Eleven packages to market, one binding constraint
Market Day turns the specification into enquiries. The trade works are decomposed into eleven like-for-like packages so returns compare on identical scope, and the mechanical package is issued as the specialist sub-tender that threads into the Supplier Enquiry Pack, the Tender Return Analysis and the Review.
- Client
- Cushman Workplace
- Trade works
- £1,257,350 · 11 packages
- Specialist tender
- WP-09 Mechanical
- Stage
- 03 of 5 · Market Day
- Prepared by
- BuiltAI Intelligence Ltd
- Reference
- NG-2026-0042
Illustrative example: fictional project and parties.
The award, decomposed into biddable packages
Market Day turns the specification into enquiries. The £1,257,350 of trade works is decomposed into eleven packages, each issued to the supply chain as a like-for-like enquiry pack so returns compare on identical scope. Every package carries its measured line count from the Unpriced Bill of Quantities, so a return can be checked against a fixed schedule rather than a supplier's own take-off.
| WP | Work package | Budget | Lines | Enquiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WP-01 | Strip-out and demolition | £86,400 | 4 | Issued |
| WP-02 | Internal partitions and doors | £198,200 | 8 | Issued |
| WP-03 | Glazed partitions | £64,500 | 5 | Issued |
| WP-04 | Suspended ceilings and acoustics | £72,800 | 5 | Issued |
| WP-05 | Joinery, meeting suites and tea points | £148,500 | 8 | Expedited |
| WP-06 | L6 reception joinery, PS | £24,000 | 3 | Held |
| WP-07 | Floor finishes | £94,300 | 6 | Issued |
| WP-08 | Wall finishes and decoration | £42,100 | 5 | Issued |
| WP-09 | Mechanical services | £218,400 | 9 | Issued |
| WP-10 | Electrical, lighting and data | £268,150 | 12 | Issued |
| WP-11 | Workplace AV, PS | £40,000 | 3 | Held |
| Trade packages | £1,257,350 | 68 | 9 live | |
Inside the binding package: WP-05 joinery
Not all eleven packages carry the same programme weight. The meeting-suite joinery is the binding constraint: a 10 to 12 week lead means its order must be placed against the L6 sectional date, ahead of the general enquiry round. The joinery is decomposed to eight priced lines so the supplier prices the fluted-oak feature walls, the integrated AV channels and the tea-point cabinetry as one coordinated scope, not three loose items.
WP-05 is the tightest item on the critical path. A week's slip on the joinery order pushes the meeting-suite install on L6 and exposes the £8,500 per working day sectional liquidated damages. It is issued as an expedited enquiry so the order can be placed while the general round is still open.
The specialist mechanical enquiry
The mechanical package, WP-09, is the specialist sub-tender that threads through three documents: the Supplier Enquiry Pack that goes out, the Tender Return Analysis that normalises the returns, and the Review that recommends the award. Five mechanical firms were invited against a £218,400 budget and a priced BoQ template, with returns due Friday 12 June. Four returned; one declined at pre-qualification, citing capacity.
| Firm | Location | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Hartwell Mechanical Services | Warrington, 18 miles | Returned |
| Meridian M&E Ltd | Manchester, 4 miles | Returned |
| Chiswick Air Systems | London, 200 miles | Returned |
| Northgate HVAC Solutions | Leeds, 42 miles | Returned |
Order-by dates protect the sectional dates
Every long-lead order-by date is set by working back from the lead time to the sectional date it feeds, not from the general programme. Where a decision is outstanding, the order is held and the exposure logged rather than the date quietly slipping. The meeting-suite mock-up MU-01 is booked for Monday 9 June as the procurement gate for the joinery scope: sign-off there releases the order.
| Ref | Long-lead item | Lead | Order by | Protects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LL-01 | Meeting-suite joinery, WP-05 | 10 to 12 weeks | Wed 6 May | L6 sectional |
| LL-03 | Switchgear and sub-mains, WP-10 | 9 to 10 weeks | Wed 13 May | L5 M&E first-fix |
| LL-04 | Raised access floor, WP-07 | 6 to 7 weeks | Wed 27 May | Floor finishes |
| LL-02 | Workplace AV, WP-11, provisional | 8 to 10 weeks | Wed 20 May | Held, RFI NG-014 |
Two of the eleven packages are held rather than issued: WP-06, the L6 reception joinery, waits on the tenant design lock, and WP-11, the workplace AV, waits on RFI NG-014. Both are logged with an order-by date and a recorded exposure rather than left open, so a late tenant decision is a visible risk on the register instead of a silent slip on the programme.
The meeting-suite mock-up MU-01, booked for Monday 9 June, is the gate that releases the WP-05 joinery order, and RFI NG-014 is the gate that releases the WP-11 AV order. Nine packages are live in the general round; the two held items move the moment their gate clears, and the order-by dates are set so that clearance still protects the sectional dates.