A mandatory requirement is any requirement that bidders must meet for their bids to be considered. They can apply to any or all of these times:
- During the response period (for example, attendance at a site visit or bidders’ conference might be mandatory)
- At submission, as part of the response (that is, submission mandatories)
- During technical evaluation, in promising to deliver the Work as defined in the technical requirement (that is, technical mandatories)
Although the distinction between submission and technical mandatories is important—not least for whom should be tasked with managing them and when and how the client assesses compliance with them—the terminology is not used precisely. To anyone whose primary focus is assembling the document, “mandatories” means “submission mandatories.” To anyone whose primary focus is the solution, “mandatories” means “technical mandatories.”