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Procurement glossary

Procurement terms covering universal vocabulary, EU procurement law, and country-specific systems across 80+ markets. Built by procurement intelligence specialists for buyers and suppliers navigating modern public procurement.

Universal procurement vocabulary (57 terms)

  • Tender — A tender is a formal, structured offer made by a supplier in response to a public procurement opportunity. The same word also describes the procurement…
  • Bid — A bid is the formal commercial and technical offer that a supplier submits to a contracting authority in response to a procurement opportunity. The bid sets…
  • Bidder — A bidder is the individual, company, or consortium that submits a bid in response to a published procurement opportunity. Bidders are also called tenderers,…
  • Tenderer — A tenderer is the supplier who submits a tender in response to a procurement opportunity. The word is most commonly used in the United Kingdom, the European…
  • Procurement — Procurement is the structured process by which an organisation identifies needs, sources suppliers, negotiates terms, and acquires goods, services, or works.…
  • Public Procurement — Public procurement is the process by which governments, state-owned enterprises, local authorities, and other public bodies acquire goods, services, and works…
  • RFP (Request for Proposal) — A Request for Proposal, commonly abbreviated as RFP, is a formal document issued by a buyer to invite suppliers to propose solutions to a clearly defined…
  • RFI (Request for Information) — A Request for Information, abbreviated as RFI, is a formal document a buyer uses to gather information from the market before launching a procurement. Unlike…
  • RFQ (Request for Quotation) — A Request for Quotation, abbreviated as RFQ, is a procurement document used to invite suppliers to submit price offers for a clearly defined product, service,…
  • ITT (Invitation to Tender) — An Invitation to Tender, abbreviated as ITT, is the formal document a contracting authority issues to invite qualified suppliers to submit binding tenders for…
  • EOI (Expression of Interest) — An Expression of Interest, abbreviated as EOI, is a preliminary procurement document a buyer publishes to identify suppliers genuinely interested in a future…
  • PIN (Prior Information Notice) — A Prior Information Notice, abbreviated as PIN, is an official notice that a contracting authority publishes to signal its intention to launch a procurement…
  • ToR (Terms of Reference) — Terms of Reference, abbreviated as ToR, is a procurement document that defines the scope, objectives, deliverables, timeline, and other conditions of a…
  • SoW (Statement of Work) — A Statement of Work, abbreviated as SoW, is a procurement document that defines the activities, deliverables, timelines, and acceptance criteria a supplier…
  • Tender Dossier — A tender dossier is the complete set of documents that a contracting authority publishes when launching a procurement procedure. The dossier brings together…
  • Tender Documents — Tender documents are the official set of files a contracting authority publishes to inform suppliers about a procurement opportunity and to enable them to…
  • Contract Notice — A contract notice is the formal public announcement that a contracting authority publishes to initiate a public procurement procedure. The notice tells the…
  • Award Notice — An award notice is the official announcement that a contracting authority has awarded a public procurement contract to a specific supplier. Award notices are…
  • VEAT (Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice) — A Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice, abbreviated as VEAT, is a notice that a contracting authority publishes before signing a contract that has been…
  • Modification Notice — A modification notice is a public announcement that an awarded public contract has been modified after the original award. Modification notices are required…
  • Cancellation Notice — A cancellation notice is the official announcement a contracting authority publishes when it decides to terminate a public procurement procedure before…
  • Going Out to Tender — Going out to tender is the common business phrase describing the act of formally launching a competitive procurement process. When a contracting authority or…
  • Tender Opening — Tender opening is the formal procedural step where submitted tenders are revealed and recorded by the contracting authority after the tender submission…
  • Tender Evaluation — Tender evaluation is the formal assessment of submitted tenders against published criteria to identify the supplier most suited to win the contract. Tender…
  • Tender Addendum — A tender addendum is an official modification, clarification, or addition to tender documents issued by a contracting authority during the tender period.…
  • Tender Clarification — Tender clarification is the formal process where bidders ask questions about the tender documents during the tender period and the contracting authority…
  • Open Procedure — The open procedure is the most common public procurement procedure in the European Union and most modern procurement frameworks. Under the open procedure, any…
  • Restricted Procedure — The restricted procedure is a two-stage public procurement procedure under which suppliers first request to participate, and only those who pass a…
