1) Government encourages that we operate small business, and on their bidding documents, they want experienced suppliers, and often asks the years the company has been in existence, why is that?2) Why must i fill in company information like Tax Number, Vat Number, Company Registration, Total Number of people employed in the company, over and over, when tendering?3) Government is making it difficult for small businesses to access opportunities by asking non-refundable payments ranging up to R1000.00 or more for tender documents. In some instances those tenders are cancelled, though legislature requires that documents be paid, but these fees are unreasoble, how do you determine what to charge for a document?
Procurement people face a challenge between making an impact on economic development and delivering a quality product or service to their internal customers. While we understand your pain there is hope on all fronts in the questions you raised:
1) There is a balance to be reached between using new businesses who will contribute to job creation and getting the job done. It is probably appropriate that small businesses cut their teeth on smaller transactions and build up experience in a low risk environment. As they gain experience they will start getting larger opportunities. The key is to demonstrate the relevant experience of the individuals working in the business and to look for subcontracting opportunities to gain relevant experience.
2) We agree that there has to be a better way than to ask the same information over and over. With the implementation of the CSD some of this will improve but in other areas we will need to wait for the Supply Chain transformation process to progress a little further. I am confident that the next two to three years will see major improvements in these areas.
3) This again is improving since the site went live. Most tenders can be downloaded without cost there. Organisations not using this site yet may still be charging for tenders and where you can collect hard copy tenders you will still need to pay for tender documents. See our earlier post on tender fees too: Tender fees: Supplier abuse?