A Glossary of Tender and Procurement Terms

What do these tender and procurement terms mean?

Public procurement uses a shared set of ideas, but the legal label changes by country and by buyer. Use this glossary to recognise the idea, then confirm the definition in the tender pack you are reading. Where a word in the pack disagrees with a general definition, the pack wins.

TenderFaro already publishes short definitions of an RFP, tender qualification, and the bid/no-bid decision. This article sits beside those pages and covers the wider vocabulary a bid team meets in a public competition. It is an explanation, not a legal dictionary.

What is the difference between a tender, an RFP, an RFQ, and an ITT?

A tender is the formal competitive process, and often also the name of the supplier's offer. An invitation to tender (ITT) is the buyer's request for that offer. A request for proposal (RFP) asks for a proposed method as well as a commercial response. A request for quotation (RFQ) typically asks for a price against a requirement the buyer has already defined. A request for information (RFI) asks for market information and is not, by itself, an offer the buyer can accept as a contract.

The same buyer may use these words loosely. Always check whether the document in front of you creates a duty to submit forms, a scoring model, or only a conversation. TenderFaro's shorter RFP definition is a useful companion when the document in your pack uses that label.

What is a contract notice, and what is a tender pack?

A contract notice is the public announcement that a buyer intends to award a contract. On TED, Find a Tender, SAM.gov, or a national portal, the notice is what search results usually show. It identifies the buyer, the subject, and where to go next. It is rarely the full set of rules.

The tender pack — also called the procurement documents, solicitation, or bidding documents — is the specification, contract, instructions, pricing schedule, and forms. Amendments and published answers to bidder questions become part of that pack. Qualifying and writing against the notice alone means you are responding to a summary.

What is a CPV code?

CPV means Common Procurement Vocabulary. It is a classification system used on many European public notices so suppliers can filter by category, from construction trades to software and professional services. A code narrows a search. It does not describe your eligibility, your price, or the detailed scope.

Other markets classify opportunities differently. SAM.gov uses its own codes and notice types. When you move between sources, do not assume a category in one system equals a category in another. Read the description, then the pack.

What is the difference between selection criteria and award criteria?

Selection criteria decide who is suitable to be considered: legal standing, economic and financial capacity, technical ability, and the experience or certifications the buyer requires before evaluation. Award criteria decide which of the suitable offers wins. They typically cover price, quality, and any other factors the notice lists, with weights.

Mixing the two is a frequent and expensive confusion. A beautiful method does not repair a failed selection test. A strong balance sheet does not, by itself, win a quality-and-price competition. Most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) is the common name for an award approach that weighs those published factors rather than lowest price alone. The pack states which approach applies and how the points are split.

What are an ESPD, a lot, a framework, and a standstill?

In many EU procedures the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) is a standard self-declaration used as preliminary evidence of exclusion grounds and selection criteria. It is not the certificate, the insurance policy, or a guarantee that a later check will succeed. Other countries use different forms for the same idea. Complete the form the pack names, for the legal entity that is bidding.

A lot is a slice of a larger procurement that can sometimes be bid on its own. Read whether you may bid for one lot, whether you must bid for all, and whether a limit applies to how many lots you can win. A framework agreement sets terms for later orders over a period; winning a place on it is not the same as winning a guaranteed volume of work. A call-off or a mini-competition then awards the actual assignment.

A standstill period, where the law requires one, is the pause after the award decision is notified and before the contract is signed, so unsuccessful bidders can see the outcome and, where they have rights, challenge it. It is not a negotiation. Clarification is different again: a formal question to the buyer during the tender, and the answer the buyer publishes. That answer can change how every bidder must read the pack. It is not private coaching.

What do bid/no-bid and tender qualification mean?

Tender qualification is the early, structured review of whether an opportunity is realistic and worth the team's time. It covers fit, eligibility, mandatory conditions, evidence, deadlines, capacity, and commercial sense. A bid/no-bid decision is the choice, made on that record, to pursue the opportunity or to leave it.

Both terms describe judgement supported by facts, not a score the software is allowed to invent. TenderFaro helps teams build the record — structured requirements, company evidence, source citations, gaps, and potential blockers — and leaves the decision with the people who will have to deliver the work if they win.

If the pack and a general definition disagree, follow the pack and keep the sentence that made you hesitate.