  • Competitive Dialogue — Competitive dialogue is a public procurement procedure used for particularly complex contracts where the buyer cannot define the technical solution or…
  • Negotiated Procedure — The negotiated procedure is a public procurement procedure that allows the contracting authority to negotiate directly with bidders to reach the best contract…
  • Design Contest — A design contest is a public procurement procedure where the contracting authority invites participants to submit design proposals and awards a prize, a…
  • Innovation Partnership — An innovation partnership is a public procurement procedure introduced in the 2014 European Union procurement directives to enable contracting authorities to…
  • Direct Award — A direct award is a procurement decision in which the contracting authority awards a contract to a specific supplier without running a competitive tender.…
  • Framework Agreement — A framework agreement is a long-term procurement arrangement that establishes the terms under which a contracting authority can award future contracts to one…
  • Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) — A Dynamic Purchasing System, abbreviated as DPS, is an electronic procurement vehicle that allows contracting authorities to procure routine goods, services,…
  • Mini-Competition — A mini-competition is a competitive call-off process used to award specific contracts under a multi-supplier framework agreement or a Dynamic Purchasing…
  • MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender) — Most Economically Advantageous Tender, abbreviated as MEAT, is the dominant evaluation methodology in modern public procurement. Under MEAT, the contracting…
  • Award Criteria — Award criteria are the published rules a contracting authority uses to evaluate tenders and select the winning supplier. Award criteria are the procurement…
  • Selection Criteria — Selection criteria are the eligibility requirements suppliers must meet to qualify for participation in a procurement procedure. Selection criteria operate as…
  • Qualitative Criteria — Qualitative criteria are the non-price dimensions of tender evaluation under the Most Economically Advantageous Tender methodology. Where price criteria score…
  • Price-Quality Ratio — The price-quality ratio is the conceptual basis underlying Most Economically Advantageous Tender evaluation. The ratio captures how contracting authorities…
  • Lowest Price — Lowest price evaluation is a procurement methodology that awards the contract to the supplier offering the cheapest compliant bid. Among compliant tenders…
  • Tender Bond — A tender bond, also called a bid bond in some jurisdictions, is a financial guarantee that a bidder submits with their tender to demonstrate their commitment…
  • Performance Bond — A performance bond is a financial guarantee that a contractor will deliver a public or private contract according to its terms. The bond is issued by a bank…
  • Bid Bond — A bid bond is a financial guarantee submitted alongside a bid that the bidder will honour the offer if selected and will enter into the contract on the bid…
  • Standstill Period — The standstill period is the mandatory waiting time between announcing a procurement award decision and signing the contract. During the standstill period,…
  • Tender Protest — A tender protest is the formal mechanism by which an unsuccessful bidder challenges a procurement decision they believe was unlawful. Protests are typically…
  • Procurement Compliance — Procurement compliance is the framework of rules, procedures, and controls that ensure procurement activities are conducted lawfully, ethically, and…
  • Conflict of Interest — A conflict of interest in procurement arises when a person involved in procurement decisions has personal, financial, or relational interests that could…
  • Market Consultation — Market consultation is the practice of engaging with the supplier market before launching a formal procurement procedure. Through market consultation,…
  • Bid/no-bid decision — The bid/no-bid decision is the formal gate at which a supplier decides whether to spend money responding to a particular tender. It is taken before writing…
  • Capture planning — Capture planning is the work done before a tender is published: understanding the buyer's problem, learning how they will evaluate, positioning your strengths…
  • Colour team reviews (Blue, Pink, Red, Green, Gold, White) — Colour team reviews are scheduled checkpoints at which people who are not writing the bid inspect it, each colour reviewing a different thing at a different…
  • Win theme — A win theme is a short, repeated claim that ties something the buyer needs to something you offer that your realistic competitors do not, backed by evidence,…
  • Ghosting (competitor positioning) — Ghosting is writing about a competitor's weakness without naming the competitor. You describe the risk in an approach you do not take, or the question a buyer…
  • Price-to-win (PTW) — Price-to-win is the price at which you are most likely to be selected, derived from the buyer's evaluation model, their budget and the likely competitive…
  • Compliance matrix — A compliance matrix is a table that lists every requirement in the tender documents and records where in your response each one is answered, who owns it, and…

