Invitation to tender (ITT) meaning

This Practice Note This Practice Note offers practical, hands-on guidance for drafting and advising on an invitation to tender within a private commercial procurement setting. It addresses, among other matters, preparation and planning, confidentiality and intellectual property, overall approach, alternative techniques, legal status, principal issues, drafting points, contractual terms and conditions, evaluation criteria, stakeholder management and cross-border considerations relevant to such procurements. Organisations issue an invitation to tender (ITT) (also known as a request for proposal (RFP)) when they intend to solicit and duly assess a tender (or proposal) from two or more third party suppliers of defined goods or services (or a mix of both) and, thereafter, to enter into a contract with the supplier most capable of consistently delivering those goods or services at a competitive price. This Practice Note is designed for general commercial practitioners advising business customers on procuring a wide range of commercial arrangements from third party suppliers, including the following: the supply of goods IT services, for...

Its importance has grown notably in practice. Many clients face tight budgets for instructing solicitors and seek steadily lower fees and even greater overall value. Consequently, firms must compete harder and be readier to give more to secure fresh clients and fresh work. The rise of procurement managers has allowed commercial, institutional and public sector buyers to run robust and demanding processes that deliver improved value for money. As more clients go to tender and rivalry increases, pitches must be sharper than ever. This Practice Note clearly outlines a framework for pitching for work and points to best practices needed to thrive in a competitive market. Requests for proposal and invitations to tender Chances to pitch for work appear mainly in two principal forms. Requests for proposal (RFPs) are typically broad in scope and not highly prescriptive. An RFP is commonly used, particularly for more complex procurements, or where innovative answers might be needed. Invitations to tender (ITTs) are usually very specific and exacting. An ITT is generally...

Practice Note For in-house legal teams working within tight budgets, the cost of legal support is a pivotal concern. At worst, pricing terms that are not carefully discussed or confirmed can trigger a total collapse in the solicitor–client relationship. This Practice Note sets out guidance on the range of fee arrangements and pricing models open to in-house teams when procuring legal services from a panel of law firms or alternative legal services providers. It addresses the purchase of legal services with a panel of law firms or other legal services suppliers, and negotiation of fee structures and models. It also outlines the value-add options sometimes included during fee negotiations as part of a procurement exercise, such as secondments and training. For a generic illustration of an invitation to tender (ITT) see Precedent: Invitation to tender—template. See also Precedent: ITT schedule—criteria—legal services, designed to sit as an annex to an ITT for the purchase of legal services and offering an example of the criteria the tendering legal services provider must...

General Date of meeting [ Insert date ] Chair/lead [ Insert name and role ] In attendance [ Insert names and roles ] Date of request for proposal (RFP)/invitation to tender (ITT) [ Insert date ] Prospective client [ Insert name ] Agenda Clarify: the scope of work we are invited to tender for any questions in the RFP/ITT requiring answers evaluation criteria/scoring system the submission date and time [ Ensure you have complete clarity about the scope of work ] [ Make sure you identify every question or criterion you need to cover in...

[ On headed paper ] [ Insert date ] [ Address of tenderer ] Dear [ Insert contact name ] [ Request for proposal OR Invitation to tender ] for: [ insert project name ] [ Insert name of organisation ] is delighted to invite you to submit a tender for the delivery of [ insert details of services ]. Enclosed is an [ Invitation to Tender (ITT) OR Request for Proposal (RFP) ] outlining the tender procedure and the conditions that will govern your participation. Please review the [ ITT OR RFP ] thoroughly. In particular, refer to the timetable at clause [ insert clause number ] of the [ ITT OR RFP ]. The deadline for submission is [ insert time and date ]. Kindly note that we may decline to consider any proposal that is incomplete or received after the deadline. We look forward to receiving your proposal. Yours [ sincerely OR faithfully ]...

1 Corporate All proposals must cover the following essential criteria: Criteria Details Financial resilience of the contracting entity and its group members (including whether a parent company guarantee is available and its strength) [ Insert the Tenderer’s financial information, for example a copy of last year’s fiscal accounts, identify which entity will contract with the organisation, and confirm the availability of any parent company guarantee ] Subcontracting [ If relevant, insert particulars of any intended subcontracting of the right to provide the Services, including full information about the proposed subcontractors ] Ethical practice and social responsibility [ Insert details of the Tenderer’s corporate responsibility principles and policies ] Equality and Diversity [ Insert details of the Tenderer’s approach to advancing diversity and inclusion within its business and, if it has an equality and diversity policy, how this is applied in practice ]...