BIP doesn’t always apply and I have discovered that BIP doesn’t apply if you are considered non-compliant or unresponsive, which I guess if you’re out you’re out, but in this case one of the difficulties was that the tender was made difficult to understand. The tender document was looking for equivalencies to a particular product, but it doesn’t define the term “equivalencies” and it’s left to the bidder to try and figure out what that is. In a lot of cases they will state equivalencies are acceptable, but ultimately want a very specific product, and as I said in my statement, why do we not just say so? We want product X and never mind the equivalencies because if they’re trying to match it to something that already exists, an equivalency won’t do.
So in a case like this, what adjustments will the department make to assist bidders in better understanding our tenders and what we’re looking for in a bid? Thank you.