EU directives and extended vocabulary (50 terms)

  • OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) — The Official Journal of the European Union, abbreviated as OJEU, is the official publication of the European Union. The procurement supplement of the OJEU,…
  • TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) — Tenders Electronic Daily, abbreviated as TED, is the European Union's online portal for publishing above-threshold public procurement notices. TED operates as…
  • CPV Codes (Common Procurement Vocabulary) — Common Procurement Vocabulary, abbreviated as CPV, is a standardised classification system for public procurement contracts used across the European Union.…
  • NUTS Codes — NUTS codes are a hierarchical classification system for European Union geographical territories. The acronym stands for Nomenclature of Territorial Units for…
  • ESPD (European Single Procurement Document) — The European Single Procurement Document, abbreviated as ESPD, is a standardised self-declaration form that suppliers use to demonstrate eligibility in…
  • e-Certis — e-Certis is an online tool operated by the European Commission that maps national documentary requirements across European Union member states. The tool helps…
  • Contracting Authority — A contracting authority is a public body that is subject to European Union public procurement directives when buying goods, services, or works. The legal…
  • Contracting Entity — A contracting entity is an organisation operating in regulated utilities sectors that is subject to specific European Union procurement rules. While classical…
  • Sub-threshold Procurement — Sub-threshold procurement covers public contracts below the value thresholds of the European Union procurement directives. Above the thresholds, full EU…
  • Above-threshold Procurement — Above-threshold procurement covers public contracts at or above the value thresholds of the European Union procurement directives. Above the thresholds, the…
  • EU Procurement Directives — The European Union Procurement Directives are the legal framework that governs public procurement across all twenty-seven EU member states. The directives set…
  • Cross-border Procurement — Cross-border procurement is the practice of suppliers bidding on public procurement contracts in countries other than their home country. Cross-border…
  • Joint Procurement — Joint procurement is the practice of multiple contracting authorities combining their procurement activities under a single procurement procedure to achieve…
  • Centralised Purchasing Body — A Centralised Purchasing Body, often abbreviated as CPB, is a contracting authority that procures goods, services, or works on behalf of multiple downstream…
  • EU Funds Procurement — EU funds procurement covers public contracts financed wholly or partly by European Union funds rather than purely from national resources. Major EU funding…
  • Public Sector Buyer — A public sector buyer is any government, public authority, or publicly funded entity that procures goods, services, or works from external suppliers. The…
  • Government Agency — A government agency is an organisational unit of central government, typically with delegated responsibility for specific policy areas, services, or…
  • Local Authority — A local authority is a sub-national government body responsible for local services and administration within a defined geographic area. Local authorities…
  • Municipality — A municipality is a local government unit responsible for serving a defined geographic area, typically a city, town, or rural district, with a range of local…
  • State-owned Enterprise — A state-owned enterprise, often abbreviated as SOE, is a commercial organisation that is owned wholly or substantially by a national, regional, or local…
  • Utility Company — A utility company is an organisation operating in regulated essential service sectors, including energy, water, transport, and postal services. Utility…
  • Defence Procurement — Defence procurement covers the acquisition of military equipment, services, and works by national defence establishments and related security authorities.…
  • Healthcare Procurement — Healthcare procurement covers the acquisition of medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, clinical services, and supporting goods and services by hospitals, health…
  • Education Procurement — Education procurement covers the acquisition of goods, services, and works by schools, universities, education authorities, and other organisations…
  • Infrastructure Procurement — Infrastructure procurement covers the acquisition of major physical works including roads, railways, water and sanitation systems, energy networks,…
