Project Management

Engaging with Contractors #2

Rachel Cobb shares why having a clear, consistent scope of work is essential when requesting vendor bids. Learn how to avoid mismatched proposals, ensure fair pricing, and make the bidding process more efficient by providing all vendors with the same project details. Perfect for property and facility managers.
Soft Skills
Best Practices
Communication
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Transcript

 Uh, the next one is try and have a defined scope. Whether it is, it's a water intrusion that you need a demo and discovery on, you have, um, some stair replacements, anything like that of you wanna have a fair playing field for any of those that you come out there to bid the project for you. You are normally required to have a minimum of three bids, and that's the industry standard and we know that and we expect that.

But what doesn't help you is if you walk it one way with one vendor. A, walk it another way with vendor B, and then a completely opposite way with vendor C. And you get three different scopes from three different vendors with different scopes and different pricing. And then those above you are wanting you to sift through it and figure out which one you wanna recommend.

Well just 'cause their price is good, their scope of work might be lacking or their, their scope of work is great, but their price is higher. And now you're trying to explain it. To those above you as to why you don't have three fair bids. So one of the best things that you can do from a technical standpoint is have a defined scope that it could be as simple as two or three sentences, a page, a couple paragraphs, um, that you are able to hand out to whoever comes to visit to look at your project.

So that way, you know, they're bidding apples to apples. You're still having a free market and um, level playing field against all those who are bidding against each other.