The Swiss public procurement glossary.
Swiss public procurement terms, explained simply: procedures, criteria, deadlines, and documents.
Procedures
Open procedure
A procedure type where any eligible supplier can submit a bid directly.
Selective procedure
A two-stage procedure: a pre-qualification application, then a bid from the shortlisted candidates.
Invitation procedure
The contracting authority invites a limited number of chosen bidders directly to submit an offer.
Direct award procedure
Direct award to a single supplier, with no competing bids involved.
Criteria
Eligibility criteria
Minimum requirements on the company itself: experience, financial standing, organization.
Award criteria
The evaluation criteria that decide which eligible bid scores the most points.
Exclusion grounds
Circumstances that keep a bid from being considered, or exclude a bidder outright.
Technical specifications
Minimum requirements on the offered service or product itself, not on the company.
Legal framework
BöB
The Federal Act on Public Procurement, the legal basis for federal-level contracts.
IVöB
The Intercantonal Agreement on Public Procurement, the legal basis for the cantons.
WTO Agreement on Government Procurement
An international agreement (GPA) that opens up market access for contracts above certain values.
SIMAP
The official Swiss platform on which the Confederation, cantons, and municipalities publish procurement notices.
PPO, Ordinance on Public Procurement
The federal ordinance that spells out the PPA at ordinance level.
Procurements covered by international agreements
Public contracts that fall within the scope of the GPA or other applicable international agreements.
Procurements not covered by international agreements / domestic market area
Public contracts outside the treaty-based scope, but still governed by Swiss procurement law.
Federal Act on the Internal Market
Federal act intended to secure free and equal access to the Swiss internal market.
Intercantonal Authority for Public Procurement
The intercantonal body that steers and implements the cantonal public procurement agreement.
Federal Procurement Conference
The federal administration’s strategic body for the procurement of goods and services.
FOBL, Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics
Federal office that also acts as a central purchasing body for logistical goods and certain services for the federal administration.
Federal Procurement Competence Centre
Federal unit that trains, advises, and supports procurement offices and requesting offices across the Confederation.
Deadlines & thresholds
Thresholds
Value limits that determine which procedure is allowed for a given contract.
Submission deadline
The published deadline by which a bid has to be submitted.
Standstill period
The waiting period between the award decision and contract signature, during which an appeal is still possible.
Q&A round
The official channel bidders use to clarify points in the tender before the deadline.
Documents
Specifications document
The document that describes the required scope of work and technical requirements in detail.
Tender documents
The full dossier for a tender: specifications document, contract terms, criteria, forms.
Eligibility evidence
The document a bidder uses to show it meets a required eligibility criterion.
Qualified electronic signature
The highest level of electronic signature, sometimes required for online submission on SIMAP.
Other terms
Central purchasing body
An entity that bundles procurement for other public contracting authorities or runs procedures on their behalf.
Procurement cooperation
Cooperation between public bodies to coordinate or pool procurement work.
Joint procurement
A procurement carried out by several contracting authorities together for a shared need.
Intermunicipal central purchasing body
A central purchasing body that works for several municipalities together.
Intercantonal central purchasing body
A central purchasing body that organizes procurement for several cantons together.
Participating contracting authorities
The public authorities that take part in a joint procurement or fund it together.
Procurement subject to an agreed common procurement law
A joint procurement where the participating authorities agree which procurement law applies.
Most economically advantageous tender
The bid with the best overall score under the published award criteria, not necessarily the cheapest.
Bidding consortium
A group of several companies that submit a single joint bid together.
Subcontractor
A third-party company that delivers part of the service on behalf of the main bidder.
Lot
A defined portion of a larger tender that can be bid on separately.