Work through a realistic tender — Security & emergency services

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to defend a bid decision and prepare a consistent submission.

Common to all countries

Make a decision that survives delivery

A bid review has three separate gates: admissibility, a credible route to a competitive score, and the ability to deliver at an acceptable return. A high score cannot cure an inadmissible offer; a technically possible offer can still be commercially unsound. Give each unresolved issue an owner and a decision deadline before the submission cut-off.

Assemble the final response from the controlled requirements and evidence registers. Check names, totals, document versions, signatures, portal fields and uploaded files. Use an independent read-through to find contradictions between the method, staffing and price. After a permitted test of the submission workflow, allow time for the actual upload and retain the receipt. A finished PDF on your computer is not a submitted offer.

Worked example — Provide reception security for three sites

This is a fictional teaching case. Quantities, prices and contractual conditions below are assumptions for the exercise, not legal requirements or market benchmarks.

A public body needs controlled visitor access, respectful reception and reliable escalation at three buildings. The contract must define authority and limits. Promising to solve every incident is less useful than a clear, lawful operating boundary.

Review position. The team can deliver the base requirement, but one clarification remains open and the extra cost below is not included in its original price. Submission is five working days away; this is a case assumption.

“Continuous coverage” does not say whether one post must remain occupied during breaks. Clarify coverage at each site and authorised relief arrangements before costing staff numbers.

One unexpected absence creates an uncovered post. A reserve name without availability and required authorisation is not a working contingency. Cost a qualified relief arrangement and test its mobilisation time.

Item	Cost (currency units)
Staffed hours and relief	56,000
Supervision and training	8,000
Equipment and administration	6,000
Total	70,000

Total cost is 70,000. To retain 20% of the selling price as profit, price is 70,000 ÷ 0.80 = 87,500. If “Additional authorised relief capacity” adds 7,000 to cost without a price increase, profit becomes 10,500, or 12% of price. Preserving 20% would require 96,250, only where the procurement permits that price. A cost increase does not automatically entitle the supplier to a contract price increase.

Country specific — what to verify

Verify company and individual licensing, vetting, permitted duties, labour rules, privacy and incident-reporting requirements. ICoCA provides a human-rights framework for private security; it is not the legal authority for an officer’s powers in a particular country.

Local clearance evidence and security schedules. Use the destination-country module and the actual tender pack. The sources below are references with their own scope; they do not form a single worldwide regime. For the general method, revisit the foundations.

Put it into practice

Prepare a final review with four decisions: admissibility, clarification, return and submission. State the conditions for a yes and the conditions requiring a no. Produce three response headings linked to requirements.

Model answer

Model decision: conditional bid, not immediate approval. Obtain the official clarification, confirm evidence and resources, then decide the price or withdraw before submission. Do not conceal non-compliance in a prohibited qualification. The three response sections are understanding the need, method and resources, then controls and acceptance. Use attendance and handover records, authorised incident summaries and evidence of corrective actions. Protect visitor and incident data. A low incident count alone does not prove quality because under-reporting can produce the same number.

Keep this worksheet in your working file. The quiz below checks the lesson’s decisions; passing it is neither a professional qualification nor a guarantee of an award.