Surely the whole idea of competitive tendering is the creation of a "level playing field", Neil? You know, where everyone gets a fair go.
"Preferred bidders" is just another opportunity for corrupt practices! You know, where "incentives" get offered by companies in order to get on the "Preferred Bidders" list.
Or have things changed these days?
Otherwise, what qualifies a company to become a "Preferred Bidder"? And who decides who gets included?
To my mind, a "Three Quotations" approach is generally sufficient (although that too can be abused - I won't go into details); all other things being equal (all requirements met - and that's where the
nous of the purchaser comes into play), the bidder with the lowest price gets the deal. That way even the Little Guy (New Kid on the Block - whomever) gets a chance to set out his stall and make a buck (Riyal, Euro, whatever).
Free trade is God’s diplomacy! - Richard Cobden (1804–1865); English manufacturer and statesmanHistorical note:- when I worked for (various) Operations and Maintenance contractors in KSA, we had to "Pre-Qualify" in order to bid on government Hospital O&M and (or) Biomed Maintenance contracts. Basically we had to demonstrate that we were a credible company, and not just "one man with a briefcase" (as we used to call such chancers). We had to provide various legal documents, letters from the bank, demonstrate technical capability and resources, evidence of successful completion of similar contracts and so forth. All that plus a "technical write-up" specific to the contract, as well as site visits. Plus a full costing exercise, of course. Quite a lot of work, in fact. If I remember rightly, there were Class I, II and III contractors for government bids. But all that was for large contracts, rather than the supply of equipment and (or) small scale service agreements.
