eForms, TED and the Digitalisation of Procurement: What Companies Need to Know Now

If you have followed a European tender in the last 18 months, you may have noticed that something is different. Notices look different. Portals work differently. The data structure is another.

Since October 2023 this is no longer optional – it is mandatory. The European Commission's new eForms have fundamentally changed the procurement market. What is already familiar to large buyers and tender professionals remains a puzzle for many SMEs: what exactly has changed? What do you, as a bidder, need to know? And – more importantly – how can you benefit?

The digitalisation of procurement isn't just a technical tweak. It is a paradigm shift that increases transparency, improves equal opportunity, and at the same time makes smart technology – such as AI-powered tender monitoring – possible in the first place.

What are eForms anyway?

eForms is the new EU standard format for publishing public tender notices. It replaces the old TED XML format and is part of the European initiative to digitalise public procurement.

The underlying idea is elegant: instead of every EU member state – or even every regional procurement committee – having its own forms and structures, there is now a single format. A tender in Romania looks structurally the same as one in Germany or Spain.

It sounds technically dull, but it has practical consequences.

The new eForms format includes:

Standardised fields for subject of tender, requirements, deadlines
Structured information instead of free text
Mandatory fields that must be complete
Automatic validation by the system
Machine-readable data (not just for humans)

The most important novelty: the data is structured and standardised. That sounds technical, but practically means: a computer can process the information automatically. That is the key for the entire next generation of procurement tools.

The switch happened in two phases:

October 2023: transition phase, old and new systems in parallel
February 2024: full switch to eForms across the EU

That means: if you search for a European tender today, you find it in the new eForms format.

The TED portal: where all European tenders land

TED stands for "Tenders Electronic Daily" – the European Commission's official portal for publishing public tender notices.

What is published there?

All public contracts above certain thresholds (varying by sector):

Classical public contracts (agencies, schools, hospitals etc.): around EUR 30,000 for EU-wide, EUR 200,000 for national tenders
Sectoral (energy, water, transport, postal): around EUR 443,000
Concessions: around EUR 5 million

That means: the TED portal is not complete – smaller local tenders don't appear there. But all larger projects relevant Europe-wide are published there.

Numbers on market volume: according to the European Commission, around 250,000 to 300,000 tenders with an estimated total volume of over EUR 2 trillion are announced via TED each year [1]. That is a gigantic market – and badly underestimated by many SMEs.

The TED portal's structure follows the new eForms:

Every tender has a clear data structure
All fields are searchable and filterable
The data can be retrieved by third-party applications (via XML download)
APIs enable automatic queries

Public Procurement Data Space (PPDS): the next level of transparency

What many don't know: eForms is only the first step. The real revolution comes with the Public Procurement Data Space (PPDS) – a European data space specifically for public procurement.

The PPDS is set to go live from 2024/2025 and will be a central, searchable data repository for all public tenders in Europe [2].

What is the difference between TED and PPDS?

TED is a portal – you go there, you search, you find. PPDS is a true data space – all tender data is standardised, machine-readable, searchable, and can be used directly by applications.

In concrete terms:

Extended search functions (not just full-text search, but semantic search)
Real-time data updates
Automatic notifications for new tenders matching your criteria
Data mining and analysis are possible
AI tools can access standardised data

The PPDS is therefore the technical foundation for the next generation of tender tools – including intelligent matching systems like BOND's Tender Match.

What changes concretely for you as a bidder?

1. Tenders are more transparent and structured

You find more precise information on the actual requirements. The old problem of having to read between the lines shrinks. Criteria are clearer, requirements are defined.

2. You can be automatically informed about matching tenders

With structured data you – or specialised tools – can automatically filter tenders and only get notified on matches. Instead of searching TED every day, you receive a curated list that matches your profile.

3. Cross-border participation becomes easier

All tenders follow the same format – whether you bid on projects in Munich, Milan, or Bucharest. You don't have to re-learn every national format.

4. Language barriers fall

Structured data means translations aren't just free text but categories, requirements, and fields that can be translated in standardised form. An AI can automatically translate, increasing your chances at foreign tenders.

5. Application rates might drop – but the rate of meaningful bids rises

That sounds paradoxical but matters: with better structuring and better matching tools, you'll write fewer blind applications. Instead, you focus on tenders where you really fit. That saves time and raises your success rate.

