Contract Award
Once the successful supplier has been identified and approval has been received to award the contract, you can notify suppliers of the outcome. This section will cover the main points to consider for your contract award.
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1
Contract Award must always be in writing
The successful supplier should be notified of the outcome in writing, using the Contract Award Letter.
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2
All unsuccessful suppliers should be notified in writing
The successful supplier the unsuccessful suppliers should be notified using the Unsuccessful Quotation Letter.
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3
Suppliers can ask for feedback
A supplier is entitled to ask for the reasons why their quotation was unsuccessful and it’s good practice to include this when they are notified of the outcome.
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4
Finalise Award
Check you’ve got everything you need.
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5
When all outcome letters have been issued your quotation becomes a contract
Once the letters have been issued to the successful supplier, and unsuccessful suppliers have been notified, the quotation becomes live and can now be referred to as a contract.
5 things to know
Getting started
What to think about first
Successful Supplier
The successful supplier should be notified of the outcome in writing, using the Contract Award Letter template in Downloads. This must be signed by a person with the delegated authority to procure and commit your organisation to the contract. You can adapt the letter to meet the needs of your organisation.
Unsuccessful Suppliers
At the same time as you write to the successful supplier the unsuccessful suppliers should be notified using the Unsuccessful Quotation Letter template in ‘Downloads’.
A supplier is entitled to ask for the reasons why their quotation was unsuccessful.
It is essential that all feedback is documented for audit purposes and based on the objective criteria used to evaluate the quotation.
This is called de-briefing and provides suppliers with positive constructive feedback to help improve their performance in future quotations. It can also provide an opportunity for suppliers to suggest improvements to your procurement processes.
Have you Got Everything You Need?
Before carrying on, please check you’ve got everything you need. Have you:
- Issued a formal Award letter
- Issued unsuccessful letter(s)
- Raised a Purchase Order with the successful supplier
- Created a suitable area (preferably electronic) for storing relevant documentation
- Given access to the data is given to all individuals with authority
Once these letters have been issued to the successful supplier, the quotation becomes live and can now be referred to as a contract.
Net Zero
Generally, and irrespective of contract value, providing good feedback can be extremely useful to bidders as it helps them to understand:
- what they did well
- what they could have done better
- points to consider in future bids.
Good feedback helps suppliers to increase the quality of goods and services purchased by the Welsh public sector.
From the Net Zero perspective, and wellbeing impact more broadly, this could include helping suppliers to:
- identify how to reduce CO2e emissions in their supply chains
- keep resources and materials in use for as long as possible and avoiding all waste, going beyond recycling and supporting the circular economy
- develop resilient local economies and contribute to community wealth-building, such as supporting good employment, local job retention and training, which are key to the foundational economy.
