Difference between technical and economic bid
The technical bid is the document where the bidder describes how they will execute the contract: methodology and work plan, team and resources to be dedicated, quality plan, proposed improvements and execution schedule. The economic bid, on the other hand, is the price proposal: how much they will charge for executing the contract, including all associated costs, materials, labor, taxes and any other imputable expense.
Both bids answer different questions in the same process: the technical explains how the work will be done and with what quality guarantees, the economic says what it costs to do it.
Why they are submitted in separate envelopes
Public procurement regulations require submitting documentation in separate envelopes, usually identified as envelope A (administrative documentation), envelope B (technical bid) and envelope C (economic bid), precisely so technical evaluation is done without knowing the price offered by each bidder. This separation prevents the technical score from being influenced, consciously or unconsciously, by knowing who offered the lowest price.
The technical envelope is evaluated first and independently; only then is the economic envelope opened to complete the overall score, following the award criteria set by the specifications.
What happens if the economic bid is included in the technical envelope
Including price information in the technical envelope, even accidentally, mentioning a figure or data that allows deducing it, may lead to exclusion of the entire bid. The procurement board cannot valuate a technical envelope with guarantees that already reveals, even partially, the bidder's economic offer, because it contaminates the independence that envelope separation intends to guarantee.
Reviewing the content of the technical envelope before submitting it, specifically looking for any numerical reference that may be interpreted as part of the economic bid, is a check worth not skipping by routine.
What each bid usually includes according to the specifications
The exact content of each bid is set by the administrative clauses and technical specifications of the specific tender, and may vary from one tender to another. The usual in public works is for the technical bid to develop award criteria subject to judgment (methodology, improvements, quality plan), while the economic bid is limited to the bid below the base tender budget and, where appropriate, to quantifiably economically beneficial improvements.
Strictly adhering to what the specifications ask for, neither more nor less extension than requested, nor criteria other than those anticipated, prevents the bid from being considered inadmissible for not meeting the required format.
How Bloqbase supports preparation of tender bids
Bloqbase can help keep organized, for each tender the builder participates in, the technical and economic documentation prepared, with a clear record of which envelope each document goes in before submission.
The software does not draft the technical bid or calculate the economic bid: that development remains the responsibility of the technical and economic team of the bidding company, adjusted to the specific criteria of each specification.