Bid is when companies compete with each other to get a project.

For example, company X bids $1,000,000 to do

a certain construction project for a certain company (that invited bids through an "invitation for bids" or IFB) and
company "Y" bids $800,000 to do the same project. Company "Y" will probably get the project because its bid
was lower.

Tender, on the other hand (and in project management), represents a document stating that a company will
execute a project for another company, for a specific price and under certain conditions (Note: Every company
has a "tender assessment" process, through which it's able to select the best tender).

In short, a bid is when a company says to other companies: "here is my project and here are my conditions, how
much are you willing to do the project for?". A tender is when a company says to another company: "I know about
your project, here is how much it will cost you, and here are my conditions".

Note that most companies use the terms bid and tender interchangeably.

http://www.planningengineers.org/expertise/tender-pre-contract-planning/74-difference-between-
bid-and-tender


The tender is the document described above containing the invitation by the Council to tenderers to
offer a cost for delivering a service or supplies etc and the offer from the tenderer.


The contract is the document recording the acceptance by the Council of the tenderers offer that is
signed (or sealed) by both parties.



tender document
A written invitation sent to potential suppliers of a good or service to inform them about the information required for
the buyer to choose among them. Issuing a tender document typically begins the tender process by which
a business selects qualified and interested suppliers based on such things as their price, availability and
proposed delivery terms.

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/tender-document.html#ixzz2JeSbdzUA






A tender is a submission made by a prospective supplier in response to an invitation to
tender. It makes an offer for the supply of goods or services.
Tender documents are prepared to seek tenders or offers. Generally, tendering refers to the
construction works, rather than consultancy services which are referred to as appointing.
Tender documents may be prepared for a range of contracts such as; equipment supply,
the main construction contract, demolition, etc.
Ideally, tender documents should be broken down into a series of packages each with its
own design drawings and specifications suitable to be issued by the main contractor to
potential sub-contractors. This makes the tender easier to price for the contractor and
easier to compare with other tenderers for the client. It is important when this is done to
ensure that the interfaces between packages are properly identified and clearly allocated to
one package or another. Having too many packages increases the number of interfaces and
so the potential problems. The cost plan (pre-tender estimate) should also be re-assembled
package by package to allow easy appraisal of tenders received.

Tenders documents may include:
A letter of invitation to tender.
The form of tender.
Preliminaries: including pre-construction information and site waste management plan.
The form of contract, contract conditions and amendments.
A tender pricing document (or contract sum analysis on design and build projects).
A drawing schedule.
Design drawings.
Specifications.
Copies of the tender documentation should be kept for records.
It is good practise to send relevant documents direct to sub-contractors named in bills of
quantities and to tell tendering contractors that this has been done, so they know they do
not have to.
NB. On construction management contracts, tender documentation for trade contracts
might include the construction manager's master programme.

A tender is a submission made by a prospective contractor in response to an
invitation to tender. It makes an offer for the supply of goods or services. The tender
is treated as an offer to do the work for a certain amount of money (firm price), or a
certain amount of profit (cost reimbursement or cost plus). The tender which is
submitted by the competing firms is generally based on a bill of quantities, a bill of
approximate quantities or other specifications which enable the tenders attain
higher levels of accuracy, the statement of work.

A tender document is a written invitation prepared to seek tenders or offers from
potential contractors. Tender documents also serve to inform the contractors about
the information required for the client to choose among them. Tender documents
may be prepared for a range of contracts such as equipment supply, service supply
and main construction contract. Generally, tendering refers to the construction
works, rather than consultancy services which are referred to as appointing.
Tender documents must contain all the provisions and information that tenderers
need to submit their tenders: the procedures to follow, the documents to provide,
cases of non-compliance, award criteria, etc. Ideally, tender documents should be
broken down into a series of packages each with its own design drawings and
specifications. This makes the tender easier to price for the contractor and easier to
compare with other tenderers for the client.
Issuing a tender document typically begins the tender process by which a business
selects qualified and interested contractors based on such things as their price,
availability and proposed delivery terms.
Tenders documents may include:
A letter of invitation to tender.
The form of tender
Instruction to tenders
Preliminaries: including pre-construction information and site waste
management plan
The form of contract, contract conditions and amendments
A tender pricing document
Design drawings
Specifications

Tender documents must contain all the provisions and information that tenderers
need to submit their tenders: the procedures to follow, the documents to provide,
cases of non-compliance, award criteria, etc. Ideally, tender documents should be
broken down into a series of packages each with its own design drawings and
specifications. This makes the tender easier to price for the contractor and easier to
compare with other tenderers for the client.
Copies of the tender documentation should be kept for records.