Responding to the market: preparing the bid file

Verified 28 May 2026 - Entreprendre Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The response to a public contract includes an application and an offer. The offer offered by the company includes a technical offer and a financial offer. It is sometimes accompanied by other documents (intervention planning, product catalog). In some cases, the candidate may present different solutions from those proposed by the buyer: these are referred to as « variants ».

The offer is the candidate's response to the need expressed by the public purchaser in the consultation documents.

It shall include the following documents:

  • Technical offer or technical memory : it details the technical response provided by the candidate to the buyer's needs 
  • Financial offer : it corresponds to the candidate's price offer
  • Other documents necessary for the examination of tenders : the public purchaser may request the applicant company to produce other documents such as samples, models or prototypes, intervention schedules, product catalog, etc. The absence of delivery of one of these documents when requested by the purchaser renders irregular supply
  • Deed of Commitment: it is the essential document of the public procurement. It makes it possible to know precisely the reciprocal commitments of the successful candidate and the buyer. It can only be completed at the time of the award of the contract by the successful candidate. For more information, refer to the fact sheet sign the act of commitment in case of contract award

FYI  

A company may choose to partner with other companies, as part of a Temporary company Grouping (GME) to meet a larger market. It may also entrust the performance of part of the contract to other companies in the outsourcing.

What is a technical offer?

This is a technical memorandum or a methodological note that responds precisely to the specifications in the consultation documents.

The specifications set out the technical provisions necessary for the performance of the services of each contract. It provides information on the buyer's needs, delivery times, warranty conditions, maintenance, after-sales service. The applicant company must therefore respond to each point the specifications, specifying all the powers and resources used.

The technical memorandum enables the public purchaser to assess the human, technical and logistical means available to the applicant company to perform the service.

FYI  

In practice, supply for markets below €60,000 HT usually consists of the transmission of a simple quote.

What does the technical offer contain?

The applicant company has a great deal of freedom to draft its technical memorandum. It must be constructed as a business case. The applicant company must indicate that it fulfills all the criteria and that it hasadvantages.

She must first make a general presentation to demonstrate its expertise: activity, know-how, organization, human and material resources.

She must then detail its methodology to explain how the contract will be realized, controlled, delivered. This can include the following:

  • Quality of the product manufacturing process (e.g. quality control procedure, skill level of the workforce)
  • Technical product quality (e.g. product durability)
  • Services associated with the product (e.g. quality of after-sales service, possibility of emergency intervention, including during weekends and holidays, cybersecurity)

Public buyers can take into account the environmental characteristics of the tender where they have a direct link with the subject matter of the contract. The applicant company may thus present a carbon balance relating to the service requested in the contract (for example, the analysis of greenhouse gas emissions linked to the production of the product requested by the buyer). It may mention the existence of a reprocessing circuit for the waste produced in the context of the contract. It may also indicate that it has certifications or labels recognized environmental. These are for example: Ecolabel, like the Type 1 Ecolabel, NF Environment Certification, Organic Agriculture Label, Oeko-Tex Certificate for textile products.

The applicant company may also highlight the social implications of its offer where the purchaser has laid down social criteria. These include:

  • Measures to integrate groups in difficulty which may be carried out in the context of the performance of the contract.
  • Training and apprenticeship efforts in the context of the contract (collaboration with a job center or a local employment agency, hiring of apprentices, vocational training actions)
  • Respect for human rights in the performance of the contract (fair remuneration of producers, location of suppliers and subcontractors)

The buyer may also require capacity levels (e.g. in terms of the number of employees or professional qualifications).

Information may also be requested, such as the turnover declaration, the appropriate declaration of banks or balance sheets for example.

Is there a form to respond to the public contract?

There is no standard response framework or form for the submission of the technical brief.

In certain cases, the public purchaser shall lay down rules for the presentation of that technical brief and shall impose one or more of the following:

  • Limiting the number of pages of the technical brief
  • Proposal for a standard framework of the technical brief to be completed by the candidates
  • Presentation as a table
  • Prohibition of the use of annexes

FYI  

Where the public purchaser lays down rules for the submission of the technical brief, it must indicate them in the consultation regulation.

The technical offer must be adapted to each contract: each of the points requested in the consultation regulation must be answered precisely. The applicant company has an interest in customize her offer to show that she understood the buyer's need.

This offer must also be presented in a legible and clear. The layout is very important. You have to insert a summary, headings, pages between pages. Styles and fonts should also be harmonized.

The financial offer must be based on the documents provided in the consultation documents . The candidate company must complete one of the two documents:

  • Unit Price Sheet (BPU) : it is generally structured by categories (e.g. structural, secondary, electrical, plumbing, etc.) and each category is then broken down into several sub-categories corresponding to specific elements. For each item, the BPU indicates the unit price, unit of measure and estimated quantity. It is used in so-called « unit price » markets. This is the case, for example, with works contracts, where the purchaser does not know in advance the quantities to be used.
  • Breakdown of global and flat-rate prices (FMF) : it is a document breaking down the elements of the flat-rate price of the service to be provided, with the quantities and elements to be quantified by the companies. In this case, the contract holder undertakes to perform a service for the package offered, regardless of the quantities delivered or executed. The flat-rate price is not adapted to services or works whose realization presents significant technical hazards.

Please note

Care must be taken when setting the price because the buyer must reject abnormally low offers (OAB).

The Consultation Regulation (CR)of the public contract may allow the submission of ‘variants’. These are alternatives to the basic solution described in the specification.

The applicant company shall take the initiative to offer an alternative to the basic offer of the public purchaser. It deals with certain technical, administrative or financial points.

These variants make it possible to bring out innovative solutions or to employ means unknown to the public purchaser.

FYI  

The buyer may require the presentation of variants. It shall indicate this in the contract notice, in the invitation to confirm interest or in the consultation documents.

Variants are in principle authorized but buyers have the possibility of banning them.

This prohibition must be mentioned either in the consultation documents for Mapa either in the contract notice or in the invitation to confirm the interest in formalized procedures.

Example :

Examples of technical variants:

  • Materials different from those required in the basic solution
  • Longevity of products or structures
  • Environmental characteristics (optimization of waste management)
  • Better maintenance, maintenance or warranty conditions

The period of validity of the offer is the period during which the candidate is obliged to maintain his offer. When this deadline is exceeded, the candidate is released from his commitment.

The regulations do not impose a period of validity for tenders. But the buyer can decide on such a period within contract notices or the consultation documents . It shall then be applicable to all applicants and to the purchaser, in application of the principle of equal treatment.

However, the public purchaser may, before the expiry of the period of validity of the tenders, request all candidates to extend that time limit. It must then obtain the agreement of all the candidates. If this is not the case, the proceedings shall be declared without further action.

FYI  

In practice, the period of validity of the offer is set between 90 and 120 days.

Who can help me?

The public service accompanying companies

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