3.1.2 Supplier Pre-qualification

Vendor prequalification helps ensure that potential vendor has the financial and technical competence and resources to complete the defined project. The process looks extensively at past and current nuclear and non-nuclear projects executed by the vendor and its consortium partners.

A standard pre-qualification questionnaire should be used to examine the capability and suitability of potential suppliers to meet the requirements of the BIS, and to produce a short-list of suppliers to whom the invitation to tender documents will be issued. The criteria for selection should concentrate on the general suitability and capability of the candidate supplier for the project, as opposed to the specific means by which the supplier would implement the contract. The intention of this stage of the procurement process is to identify the suppliers who are most capable of performing the contract. The contracting authority must therefore refrain, at this stage, from asking questions that would be more appropriate for the tender stage of the process.

Some areas of interest in typical pre-qualification questionnaires include information surrounding the vendor (organization, business status, past projects, financial resources, insurance carried, industrial safety record, management systems, and proposed project organization), technical information surrounding proposed offerings (similar to that obtained for the feasibility study), and vendor responses regarding proposed commercial aspects (contract models, financing models, local participation and technology transfer etc.). The intent is not to make the prequalification process too strict as to hinder competition or reduce the number of eventual bidding vendors excessively.

Where suppliers are not yet on the owner/operator’s approved supplier list, a process of auditing and pre-qualifying the supplier’s management system may begin at this time. This may assist in identifying major risk areas early in the procurement process.

Where suppliers propose to form a consortium, the prime bidder should be requested to provide a single set of responses covering all consortium members. The track record of a consortium member should include details on performance and reliability on previous projects - those undertaken on its own account and jointly with its consortium partners. This will also include disclosure of information regarding short-listing of consortium sub-suppliers, and and details regarding any contract disputes or breaches related to previous contracts.