What is a tender? Meaning, types and how it works

Introduction

What is a tender? A tender (in Dutch: aanbesteding) is the procedure through which a government or public organisation puts a contract for works, supplies or services out to the open market, so that interested companies can submit bids. The contracting authority assesses the bids against objective, pre-announced criteria and awards the contract to the party that best meets those criteria. Tendering thereby ensures fair competition, transparent spending of public money and equal opportunities for all suppliers.

This explainer covers the meaning of a tender, the difference between the terms aanbesteding, tender and overheidsopdracht (public contract), why governments are obliged to tender, the main types of procedure and how the process works step by step. It is intended as a starting point for both bidders and contracting authorities.

What is a tender: aanbesteding, tender and public contract

In practice three terms are often used interchangeably. They describe the same phenomenon from a different angle:

• Aanbesteding: the legal procedure by which a contract is requested and awarded. This is the Dutch technical term from the Aanbestedingswet 2012 (Dutch Public Procurement Act 2012).
• Tender: the English synonym for aanbesteding. In the market "tender" often refers to the entire request, including the documents a company bids on.
• Overheidsopdracht (public contract): the subject of the tender, that is, the written contract for pecuniary interest between a contracting authority and an economic operator for works, supplies or services.

In short: a public contract is what is being procured, a tender is how that happens, and "tender" is the English word for that same procedure. Anyone searching for "wat is aanbesteden" (what is tendering) usually means the whole process from request to award.

Why governments tender

Governments spend public money and are therefore bound by a tendering obligation. Above certain thresholds they must tender a contract at European level; below those thresholds lighter national rules apply, but the basic principles remain in force. The rules are set out in the Aanbestedingswet 2012 (Dutch Public Procurement Act 2012), which transposes the European procurement directives (2014/24/EU and related directives) into Dutch law.

All tenders rest on four principles:

• Equal treatment: all bidders receive the same information and are assessed in the same way.
• Non-discrimination: no distinction based on nationality or place of establishment.
• Transparency: the procedure, requirements and award criteria are known and verifiable in advance.
• Proportionality: requirements and conditions are in reasonable proportion to the contract. The Gids Proportionaliteit (Proportionality Guide) makes this principle mandatory.

These principles prevent arbitrariness and favouritism and ensure that public money is spent efficiently.

Types of tender

Tenders differ in two respects: scale (national or European) and the chosen procedure. The main forms at a glance:

Classification based on the Aanbestedingswet 2012. The open procedure is in practice by far the most used form for published tenders.

In addition there are special procedures for complex or innovative contracts, such as the competitive dialogue, the competitive procedure with negotiation, the innovation partnership and the dynamic purchasing system. Private tenders are often not published centrally, which makes the true number hard to quantify.

The tendering process step by step

A published tender broadly goes through the following phases:

1. Preparation and estimate: the contracting authority defines the need, estimates the value and chooses the procedure accordingly. Sometimes a market consultation is held first.
2. Publication and notice: the contract is announced on TenderNed (and, for European contracts, also in the EU publication journal TED). The tender documents are made available.
3. Questions and clarification note: bidders ask questions; the answers are published equally for all parties in a Nota van Inlichtingen (clarification note).
4. Bidding: operators submit their bid before the deadline, usually with a Uniform Europees Aanbestedingsdocument (UEA, European Single Procurement Document) and the requested evidence.
5. Assessment: the contracting authority checks the suitability requirements and assesses the bids against the award criteria.
6. Award and standstill: the provisional award decision is announced, followed by a standstill period of at least 20 calendar days during which rejected parties may object.
7. Final award and execution: after the standstill the contract is concluded and execution starts.

In restricted and private procedures some steps shift or fall away, but the core remains the same: a pre-announced, verifiable assessment.

Who tenders and who can bid

Contracting authorities include central government, provinces, municipalities, water authorities and bodies governed by public law such as schools, care institutions and safety regions. On the TenderView platform more than 3,800 different contracting organisations can currently be found, from large ministries to small municipalities.

In principle any operator that meets the suitability requirements can bid. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role here: the legislator encourages SME participation through proportional requirements and by splitting large contracts into lots. A smaller company need not always bid on its own, but can also collaborate in a consortium or register as a subcontractor.

The type of contract varies widely. On TenderView services form the largest category, followed by supplies and works. Well-known examples are IT services, construction projects, cleaning, advisory work and target-group transport, such as the national Valys transport scheme tendered by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

Where to find tenders

Most Dutch public contracts are published on TenderNed, the official procurement platform of the Dutch government. European tenders additionally appear on TED, the European tendering database. There are also commercial tender calendars that unlock and make these sources searchable.

TenderView gathers these publications in one place and makes them searchable. View the current overview on the tenders page, where you can filter by status, contract type, province, CPV code and submission deadline, so you quickly find the opportunities relevant to you.

Conclusion

A tender is the structured procedure through which governments put contracts to the market transparently and fairly. The terms aanbesteding, tender and overheidsopdracht describe the same phenomenon; the Aanbestedingswet 2012 and the European directives set the rules, and the four principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination, transparency and proportionality form the foundation.

Those who understand the basics can read on more specifically about individual procedures and legislation. TenderView supports both bidders and contracting authorities with real-time alerts of new tenders and with AI questions about tender documents, so you find the right contracts faster and bid better prepared.