal the award, usually within 14 calendar days (this may differ) from the date of the letter of intent. Clear instructions for the appeals process should be included in the contract documents.

Letter of Appointment
Once the appeals process has concluded, the successful tenderer is issued with an appointment letter. This does not necessarily mean that the award has been finalised. There could be conditions stipulated in the appointment letter which need to be fulfilled before a binding agreement can come into effect.

Binding Contractual Relationship
The contractual relationship begins once the successful bid has been accepted in writing, followed by a written agreement which is signed by both parties. The award can be deemed finalised at this point.

Notification of Construction Work
Should the contract meet the requirements set out in the construction regulation for the Notification of Construction Work, the main contractor must notify the Department of Labour prior to the commencement of construction. A copy of this notice, among other important documents, must be kept in the Occupational Health & Safety File (OH&S File) on site.

Bear in mind that the processes above are not the only ones to consider before the award date is finalised. There are other processes that an award may have to go through, depending on the client’s requirements, the type of goods or services being procured, and even the value of the contract, among others.

The award is not the end of the process. It signals the beginning of the contract.

Sources:
Durban
Umdoni
Google
Gijima
Durban Gov
KZN Treasury
Polity

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Bianca Warwick

I had the privilege of joining the Leads 2 Business content team in January 2012. I work in the exciting Projects department, following the progress of construction developments in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.

19 Oct 2016

Closing Date

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General | 0

Closing Date

96-blog-closing-dates

When I started working at Leads 2 Business, I had no idea what was in store for me, I had little to none experience in the Building and Construction industry, let alone Tenders.  It was all completely Greek to me, however, as the days progressed all the information started to come together like a puzzle, piece by piece. After tons of training and the feeling of my mind going to explode, I could finally look at the complete picture instead of looking at the puzzle pieces one by one.

Learning the nitty gritty of the tender process has been quite interesting, I mean, I always thought that if you want to build something, you go ahead and build something. Not so fast buddy, clearly this was not the case. I soon came to realize that it’s quite a process. From a light bulb moment, to a design, to obtaining the correct professionals and, and, and,…. Phew!  The stages include advertising of tenders, sale of tender documents and attendance of compulsory briefing sessions by prospective bidders.

I work in the Leads 2 Quotes Department and deal with the Daily Tender Bill Requests  and closing dates became pretty important to me because once a closing date has arrived I cannot obtain a BoQ for a Tender and if a closing date can be so important to me, just imagine the importance of a closing date for someone who is tendering on a Tender.

By the said closing date, the tenderer should have gotten all his ducks in a row. Where required, attend the compulsory site meeting and get the feel of the project ahead. Start getting prices from Vendors to submit with his bid documents and making sure all his returnable documents are in order.

Take note that a closing date is your deadline. That date is the last date you can submit the relevant documents required to place your bid. Your bid has to be in by the specific date and the specific time stated on the Tender notice. Not a second later. If you submit your bid a second later, your bid will not be accepted. This is to avoid any irregularities and corruption.

Unfortunately, if it was compulsory to attend the site meeting, and you did not attend your bid would not be considered as well. The rules for Site Meetings and Closing Dates unfortunately go hand in hand unless otherwise stated.

But don’t let life get the better of you, stock up on the energy drinks and caffeine. Take note of the dates, take note of the meetings. And just like a wedding, save the dates.

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Nadine Vermeulen

I started working at Leads 2 Business in October 2014 in the Leads 2 Quotes Department. I managed all the Daily Tender Bill Requests and followed up on BoQ's for our Daily Tender Subscribers. In 2017, I was promoted to L2Q Assistant and now work with Bill of Quantities for Contractors. 🙂

12 Oct 2016

Respond by Dates (RFQ’s)

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General, Uncategorized | 0

Respond by Dates (RFQ’s)

95-blog-respond-by-dates

Are you familiar with these phrases?

Time is money.

No time like the present.

Take time to smell the roses.

Time will tell.

Third time’s the charm.

Time heals all wounds.

Time’s a-wasting!

