Government procurement: a balance between the Italian strike and the Russian criminal

I read the EETP article on public procurement the other day , and even participated in the comments.

I want to talk about my vision of this process. Less theory, more practice. Practice will be more from the supplier, in the role of which I had to act, but not only. Opinion buyers will also be mentioned.

The article will discuss the main stages of the procurement process, and indicate the ways that participants are forced to use to circumvent them. This article is not a step by step instruction. The reader is expected to know the basic concepts and some experience in public procurement for 44-ФЗ and 223-ФЗ.

- 1 - start


The first thing that begins with almost any purchase is from personal and business acquaintances with employees of various departments. Often, the initiative of cooperation came precisely from their side. They reported on the upcoming procurement and offered to participate in it. The reason - they wanted a normal supplier, and not those that are well able only to win auctions. At this stage, there were negotiations about what they would like to buy, what they would not want, what budget there is for this, what budget is really needed.

- 2 - price justification


The second stage, the buyer must obtain a justification for the initial price of the contract. You need to get offers from at least three companies, calculate the average. In theory, the buyer must do it himself, but almost always the item is unloaded on a potential supplier.
The commercial offer received at this stage, even with stamps and signatures, does not go anywhere anywhere and does not commit to anything. Therefore, the supplier writes 3 KP from different companies. From their companies, if there are several. If not enough, ask friendly companies to write KP. If there are no such people, they write from another company, which itself doesn’t know that they are issuing KP from it.

The most important thing here is to adjust the average proposal exactly to the budget. And then they will give less.
It happens that someone from the customer is going to check these companies for non-affiliation. Or someone thinks they will check. Or the truth will be. For these cases, you need to have 3 companies with different founders, different directors, in different locations. If not enough, the previous paragraph describes what to do.

There is another extreme case when the manufacturer is the only one. Then there is no hack here either.

- 3 - TK


Now you need to write a technical task. Employee customer need. But, this task will certainly be downloaded to the supplier. A lot of work, the work is difficult, if you want to participate - write. Want to win - sharpen, but without the pale.

Work and the truth is not easy, and maybe even the most difficult to purchase. If you write too general, the result is unpredictable. Under this TK will fit anything. Any Chinese or Russian product of the lowest quality. And if you write too much and accurately, there will be another extreme. No product is suitable for TK.

If there are contradictions, and they will, then this is generally bad. Timely discrepancies will be removed before publication. Seen after publication will generate requests for clarification. But the worst thing is that it was not noticed by anyone in time, and it got into the applications, and into the supply agreement. At any time, this can be noticed and raise unnecessary questions, suspicions of supply fictitiousness and corruption. It can generally stop or cancel. One can only hope that no one will ever notice them.

It may be even more difficult case - the competition. There is still need to specify additional criteria, the weight of each of them when comparing. All the same, only harder. And if what parameter to specify not so, everything will break. For example, you can specify that the weight of the price is 80%, and the weight of the confirmed experience is 20%. A man comes without any experience at all, gives a price lower by 21% and he won.

- 4 - waiting for the budget


Next, the purchaser is all agree. With other departments, with the administration, with higher departments. Lay on this budget, if not previously done. They are waiting for real funding to be allocated to this budget. And finally, all the stars have developed - it is allowed to publish the purchase!

The purchaser immediately notifies the supplier to update the prices. For coordination could last half a year, could a year. Often it is in December that money is allocated. For if they do not spend the budget this year, they will punish everyone. It happens that not all requested funds are allocated.

If someone misses the time of narration behind a multitude of letters, I draw your attention: the budget was built at the beginning of the year, proceeding from the prices at that time. In rubles and only in rubles. And the prices in our country, oh, how they depend on the dollar, especially with our readers, the subject matter is IT. After a year, prices can be significantly higher (especially if year == 2014).

Then the customer and the supplier get together and start holding advice - what to do? It is good if at the beginning of the year we were able to make a stock in the KP, and it did not gobble up the whole price increase. Then you can count on the delivery of the expected equipment, new, in full.

