Before you write a specification
Establish the clinical need with the people who will use the equipment. Define the workload it must carry. Audit the existing estate — compatibility with current consumables and accessories often constrains the choice more than clinical preference.
Confirm the installation environment and budget realistically for the total cost of ownership, not the purchase price.
Writing a specification that works
Specify function and performance, not a particular manufacturer's part number. A specification copied from one vendor's datasheet will attract one compliant bid, and that is not a competitive process.
Separate mandatory requirements from desirable ones. State the clinical workload. Include service, training and warranty as scored requirements rather than afterthoughts. Define the acceptance criteria up front.
Evaluating bids
Weight the evaluation deliberately: technical compliance, service capability and response commitments, documentation and regulatory compliance, training provision, five-year total cost including consumables and parts, and reference sites in comparable institutions.
Ask to see installed systems at similar hospitals. Ask the biomedical department there what breaks and how quickly it gets fixed.
Documentation to obtain before award
Supplier establishment licence; device registration or enlistment; manufacturer authorisation letter; warranty terms in writing; service-level commitments with defined response and resolution times; spare-parts availability commitment; training plan and deliverables.
After award
Confirm site readiness against the supplier's requirements. Agree the installation schedule. Define and witness acceptance tests. Ensure operator and biomedical training actually happens — budgeted training that is never delivered is a recurring and avoidable waste. Record the warranty start date and diarise the maintenance-contract decision well before expiry.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common procurement mistake?
Evaluating on purchase price alone, without weighting service capability, consumable cost and training.
When should the maintenance contract be decided?
Before warranty expiry. Negotiating under pressure after a failure produces worse terms.