Qualification System¶

The qualification system consists of two related types of procedure, the actual qualification system (QS) and the associated award procedures.

The qualification system with call for competition is a single-stage procedure with a relatively long or initially undefined duration. This one procedural stage is mapped in AI TENDERINGMANAGER as a call for competition, i.e. with a contract notice, competition documents and electronic submission of requests to participate. The qualification system is sent to the EU and all desired national platforms. The application for inclusion in the qualification system can be carried out via AI BIETERCOCKPIT in a similar way to the submission of a request to participate in a conventional, two-stage procedure.

The award procedure within a qualification system with call for competition consists of a restricted procedure in AI TENDERINGMANAGER, which contains all current participants of the higher-level qualification system. Any number of award procedures can be started simultaneously as long as the qualification system is running. The qualification system can be terminated even if some award procedures have not yet been completed.

The two process types are explained below in a process overview.

Create Qualification System¶

Select one of the following options to create a new qualification system:

• Click on New in the toolbar and select from the list and select the entry Qualification system .

• Select the menu command FILE - NEW - QUALIFICATION SYSTEM.

Enter a name for your qualification system in the field short name. The entry in the field short name corresponds to the file name of the call for entries. It is displayed in the Title line when the award procedure is open and in each task in the Task inbox . Select the short name so that you and other parties involved in the award can find the qualification system quickly and cannot confuse it.

Then click on Create to generate an award number according to the specifications of the stored file number generator.

Click on More options to display less frequently used input fields.

You can also assign the qualification system to an existing project. To do this, click on the button with the magnifying glass symbol to the right of Project. A list of all existing projects is called up, from which you can make a selection. Click the black X button next to the magnifying glass to cancel the selection. The AI TENDERINGMANAGER then creates a new project together with the new qualification system.

In the Service field, describe the service to be provided. This field is generally used as a subject or heading for correspondence in print templates.

In the Qualification system form, you can enter the Service field as required. Here you also select the service type of your procedure.

Create Bill of Quantities¶

In this function dialog, you enter the required items and quantities for your award procedure, the criteria for evaluating the bids and any questions for the bidders. The module makes it easy to create the bill of quantities:

• Quick and convenient entry of items with automatic numbering

• BQ display in the contracting authority and bidder view

• Various validation options for the bill of quantities, including checking the mandatory fields

• Switch between simple and complex view of the BOS with various subdivision options in groups and lots are possible

A detailed description of this function can be found at bill of quantities.

Create Questionnaire for Suitability Test¶

Here you enter your own criteria groups - similar to an evaluation scheme - with criteria that are relevant for checking requests to participate or tenders. The criteria for the findings when opening the requests to participate or tenders are predefined and cannot be changed here. The exact procedure for the function is described in Flexible request to participate and tender evaluation. Further information on creating an evaluation scheme can be found in rating scheme.

Contract Notice EU¶

The extensive contract notice form contains information on the contracting authority, the subject of the contract, legal, economic, financial and technical information, the procedure, etc. Most of the fields are already pre-filled. You can check the information in the form in advance using the Print templates and form printout button at the left end of the form control bar. The contract notice also contains a link to the tender documents, which are available on the procurement platform. The registration-free access to the procurement documents required by the EU Directive 2014 is complied with by offering interested companies the opportunity to access a special area on the AI TENDERINGPLATFORM without registration, where the procurement documents can be downloaded. Messages from the awarding authority to all bidders can also be viewed in this area. You can also make the tender documents available without registration in the two-stage procedure. However, in accordance with the EU Directive 2014, you have the option of deciding on a procedure-specific basis whether registration-free access to the award documents should be prevented if, for example, it is a classified procurement procedure.

Compiling the Tender Documents¶

You can check the documents for the call for competition before publication and add further documents if necessary. Further information on this function can be found at Compiling the award procedure documents.

