Asset tag specification for tender documents
If you are writing a tender for asset identification, verification and tagging, this page gives you the specification clauses, ready to paste. Free to use, no form, no email required.
Kenyan tenders for asset tagging usually contain a section headed "Specifications for the asset tags", and it is frequently the thinnest part of the document, often a single line asking for durable barcode tags bearing the organisation's logo and code numbers.
That wording is understandable, because asset tags are not most procurement officers' field. But it creates a real problem at evaluation: a bidder quoting KSh 10 printed labels and a bidder quoting KSh 60 anodised aluminium tags are both technically compliant, and the cheaper one wins a tender for a product that will be illegible in eighteen months.
The clauses below are written to prevent that. They suit tenders for barcode asset tags, metallic barcode labels and aluminium asset tags alike, and for our asset identification, verification and tagging service. Bidders' bid documents are covered by clause 10. Use them, edit them, paste them into your document. We have not restricted them in any way and there is nothing to fill in to get them.
Specification clauses, ready to use
1. Material
Asset tags shall be manufactured from 0.5 mm anodised aluminium. The identification marking, including barcode, asset number and logo, shall be formed within the anodised layer and sealed, not surface-printed. Surface-printed, thermal-transfer and laminated paper or polyester labels are not acceptable for assets located outdoors or in industrial environments.
2. Durability
Tags shall withstand an operating temperature range of not less than -40°C to +120°C, demonstrate resistance to water, oils and common industrial solvents, and retain barcode legibility for a minimum of nine (9) years under normal outdoor conditions in Kenya.
3. Tag content
Each tag shall carry: (a) the organisation's logo reproduced in full colour; (b) the organisation's name; (c) a unique sequential asset number in the format specified by the organisation; and (d) a machine-readable barcode encoding that asset number.
4. Barcode
Barcodes shall be Code 128 unless otherwise specified. The bidder shall verify barcode readability on every production batch prior to delivery and shall replace, at their own cost, any tag that does not scan reliably on the organisation's existing scanning equipment.
5. Size
Tags shall be a minimum of 39 × 13 mm. Where asset numbers exceed eight characters, or where scanning at a distance greater than 300 mm is required, a minimum size of 50 × 20 mm shall apply.
6. Fixing
Tags for assets located indoors on clean, flat surfaces may be supplied with permanent self-adhesive backing. Tags for assets exposed to oil, vibration, wash-down or outdoor conditions shall be supplied pre-punched for mechanical fixing, or with acetone-activated permanent adhesive. The bidder shall state the fixing method proposed for each asset category.
7. Numbering and data
The bidder shall print tags in a continuous sequence matching the organisation's existing numbering convention where one exists, and shall supply a digital schedule of all tag numbers issued, in CSV or Microsoft Excel format, cross-referenced to the asset record.
8. Asset register fields
The asset register delivered shall record, for each asset: asset tag number; asset description; make, model and serial number; asset category and sub-category; physical location; department and custodian; date of acquisition; original cost; asset status (in service / obsolete); condition and estimated useful life; open market value for any asset identified as obsolete; and any other relevant remarks.
9. Samples
Bidders shall submit physical tag samples with their technical proposal. Samples submitted as photographs or printed images shall not be accepted.
10. Bidder eligibility
Bidders shall provide: Certificate of Incorporation or Registration; valid KRA Tax Compliance Certificate; current CR-12 issued within three (3) months of the submission date; current business permit; and evidence of comparable assignments completed.
Clauses worth adding, and why
Require physical samples. Clause 9 is the single most effective way to separate serious bidders from resellers. A photograph of a tag tells you nothing. A physical sample you can scratch, scan and leave on a windowsill for a month tells you everything, and it costs a genuine manufacturer nothing to provide.
Specify the marking method, not just the material. "Aluminium tags" is not a specification, an aluminium-foil label with a surface print is technically aluminium and will fail within a year. Clause 1 closes that gap.
Put the barcode verification obligation on the bidder. Clause 4 shifts the cost of unreadable tags onto whoever printed them. It costs you nothing and it changes bidder behaviour immediately.
State the fixing method per asset category. A single fixing method across a mixed asset population means either overspending on the furniture or losing the tags on the plant. Clause 6 forces the bidder to think about it.
Common specification mistakes
Specifying tags without specifying the register. The tags are the cheap part. If the scope does not define register fields, you will receive a spreadsheet that does not reconcile to your general ledger and the exercise will have to be repeated.
Omitting a capitalisation threshold. Without one, bidders cannot price the work and you will receive quotations based on wildly different asset counts. State the threshold, or state the expected number of assets.
Asking for RFID without asking whether you need it. RFID costs several times as much per tag plus reader hardware. Below roughly 2,000 assets counted once a year, barcode does the same job for a fraction of the cost. Specify the outcome, verification time, read method, and let bidders propose.
No provision for assets that cannot be tagged. Every population contains items where no tag will hold: cables, soft furnishings, very small instruments. Say how they should be handled rather than discovering the gap at handover.
If you would like help writing the specification
We will review a draft specification at no charge and tell you where it is open to a low-quality bid, whether or not you ultimately invite us to tender. Send it to sales@nicetags.co.ke.
If you are evaluating bids and want a reference quotation against the clauses above, our prices are published in full on this site in our published price list, use them as your benchmark.
Asset tag specification questions
Yes, freely. Copy it, edit it, adapt it. No attribution required and nothing to fill in.
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Send us your draft specification
We review drafts at no charge and point out where they are open to a low-quality bid.