An Architect's Guide to Public Procurement

09.Influencing the buyer

As well as the legal challenge, there are a number of methods open to a supplier seeking to legitimately influence the procurement process of the buyer. While it was acknowledged in the preamble to previous EU directive, this is now specifically captured in the new version in the section on market consultations.1

Much of the literature on public procurement suggests a purely transactional tendering approach to the exclusion of any sort of relational approach. Historically, contracting authorities have been reluctant to engage with suppliers. This is based on a fear of being accused of bias, and the subsequent threat of a challenge from an aggrieved and unsuccessful supplier. While EU law certainly constrains how suppliers ...