Public procurement in Europe isn’t working the way it should.

It was built for legal compliance. And to be fair, it does that well. Tenders are published. Deadlines are followed. Paperwork is filed.

But here’s the problem…

The system that’s supposed to drive competition, innovation, and access is still built around rules, not outcomes. Around buyers, not suppliers. Around processes, not people.

If you’ve ever spoken to an SME trying to win public contracts, you’ll hear the same frustrations again and again:

“We don’t know where to find the tenders. We spend hours checking portals. And when we finally submit, we don’t get feedback, just silence.”

That’s not a technology problem. That’s a design problem.

This article isn’t another complaint list. It’s a blueprint for what a supplier-first procurement system could look like and a case for why the next wave of public sector transformation has to start with the people who are actually doing the bidding.

Let’s start with what that system would look like and why it matters now more than ever.

What does designing a supplier-first system mean?

If you strip procurement down to its core, it’s a marketplace. Buyers want value. Suppliers want opportunity. But marketplaces only work when both sides can access them fairly… and right now, that balance is off.

A supplier-first procurement system doesn’t ignore compliance. It just starts with usability and builds from there.

Here’s what that could look like:

• Tenders that are easy to find - one portal per country isn’t enough. Tenders should be centralised, searchable, and filterable by SME-specific criteria: value, scope, region, language, and sector.
• Requirements that are clear and standardised - buyers should use consistent formats, structured scoring breakdowns, and plain-language instructions. If a supplier needs a lawyer to interpret the documents, something’s wrong.
• Applications that are streamlined and reusable - supplier profiles, ESPD forms, and eligibility proofs should be portable, reusable across borders and buyers, not reinvented for every tender.
• Processes that include feedback, by default - win or lose, suppliers deserve to know why. Without feedback, no one improves, and the market stays small.

A supplier-first system doesn’t lower the bar. It removes the friction.

Next, let’s talk about why this shift matters right now, not five years from now.

Why this shift matters right now?

Public procurement isn’t a side channel — it’s one of the largest markets in Europe. Over €2 trillion in spending every year. 14% of EU GDP. And yet, SMEs still win a disproportionately small share of that value, only 20-57%.

At a time when governments are under pressure to do more with less, support local economies, and drive innovation — the way we connect public buyers with capable suppliers matters more than ever.

Add to that:

• Sustainability goals that require agile, innovative suppliers
• Digital transformation in critical sectors like health, mobility, and infrastructure
• EU industrial strategy pushing for local resilience and strategic autonomy

And suddenly, making procurement more supplier-friendly isn’t just a fairness issue — it’s an economic strategy.

If we want smarter public spending, broader SME participation, and real competition, then how we design the system matters.

This isn’t just about access, it’s about alignment. Let’s talk about what needs to change next and who can drive it.

What needs to change, and who can drive it

Fixing procurement isn’t just about better software. It’s about shifting the system around real-world behaviour and deciding who it’s actually built for.

Here’s what needs to happen and who can move it forward:

Governments

• Mandate structured, machine-readable tender formats
• Require consistent feedback for all bidders, win or lose
• Incentivize or enforce SME inclusion through simplified lotting, set-asides, or scoring bonuses

Public buyers

• Use pre-market engagement (PINs, RFIs) to shape tenders with supplier input
• Prioritise usability in procurement portals
• Write tenders in plain language, not legal echo chambers

Suppliers (especially SMEs)

• Ask questions early, during clarification stages
• Collaborate where needed (joint bids, partnerships)
• Push for feedback even when it’s not offered

Procurement platforms & tools

• Stop building systems that serve compliance alone
• Build with the supplier in mind: filters that matter, forms that adapt, insights that guide
• Make relevance, not volume, the core metric

And yes, Tendify is doing that work.

But this shift is bigger than one product. It’s about realigning procurement with the future of work and the people ready to deliver it.

Let’s talk about what that future could actually look like.

How Tendify holds a mirror and a hammer

Tendify wasn’t built to automate procurement. It was built to make it more usable for the people who interact with it every day, especially suppliers.

We see the problem from two angles.

First, the mirror

We talk to SMEs who are frustrated, overwhelmed, and under-informed. Not because they lack skills, but because the system makes it hard to show up.

We’ve heard it all:

“We missed the deadline by an hour because the portal crashed.”
“We didn’t know there was a required form buried in Annex D.”
“We bid 14 times last year and got 2 short feedback emails.”

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That’s not a capability issue. That’s a design failure.

Now, the hammer

Tendify matches tenders to business profiles, across 2,000+ sources. It scores relevance. Tracks deadlines. Surfaces what you need.

It doesn’t do the work for you. It just gets everything out of your way so you can focus on writing better bids.

Because we don’t want SMEs to submit more. We want them to submit better.

And that starts by rebuilding trust in the system, from the supplier’s side of the table.

Let’s wrap it up.

It’s time to build for the supplier

Public procurement has come a long way. We’ve digitised portals, streamlined compliance, and opened up access across borders.

But if we’re honest? We’ve done most of it for the system, not for the people using it.

It’s time to shift the lens.

If we want better outcomes (more competition, more innovation, more value for public money), then we need to start designing procurement for the supplier experience. That doesn’t mean lowering standards. It means removing the friction that keeps good businesses out.

It means building systems that are searchable, scorable, trackable, and clear.

That’s what Tendify is pushing toward, not just another tender feed, but a smarter, fairer path into public work.

Because when SMEs can navigate the system with confidence, everybody wins.