If everything is bad, you have to get out. To supply one quantity for securities, actually less. Or replace the part with cheaper counterparts. Or used under the guise of a new one. Or the supplied equipment will not coincide with the original and reflected in the documents. If it was not possible to agree, the supplier refuses to participate in this circus of poverty.

- 5 - publication


And now, the most desirable - the auction is published. Not less than 10 days. Calendar. Very well, if the last days are days off, then you can cut a small part of those who want to cut them off technically. Did not have time. I thought I had 2 more days left, but I had to rest on the weekend, not work. And at 10:01 on Monday, the train had already left.

When applying, you need to check and re-check everything at all stages. For example, a standard supply contract. It is necessary to read it very carefully, at each stage. Often the honing under a particular supplier is done precisely by the contract, and not by the TK. For example, unrealistic delivery times. 5 days from the date of signing. And on the very signing of 10 days. For equipment, the normal and natural delivery time is 8 weeks.

By the way, you can end up with a slightly different contract than was in the project. Something to change for the better. Write additional agreement to increase the amount. If you know in advance about the DS, you can make the fattest mark-up on the position being increased, restraining the other positions.

Now they are demanding to sign contracts in electronic form and publish them. This slightly reduces the possibility of abuse. Previously, it was possible to write a contract radically different from what was stated in the procurement, and which competitors were guided by.

There is a special category of suppliers - “whiners”. They seem to act entirely within the framework of the conditions of purchase, but they are very much trying to move this framework. Win an auction at zero, or with a minimum profit. And they begin to go to the customer and cry, as the object of purchase was suddenly discontinued, and when it was not withdrawn, it was not delivered, and if it was delivered, then for so long that it was better not to wait. And do you need this? Maybe that is easier? What is less? Maybe even give money, and you buy it yourself?

In short, they are trying to persuade the customer to change the conditions, and the supply of something more profitable. If the customer remains adamant, then on the very last possible day he will be brought, suddenly, according to the TK. And who is weaker in nature, he himself agrees to something worse. The existence of such a category suggests that an unbending minority.

- 6 - filing of the first parts of applications


Applied. If it is 223-FZ, then this is the only stage. In electronic form, the customer now does not see applications until completion. It used to be seen. It was even possible to collect applications in paper form and play along with the desired participant. In very sad cases, the application was added the next day, with a review of the results of the work of the commission.

By the way, if it was 223-FZ and the supplier suddenly changed his mind to participate, you can agree and merge yourself. They will write that “there are no requisites in the offer,” and that’s all. Clumsy, but if the supplier does not complain, then fine.

If it is 44-FZ, then nothing interesting at this stage. Yes, for anyone you can find fault with the applications and kill for the wrong design, if it was. And for anything. Now it is not a mess. The participant can run to complain to the FAS, and then have to all over again, and yes even punish the customer.

- 7 - the second part of applications (tenders)


It is trading day. For 44-ФЗ this is the main stage. In the 223-FZ, the price statement occurs simultaneously with the application and only once. A sort of degenerate auction case. For the supplier, it can be a little insulting that someone won, giving the price for a ruble cheaper, he could also decrease by 2. In the auction, it is more visible and in the process you can slightly reset for the sake of victory. Some gambling people are so addicted to trading that they lower themselves at a loss.

Here all the participants are sitting, hoping for the reliability of their Internet. Start bidding.

There is a characteristic group of participants; they never drop below the initial price, the "non-dormitory". Or do not go to the auction seeing at least one competitor.

You can not immediately call them bad words. In the procurement is often no fat, only stale bread. If this crust is also beginning to be reduced "by an average of 10-15%," then it is necessary to run from there. Well, if you suddenly give them a ride, and they are the only ones, maybe they will earn something.

Or maybe they are bad. If they are the only participants, then you can begin to put pressure "on a loser ." “Nobody needs you,” “no one will come to you,” “you will start purchasing again,” “you will beat the budget for another year,” “take what I bring”, “wait someday I will bring”. It would be possible to send such people and pass on the victory to the second number, but only the second number may not be there, then everything is hard.

