The Late Addendum and the Unequal Bidders
You are the bid manager for a Grade 9 contractor tendering for a municipal drainage upgrade. Bids close at 14:00 on Friday. On Wednesday at 16:30 the engineer issues Addendum No. 3 that changes the pipe bedding specification and adds 40 m of extra culvert. You forward it to all six prequalified bidders by email at 17:10. Two bidders reply that they received it. On Thursday at 09:00 one bidder calls to say their estimator is on leave and they cannot price the change before close. A second bidder asks whether the closing date can move. The client's procurement officer states the closing date is fixed by council resolution and cannot change. Your own estimate for the change is roughly 3% of the tender value.
1. What are the competing obligations here, and what should you recommend to the client before close?
Read the worked answer
Two obligations pull against each other: fairness/equal treatment of bidders and the client's binding closing date.
- Fairness: a material change issued 21.5 hours before close, with at least one bidder unable to price it, risks unequal treatment and later challenge.
- Client constraint: the council resolution fixes the date; you cannot unilaterally move it.
Recommendation to the client, in writing before close:
- Confirm receipt by all six bidders and record times.
- If the change is material (it is: new spec plus quantity), ask the client to either (a) obtain a short extension via the proper approval route, or (b) withdraw Addendum 3 and issue it as a post-tender clarification or variation after award.
- Do not proceed on the basis that 'most bidders got it'. A tender awarded where one bidder could not price a known change is exposed to complaint and possible re-tender.
You advise; the client decides. Record the advice and the decision.
2. The client refuses any extension. What is the defensible course of action and how do you document it?
Read the worked answer
Defensible course: withdraw the material change from the tender scope and reissue it after award as a variation or a separate package. The tender then closes on the original, equal-information basis.
If the client insists the change stays in:
- Issue a clear written notice to all bidders stating the addendum stands, bidders must price it or state assumptions, and the closing time is unchanged.
- Give every bidder the same information at the same time and log delivery.
- Flag the residual risk (possible challenge, possible claim for the bidder who could not price) in writing to the client.
Documentation: addendum register with issue and receipt times, the bidder's call logged, the client's instruction in writing, and your risk note. Never advise a bidder privately on how to handle it.