Why digitalisation makes AI tools better

Here's an important point often overlooked: the digitalisation of procurement and the availability of structured data isn't just good for bidders – it makes intelligent tools possible in the first place.

Why? Because AI depends on processing structured data.

Imagine you wanted to build a tool that automatically searches for relevant tenders for you. With the old unstructured TED XML files, you would have to have a human manually extract requirements from each tender – impossible at 300,000 entries per year.

With the new eForms, algorithms can understand the structures. The computer can identify a field as a "required certification" and compare it with your profile.

BOND's Tender Match system uses the new eForms structures for precise, automated matching. The system monitors 2,000+ EU procurement portals and uses semantic AI matching to find tenders matching your profile [3]. That only works because the data is now structured.

That is the real value of digitalisation: it enables intelligence. Better matching tools, automatic notifications, predictive analyses – all of this becomes possible through structured data.

How to prepare as an SME: practical tips

1. Register on the relevant national procurement portals

Every EU member state has a national procurement portal (not just TED). Local tenders are often available there first. In Germany that is eLVergabe, in Austria Uni.log, in France Place. Register there so you can activate automatic notifications.

2. Define your profile clearly

What can you offer? Which certifications do you have? Which sectors interest you? With eForms this information is structured – the clearer your profile, the better automatic matching tools can hit you.

3. Use specialised search subscriptions

Manually browsing TED isn't efficient. There are specialised tools and platforms (like BOND Tender Match) that automatically search by your criteria and only notify you on relevant tenders. The time saving is enormous.

4. Understand the new eForms structures

Learn to read and write in the new formats. Requirements are more clearly structured – use that to write better, more precise bids.

5. Prepare for automation

In the near future, more parts of the application process will be automated – from search to translation to document preparation. Position your business to work with these tools.

6. Use linguistic transparency

With standardised structures and better translation tools, you can now also bid on tenders in other languages – without speaking the language perfectly. That opens a whole new market.

The future: real-time monitoring and predictive tender forecasts

On the basis of the new data structures, intelligent systems are emerging that go further still:

Real-time notifications: You are informed as soon as a matching tender is published – not days later
Predictive analyses: Systems can forecast which tenders will be relevant for you in future, based on historical data
Automated bid pre-population: Some template parts of bids could be filled automatically
Consortium formation: Intelligent systems can automatically identify other companies you could team up with for larger tenders

This isn't science fiction – it is already in development.

The Commission takes stock: why all of this was necessary

A short historical context: why did the EU push this massive digitalisation through?

The answer lies in three problems the old structure had:

Opacity: With the old systems it was practically impossible to get a complete overview of the European procurement market. Every country, every region did it differently.
Fragmentation: SMEs could barely bid cross-border because every jurisdiction had its own requirements, formats, and languages.
Inefficiency: For both contracting authorities and bidders, the process was time-consuming and error-prone.

With eForms and the planned PPDS, the EU is trying to solve exactly these problems. The goals are:

Transparency: A single data space where all tenders can be viewed
Equal opportunity: Small bidders can find information just as easily as large ones
Efficiency: Digital processes replace paper-based ones

The EU also understood that this only works with open data and access for third-party applications. That is why the APIs matter – so that specialised tools like Tender Match can emerge.

Conclusion: digital transformation is not optional – it is full of opportunity

The digitalisation of European procurement markets is no longer a technical implementation project – it is reality. eForms are mandatory, the PPDS is coming, and the data is becoming ever more structured.

For SMEs, this concretely means:

You have access to a larger market (EUR 2 trillion per year in public tenders)
You can use intelligent tools to find the right tenders faster
Cross-border participation becomes easier
Your chances of successful bids rise when you use the new structures

The companies that act now and use the new tools and structures will spot market opportunities faster and seize them better.

Sources

[1] European Commission (2024): "Public Procurement in the EU – Market Data and Statistics": https://ted.europa.eu/

[2] European Commission (2024): "Public Procurement Data Space – Initiative and Timeline": https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/public-procurement-data-space

[3] OECD (2023): "Digital Government Review: eGovernment and Open Data in Public Procurement": https://www.oecd.org/governance/digital-government/

[4] German Federal Ministry of the Interior (2024): "eForms Germany – Implementation and Monitoring": https://www.bva.bund.de/de/eforms/

[5] European Commission (2023): "New EU Standard Forms (eForms) – Technical Implementation Guide": https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/pubproc/