To ensure that quality prevails in supply chain procedures, interest in tendering must be fostered among as many firms as possible, diversity of teams must be promoted, emerging firms professionals must be encouraged and, above all, qualitative bid assessment methods must be used.*
How can a commissioning process that promotes quality in design and architecture be structured?
By using a tendering process that emphasizes quality
- Providing details of the Quality Vision and objectives in the call for tenders documents (or other contractual documents), to which the client and the professionals to whom the contract is awarded then commit.
- Structuring the service offering evaluation format to give greater weight to quality than to price (lowest compliant bidder rule).
By using a design or architecture competition process
- Choosing a competition-based awarding method to stimulate emulation among competitors and assess the quality of the conceptual proposals fairly and transparently (presence of a jury).
- Preferring anonymous proposals so as to eliminate reputational bias: with an anonymous competition form, assessment of quality is solely on the basis of the conceptual proposal (and not appreciation of the competitor's portfolio).
By fostering networking with emerging professionals
- Enabling younger firms to position themselves in the market and improve their execution capacity, with mentoring opportunities.
By stimulating the market
- Deploying a communications strategy that motivates potential tenderers to engage in the process.
How to build interest:
- By outlining the Quality Vision of the project, the quality objectives to be attained and the primary means of attaining them. This demonstrates the client's intention to make quality a priority.