Local Companies Praised For High Quality Tenders

The contract for logging and cartage in Marlborough Regional Forestry’s Waikakaho Forest have been let to local firms Pelorus Contracting Ltd and CRB Transport Ltd after they submitted bids which Marlborough Regional Forestry (MRF) Chairman Francis Maher described as being very well prepared.

The one-year contracts for harvesting and cartage of 50,000 tonnes of logs, worth almost $2M is supervised by Merrill and Ring NZ Ltd which manages MRF’s forestry estate.
Councillor Maher says it’s very pleasing to see local companies step up.

“These companies made the effort to seek out a briefing and then acquire their own professional advice with their bid preparation so they were able to submit thorough and competitive tender documents. The effort that was taken was obvious to the panel considering these tenders. It’s a terrific example for other local companies as to how to go about the business of winning a tender,” said Councillor Maher.

In today’s competitive environment, the quality of a tender document could make the difference between being awarded a contract or not, he said.

Councillor Maher said he feared that some local businesses still did not appreciate the importance of providing a thorough coverage of the key attributes attached to a tender.

“In forestry project work for example, while price is an important dimension, the health and safety management aspects of a bid, depth of understanding of MRF forestry estates, the experience of the crews and the commitment to maintaining environmental standards are other important dimensions. It’s increasingly important that bidders have a good appreciation of the relative value that will be placed on all the various attributes because tender price alone does not determine the outcome,” he said.

He urged local companies which miss out on major work to take up the opportunity for pre- and post-tender briefings, where they are offered, and, if necessary, to seek professional advice to raise the quality of their tender documents.

The forest harvesting work that was the subject of this tender is in a new part of the MRF estate, therefore there was no benchmark for pricing, said Councillor Maher.

“Putting the work out for open tender was the fairest way to set the price and as a result some very competitive prices have been secured for Marlborough Regional Forestry as the forest owner.”

Marlborough Regional Forestry is jointly owned by the ratepayers of Marlborough and Kaikoura through the respective district councils.