Select the Best Bidder

Selecting the best bidder, is about more than just selecting the lowest price.

The best bid is usually the one that included the most scope of work, for the lowest price, and was most cooperative in the process. Don’t overlook cooperativeness when evaluating bidders.

Think back on your interactions with the contractor. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being best, 10 being worst), rate each one for Bid Completeness, Following Directions and Cooperative Responsiveness, on the Bid Evaluation Form.

Measuring the interaction with the contractor during bidding helps you make an objective decision.

This is important because if you don’t have a good working relationship with the contractor during bidding you surely won’t have a good working relationship with them during construction, especially if there is a disagreement.

After evaluating the bids, the owner in the example had a rather simple decision. Contractors A and B were the lowest bidders, with Contractor A being $103.50 higher than Contractor B. Alternatively, when providing the bids a score for bid completeness, following directions and cooperative responsiveness, Contractor B received a 4, while Contractor A received a 9, on a 10-point scale—with 10 being the best score. In this case, the quality of the bid outweighed the price and so the owner chose to go with Contractor A.

As you can see, guessing is not a part of this process. Base your decision on the information you received from and about each contractor during the bid process, as discussed throughout Bidding – Bidding and Negotiation.