Contacting suppliers directly during the solicitation period

Contacting suppliers directly during the solicitation period means communicating with potential suppliers, also called potential offerors, while a competitive procurement is open. This usually happens after the opportunity has been publicly advertised. In Canadian federal procurement guidance, a buyer may contact potential offerors directly after the tender notice has been posted, but only in appropriate circumstances and through the procedures that apply to communicating with offerors.

This does not give suppliers a licence to talk informally with anyone involved in a procurement. Federal guidance directs supplier questions and other communications to the contracting authority identified in the solicitation. The practice has two sides: what a buying organization may do, and what a bidder must do. Both are covered below, and the rules are set out on CanadaBuys.

When a buyer may contact potential offerors after a notice is posted

CanadaBuys guidance states that, after a tender notice has been posted, potential offerors may be contacted directly where the applicable procurement procedures permit it. The same guidance explains that competitive procurements covered by trade agreements generally must be advertised on the Government Electronic Tendering Service (GETS), subject to applicable exceptions. Public notice is the starting point, and direct contact is an addition to it, not a replacement.

CanadaBuys also identifies mini-tenders under supply arrangements as procurements to which public-advertisement and notification rules may apply. Direct contact in these cases still has to follow the rules that govern the specific procurement method.

Where suppliers must send questions and communications

For suppliers, the rule runs the other way. Government of Canada bidding guidance says questions about a solicitation must be submitted in writing to the contracting authority before the question deadline. Answers are then published as amendments on the tender-notice page, so every bidder sees the same information.

Standard federal solicitation instructions, such as the SSC standard instructions for procurement documents, add a single-point-of-contact requirement. Questions and other communications about the solicitation must go only to the identified contracting authority. Non-compliance with this requirement may result in a bid being declared non-compliant.

How source lists and supply arrangements differ

Direct solicitation also appears in other forms, and these should not be confused with contact during an already-posted solicitation.

• Source lists: CanadaBuys states that source lists primarily serve to request offers where a competitive procurement is not publicly advertised. See the guidance on determining a sourcing strategy.
• Supply arrangements: these are generally established through a Request for Supply Arrangement posted on CanadaBuys, as described on the standing offers and supply arrangements page.

NATO applies a similar control

NATO uses a closely related rule. Its Procurement Manual states that when vendors approach requisitioners about being included in a competition, the requisitioners must direct them to the NATO Procurement Service. That service handles registration and access to solicitation information. The manual also requires procurement procedures to be openly advertised to prospective bidders before and during solicitation. Canadian suppliers pursuing NATO work should expect the same discipline of a single official channel.

What this means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Use only the communication channel and the contact named in the solicitation. Submit questions in writing, before the stated deadline. Treat published answers and amendments as the controlling information, not conversations or informal messages. If a buyer contacts your company directly after a notice is posted, respond through the procedure that applies, and keep a record of what was exchanged. Contacting program staff, evaluators or other officials outside the named channel risks a non-compliant bid.