Key Takeaways

• Public tenders follow strict formal requirements under GWB and VgV

• The choice of procurement procedure depends on the contract value and the service

• Open procedures are the standard for above-threshold contracts

• Negotiated procedures allow adjustments to the bid during the process

Introduction

Contracting authorities in Germany award contracts worth around 500 billion euros annually (Source: Public Tenders as a Growth Engine). For you, this means: Those who know the rules of procurement open up a massive and crisis-proof sales market. A tender is the public, written invitation to companies to submit a binding bid for specific supplies, works, or services. In the public sector, there are primarily five procurement procedures: the open procedure, the restricted procedure, the negotiated procedure, the competitive dialogue, and the innovation partnership. The choice of procedure depends on the contract value and the complexity of the service.

Contents

• What tenders exist in the public sector?

• What influence do thresholds have on tender types?

• Procurement Procedure Types: The 5 Most Important Procedures in Detail

• What strategies help bidders with the different types of tenders?

• Checklist: Procurement Procedures

• Frequently Asked Questions about Tender Definition

What tenders exist in the public sector?

The Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB) regulates the foundations of public procurement in Germany. Over 30,000 procurement offices in Germany must adhere to these strict requirements (Source: Public Tenders as a Growth Engine). The legislator demands transparency, competition, and equal treatment.

Tip: For every tender, check the legal framework first, as this dictates the deadlines and your options for a formal complaint as a bidder.

The correct classification determines the entire further course of the process.

What influence do thresholds have on tender types?

The Procurement Ordinance (VgV) defines the rules for contracts above the EU thresholds. These values determine whether a procurement must take place nationally or Europe-wide. Since January 1, 2024, the threshold for supply and service contracts of supreme federal authorities has been 143,000 euros (Source: European Commission, Regulation 2023/2495). For other contracting authorities, a value of 221,000 euros applies, while construction contracts only have to be tendered Europe-wide from 5,538,000 euros (Source: European Commission, Regulation 2023/2495).

When checking these thresholds and the associated deadlines, generic AI models like ChatGPT often reach their limits because they overlook legal nuances. Domain-specific AI platforms, on the other hand, are trained on procurement law. The AI extracts the relevant deadlines and thresholds from the procurement documents. The Bid Manager then decides based on this processed data whether participation is economically viable.

Thresholds define the legal scope for contracting authorities and bidders.

Procurement Procedure Types: The 5 Most Important Procedures in Detail

The choice of procedure type structures the entire procurement process. The following five procedure types form the foundation of public procurement.

1. Applying the open procedure

The open procedure is the undisputed standard for awarding public contracts in above-threshold procurement. In this procedure type, any interested company may submit a bid, which ensures maximum competition. For this purpose, the contracting authority publishes a Europe-wide notice on the TED portal. The deadline for the receipt of bids is generally at least 35 days from the date the notice is dispatched (Source: § 15 VgV). Negotiations on the bid contents are strictly prohibited in this procedure, which is why bidders must submit their best and final bid right from the start. Calculation errors or missing evidence frequently lead to direct exclusion. For Bid Managers, this means that the qualification criteria and specifications must be examined in detail immediately after publication to efficiently use the tight processing deadlines for bid creation.

2. Preparing the restricted procedure

In the restricted procedure, the procurement office precedes the actual bidding process with a mandatory qualification stage. In this first phase, interested companies apply exclusively with evidence of their technical and economic suitability, but not yet with a concrete substantive bid. The procurement office reviews these applications and then selects at least five suitable candidates who are formally invited to submit a bid (Source: § 16 VgV). This two-stage approach significantly reduces the administrative review effort on the part of the authority, as only pre-qualified bidders enter the shortlist and evaluation phase. For companies, this procedure offers the strategic advantage that they only have to undertake the resource-intensive effort of complete bid creation once they have successfully cleared the first hurdle of the qualification stage and the competitive situation is more manageable.

