Procurement Glossary

Tender

Formal procedure where a contracting authority publicly announces a contract and invites companies to submit bids.

Bid

Binding declaration by a bidder to provide the tendered service under the specified conditions.

Contracting Authority

Institution or company that conducts a tender and awards the contract.

2 terms

Contract Notice

Official publication of a tender containing all essential information about the procurement procedure.

Bidder

Company that submits a bid on a tender and competes for the contract.

1 terms

CPV Code

Unified classification system for public contracts in the EU for categorizing products and services.

2 terms

EU Thresholds

Contract values above which European procurement law with stricter rules and EU-wide publication requirements applies.

Selection Criteria

Requirements for bidders' capability and capacity that must be met for contract performance.

1 terms

GWB (Act against Restraints of Competition)

Central German law governing the fundamentals of public procurement law in its fourth part.

2 terms

Bill of Quantities

Detailed description of all services to be provided with quantities and line items.

Lot

Division of an overall contract into multiple partial contracts to enable smaller companies to participate.

1 terms

Restricted Procedure

Two-stage procurement procedure with preliminary participation competition to select suitable bidders.

1 terms

Open Procedure

Procurement procedure where an unlimited number of companies are publicly invited to submit bids.

1 terms

Prequalification

Preliminary qualification where companies demonstrate their capability once through a central register.

2 terms

Request to Participate

Application by a company to participate in a restricted procurement procedure.

TED (Tenders Electronic Daily)

EU online database for public tenders above the threshold values.

3 terms

Negotiated Procedure

Procurement procedure where the contracting authority can negotiate contract terms with selected bidders.

VgV (Procurement Ordinance)

Ordinance governing procurement procedures for supplies and services above EU thresholds.

Procurement Chamber

Authority that decides on procurement law violations in review procedures and protects bidder rights.

1 terms

Competitive Dialogue

Procurement procedure for particularly complex contracts where the authority develops solutions together with bidders.

2 terms

Contract Award

Decision by the contracting authority to award the contract to a specific bidder.

Award Criteria

Criteria for evaluating and selecting the most economically advantageous tender.