Relevant
Treasurer's Instruction(s)
Advice to suppliers
and an invitation to be debriefed
Objective of the
debriefing
The
debriefing interview
Relevant
Treasurer's Instruction(s)
Treasurer's Instructions 1106, 1107, 1109 and 1211.
Advice to suppliers
and an invitation to be debriefed
For goods and services, advice on debriefing
arrangements must be included in all tender and quotation
documentation (Treasurer's Instruction 1109) and it is advisable that this
advice is also contained in building and construction
documentation.
After the completion of the procurement
evaluation process, and once a contract has been arranged with the
successful supplier, the unsuccessful suppliers must be advised,
preferably in writing, of their non-selection. This advice must
include the name and the total value of the successful offer, eg
lump sum price (where appropriate).
In addition, all suppliers who submit tenders
or quotes in response to an invitation to provide submissions must,
on request, be debriefed. It is recommended that an offer to
debrief be included in the advice on non-selection.
Where a multi-staged purchasing process is
used, eg where Expressions of Interest are used to short-list
suppliers, those not short-listed or placed on a multi-use list are
to be advised that they have been unsuccessful. It is recommended
that a debriefing interview be offered, in a similar way to
unsuccessful suppliers.
In addition, where the procurement is subject
to the provisions of free trade agreements, if requested by an
unsuccessful supplier, the supplier must be promptly provided with
a written explanation of the reasons that its submission was not
selected.
Objective of the debriefing
The objective of the debriefing session is to
help unsuccessful suppliers submit more competitive bids in the
future by identifying ways in which the supplier's offer
could have been improved.
An unsuccessful supplier may sometimes be
satisfied with information on reasons for their non-selection by
telephone or by letter. However, unsuccessful suppliers should
always be offered a formal debriefing interview.
The debriefing interview
The team conducting the debriefing interview
should include at least two members and at least one of these
should be a member of the evaluation committee.
Prior to the debriefing interview, the team
should familiarise itself with the offer and the reason the
supplier was not successful. It should also identify the strengths
and weaknesses of the offer.
Discussion at the debriefing is to be limited
to the supplier's offer and how the offer performed with
respect to the evaluation criteria. Discussion could include a
summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the offer. The
unsuccessful supplier's offer must not be compared to the
winning offer and neither should aspects of the winning offer or
any other offer be discussed. The debriefing interview is an
opportunity for suppliers to learn how to improve their offer
preparation skills. The debriefing interview is not to be used to
justify the selection of the successful supplier.
In relation to building and construction/roads
and bridges, the debriefing interview is usually held with the main
contractor; other parties such as sub-contractors who have assisted
with the preparation of the tender do not attend. Therefore, to
improve the effectiveness of competition at the sub-contract level,
agencies should encourage the main contractor to pass on to their
sub-contractors any relevant briefing information that impacts on
their component of the tender.
Examples of issues that may be discussed at
the debriefing, include:
-
cost - an indication of competitiveness;
-
specification/evaluation criteria - levels of compliance;
-
offer/contractual issues;
-
design - eg any design deficiencies that would lead to higher
operating costs;
-
after-sales service - inadequate servicing network, spares held
etc;
-
delivery dates;
-
administrative or management systems;
-
industrial relations - eg a poor record with no plans for
improvement;
-
quality management - ineffective control methods, systems, people,
training;
-
experience/qualifications/referee reports or past performance
- eg inadequate experience or qualifications, or poor
performance on previous contracts;
-
personnel - number, experience or quality of management and other
personnel;
-
facilities/equipment - eg outdated, inefficient equipment or
facilities; and/or
-
sub-contracting - eg inadequate control mechanisms.
The proceedings of the debriefing interview
should be fully documented. Notes of the debriefing interview
should be taken simultaneously with the interview. The information
to be recorded should include:
-
names and positions of participants;
-
information provided to the unsuccessful supplier;
-
any issues arising;
-
details of any requested information that was not disclosed due to
commercial-in-confidence considerations; and
-
any likely future complaints and recommendations for further
action.
A Record of Debriefing Interview pro forma is available as a
guide.
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