3. Structuring the negotiated procedure

The negotiated procedure allows the contracting authority to negotiate with the bidders regarding the submitted bids. This procedure is only permitted in exceptional cases, for example, if the service is conceptually so complex that it cannot be provided without prior negotiations. At least three companies must be invited to negotiate (Source: § 17 VgV).

Warning: Negotiated procedures tie up massive personnel resources on both sides and require precise documentation of all discussion contents.

4. Conducting the competitive dialogue

The competitive dialogue is used for particularly complex projects where the procurement office cannot objectively specify the technical means to satisfy its needs. The contracting authority develops the suitable target concepts together with the selected companies during a dialogue phase. Only when the target concept is established does the authority request the submission of bids. At least three participants are legally required here (Source: § 18 VgV).

5. Establishing the innovation partnership

The innovation partnership aims at the development of new products or services that are not yet available on the market. The process encompasses both the research and development phase and the subsequent purchase of the resulting service. The award takes place according to the rules of the negotiated procedure with a qualification stage (Source: § 19 VgV).

Each procedure requires specific strategic preparation.

What strategies help bidders with the different types of tenders?

The variety of procurement procedures presents Bid Managers with significant challenges. The decision on whether to submit a bid (Bid/No-Bid) must be made quickly and precisely. A structured approach is essential here. Creating a compelling bid requires the coordination of various subject matter experts. Often, only a few days remain for the actual conceptual work, as the formal review of the procurement documents takes up a lot of time. Companies that standardize their processes achieve measurable success. For example, an occupational safety service provider was able to increase its win rate by 78% while simultaneously reducing the effort in the Bid/No-Bid process by 83% (Source: Arsipa Case Study).

Analyzing the qualification and award criteria costs valuable time in complex procedures like the competitive dialogue. Generic models often only achieve an accuracy of 50 to 80% when extracting requirements from procurement documents (Source: 'Trust nothing you haven't tested yourself'). Specialized AI platforms for tender analysis, on the other hand, achieve significantly higher values.

Data: Specialized AI systems for tender analysis achieve requirement extraction rates of over 98% – significantly higher than generic language models.

Before you open the next procurement procedure, check your internal review routines for automation potential.

Checklist: Procurement Procedures

• Determine the threshold of the tender and derive the legal framework.

• Identify the procedure type and check deadlines.

• Extract qualification criteria from the notice and cross-check internally.

• Fix deadlines for requests to participate or bid submissions in the calendar.

• Make the Bid/No-Bid decision based on the award criteria.

Checklists structure the process and minimize formal sources of error.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tender Definition

What is the difference between a public tender and a Europe-wide tender?

A public tender generally takes place at the national level below the established EU thresholds and is governed by national regulations such as the Below-Threshold Procurement Ordinance (UVgO) or the Procurement and Contract Procedures for Construction Works (VOB/A). Publication takes place on national platforms like bund.de. A Europe-wide tender, which is formally usually referred to as an open procedure in procurement law, is mandatory for contract values above the EU thresholds. These procedures are governed by the Procurement Ordinance (VgV) and must be published on the European portal Tenders Electronic Daily (TED). The main difference therefore lies in the legal binding nature, the stricter deadline requirements, and the potentially international pool of bidders in Europe-wide procedures. For bidders, this means that above-threshold procedures are often formally more demanding, but due to the stricter regulation, they also offer expanded legal protection options before the procurement chambers.

When may a contracting authority choose the negotiated procedure?

The negotiated procedure is only permitted in legally defined exceptional cases. This is the case if the service is conceptually demanding, requires prior negotiations, or if only insufficient bids were received in response to an open procedure (Source: § 14 VgV). Contracting authorities must justify the choice of this procedure in the procurement file in detail and in a legally secure manner.

How long are the deadlines in an open procedure?

In the open procedure, the bidding deadline is generally at least 35 days from the date the contract notice is dispatched to the Publications Office of the European Union (Source: § 15 VgV). With electronic transmission of the notice and complete electronic provision of the procurement documents, this deadline can be shortened under certain conditions.

Book a Demo →