How to Search and Filter Tenders for Maximum Relevance

Every month, thousands of public tenders are published across Europe. 

For suppliers, this abundance is both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity lies in consistent demand across sectors—from IT systems and medical equipment to cleaning services and catering. The challenge is that not all tenders are relevant to your business, and chasing the wrong ones wastes valuable time and resources.

The secret to winning more often isn’t bidding on more tenders—it’s bidding on the right tenders. That requires smarter searching, careful filtering, and a strategy built around relevance. 

In this guide, we’ll show you how to find tenders that fit your capabilities, capacity, and goals—so you can focus your efforts where they matter most.

1. Why Searching Smartly Matters

Too many suppliers fall into the trap of casting the net as wide as possible. They search with broad terms like “IT services” or “construction” and end up drowning in irrelevant results. The outcome? Wasted hours reviewing contracts that don’t fit, plus a low win rate because bids are spread too thin.

On the other hand, searching too narrowly means missing opportunities that might be a perfect fit. If you only filter by one CPV code or only look at a single buyer, you risk overlooking tenders you could realistically win.

Smart searching is about balance. By combining the right filters and search strategies, you can narrow down to tenders that are achievable, profitable, and aligned with your experience—without missing out on hidden gems.

2. Using Keywords and CPV Codes

Most tenders are categorized using CPV codes (Common Procurement Vocabulary)—a standardized system that classifies goods, services, and works. For example:

• 30200000 – Computer equipment
  
  

• 33600000 – Pharmaceutical products
  
  

• 90910000 – Cleaning services

CPVs help buyers standardize procurement notices across Europe. But many suppliers don’t take full advantage of them.

Best practices for using CPV codes:

• Identify all the codes relevant to your business (main and subcategories).
  
  

• Combine CPV searches with keywords—buyers sometimes misclassify codes but still use descriptive text.
  
  

• Review historic contracts to see which CPVs your competitors or sector use most often.

Example: A company offering IT consultancy should track CPVs for both “software development services” and “IT management services,” while also adding keywords like “cloud migration” or “cybersecurity” to capture tenders tagged incorrectly.

This layered approach ensures you don’t miss relevant tenders while avoiding irrelevant ones.

3. Filtering by Value, Location, and Buyer

Beyond keywords and CPVs, advanced filters help suppliers zero in on the tenders most relevant to their capacity and goals.

Value filters:

• Avoid tenders that are too small to justify the effort.
  
  

• Exclude tenders so large they exceed your delivery or financial capacity.
  
  

• Focus on contracts that balance ambition with achievability.

Location filters:

• Narrow down to regions where you can realistically deliver.
  
  

• SMEs often succeed with local contracts where proximity adds value.
  
  

• Larger suppliers can filter across multiple geographies or even cross-border.

Buyer filters:

• Target buyers who frequently publish in your category.
  
  

• Research contracting authorities with recurring needs (e.g., school meals, hospital cleaning).
  
  

• Monitor consortiums or central purchasing bodies that tender on behalf of multiple organizations.

Example: A catering company might filter by contract values between €50,000–€500,000, in a specific region, and only from educational institutions. This ensures every tender they see is within their sweet spot.

4. Timing and Deadlines

Relevance isn’t just about what you bid for—it’s also about when you discover it. Many tenders have short turnaround times, and complex bids require weeks of preparation.

That’s why filtering by publication date and deadline is critical. Early visibility gives you time to:

• Gather compliance documents
  
  

• Secure references or partner agreements
  
  

• Craft tailored, high-quality responses

Miss the early window, and you’re stuck with rushed bids that rarely score well.

Pro tip: Set up automated alerts so you’re notified the moment a relevant tender is published. That way, you start on day one—not day ten.

5. Recognizing the Signs of a Good Match

Even after filtering, you’ll need to qualify tenders further. Ask yourself:

• Scope fit: Does the work align with your past projects? Can you clearly evidence delivery?
  
  

• Capacity: Can you deliver at scale without overstretching resources?
  
  

• Compliance: Do you meet mandatory requirements (e.g., turnover, certifications, insurances)?
  
  

• Timeline: Is the delivery timeframe realistic for your team?
  
  

• Buyer signals: Does this buyer have a track record of awarding to SMEs, or do they favor large incumbents?

Red flags to watch for:

• Vague specifications (may indicate unclear expectations)
  
  

• Unrealistically low budgets (suggests price-driven decision)
  
  

• Excessively short delivery timelines

By qualifying tenders properly, you save your energy for bids you can genuinely win.

6. The Role of Tender Aggregators in Smarter Searching

National portals are essential, but fragmented. They often lack advanced filtering tools, and you’d need to check multiple platforms daily to get the full picture.

That’s why many suppliers rely on tender aggregators—platforms that consolidate opportunities from across sources into one searchable database.

Benefits for suppliers:

• One platform, all tenders: Access to national, regional, and EU-wide notices.
  
  

• Smarter filters: Combine CPVs, keywords, values, and geographies seamlessly.
  
  

• Real-time alerts: Be first to see opportunities.
  
  

• Below-threshold coverage: Capture local contracts often missed by national portals.
  
  

• Pipeline building: Track recurring buyers and expiring contracts.

How Mercell helps:

Mercell aggregates tenders across Europe and adds tools for search optimization:

• Tailored alerts based on your business profile
  
  

• CPV and keyword matching
  
  

• Insights into buyers’ procurement patterns
  
  

• Bid management functions to keep your responses on track

With Mercell, suppliers spend less time searching and more time focusing on tenders they’re positioned to win.

Conclusion

Searching for tenders isn’t just about finding opportunities—it’s about finding the right opportunities. By mastering keywords, CPV codes, filters, and smart alerts, you can transform procurement from a scattershot effort into a targeted growth strategy.

Instead of drowning in irrelevant notices, you’ll consistently surface tenders that match your capacity, experience, and ambitions. And with a platform like Mercell, the process becomes faster, simpler, and more strategic.

Finding tenders is the first step. Filtering for relevance is what turns opportunities into wins.