I am a supplier

I am a buyer

Suppliers

Where to Find Public Tenders: Platforms, Portals, and Aggregators

hero-image

Finding public tenders can feel overwhelming for many suppliers. 

Contracts are published across a mix of national portals, regional websites, and sector-specific platforms—often with different formats, rules, and search functions. 

For small and medium-sized businesses in particular, this fragmentation creates a barrier: you may be fully capable of delivering the work, but if you can’t find the opportunity in time, you never get the chance to compete.

The good news? Once you understand the main channels for public procurement—and how to use modern tools to simplify the process—finding tenders becomes far more manageable. 

This guide explains the different types of platforms, their strengths and limitations, and how aggregators like Mercell help suppliers streamline discovery.

1. National Procurement Portals

Nearly every country has an official portal where public contracts above certain thresholds must be published. These sites are designed to ensure transparency, equal access, and compliance with procurement laws.

Examples include:

Strengths:

  • Free and open to all suppliers

  • Central source for high-value tenders

  • Standardized format in many cases

Limitations:

  • Only covers contracts above national or EU thresholds

  • Search functions can be clunky or inconsistent

  • Smaller/local tenders may never appear

For suppliers, national portals are essential starting points—but not the whole picture.

2. Regional and Local Authority Websites

Below-threshold contracts are often published by city councils, municipalities, hospitals, or schools on their own websites. These tenders are especially relevant for SMEs, as they are typically smaller in value, local in scope, and more accessible to new entrants.

Example: A municipality may publish a €40,000 cleaning contract only on its district website—not on TED or the national portal.

Strengths:

  • Great entry points for SMEs

  • Local buyers often prefer local suppliers

  • Faster procurement cycles

Limitations:

  • Easy to miss unless you monitor dozens of sites

  • No standardized format—each authority publishes differently

  • Often not searchable or filterable

For businesses targeting local opportunities, tracking these sites is valuable—but time-intensive without automation.

3. Sector-Specific Procurement Platforms

Certain sectors have specialized portals due to their complexity, scale, or regulation. Examples include:

  • Healthcare (hospital procurement platforms)

  • Defence and security (restricted-access systems)

  • Transport and infrastructure (dedicated project portals)

Strengths:

  • Highly relevant opportunities for sector specialists

  • Access to large, long-term contracts

  • May provide additional buyer insights

Limitations:

  • Registration or qualification often required

  • Fragmentation across multiple systems

  • Less visibility for those outside the sector

If your business operates in a regulated or high-value industry, these portals are non-negotiable.

4. Frameworks and Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS)

Not all opportunities are published as standalone tenders. Many are handled through framework agreements or dynamic purchasing systems (DPS).

  • Frameworks pre-select suppliers for several years, with call-offs or mini-competitions handled internally.

  • DPS are electronic systems suppliers can join anytime, with buyers running mini-competitions for each purchase.

Why this matters:
If you’re not on the framework or DPS, you won’t even see those opportunities. Tracking when frameworks are tendered (or re-tendered) is crucial for long-term access.

5. Tender Aggregators: A Smarter Way to Search

With tenders spread across so many sources, manually checking each portal is inefficient and risky. That’s where tender aggregators come in.

An aggregator pulls tenders from multiple platforms—national, regional, and sector-specific—into one searchable database. Suppliers can then filter results, set alerts, and manage opportunities in a single place.

Benefits of Using an Aggregator

  • Centralized search: One login, all tenders

  • Smarter filters: Search by CPV codes, keywords, buyer, geography, or value

  • Real-time alerts: Be notified the moment a relevant tender is published

  • Below-threshold coverage: Many aggregators include smaller, local contracts not visible on national portals

  • Time savings: Focus on bidding, not searching

How Mercell Simplifies Tender Discovery

Mercell is one of Europe’s leading tender platforms, consolidating opportunities from across the continent. Suppliers using Mercell benefit from:

  • Access to tenders from national portals, TED, regional sites, and frameworks

  • Automatic alerts tailored to keywords, CPV codes, sectors, and geographies

  • Insights into expiring frameworks and upcoming opportunities

  • Integrated bid management tools to assign roles, store documents, and track progress

For SMEs in particular, this means less wasted effort and more focus on tenders that truly fit their business.

Conclusion

Public tenders are published across a patchwork of platforms: national portals, regional sites, sector-specific systems, and framework arrangements. While each has value, the fragmentation makes it difficult for suppliers to maintain full visibility.

The solution is to centralize your search. By using a tender aggregator like Mercell, you gain a single point of access to thousands of opportunities across Europe—along with the tools to filter, track, and respond efficiently.

Finding tenders shouldn’t be about luck or endless searching. With the right approach, it becomes a predictable, manageable process—and the first step toward growing your business in the public sector.