Collaborative Tendering

Abstract

In recent years projects have become more complex in order to meet the societal demands. Big infrastructural projects require such specific knowledge and skillsets that individual companies, whether consultancy or contractors, are finding it increasingly difficult to fullfill all the requested requirements. Either in the sense of technical/operational knowledge, or just the not having enough capacity (manpower) to fullfill the required work. In order to secure all the requirements in these complex contracts companies have been producing extensive tender proposals. These require a big initial investment, are labour intensive and require a vast and permanently available knowledge network in the company. All competitors are forced into producing this initial effort, however, only one can win the project.

Therefore it is becoming a more common phenomenon that companies collaborate on writing tenders for projects. By doing so, sharing not only knowledge but also resources. This mitigates the risk of having a high initial investment even though they are not being awarded the contract. Because companies have different areas of expertise, collaboration will not only be beneficial for the project, but will also encourage cross pollination between the companies in terms of knowledge. It also mitigates risks during the project. As resources are shared, the companies have reduced the amount of their resources on an individual project. In case something unforeseen happens during the project, they have to relocate or idle a smaller amount of their resources, therefore decreasing the costs risk.

Of course, each partner has to secure their own interest in these projects. Because the amount of collaboration between competitors is limited, clear guidelines have to be established before even starting on the tender. As each of the companies have their own interest as a priority, there will likely be conflicts. The key to solving or preventing this will be clear communication between the involved parties.

This article will illustrate some of the benefits of the Collaborative Tendering, while at the same time critically reflect on some of the pitfalls of these collaborations. Project examples will be used to analyze