Notifications to Unsuccessful Offerors
In government contracting, a contracting officer will usually only be able to choose one winner who can fulfill their procurement needs. When businesses bid on these contracts, they run the risk of losing to a vendor who is deemed more qualified.
You must not give up. One of the ways you can improve is by asking for a contractor debrief after a rejected bid.
According to FAR 15.503, unsuccessful offerors are meant to be notified when they are excluded from the competitive range or their bid is ultimately rejected. Most vendors are notified when the award is posted on a public platform, like SAM.gov or the agency's website.
Simplified Acquisition Procedures
If you would like to know why your company did not win when the award fell underneath the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT), you can contact the buyer by requesting more information. The contracting officer is meant to provide you with a brief explanation of why the award was given to another vendor or why they overlooked you if the choice was based on anything but pricing factors. These procedures fall under FAR 13.106-3(d).
Every business should prepare several questions for the procurement officer to make sure the best feedback possible is given in return. Finding out every detail as to why a business lost the bid can make all the difference in the world for their next bidding opportunity.
Pre and Postaward Debriefings
Debriefings, unlike notifications of unsuccessful offerors, are where you receive a much more throughout understanding of why an award is granted to a specific vendor.
All debriefings should be requested in writing at least three days after they have received notice that they were excluded from the competition or when they have received the notification that there was an award.
Preaward Debriefings
FAR 15.505 goes over preaward debriefings in detail. Preaward debriefings are when a vendor has been excluded from the competition early. They must include the following information:
- The evaluation of your company, mainly the main factors that led to being disqualified.
- A summary of why your company was removed from the competition.
- Reasonable responses to relevant questions that are asked.
Postaward Debriefings
FAR 15.506 goes over postaward debriefings in detail. Postaward debriefings are when a vendor has been awarded. Even an awardee can ask for a debriefing. These must include the following information:
- The evaluation of your company, mainly the main weaknesses or deficiencies of your proposal.
- The price and past performance technical ratings.
- The overall ranking of the vendor next to the other offerors, if one was created.
- A summary of why the award was given to the vendor.
- For commercial items, the make and model number of the awardee's product.
- Reasonable responses to relevant questions that are asked.
Questions to Ask
Contractors are encouraged to ask the following questions during their Contractor Debrief to discover improvements that will ultimately help their business win government contracts in the future:
- As a contracting officer, what was left out of the proposal?
- What would make one vendor stand out among the others?
- Why was the other vendor hired and what was the deciding factor?
- What are some key aspects that Contracting Officers look for in new vendors?
- Are there any other helpful hints that would improve a bid strategy the next time a bid is submitted?
- Is it smart to list warranties or product guarantees?
- What is a good way to go above and beyond when submitting a bid proposal?
Once a business is done asking their questions, they should thank the contracting officer for taking the time to speak with them. Make sure to create and maintain a professional relationship with the contracting officer.
Sending emails as well as communicating through social networks such as LinkedIn can improve the chances of winning a contract in the future. Businesses that decide to implement a government marketing program are more successful and develop a better past performance portfolio in the federal marketplace.