Procurement specification and tender support
A procurement specification for building technology is the vendor neutral performance document that the supplier market tenders against, written so that responses can be compared on evidence rather than presentation.
How do we buy this without being sold to?
What we do
01 / 05The specification is where the leverage is. After award, there is none.
We write the vendor neutral performance specification the market tenders against, run the process, evaluate responses on evidence rather than presentation, and hold the appointed suppliers to what they promised.
A performance specification states the outcome required and the evidence that proves it, rather than naming a product. Name a product and you have run a price comparison. State the outcome and you find out who can actually deliver it.
Most of the value lands after the document is written. Structured evaluation, a like for like comparison, and a scope tight enough that what was promised in the tender is still true at handover.
We do not bid for the work we specify.
- Performance specification, vendor neutral and outcome based
- Tender documentation, ready to issue
- Evaluation matrix, weighted and agreed before responses arrive
- Supplier recommendation and appointment support
Procurement teams, asset owners, and project directors going to market.
How it works
02 / 05- Weeks 1 to 3
Requirement
Translate the architecture and the strategy into stated outcomes, each with the evidence that would prove it has been met.
- Weeks 3 to 5
Document and issue
Specification, tender documentation and evaluation matrix. The matrix is weighted and agreed before any response is opened.
- Weeks 5 to 11
Market process
Run the tender. Manage clarifications so every bidder answers the same question, and keep the process defensible.
- Weeks 11 to 14
Evaluate and appoint
Score against the matrix. Interrogate the claims that matter, recommend, and support appointment.
- Through delivery
Hold to it
Through delivery. What was promised in the tender has to still be true at handover, and that requires someone client side who read the original document.
Durations are indicative and depend on the size of the estate and how quickly we get access.
Questions we get asked
03 / 05Why not let the integrator write the specification?
Because they will write one they can win. It is the rational thing for them to do and it is why the document has to come from somewhere else. A specification written by a bidder is a bid with a different cover page.
Do you bid for the work you specify?
No. We have no hardware line, no integration arm and no vendor commission. The recommendation is our only product, which makes it the only thing we have to get right.
How do you stop suppliers responding with marketing?
By asking for evidence instead of assurance. Every requirement states what would prove it: a reference site we can call, a named standard, a demonstrable interface, a contractual commitment. Claims that cannot be evidenced score nothing.
Can you run the tender as well as write it?
Yes, and it works better that way. The person who wrote the requirement is the person best placed to tell whether an answer actually meets it. We manage the process, evaluate responses and support appointment.
What if the market cannot deliver what we specified?
Then we have learned something valuable before signing rather than after. Occasionally the answer is to phase the requirement, and occasionally it is to build rather than buy. Both are better outcomes than awarding to the bidder most willing to say yes.
Does a vendor neutral specification cost more to deliver?
The tender price is usually lower, because the responses are genuinely comparable and the market knows it is being compared. The saving that matters, though, is in year five, when changing a system is a procurement exercise rather than a rebuild.
Ready to press start?
05 / 05Tell us about the space, the asset, or the problem.
We will tell you honestly whether we are the right people for it.