 

You get the idea…

 

“Timing is everything,” A statement that is obvi to most ppl these days, but alas not everyone (SMH as I type this). We live in a fast paced world where instant messaging is not only an app but a way of life. As a Millennial myself I can attest to this. It is the norm to get a response within 5 minutes from someone and if it takes any longer something must be wrong. Possible scenarios (some involving serious injury or death) come to mind.

 

Do you know what a RBD is? It’s a crucial bit of info within a RFQ. There I go again with my acronyms… (Yes, the previous ones were intentional)

RBD is otherwise known as a Respond by Date and RFQ is also known as a Request for Quote, these terms are probably familiar to you if you subscribe to L2Q (Leads 2 Quotes) .

*For more details on how L2Q works: https://blog.l2b.co.za/l2qosis-symbiosis-through-l2q/

*For more on the in’s and out’s on RFQs: https://blog.l2b.co.za/pricing-online-rfqs/

 

Now that you are all caught up on the acronyms let’s get into why timing is so crucial to them.

When a Buyer sends out RFQ’s he specifies a date by which he requires prices back (aka the RBD). The RBD is usually prior to the Closing Date (CD) of the tender. The reason for this is because the Buyer needs to complete the Tender Document before the CD so that it can be delivered timeously to the Client to avoid being disqualified. Now I’m not going to go into depth regarding the CD as this will be covered in next week’s blog (check back same time next week if you want to know more).

Vendors are often aware of the actual Closing Date (as referred to on the tender notice) and may often advise that they will only respond closer to this date. Imagine you are a Buyer and have multiple tenders to submit, multiple prices to collate and the Vendors you have sent RFQ’s haven’t responded, you might start to stress (a lot).

In the end it’s all about communication and timing and at L2B we endeavour to facilitate this.

Here are a few tips to consider:

Buyers can take into account that Vendors require adequate time between receiving an RFQ and the RBD in order to respond positively.

Similarly Vendors need to make note of the RDB on RFQ’s and please respond to these on time.

Buyers are able to send through the relevant drawings and specs for Vendors to be able view for accurate pricing.

Vendors have the ability to register as a Vendor on L2B (this is free of charge) in order to view drawings and price online.

Buyers are encouraged to communicate with Vendors regarding receipt of their prices as well as potential use of their services.

Vendors can easily make use of the links on the RFQ to advise if they ‘intend to price’ or ‘decline’ which only takes a few seconds. This informs the Buyer accordingly which prevents unnecessary follow-ups while aiding communication.

Taking the above into account it all amounts to copious amounts of time saved and I think we can all agree that that’s one thing we can never have enough of.

Want to save time and subscribe to L2B? Comment or Contact me on SashaA@L2B.co.za

 

Sources:

http://time.com/4373616/text-abbreviations-acronyms/

http://www.bucknell.edu/communications/bucknell-magazine/instant-gratification-and-its-dark-side.html

http://socialmarketing.org/archives/generations-xy-z-and-the-others/

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

28 Sep 2016

By Road or by Rail ….

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General, Uncategorized | 0

By Road or by Rail

93-blog-by-road-or-by-rail

 

According to Wikipedia : “Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people for decades from the first half of the 20th century.”

Transnet Freight Rail is a freight logistics and passenger transport railway. It is the largest freight hauler in Africa.

The company comprises several businesses:
GFB Commercial (General Freight Business) – Transnet’s largest division; handles over 50% of its freight;
Coal Line, serving coal exporters on the Mpumalanga – Richards Bay line; second largest coal railway in the world, delivering 62 million tonnes of coal (also known as “Black Gold”) in the year ending 31 March 2010;
Ore Export Line – dedicated to iron ore transport on the Sishen to Saldanha line;
Luxrail – The operation of the Blue Train, which is designed as a five-star hotel on wheels.

After doing some in-depth research on this subject (thanks Google!) as why transporting of goods is currently preferred by road over rail. I managed to source the following information :

Offering greater flexibility, speed and adaptability than the alternative of rail, transporting goods between cities by road has long been the chosen mode for most industries. However, the impact of heavy vehicles on the roads is considerable and the cost of maintenance and upgrades is increasing as traffic demands grow. Whilst work on the national road network may be keeping up with the demand, not so on the provincial roads.