Publish Notice¶

In this step, you send the notice for publication to your tender journals and publication bodies, in particular also to the Official Journal of the EU in the case of EU procedures. You can also send the contract notice and your tender documents to one or more procurement platforms on the Internet. These can be, among others

• Official Journal of the European Union (via e-sender interface): for EU award procedures.

• AI TENDERINGPLATFORM: for national and EU award procedures.

Before publishing an EU award procedure on one of the platforms, you must confirm that you have sent the notice to the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities in accordance with Section 40 EU VgV. A detailed description of the function can be found at Publication to the Official Journal of the European Union.

Actions after Publication¶

As requests to participate can be received for the entire duration of the qualification system, the workflow remains in the same place after publication and all further steps of the procedure are started via the following actions:

• Publish again (for TW): Calling up the publication dialog to resend the amended notice to the connected platforms.

• Correction notice EU: Calling up the publication dialog to send a correction notice (F14) to the EU.

• Capture internal documentation notes: Calling up the form for adding internal log files.

• Information about rejection of application: This action can be used to inform rejected applicants.

• Application admission information: Admitted applicants receive their confirmation to remain in the qualification system here.

• Open applications for participation: Decrypt electronic applications and record applications submitted by post. Further information can be found at Entering requests to participate.

• Check requests to participate: Check the applications using the check catalog. See also Formal review.

• Create new participation competition documents: Calls up the dialog for creating a new version of the participation competition documents.

• Send participation competition documents: This action can be used to print out personalized participation documents to other applicants without access to the AI TENDERINGPLATFORM.

End Qualification System¶

Once the qualification system has expired, the workflow should be continued in order to end the procedure. It is still possible to enter a final revision status.

Create Award Procedures in the QS with Call for Competition¶

Select one of the following options to create a new award procedure in a qualification system with call for competition:

• Click on New in the toolbar and select the entry Award procedure in qualification system from the list.

• Select the menu command FILE - NEW - AWARD PROCEDURE IN QUALIFICATION SYSTEM.

Use the magnifying glass icon to select the desired qualification system with call to competition. The fields Organizational unit and Procedure template are taken from the qualification system and cannot be changed.

Enter a name for your procedure in the short name field.

Then click on Create to generate a Award number according to the specifications of the stored file number generator.

Click on More options to display less frequently used input fields.

In the Service field, describe the service to be provided. This field is generally used for correspondence in print templates as Subject or Heading and can be added in the first workflow step of the process.

Process Procedure until Publication¶

Most of the workflow steps prior to publication contain information taken from the higher-level qualification system. You can add to or change these values as required. The following steps of the procedure are affected by this:

• Revise bill of quantities: Calling up the bill of quantities from the qualification system to record any changes for the award procedure.

• Scheduling: Calling up the Deadline and Period Manager with the proposed dates of the procedure, which can be changed if necessary.

• Invitation to tender: Call up the EU form of the same name. Here you can enter the possible types of tender submission and the payment terms as well as other relevant information about your procedure.

• Create suitability criteria: Call up the questionnaire for checking the suitability of bids from the qualification system in order to record any changes for the award procedure.

• Bidder selection: Here you can specify the participants in your award procedure. In contrast to the restricted procedure, only the current participants of the higher-level qualification system are displayed on the left-hand side. Accept the desired participants from left to right. Before the award documents have been published, you can remove individual companies on the right-hand side. Just as in the restricted procedure, you cannot add any further participants from left to right after the invitation to tender has been sent.

• Letter to bidders: In this dialog, you send the tender documents to the selected bidders in your procedure. The lower section of this function dialog is identical to the dialog for publication in a public invitation to tender. In the upper part of the window, the list of selected participants is displayed instead of the list of Internet platforms. The selected communication channel (post or awarding platform) is preset for each participant. After clicking the Publish button, the window for printing the award documents is called up for each via post applicant.

All further workflow steps of a procedure in the qualification system with call for competition after publication of the tender documents are identical to those from a public EU procedure. For more information on the supply/service procedure, see Public invitation to tender (national) or open procedure (EU) or for the construction works procedure for Public invitation to tender (national) or open procedure (EU).