Go bid. The usual reduction is 10-15%. This means that if you are ready to decline by 10% of the original price, the victory is practically in your pocket. But they didn’t forget - they already gave little money, some of them consumed with inflation and the dollar, now another 10% "to win", the site itself will take 1% for participation. Small business, bargaining for 100 thousand live very hard. Nobody’s his nightmare, he eats badly and sleeps little.

The average decline does not mean the maximum. If the initial price still turned out to be too high, and many, looking from the side see ZHYR, then the participants will be dark and rubilovo will be cruel. The first will leave the "Unnumbered." Then various stupid pads will go away, which just wanted to buy something at retail, and sell at exorbitant prices. Then those who have discounts, but not too big, will start leaving. There will be a couple of dinosaurs, whose discount is well, not 100%, but 80 exactly, and fair competition will begin for each ruble.

And then it will end. There will be crooks. They are not all convicted on the 159th, but they are not going to work honestly and well. They may try to supply second-hand, counterfeit equipment, cram the poorest analogue.

If we talk about the works, they will be of the poorest quality. Part of the crook does not have a clue who and how this work should be done. Then he will be looking for someone who can do cheap things cheaper. The “bottom-hole penetration” theorem says that at an arbitrarily low price there will always be someone who undertakes to make it even cheaper. Then, by recursion, he will find an even cheaper sub. The same theorem is applicable to the quality of work.

There are generally "kamikaze", they are ready to bring down the price to almost 0, and then require compensation in order not to disrupt the competition.

About cartridges


Especially clearly this begins to manifest itself in December on the purchase of consumables.
Most gosov want branded cartridges. It is understandable. Money is not yours, the hardware warranty is not lost, for a very expensive printer only branded is better and used, and for simple printers it is better - less breakdowns.

And so they forced out the purchase of branded cartridges, for example, hepe at 6000 rubles. By December, grind out.

TK every year for such purchases all the harder. Branded (for the manufacturer of equipment requires!), With a certificate, with procurement documents confirming the origin, with expertise from the manufacturer. If it turns out to be a fake - the whole party is destroyed. Tin, and only. Many manufacturers have project protection: the stalled project will be the biggest discount, the rest is much less. But even with it, the supplier’s discount is not so gigantic - the maximum will be up to 5,000.

And 10-20 participants crawl out to the competition, 6,000 and 5,000 pass in a minute, it starts in 2–3 thousand rubles, and in general the price is asymptotically approaching the price of a cactus. And the winner is selected for 500r. And what do you think he will bring?

In Moscow time with this still so-so, there are a lot of suppliers, it turns out and branded to purchase. But in the regions, all under the option of "loser".

Punishing the innocent


It would seem that there are complaints in the FAS, and all these reptiles can be drenched and live well. But not everything is so simple. The most important thing on what they play is the difficulty of re-procurement. This time. For a start, the time for delivery, it happens not 5 days, but a normal period in a month or two. And until he comes no sanctions. Then time and effort to file a complaint. The complaint is an official process. The purchaser complains to his legal department, and they are already writing to the FAS. And begin the investigation, proceedings, scandals. Lawyers for crooks are certainly the best, and if there are no iron arguments that the poor Gos was deceived, it is better not to even begin. But even if the complaint is resolved, it usually results in re-issuing the purchase. All GOTO to the beginning of the article. This is if the year is not over yet.

And for the crook that? Well, announce it in the black list for 2-3 years. While the process is underway, he will deceive many more. And not everyone is so principled with arguments for battle. There are unverified data that even in severe cases of a “loser”, about 50 percent complain, the rest flow around. Well, then a rogue new legal entity, new members.

Truly, the victim here suffers more than a crook, especially in the case of appeals to justice.

- 8 - awarding uncomplicated


But now the bargaining is over, the candles are out, now the jerk will say a winner is selected. By an insidious effort of the customer and the supplier, there was a biased choice. Now you can cut and roll back. Yes, the tools from honest and dishonest customers are the same. And one goal - to shove her. Only the motivation is different. Honest people have to get their way through, that they have supplied normal equipment so that they can do a good job. For dishonest people, to get your way through, to fill your pockets, goods and work as you like, at least not at all. All what they were, and remained so, 44-FZ did not fix anyone.