The benefits of shifting freight from road to rail would have other transport-related spin-offs such as reduced road congestion and accidents, and less maintenance on road surfaces. Costs, particularly for movers of bulk commodities, would also drop. Rail transport also is regarded as three to four times more efficient than road.
But whether South Africa’s rail system will cope with increased freight demand is questionable. If there was a reliable, safe, efficient, and cost-effective rail service that could meet the need of customers then goods would definitely travel by rail. But there isn’t, so that is why 80% of goods are currently transported by road for the efficiency, cost, reliability, tracking and door-to-door service.

Improving the country’s 20 247 km rail network is now a top government priority and rail volumes are expected to grow to about 350 million tonnes by 2020.
According to Transnet’s website: “ Expanding the country’s infrastructure by successfully implementing the Market Demand Strategy (MDS) will see Transnet’s revenue almost triple from R46 billion to R128 billion over the next seven years.” Transnet’s MDS is a fine-tuned strategy to expand and modernise the country’s ports, rail and pipeline infrastructure with a view to achieve a significant increase in freight volumes, particularly in commodities such as Iron Ore, Coal and Manganese over a period of seven years to promote economic growth in South Africa.

Through investment, Transnet Freight Rail will be able to optimise it’s capital portfolio, build a world-class capital execution function and leverage capital procurement and localisation. In accordance with the strategy, the company has committed itself to railing more than 350.3 million tons of cargo a year by 2018 / 2019, the financial year when the MDS will reach its maturity.

Bearing that in mind, If we do a comparison of Fleet Management tenders on our database, compared with Transnet tenders :
Currently on our database we have 11 live tenders for Fleet Management versus 40 live tenders for Transnet.

Rail vs Road…what would your choice be?

 

 

References:
http://mg.co.za/article/2015-07-17-investment-still-needed-in-transport-infrastructure
http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/transport/2015/01/27/road-is-still-king-of-freight
http://www.transnetfreightrail-tfr.net/MDS/Pages/Strategy.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnet_Freight_Rail

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Marlaine Andersen

Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer

21 Sep 2016

On time, Online with Transnet

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Frequently Asked Questions, General, Uncategorized | 0

On time, Online with Transnet

92-blog-on-time-online-with-transnet

These days it’s the norm to find most businesses online. I don’t know about you but if I’m looking for company info in any form should it be trading hours, contact info, services they offer or any news regarding that company, I head straight to Google. The easier it is to find the company website the better and if it contains all the relevant info I need it definitely goes a long way toward a first impression. Suffice to say a company’s online presence not only saves you time but in the end money too and that is no different when it comes to business, the well known phrase ‘time is money’ comes to mind.

 

Some of the Key reasons to have your business online are:

 

Anyone can ‘visit’ your business

Portrays your Company’s Image

Offers Customer Support

Availability of information

Streamlining

24 hour access

Relatively low start-up costs

Communication

Going Global

 

If you have ever ventured over to Transnet’s website you will notice there is a huge amount of information provided from the usual contact information to investor relation reports and a whole lot of tender related info. The website looks organised and seems to have all the relevant details one might need. Now I must confess that I am not very familiar with Transnet’s website as we don’t deal with the website much in my department. Thus I looked outside for review/comment from the Tenders Department who regularly peruse the website. According to my sources in our Tenders Department they haven’t had any issues regarding the website and check it as frequently as possible. Additionally Transnet also publishes their tenders on CIDB and eTenders timeously which makes it easier for interested parties to obtain the relevant information they seek.

At L2B we research all the relevant websites and divisions within Transnet that publish tenders and publish them on our site daily for easy access and updates for our subscribers.

Do you feel that Transnet meets the above aspects of an online business and does it assist you with being on time? Do you have any feedback or views you would like to add regarding Transnet’s online presence? Contact us in the comment section below.

Interested in Transnet Tenders and want an easy way to find them online, in one place, daily? Contact me on SashaA@l2b.co.za

 

 

Sources:

http://www.transnet.net/AboutUs/Overview.aspx

http://www.dbwebdoctor.com/article_why_companies_need_a_website.asp

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

7 Sep 2016

Keep on track with Tender opportunities

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General, Uncategorized | 1

90-blog-tracking-tender-opportunities-that-will-derail-your-competitors

Tracking Tender Opportunities that will derail your competitors

 

Like most things in life, knowing is half the battle. If you don’t know about a potential tender or opportunity, your option to take advantage and pursue it has been removed. To ensure that you’re always in the know, at least with Leads 2 Business, your Advisory Settings need to be set up to meet your needs. Leads 2 Business hinges on two parts; the daily Advisory email and the website (www.L2B.co.za).

 

The Advisory email is sent out each afternoon and delivers that days’ information straight to you. The email is based on the your Advisory Settings, so it stands to reason if the Advisory Setting isn’t set up satisfactorily then the Advisory email isn’t going to meet the your needs. Our subscribers have two complaints concerning the information we provide; there’s too much and there’s too little. Understandably this is a very precarious line to walk. Too little runs the risk of missing pertinent information; and too much means an information overload. I tend to favour ‘too much”. Better I decide what’s best for me rather than have someone or something else do it for me. But that’s just me. To reach a happy medium, is a combination of training (given by L2B staff), communication on the part of our subscribers (telling us what you want/ need & expect) and working through what you receive each day. You have full access to alter and update your Advisory Settings at any time, so if your company has expanded or diversified in some way; it follows that your Advisory Settings need to be updated to meet the new changes. The Advisory is sent out each day. This is extremely important because time is money. The earlier you are aware of a potential tender notice or new project; the more time you have to prepare for it.

 

The Leads 2 Business website is where you work through the information you’ve received. The most important aspect would be the ability to Search. The Search is now a global search, meaning one search field searches through our entire database (Private Projects, Daily Tenders, Directory and News). From this you can filter down further and get more specific. Why search when you receive the Advisory email? It’s a good safety net. It allows for the Advisory email to be super specific (so you aren’t scrolling for days), and the searches to be very general. Reaching that happy medium spoken of above. You even have the ability to “Dismiss” a tender from your search result should it not be what you are looking for, and never have to see it again. My advice when searching? Always ensure you’ve got “Newest” selected. L2B has been around for awhile, and information is our business, and we have a lot of it. “Newest” ensure the most recent results appear first.

 

Once you’ve found a tender you are interested in, whether tendering directly or subcontracting, you have the ability to Monitor the tender notice. Once you’ve Monitored a tender notice, you will receive updates on that particular tender notice, should there be any. Examples of these updates are addendums: changes to site inspections and closing dates. When documents are attached (for example: Site Inspection and Bidders Lists), you will be notified. These are helpful for pricing and subbies. Then you’ll be notified in the change of Status of the tender notice. Has it been cancelled or has it been retendered prompting you to go to the new tender notice. Has it been awarded, and you now have the awarded companies details. You can Monitor a tender yourself, or assign one of your Monitors (a colleague perhaps) to monitor a tender. The Monitors you add to your Profile will have access to those tender notices you assign to them. This allows you to assign potential opportunities to your colleagues and reps, and they will have all the necessary information at their disposal.

 

The various features available on the individual tender notices, are as follows:

Email the Researcher that created the tender notice for assistance.

Set reminders on Site Inspection dates and Closing Date

Request Site Attendance Registers & Bidders Lists – If there are Documents already attached, they are available to the right of the tender notice.

Request BoQ (Bill of Quantity) – If there is a BoQ already attached, it is available to the right of the tender notice.

Make your Own Notes

Download the Tender Notice

What’s the point of all of these features? To work the information. There are a variety of companies out there can benefit at a variety of stages in the procurement process. Consultants are required very early on, and sometimes through out the process. Contractors are interested in the tender stage and subcontractors and vendors can benefit from putting forward their company details even after completion.

 

What you put in, is what you get out. To be competitive is to be in the know. That involves being pro-active in all things. Leads 2 Business is a tool that can be hugely beneficial when used correctly. Talk to us. Training is free and there are various avenues to contact us. Email directly off of the tender notices and projects; LiveHelp allows you to chat to a L2B researcher directly; call us or submit Feedback. Suggestions are always welcome. The more we learn about the companies that subscribe to us, the more we understand how the information we provide is used. We work and learn together to keep on the right track.

About Claire Donaldson

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.

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