Two files, kept separately
It is worth maintaining a company file and a product file separately. The company file changes rarely and is reused across every opportunity. The product file changes with each requirement.
Mixing them produces the familiar problem of a submission that is 90 per cent identical to the last one but has to be rebuilt from scratch anyway.
- Company file: registration extract, tax identifiers, ownership and authorised signatories, bank details, insurance, any trading licences
- Product file: specifications, manufacturer documentation, applicable certificates, sample availability, packaging details
Anticipate the recurring questions
Certain requests appear in almost every institutional process, whatever the market: the legal relationship between the bidder and the manufacturer, the chain of custody for the goods, the point at which title transfers, and who is responsible if a consignment is rejected.
Having settled positions on these, in writing and agreed internally in advance, is what separates a fast response from a slow one.
Say what you are, precisely
A sourcing intermediary is not a manufacturer and should not present as one. Where a bidder describes itself imprecisely, the correction usually arrives at the worst possible moment, during evaluation.
Describing the role accurately, naming who manufactures, who supplies, and who holds which authorisation, is both more honest and, in practice, less likely to raise questions.
Keep it current
Most documents in a company file expire: registration extracts have issue dates, insurance renews, certificates lapse. A file that was complete a year ago is not complete today.
A calendar reminder against each expiry date is a small piece of administration that removes an entire category of last-minute failure.