KNOWLEDGE
Bid better, from the first read.
Practical articles about European public tenders and private tenders. Written from practice, for anyone who wants to win.
European public tender · newSustainability as an award criterion: how to score points with itHow public buyers weigh sustainability, why a concrete plan for this contract beats a general story, and how the Dutch CO2 Performance Ladder works as an award advantage.October 2026 · 3 min read
- European public tenderSocial return: what is asked and how to deliver itHow social return works in Dutch public tenders, how contributions are valued per type of hire or activity, what it costs you, and why it often fails at the handover from sales to operations.October 2026 · 3 min read
- European public tenderFramework agreements: bidding when the volume is not fixedWhat a framework agreement is, why a buyer must state an estimated and a maximum quantity, and how to price when the volume is uncertain.October 2026 · 3 min read
- European public tenderAn error in your bid: what can you still correct?When a public buyer may let you correct an error or missing document, why it does not have to, and why checking is the only real protection.October 2026 · 3 min read
- European public tenderAbnormally low tenders: when must a price be justified?What an abnormally low tender is, what the buyer has to investigate, how to back up your own sharp price, and when it makes sense to challenge a competitor.October 2026 · 3 min read
- PricingCBS indices for price indexation: which series, which figure, which monthHow indexation with a Dutch CBS figure works, which series you meet in contracts (CPI, collective wages, contractual labour costs, producer prices), which month and figure counts, and what changed in 2026.October 2026 · 6 min read
- Private tenderAfter sending: how to follow up a proposal, and learn from losingWhy you follow up straight away in a private tender, what to agree right then, and how to get an honest answer after losing.October 2026 · 3 min read
- Private tenderKeeping your contract as the incumbent supplierWhy an incumbent has a head start in a private tender, where that head start ends, and why you should dare to offer a lower price than you get today.October 2026 · 2 min read
- Private tenderThe presentation after your proposal: how to win the pitchHow to prepare for a presentation or pitch in a private tender, why short and to the point wins, and why you put yourself in the client’s shoes.October 2026 · 2 min read
- Private tenderPrice and negotiation in a private tender: hold on to your marginHow to keep room for a second round or best and final offer, why dropping too far makes you less credible, and where your margin leaks away after the award.October 2026 · 2 min read
- Private tenderThe decision-making unit: who decides on your proposal?Who sits in the decision-making unit, why you should not forget procurement and the assistants, and how to find out who has a say.October 2026 · 2 min read
- Private tenderRFI, RFP and RFQ: what is the difference, and what do you do with them?What a request for information, proposal and quotation are, what the client expects from you, and when an RFI is worth the effort.October 2026 · 3 min read
- European public tenderThe final week: how to submit without anything going wrongWhy your bid should be finished days before the deadline, what to check in those last days, and which small mistakes make a good bid invalid.October 2026 · 4 min read
- European public tenderReferences: which ones to choose, and how to use themWhat a public buyer may ask for in references, how to choose when you have more than you need, and why you always call a referee first.October 2026 · 3 min read
- European public tenderA method statement that scores pointsWhat sets an excellent method statement apart from an average one: concrete, measurable, light on the buyer, honest about risks, and short.October 2026 · 3 min read
- European public tenderSelection criteria and knock-outs: read them, challenge them, or team upWhich requirements a public buyer may set, when a requirement is too heavy, how a question can get it changed, and when you are better off working with another company.October 2026 · 4 min read
- BasicsFilling in the ESPD: what goes in and what to watchWhat the European Single Procurement Document is, which parts you fill in, who needs their own, and where it often goes wrong.October 2026 · 3 min read
- PricingPrice indexation: how to stop your margin disappearing over the contract termWhat the CPI is, which indices Statistics Netherlands (CBS) publishes, which indexation methods are common, and how to build a shrinking margin into your pricing, even when you do not know how long the contract will run.October 2026 · 7 min read
- European public tenderAfter the award decision: learn from losing, and from winningWhat an award decision should contain, how to analyse the reasoning, why you also ask why you won, when an objection makes sense, and how to carry the lessons into your next bid.October 2026 · 3 min read
- European public tenderAward criteria: how to write for pointsThe difference between a sufficient and an excellent answer to a quality question, where to find added value, why you write for someone who does not know your trade, and why every promise needs proof.October 2026 · 4 min read
- BasicsBid or no bid: when should you tender, and when not?Which questions always need answering, which outcomes mean you are better off not bidding, how to weigh your chance of winning, and how to organise the decision, from sales and operations to management.October 2026 · 3 min read
- About AtvalioWhy Atvalio does not produce generic textsAI can write a proposal text in seconds, but rarely an excellent one. How Atvalio makes sure texts are concrete, in your own voice, and genuinely different for every customer.October 2026 · 4 min read
- Private tenderWhy the design of your proposal matters: the psychology of first impressionsWhat the look of a proposal does to how a client reads it, why you match the design to the client and the decision-makers, and how to use images that are about the client rather than about you.October 2026 · 4 min read
- European public tenderBest price-quality ratio (BPKV): why 70/30 does not mean what you thinkWhich scoring models are common, why the percentage split says little, and how one better score on one quality question can make up for a large price difference.October 2026 · 5 min read
- European public tenderInstructions, specifications and clarification questions: how to influence a public tenderHow the documents in a public tender fit together, in which order to read them, and how a well-made clarification question can get a requirement changed or dropped.October 2026 · 6 min read
- Private tenderHow do you win a private tender?What a private tender is, why you have a head start when the client already knows you, which kind of proposal fits (small, large or special) and where it usually goes wrong.October 2026 · 3 min read
- BasicsWhat is TenderNed, and how do you find the Dutch public tenders that suit you?How TenderNed works, what you will and will not find there, how to search well and set up alerts, and which mistakes to avoid. For Dutch and foreign companies.October 2026 · 4 min read
- European public tenderCan a small business win a European public tender?Yes, more often than you think. Where smaller companies get stuck, what Dutch procurement law does for you, how to approach it and when you are better off not bidding.October 2026 · 5 min read