A tender can be defined as an official document stating the offer of a company to carry out a specific work or supply certain goods or make a purchase of land, assets, shares etc at the fixed price or rate stated in the tender. As part of the bidding process for public as well as private sectors in different countries across the world, a request for tender is sent out to prospective suppliers for the products or services that are required to standardize the process of evaluating the best suited supplier for the purpose of Vendor Registration for the company. This is the primary motive for inviting tenders for bidding in the private sector. In case of public sector companies, the prime reason for following this procedure is to ensure that public money invested in the project is used in the right direction and the best supplier is chosen without any trace of bribery or nepotism.
If you are a supplier wanting to pursue international bids in an attempt to globalize, one important fact that you should know is that about sixty percent of the world does not speak English, and therefore tenders in these non-English speaking geographical zones will have to be submitted in the native language of that particular state or company. Considering that tenders are such important documents, and the fact that a single error in translating your tender can mean loss of lucrative international prospects for you, making an incorrect choice for tender translation services might prove to be catastrophic. On the other hand, an effectively translated technical bid can mean secure high-fetching deals for your company.
With increased globalization, the need for reliable and accurate tender translation services has increased manifold. But not all translation agencies have the necessary expertise to execute these translations effectively. To start with, tenders for international bidding, especially technical bidding are highly technical documents; therefore the concerned translation must have the necessary expertise and skills for comprehending and translating the technical content. A good translator specializing in tender translation is well versed with the different calls for bids, namely Open or Advertised Tenders and Restricted or Invited Tenders. The former is open to all suppliers or contractors who can guarantee provision of goods and services, while the latter remains open only to specified set of vendors. A copy of the request for tender document should also be taken from the client for reference so that the translation can be done more effectively. An appropriate glossary of terminology and preferably a database in the form of a translation memory are of great help in order to carry out translation at faster turnovers, considering the fact that all requests for tenders have fixed deadlines that need to be adhered to strictly. Moreover, the suppliers as well as the translator need to keep in mind that the mandatory formats and official conventions of drafting a tender vary from country to country. Therefore, prior to undertaking a tender translation assignment, the translations service provider must seek complete clarity from the client with regard to the desired format of the translated tender.
