There are serious problems in the public tender process which stem from lack of consistency, transparency and strict standards. First, there is no wide distribution and access to information that will allow as wide a competition as possible. In most cases, due to lack of adherence, the process is not well understood by U.S. companies. There is lack of transparency at the RFI and RFP stage (no well understood scoring mechanisms, the sealed envelope process is rarely respected, "best and final" mechanism is used inappropriately, etc.), and shared information post tender decision (the decision making process is often obscure).
Often, tenders are by-passed due to "blanket orders" that supercede the need for a new tender; there is no central audit committee for public tenders (for reviews, source of information, dispute resolution, ombudsman, etc.). Dispute resolution is often done in courts which prolongs the process and deters bidding companies from confronting their customers. We are also concerned with Israel's reputation in this process.
Chairman: Danny Halperin (Iftic Ltd.)
