Bundeswehr Invitations to Tender

According to the specific civilian or defense- and security-related subject of the contract and the forecasted contract value, the award of the contract is based on the Regulation on the Award of Below-Threshold Contracts (Unterschwellenvergabeordnung - UVgOUnterschwellenvergabeordnung), the Regulation on the Award of Public Contracts (Vergabeverordnung - VgVVergabeverordnung über die Vergabe öffentlicher Aufträge) or the Regulation on the Award of Public Contracts in the Fields of Defense and Security (Vergabeverordnung Verteidigung und Sicherheit - VSVgVVergabeverordnung Verteidigung und Sicherheit). These regulations govern different types of contract award with and without a prior call for competition. A call for competition is an early suitability test.

The Bundeswehr announces its intention to award a contract by means of a contract notice published on www.bund.de and/or www.ted.europa.eu, depending on the type of procedure. An overview of all contract notices can be found on the e-tendering platform of the German government. A contract notice is the notification by a public contracting authority of its intention to award a public contract or conclude an open-end agreement.

Public invitations to tender

In a public invitation to tender or an open procedure, the contracting authority publicly invites an unlimited number of companies - by means of a contract notice - to submit a tender. Any interested company can submit an offer within the specified period. The public contracting authority then evaluates this offer on the basis of the previously announced selection and award criteria. It then determines the most economical offer. 

Restricted tendering

Within the scope of a restricted invitation to tender or a restricted procedure with a call for competition, the public contracting authority invites an initially unlimited number of companies - by means of a contract notice - to submit a request to participate in response to a call for competition. Only those companies which are suitable after review of the submitted requests to participate will be invited to submit a tender. The most economical offer is then determined on the basis of the previously defined and published criteria. Negotiations are not permitted in this procedure. In the case of a restricted invitation to tender without a call for competition there is no public invitation to submit requests to participate, but selected companies are directly invited to submit tenders. The public contracting authority is only permitted to do so under certain conditions.

Negotiated procurements

The process for a negotiated procurement and a negotiated procedure with a call for competition is similar to the process for a restricted procedure or a restricted invitation to tender with a call for competition (see above), with the difference that the initial offers submitted can be negotiated.

The negotiated procurement and the negotiated procedure without a call for competition are exceptional cases because there is no public invitation to submit requests to participate but rather a direct invitation to selected companies to submit initial offers, which can still be negotiated. The public contracting authority is also only permitted to conduct these types of contract awards under certain conditions.

Dynamic procurement system

The public contracting authority may award contracts to procure commonly used supplies and services using dynamic procurement systems over a defined period of time. It is a specific method of the restricted procedure.
Interested companies can submit requests to participate during the entire period. If they fulfill the previously defined eligibility criteria, they will be admitted into the pool of bidders. Individual contracts are awarded for the supplies and services, with the award procedure involving all participants of the pool of bidders.
This reduces the administrative burden thanks to fully electronic and speedy processing. It also has the advantage that companies can automatically participate in award procedures for individual contracts over the entire duration of the dynamic procurement system.