Helping our suppliers
Videos, downloads and frequently asked questions to assist you in your journey to becoming a supplier.
Q&A
Q: What does RFI stand for?
Request for information. The purpose is to test potential bidders' capacity, capability and understanding of the proposed scope by sharing a high-level version of it prior to inviting bidders to respond to the full Request for Proposal (RFP). You are encouraged to respond for any part of the scope that is applicable to your business, even if you are unable to provide the full scope. If the proposed scope is misaligned with your business, you are encouraged to confirm that you are declining to participate in the RFI, and state that the scope is not applicable to your business. It is important to respond to RFIs as the responses will service as future market intelligence.
Q: What does RFP stand for?
Request for proposal. This will contain the fully detailed scope of work, a draft contract for your review, and will ask a number of questions. Subject to an evaluation of your proposal, any required clarifications, and/or negotiations, a contract may result from your response to the RFP.
Q: Where are RFIs or RFPs published?
They will be published on bp's Ariba platform. You will receive an invitation to participate via an email to the registered email address.
Q: How do I register my interest in the GTA1 project?
"There are several options:
- Via the Invest in Africa Mauritania portal: www.appmauritania.com.
- Via the Invest in Africa Senegal portal: www.appsenegal.com.
Q: Once we’ve changed the email to a federated email address with corporate domain name (e.g. firstname.lastname@ companyname.com), what are the next steps?
All bp communications will be issued to that email address after you have registered for Ariba.
Q: How do I register in Ariba?
You will receive an invitation to register in Ariba to prepare to respond to an RFI.
Q: Under which criteria are companies chosen for RFIs?
Typically all potential bidders that we are aware of that might be suitable for the proposed scope receive the RFI. However, if we have been able to do research on your company and satisfy ourselves that the scope is unsuitable, you may not receive the RFI.
Q: Sometimes on Ariba it is difficult to find the RFI, where it can be accessed?
An Ariba link will be sent to you if you have been invited to participate to a RFI. The link will automatically take you to the main Supplier Log In where the User Name and Password are required.
Q: I've participated in several RFIs but I have not received a response yet. Are there delays due in response due to Covid or other external factors?
The sourcing process is very thorough and can take more than a year. Typically, feedback is provided once the entire process is complete. Feedback can be provided upon request to bidders that were unsuccessful at the RFP stage.
Q: How is technical (HSE, Quality, local content etc...) evaluated? What is the weighting? Are the criteria and weighting the same in Mauritania and Senegal?
The opportunities for Technical (HSE, Quality, local content etc...) are unique for each contract, and so the weighting as a percentage of the overall score will vary. For example, local content expectations/obligations are developed consistent with the scope of work, not the bidders or where the work will be executed. Mauritanian and Senegalese bidders are given the same treatment throughout the process.
Q: Regarding the RFI, if the legal documents for the creation of the supplier entity are in French, can we submit them as such, or do they also have to be translated into English to submit?
When responding to the RFI, it is acceptable to submit these documents in French. We will request an English version only if necessary.
Q: What is your strategy to optimize local content during the sourcing process?
The outcome of the RFI process determines the final sourcing strategy and bid list. Contract scopes may comprise several service lines. We recognize that bidders may not be able to provide all service lines within a proposed contract scope of work. It is imperative that you still respond to the RFI even if you can only do part of the scope. To optimize local participation, we may consider breaking the scope into lots, or setting an expectation that a specific service line should be subcontracted to a local company in the RFP. "
Q: Are you specifying documents to be sent in the bid or could the bidder share all documents that he/she believes should be sent?
Typically the RFI and RFP specify the documents we want to review. You should ensure that these documents are provided as a minimum. If you have additional information that is relevant (i.e. not general sales / advertising materials, you may also include these). Your responses are evaluated by teams that are located globally and do not know you or your business. If you don't provide the minimum requested materials, you will be deemed to be technically unqualified.
Q: When a bid is unsuccessful, especially on Ariba, do you brief unsuccessful bidders?
Yes, typically feedback is provided once the entire process is complete, and the contract has been awarded.
Q: Is it possible to know what is in the scope of each contracting operation before the actual RFP is sent?
Yes, typically a high level version of the scope is shared in the RFI process. For the RFP, all bidders receive the scope at the same time via Ariba. This is to ensure a fair and equitable process for all.
Q: Why is there no RFI or RFP on Invest in Africa's APP platform?
bp uses its own corporate platform - Ariba - for all RFPs. This platform is integrated with bp's processes and other digital tools. Invest in Africa's platform is only used for market intelligence purposes.
Q: Where can we review the procurement opportunities?
Here you can visualize the upcoming procurement opportunities. Note that these opportunities can be subjected to change.
