Writing a tender technical response: an annotated example

In a French public tender, the technical response (mémoire technique) is the part of your bid the buyer reads most closely: it carries the technical score, often weighted more heavily than price. Here is a fictional example, built for illustration, and what the buyer looks for in each section.

The case: an interior joinery lot

Atelier Morel (a fictional company with 18 employees) bids for the interior joinery lot of a secondary-school renovation. The consultation rules set two criteria: technical value 60%, price 40%. Technical value splits into method (30%), people and equipment (20%) and environmental approach (10%).

First rule: the response follows the order of the criteria. The buyer scores criterion by criterion; if they have to hunt for your answer, they score it lower, or not at all.

1. Understanding the need

What the buyer looks for: proof that you read the technical specifications, not a company brochure.

In the example, Atelier Morel restates the constraints of the site: the school stays open during the works, work happens during school holidays, and the fire doors in the corridors must be replaced. Three paragraphs, each tied to an article of the specifications.

The common mistake: a page about the company. It belongs in an annex, not here.

2. Method (30%)

What the buyer looks for: how you will do the job, in what order, with what precautions.

The example sets out the phasing building by building, a schedule fitted to the school holidays, how occupied areas are protected and how the fire doors are checked at handover. A simplified schedule in the annex shows the deadlines are realistic.

The common mistake: generic text reused from one tender to the next. On 5 January 2024, the Paris administrative court upheld the rejection of a bid whose technical response was too generic (TA Paris, no. 2328772).

3. People and equipment (20%)

What the buyer looks for: who will be on site, with what qualifications, and the equipment actually available.

The example names the works manager and the team leader, attaches their CVs, cites the company's trade qualifications and lists the equipment assigned to the site. Every claim points to a document.

The common mistake: the company's total headcount instead of the team assigned to the job.

4. Environmental approach (10%)

What the buyer looks for: concrete, checkable measures on this site.

The example describes sorting wood waste on site, the recovery channel, where the panels come from and how packaging is reduced. No statement of intent without an action behind it.

5. Similar references

Three comparable jobs, with the client, the year, the amount and one line on what makes them comparable: an occupied site, fire doors, a tight schedule.

Key takeaways

• Follow the order and headings of the criteria in the consultation rules.
• Tie every claim to a document: CV, certificate, reference, product sheet.
• Write for this job, never for "a job".
• List what's missing before the deadline, not after.

We write the technical part of your tender response criterion by criterion, from your own references: see our tender offer.