But the difficulties do not end here, the protege of honest and dishonest purchasers are not yet divided into whites and blacks.

In public procurement, the recommended payment method is postpay. First chairs, sometime money. Formal and informal recommendations at various levels turn this into a reinforced concrete principle - 100% postpay.

In the market now, in 2019. (since 2014) there are other customs - 100% prepayment. All have already ate bankruptcies, fraud and just marketing failures.

Yes, at this stage of public procurement, the supplier is generally in an inescapable situation. He hasn't sold anything yet. Not a ruble earned. He has already spent on electronic signature 5000rub / year. He has already paid 1% of the application, which went from the winner to the site. He must pay contract security (from 10 to 100% of the contract value). Now he still has to buy all the goods. And then, someday, in 30 days, if no one confuses anything - he will receive money. And return collateral.

Do not forget even the delivery date of the standard contract, which no one bothered to change: 10 days for signing, 5 days for delivery. Then - fines, i.e. even less money.

In order not to spread rot to the poor commerce, good buyers are ready to sign all invoices and acts at once. With partial execution or without it at all. After that, immediately straining the accounting department to pay and return the security. And the provision of advance set the minimum. The supplier receives the money, and calmly gets everything, and delivers it to the customer.

This is a very strong witchcraft. If anything - the supplier has all the documents signed, he put everything, everything was accepted from him. You can dump and all the money left for yourself. Only here the integrity of the supplier is known. Only here the rogues are separated, he honest, forced to act by criminal methods. The only ghostly guarantee - until the actual completion of the delivery can not give away copies of the supplier.

- 9 --


That's the end. It seems that everything has been set, we have accepted everything, even earned something. But, you really shouldn't relax. There is still a guarantee. Something can go wrong, and not a single copy, but the whole lot, the whole supply, can come under the guarantee. And the classics of the genre - you still have to and are demanding from you, but whoever this guarantee should have merged with you and demand nothing from them.

You need to be very careful to sign up for guarantees, especially extended ones. It is usually so easy to incur obligations for those who are not going to fulfill them. The responsible person will try not to give any guarantees at all, there is no need to answer too much.

If you lose the competition, get doubled and do not relax. If the one who goes first does not succeed, then the next one will take his place, and if he gets merged, then up to the 7th knee. And in half a year, they will call you and say - “Do you remember when the dollar was 35 and you participated in the competition and took the 5th place? Now it's time to work at those prices! ”

- Main conclusions


In order to buy something normal, you have to search for detours and violate laws, regulations, internal departmental instructions and instructions. Clearly observing everything, the result will be zero, or generally negative. Nothing will be bought, or the worst equipment, the lowest quality services will be bought. We'll have to buy everything again next year, redo work.

What can be improved


The main brake is slowness.

Faster to issue a purchase . In order not to take time away from the buyers, and the prices would not become outdated. Consider the possibility of promptly correcting purchases without reintroduction.

Come up with a mechanism to more quickly consider the dispute . So that the detected abuses did not lead to a rollback of life a year ago, and it was possible to continue the purchase.

Adjust payment methods for modern realities.
All prepaid without security is of course stupid, because it is a feeder for a separate category of crooks, the only one that seems to have been tormented. But it is worth thinking.

Consider the possibility of payment in small installments. Well, or at least limit the payment in a few working days so as not to wait for months for money. Rating companies to reduce collateral. Not to 0, but decrease.

I do not mention the bank guarantee mechanism. In the event of non-performance of the contract, the issued guarantee becomes for the company an ordinary loan. Accordingly, the conditions for issuing a guarantee are similar to a loan. Not every company can get it. Also, the guarantee is a minus an additional small percentage of the total meager profit from the purchase.

This, of course, is not all ways to improve the situation. And not the fact that the right. There is something to think about, something to work on. Someone to improve legislation and departmental regulations, and someone to look for ways to circumvent ill-considered legislation and stupid regulations.

end

Also popular now: