Bidder Performance Evaluation

Bidder performance evaluation is the assessment of a supplier's or contractor's performance against defined criteria. Those criteria typically cover quality, timeliness, management, safety and value for money. Buyers use the results in contract management and, where their rules permit, when judging whether a supplier can deliver future work.

In Canadian public procurement, the idea appears under related names: past performance, vendor performance and performance evaluation. It is separate from the evaluation of the bid you submit for a current solicitation. That evaluation looks at what a bidder proposes. Performance evaluation looks at how a supplier actually delivers.

How Bidder Performance Evaluation Differs From Bid Evaluation

CanadaBuys explains that bids are normally evaluated on relevant technical merit and overall best value, following the selection method stated in the tender notice. There are three approaches: mandatory technical criteria only, point-rated technical criteria only, or a combination of both. The tender notice is the source of the criteria the evaluation team applies. Details are on the CanadaBuys page on how bids are evaluated and selected.

That process assesses the bid in front of the evaluators. Bidder performance evaluation is a different activity. It records how a supplier performed on a contract and can feed into later decisions.

Past Performance in the Treasury Board Directive

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Directive on the Management of Procurement addresses past performance directly. It says departments should, to the extent possible, consider past performance when assessing a bidder's ability to deliver. The same directive requires departments to design and conduct the bid evaluation process, the financial assessment and due diligence.

For federal buyers, then, a supplier's track record is a recognized input when they assess ability to deliver, within the limits of the solicitation and applicable rules.

Defence Construction Canada's Evaluation Criteria

Defence Construction Canada (DCC) states that all suppliers working with it undergo a performance evaluation during contract execution. The evaluation considers:

• management
• quality
• timelines
• health and safety
• industrial safety

DCC describes the results as supporting continuous improvement and future procurement decisions. This is set out on its page Doing business with us. The evaluation happens while the work is under way, not only after it ends.

The Procurement Ombud's Scorecard Model

The Office of the Procurement Ombud describes a vendor-performance approach in which performance is evaluated at the end of a contract. The evaluation uses a scorecard created beforehand. It covers quality, partnership and value for money. Bidders who deliver satisfactory performance may receive a certificate of performance. The model is described in the Ombud's analysis of vendor performance.

Setting the scorecard in advance means the criteria are known before the work begins.

What Bidder Performance Evaluation Means for Suppliers

Your performance on one contract can shape how a buyer sees you later. Where a buyer applies a past-performance or vendor-performance process, delivery on quality, schedule, management and safety becomes part of the buyer's record of your company.

• Read the evaluation and selection provisions in each solicitation, since the tender documents must state the criteria and method.
• Provide complete and accurate information, and meet the stated mandatory and rated criteria.
• Perform the resulting contract to its requirements, and track your own results against the criteria a buyer such as DCC publishes.
• Ask whether a scorecard or certificate of performance applies to the contract.