02 October 2012 Sasa Murganic

UN TENDER PROCESS

UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL SERVICE CENTER United Nations Logistics Base, Brindisi, Italy – UNLB

United Nations Support Base, Valencia, Spain - UNSB

1. Framework of policies and procedures

2. Principles of UN Procurement

3. Different types of solicitations

4. Tender process – Overview

5. Advertising & Request for Expression of Interest

6. Identification of vendors and List of invitees

7. Solicitation Documents

8. Security Instruments

9. Solicitation, Evaluation and Award

10. Contractual instruments

11. Questions?

The provisions of the Procurement Manual should be read as subordinate to the provisions of the UN Financial Regulations & Rules.

UN Financial Rules and Regulations

UN Procurement Manual

Charter of the United Nations

In view of rapidly changing procurement practices and technology, the Procurement Manual should be regarded as a “living” document that will be subject to periodic updating and refinement by the Procurement Division, as and when necessary .

Financial Regulation 5.12

The following general principles shall be given due consideration when exercising the procurement functions of the United Nations:

PRINCIPLES OF UN PROCUREMENT

BEST VALUE FOR MONEY;

Optimization of all factors (cost and non-cost)

FAIRNESS, INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY;

Internet site, Business Seminars, Report to GA, etc.

EFFECTIVE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION;

Vendor registration (UNGM) and sourcing rules

THE INTEREST OF THE UNITED NATIONS Operational justifications

FINANCIAL REGULATION 5.13 Tenders for equipment, supplies and other requirements shall be invited by advertisement …

Financial Rule 105.14

Procurement contracts shall be awarded on the basis of effective competition, and to this end the competitive process shall include:

•Formal methods of solicitations (i.e. ITB or RFPon the basis of advertisement or direct solicitation of invited suppliers, or •Informal methods of solicitations (i.e. RFQ)

RFQ - Request for Quotation

ITB - Invitation to Bid

RFP - Request for Proposal

Informal method of solicitation Total estimated value < US $40,000

Used for the procurement of simple, uncomplicated goods of standard and firm specifications

Invitees selected from vendor database, no advertisement

Award in the form of a Purchase Order to the lowest cost technically compliant response

Overview

Formal method of solicitation

Total estimated value > US $40,000

Advertisement required

For the procurement of goods and services of standard and firm specifications

Public Bid Opening

Award is made to the lowest technically compliant bid

Formal method of solicitation

Total estimated value > US $40,000

Advertisement required

For procurement of more complex requirements that require a proposal based on

Scope of Work (SOW) or Statement of Requirements (SOR)

Response required in two separate sealed envelopes: Technical Proposal and

Financial Proposal

Public Bid Opening

After the completion of the technical evaluation, financial evaluation will only be

carried out for those technical compliance proposals

Award in form of written contract based on combined (weighted) evaluation of

technical and financial proposals

Advertising required for all formal solicitations (ITB, RFP) with est. value > $ 40,000 but

not for informal solicitations (RFQ)

Advertising generally means the announcement of the tender solicitation through the

posting of a Request for Expression of Interest (REOI) on UNLB (www.unlb.org) and/or

UNPD’s website (www.un.org/depts/ptd) and/or the UNGM (www.ungm.org)

Prospective Vendors who respond to REOI, and who are deemed qualified upon

completion of an objective evaluation of their submission, will receive the final tender

solicitation document in addition to Vendors in UNLB/PD/UNGM Vendor database.

Advertising – qualified vendors who responded to the Request for EOI Market research: Internet & trade publications and journals From UNLB Vendor database From UNGM (United Nations Global Marketplace) Information exchange with other UN Missions or UN Agencies Selection from vendor database based on commodity codes (UNCCS) provided by vendor in the registration process!

Cover Letter – closing date and general instructions

Annexes:

Scope of Work (SOW)/Statement of Requirements (SOR)

Terms and Conditions to Submit a RFQ/ITB/RFP

Acknowledgement Letter for ITB and RFP

Evaluation Criteria and Special Instructions

United Nations General Conditions of Contract

Bid Bond Form (if/when applicable)

Performance Bond Form (if/when required)

Draft contract (if/when neccessary)

“The purpose of Security Instruments is to provide the UN with security against expenses and

losses that result from a failure by a Vendor to perform its obligations. They are intended to

ensure that funding is available to compensate the UN for such failure and are not intended as a

punishment”…

Bid Bond Bid Security is used as a source of compensation in the event that a Vendor fails to honour its Submission, or to execute a Contract after award, or to deliver other documents that are required by the terms of the Solicitation Documents, such as insurance policies and Performance Security instruments.

Performance Bond A written instrument issued by a bank or insurance company or similar entity, in favour of the UN, to secure the Vendor’s performance of a contract.

Contract awards exceeding US $ 75,000 ( new 150k) require review by the Local Committees on Contract (LCC) and approval is granted by UNGSC Director Contract awards exceeding US $ 500,000 require review by the Headquarters Committees on Contract (HCC), upon review by the LCC and UNGSC Director approval. Contract awards recommended by the HCC are approved by the Controller.

UN Reserves the right to split award between multiple offers/bids/proposals unless otherwise specified

After obtaining approval, successful bidder is notified

Contract negotiation (optional)

Signing of the contract

Posting of the award on UNLB website

Notification to unsuccessful bidders

Award can be made only to vendors who have completed registration process!

Return Acknowledgement Letter to indicate participation or reasons why not

Pay attention to the closing date for clarifications (Q & A)

Pre-bidder conference/Site Visit (optional)

Make sure to follow all submission instructions and respond to all questions in the requested

formats

RFP – proposal must be submitted in two separate sealed envelopes: Technical Proposal and

Financial Proposal

Missed submission deadline and/or incorrect address

Incomplete proposals

Offers submitted by other than the solicited vendor

Use of Internet Translators

Clerical errors

• UN General Conditions of Contract (UNGCC) for Goods / Services • Purchase Orders • Customized Contracts • Long term services contracts • Systems Contracts

Latest UNGCC in English, French and Spanish language available on UNPD'S website!

http://www.un.org/depts/ptd/conditions.htm