What is an offer template?
An offer template is a standard form requesting information to be submitted by suppliers in response to an invitation to supply.
A submitted template becomes an offer and documentary evidence from the supplier to provide the goods and or services as defined by the invitation to supply. If the supplier is successful, the completed offer template will form part of the contract.
The offer template should be simple and easy to understand. It should only seek information from the supplier to undertake a comparative analysis for the purposes of the procurement and to help better understand what the supplier has to offer.
What makes a good offer template?
A well-structured offer template should:
- facilitate competition;
- encourage innovation;
- address the procurement evaluation criteria;
- apply a high standard in the delivery of requirements; and
- be simple and avoid onerous or unnecessary requirements
Before preparing an offer template
The purpose of an offer template is twofold: to provide a level of consistency in reporting to facilitate 'like for like' comparison and to prompt suppliers to suggest how they can add to the value for money outcome. The value-adding elements must complement the key requirements and purpose of the procurement.
Before preparing an offer template, procurement practitioners should have a clear understanding of:
- the specifications;
- market capability;
- the risks impacting the procurement;
- the evaluation criteria to be applied; and
- the relative importance of each criteria.
How to write an offer template
The information to be gathered from a supplier will be dependent on the complexity of the procurement. As the complexity of the procurement increases so do the risks and requirements from the supplier; as such the information to be gathered needs to be scalable.
By referring to Preparing an offer template, offer templates will be more consistent in both content and format making it easier for suppliers to do business with the Victorian Government. Preparing an offer template provides guidance on what to consider in the offer template. It provides baseline matters for consideration for low complexity procurement and additional inclusions as the complexity of the procurement increases.
The amount of information sought from the supplier should reflect the complexity of the requirement and the nature of the procurement.
Using this guide
This guide accompanies the goods and services supply policies. There are 5 supply policies:
- Governance policy
- Complexity and capability assessment policy
- Market analysis and review policy
- Market approach policy
- Contract management and disclosure policy
This guide supports the Market approach policy.
For information regarding the application of insurance provisions, refer to the Insurance provisions - goods and services procurement guide.
For information regarding developing a specification, refer to the Specification writing - goods and services procurement guide.
Tools and support
The Prepare an offer template tool: Goods and services supports this guide.
Access a document version of this guide in the Toolkit and library.
For more information about developing an offer template, please contact the goods and services policy team.
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