  • Supplier — A supplier is any individual, company, or consortium that provides goods, services, or works to a buyer under a procurement contract. The term supplier is…
  • Vendor — A vendor is a supplier of goods or services to a buyer. The term is functionally synonymous with supplier in most contexts, although vendor is more common in…
  • Contractor — A contractor is a supplier responsible for delivering works or services under a contract with a buyer. The term is most commonly used in construction,…
  • Subcontractor — A subcontractor is a supplier providing inputs through a prime contractor rather than directly to the buyer. Subcontractors typically deliver specific…
  • Consortium — A consortium is a temporary association of two or more companies that join together to bid for and deliver a procurement contract. Consortia are common in…
  • Joint Venture (JV) — A joint venture, often abbreviated as JV, is a business structure where two or more companies combine resources, capabilities, and risk-taking to pursue…
  • Prime Contractor — A prime contractor is the supplier holding the primary contract with the buyer and bearing overall responsibility for delivery of the contracted work. The…
  • SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) — A Small and Medium Enterprise, abbreviated as SME, is a business below defined size thresholds based on employee count and financial measures. The European…
  • Pre-qualification — Pre-qualification is the formal procurement stage where suppliers demonstrate eligibility against published criteria before being invited to submit bids for…
  • Vendor Registration — Vendor registration is the process by which a supplier becomes formally approved to participate in procurement opportunities with a buyer organisation. Vendor…
  • Public Procurement Law — Public procurement law is the body of legal rules governing how public bodies buy goods, services, and works from external suppliers. The law exists to ensure…
  • Procurement Audit — A procurement audit is a formal review of procurement procedures, decisions, and outcomes to assess compliance with applicable rules, efficiency of process,…
  • Due Diligence — Due diligence in procurement is the structured process of investigating supplier characteristics, capabilities, financial standing, ethical posture, and risk…
  • Anti-Corruption — Anti-corruption in procurement covers the legal frameworks, organisational controls, and operational practices that prevent corruption in contract awards and…
  • Whistleblowing — Whistleblowing in procurement is the practice of reporting suspected misconduct, regulatory violations, fraud, corruption, or other serious concerns through…
  • Tender Appeal — A tender appeal is a legal challenge against a procurement decision filed with a court, tribunal, or specialised review body. While the term tender protest…
  • Beneficial Ownership — Beneficial ownership identifies the natural persons who ultimately own or control a legal entity, regardless of how the entity is structured legally.…
  • Sanctions Screening — Sanctions screening is the process of checking suppliers, their beneficial owners, and other relevant parties against applicable sanctions lists to ensure…
  • Debarment — Debarment is the formal exclusion of a supplier from public procurement participation for a defined period, typically following serious misconduct, criminal…
  • Blacklist — A blacklist in procurement is a formal list of excluded suppliers maintained by a contracting authority, national procurement body, or international…
  • Procurement Fraud — Procurement fraud covers deceptive practices that misuse procurement processes for unlawful gain at the expense of contracting authorities, taxpayers, or…
  • Bid Rigging — Bid rigging is the illegal practice where suppliers coordinate their bids to manipulate procurement outcomes, undermining the competitive process that…
  • Sustainability in Procurement — Sustainability in procurement covers the integration of environmental, social, and economic sustainability considerations into procurement decisions.…
  • Social Value — Social value in procurement covers the broader social, economic, and environmental benefits that public spending can deliver beyond the direct goods,…
  • Green Public Procurement (GPP) — Green Public Procurement, often abbreviated as GPP, is the practice of integrating environmental criteria into public buying decisions to reduce environmental…

Country-specific procurement systems (86 terms)

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