One bidder gets the answer
A bidder phones with a question and gets an answer the others never see. If the answer changes how the work is priced, that bidder now has an edge, and the others have a reason to complain.
Pre-bid questions
Pre-bid RFI and bid addenda: answering every bidder the same way
Every bidder reads the bid documents a little differently, so questions come in before the deadline. Whoever runs the bid owes all bidders the same answers and the same changes at the same time. Fidrel handles the two documents that matter here: the pre-bid RFI, answered for everyone without naming the bidder who asked, and the numbered addendum.
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Where pre-bid questions go wrong
The asker is revealed
A reply sent to everyone by email names the company that asked. Competitors learn who is worried about what, and the next question gets asked by phone instead.
Addenda that go missing
An addendum goes out to the list, but one bidder was not on it and another never opened it. Later nobody can show who had seen which version of the documents.
How a pre-bid RFI works
Bidders can submit RFIs about the bid documents until the bid deadline, and the form closes and says so once it has passed. You are notified of each new question, and the tab counts the unanswered ones. For every RFI you see the bidder it came from, write the answer and decide whether to publish it. An answer that is saved without publishing is visible only to the bidder who asked, so publish it when every bidder should get the same information. A published answer shows the question as you worded it, never the asker’s name.
Procurement
Addenda: numbered and fixed
Changes reach bidders in two ways. Issue an addendum when the change is a written clarification: a subject and the text, published right away to all bidders. Or issue changed documents, and Fidrel lists the changes to issue and publishes them as the next numbered addendum. Either way each issue is numbered and cannot be changed afterward. If the deadline is close, Fidrel reminds you to extend it, and once it has passed nothing more can be issued.
How to run questions and addenda in Fidrel
Step 1
Invite bidders and issue the documents
Invite bidders by email or from the supplier register, then issue the bid documents. Bidders see only what has been issued, and each issue is numbered and cannot be changed afterward.
Step 2
Answer the questions
Open the Pre-bid RFIs tab. You see who asked; write the answer, reword the question under Question as published if it gives the asker away, and choose Publish to all bidders.
Step 3
Issue an addendum
Use Issue an addendum for a written change, or issue the revised files as the next numbered addendum. Every bidder is notified, and the history shows who has opened the request after each one.
Time for the change
The bid deadline can be extended but never moved earlier, so a late addendum is followed by more time and not by a rushed bid. With sealing on, which is the default, nobody can open a bid before the deadline, and the bids open on their own when the bidding period has ended.
What the bidder sees
An invited bidder lands on a single page with the bid documents, a box for their own RFI, their questions marked Awaiting answer, Answered to you or Published to all, and the published answers and addenda. Other bidders and the project’s pages are not shown. The bidder is notified when their question is answered.
What question and addendum handling does not do
Bidders upload their bids as files, with no price forms and no bid leveling. Fidrel does not advertise a bid publicly, record a bid opening or collect e-signatures. There is no prequalification of bidders. You can always see who asked a question; only the other bidders are kept from seeing it.
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Pre-bid questions
Frequently asked questions
Anything else on your mind? We are happy to help.
Talk to usNo. A published question and answer never show the bidder. You see who asked, and the other bidders do not, so reword the question under Question as published if its wording gives the asker away.
Then only the bidder who asked can see the answer. Publish it to all bidders so everybody works from the same information.
Each issue of the bid documents is numbered, as Addendum 1, Addendum 2 and so on, and cannot be changed afterward. A written addendum is published right away and every bidder is notified.
No. After the deadline nothing more can be issued and bidders can no longer submit RFIs. If a change needs more time, extend the deadline before it passes; it can be extended but never moved earlier.
Yes, with a warning: the question and its answer disappear for every bidder and it cannot be undone. Unpublish is the gentler choice if you only want to withdraw an answer.