Today, at the SVEM headquarters in Ancona, the service for monitoring business opportunities requested by European institutions was presented. This service is aimed at SMEs and pertains to requests for supplies, services, and works across various market sectors (e.g., furniture and furnishings, IT services, food & beverage, catering services, translation services, construction, research, and development).
With the goal of strengthening collaboration with local businesses, access credentials for the dedicated area on the SVEM website were officially delivered to trade associations. This reserved area is constantly updated with open tenders for each specific market sector, initiating the information process. SVEM remains available to support companies interested in participating in one or more tenders.
Thanks to a continuous monitoring system, businesses can access the reserved area on the SVEM website, where they will find real-time updates on supply, service, and work opportunities requested by European institutions in various sectors.
“Based on the collected data,” stated Andrea Santori, President of SVEM, “it is estimated that the Institutions, Agencies, and other bodies of the European Union publish dozens of tender notices each week for business opportunities (requests for supplies, services, and works) amounting to a total value of approximately 3 billion euros per year.”
Before launching this crucial initiative, SVEM conducted an extensive investigation among the EU’s operational bodies. This research was further refined through the study of financial and planning tools, as well as the work plans of European institutions. The investigation resulted in the creation of a Masterplan on European Procurement, offering a precise forecast of strategic funding directions and estimated financial allocations that will lead to the publication of tenders and requests for supplies over the next 12 to 24 months.
The Masterplan allows businesses to anticipate the future needs and requirements of European institutions ahead of the official publication of tender notices, providing a valuable competitive advantage for companies interested in participating.
Contracting Authorities, using innovative electronic public procurement systems, publish between 40 and 90 tenders per week across various sectors. One of the EU’s key priorities is to facilitate SME access to European procurement, as currently, only 45% of Italian SMEs are aware of the tendering process initiated by EU institutions.
“Between the publication of a tender and the deadline for submitting bids,” explained Riccardo Berto, SVEM European procurement consultant, “there is often a time window of just 3 to 4 weeks. Therefore, having prior knowledge of European institutions’ requirements allows companies to save valuable time, ensuring a more organized and competitive approach compared to other bidders.”
The tenders issued by European institutions for the supply of products and the provision of services vary in scale. Some are “below-threshold” tenders, meaning their value is under €140,000, making them particularly attractive for SMEs in the Marche region. Others, however, can reach several million euros, better suited for large enterprises or business networks.
