The term "letter bids" refers to a procurement method—particularly in public tenders or large purchasing projects—where offers must be submitted in written form, usually physically via post or courier. The goal is to receive binding, sealed, and timely proposals from bidders, which are opened and evaluated only at a specified date and time. Despite increasing digitalization, this procedure is still used in areas requiring high levels of security, confidentiality, or verifiability.
Creation of bid documents: Support in standardizing and formatting offer documents.
Deadline and schedule management: Management and monitoring of submission deadlines, bid opening dates, and validity periods.
Print and shipping management: Integration with print systems and shipping providers for physical delivery of bids.
Logging and tracking: Documentation of receipt, storage, and opening of letter bids to ensure traceability.
Audit-proof archiving: Digital capture and archiving of submitted bids for later evaluation and compliance.
Interfaces to awarding authorities: Support for communication with contracting entities, e.g., for queries or clarifications.
Document management: Centralized management of all incoming and outgoing documents related to the tender process.
A construction company submits its offer for a public tender via registered mail before the deadline.
A software provider uses a bidding portal to generate offer documents, prints them, and submits them as a letter bid.
A project team monitors all relevant submission and opening deadlines via the software.
A contracting authority documents the opening and evaluation of the letter bids using audit-proof software tools.
A company archives all submitted bid documents digitally for internal review and compliance purposes.