Construction 101: Invitation to Tender

In the construction and development business, there are many steps involved when we build. After producing a good set of drawings, we then move onto choosing our trades and suppliers for each project. Also known as, an ‘Invitation to Tender’.

What is an invitation to tender? Simply put, it’s like applying for a job; every trade must go through pre-qualification criteria before they are put into our system to ensure we have the most qualified trades working on our projects. They have to submit a resume stating what kind of product or service they can provide and how much value and expertise they bring to the table. At Intracorp we have an extensive trade database consisting of those who sell door knobs and insulate walls to those who supply and install kitchen cabinetry and windows.

The tendering process enables us to review in detail which trade would be best suited for each project.   For example at The Versatile Building, in North Vancouver, we chose the top flooring supplier because they were able to provide us with the best product, service, and experience.

If they accept the invite, we then issue the trade information to base their quotes on.  Each trade receives the same information and they all have a defined closing date to submit bids.  Informational documents may include architectural drawings, structural drawings, detail books, specification books and scope of work.  Once we have distributed all the tender documents, trades will often come back and ask questions and enquire about the scope of work.   This is a period where we can learn from each trade and vice versa.

Currently our construction team is busy working on our tender for our Silver project in Burnaby and inviting trades to submit bids by the closing date.

Once we receive the bids we then evaluate each quote; comparing value, service, and experience. This analysis of trades is an important process which takes time, experience, and an eye for detail to ensure we have chosen the right contractor for the job.  After narrowing it down to one trade, we then award the contract and construction can get started.

Every type of trade that’s involved in building your home has gone through a tender, and during this process, relationships are built. The tender process takes time and a lot of work but it’s worth every minute to ensure that we bring on the best contractors to all of our jobs to deliver an extraordinary product.