Tenders and B2B Sales
Public Tenders: How to Find and Evaluate Opportunities
Public sector entities procure goods and services through tenders. For suppliers, this market can provide long-term clients, but tenders demand structure, thorough documentation, and careful reading of requirements.
2 min read · Translated from Norwegian. Read the original
Public sector entities procure goods and services through tenders. For suppliers, this market can provide long-term clients, but tenders demand structure, thorough documentation, and careful reading of requirements.
Norwegian tender announcements are found, among other places, on Doffin (the Norwegian database for public procurement). Proffi can make the market easier to follow by collecting announcements, classifying them, and linking contracting authorities and winners to company profiles.
Start with a Clear Tender Profile
Define what you supply, your geographical reach, contract size, capacity, and relevant CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) codes. A general search for “IT” or “consulting” generates too much noise.
Create alerts based on:
- product and service
- CPV codes
- contracting authority
- county or municipality
- estimated value
- deadline and procedure
- framework agreement or single contract
Read the Tender Documents Before Deciding
Evaluate qualification requirements, award criteria, contract terms, deadlines, and documentation requirements. Distinguish between mandatory requirements that must be met and criteria that earn points.
Ask questions early if anything is unclear. Do not base your bid on assumptions that could have been clarified during the Q&A period.
A Simple “Bid/No-Bid” Assessment
Give each point an honest assessment:
- Do we meet all mandatory requirements?
- Do we have relevant experience and documentation?
- Can we deliver with the desired capacity and geographical coverage?
- Is the contract financially attractive after considering risk?
- Do we have time to prepare a high-quality bid?
- Do we understand how the bid will be evaluated?
If a single absolute requirement cannot be met, it is often better to withdraw or find a partner rather than spending resources on a bid that will be rejected.
Write According to the Award Criteria
Create a compliance matrix with references to each requirement, responsible person, documentation, and its location in the bid. Answer concretely and verifiably. Describe how the delivery will actually be carried out, not just that you are “leading” or “experienced”.
Submit in Good Time
Electronic portals and attachments can cause problems close to the deadline. Have an internal deadline, quality assurance, and check signatures, prices, and mandatory attachments.
How Proffi Can Be Better Than a Standard Tender Search
Proffi should offer:
- normalised tenders from relevant sources
- alerts and saved searches
- links to the contracting authority’s finances and organisation
- previous announcements and contract awards
- competitor and winner analysis
- collaboration and subcontractor search
- pipeline management and task allocation in the dashboard
The source, original announcement, and deadline must always be clear. Proffi shall not alter legally binding text.
Frequently asked questions
- Are all public purchases announced in the same way?
- No. The procedure and announcement depend on factors such as value, type of purchase, and regulations.
- Can small businesses win?
- Yes. Small businesses can be competitive in sub-contracts, niche areas, and collaborations, but must meet the requirements.
- Can Proffi replace the tender documents?
- No. Proffi can make the opportunity searchable and understandable, but the original announcement and documents are authoritative.