What is Trade Lot Award?
Trade lot award (German: Fachlosvergabe) refers to dividing a public contract into individual lots by type or specialty (trades), the central mechanism for promoting SME participation.
Legal Basis
- § 97(4) sentence 2 GWB: Services must be awarded separately by type or specialty (trade lots)
- § 5(2) VOB/A: Trade services in construction must be awarded as trade lots
- § 22 UVgO: Lot formation below thresholds
Distinction from Partial Lot Award
Trade lots divide by specialty (electrical, plumbing, painting), while partial lots divide by quantity (Region North, Region South).
Typical Trade Lots in Construction
Public construction projects are typically divided into structural work, carpentry, roofing, windows/doors, electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, painting, and flooring.
Advantages
Specialized companies can bid directly, creating larger bidder pools with better prices and higher expertise per lot.
Disadvantages
Coordination effort, schedule risks from interdependencies, each lot requires its own procedure, and warranty issues at interfaces.
Combining Trade Lots
Only permissible for economic or technical reasons. The reasons must be documented and quantified.
Case Law
Courts consistently hold that trade lot division is the default. General claims about interface problems or unquantified cost savings are insufficient justification for combining lots.
Practical Tip
Patterno automatically identifies trade lots and notifies you about the lots matching your trade.