Procurement techniques relate to different methods for managing a procurement procedure, e.g. by making use of e-procurement or repetitive calls for recurring purchases. The EU Public Procurement law lists the following procurement techniques: framework agreements, dynamic purchasing systems, electronic auctions, electronic catalogues, centralised purchasing activities and central purchasing bodies, occasional joint procurement, and procurement involving contracting authorities from different EU member states.
- A framework agreement is an arrangement between one or more purchasers (contacting agency / agencies) and one or more suppliers (e.g. pharmaceutical companies) that provides the terms which govern contracts to be awarded for a certain period of time for recurring purchasing, in particular with regard to price and, where necessary, the quantity envisaged. It may have a binding character (legal consequences).
- A dynamic purchasing system (DPS) is a procurement technique for making recurring purchases while allowing economic operators to join the system on an ongoing basis.
- An electronic auction is a procurement technique which is based on a repetitive electronic process. It occurs after an initial full evaluation of the tenders, allowing them to be ranked using automatic evaluation methods to make the final choice of the best offer.
- An electronic catalogue is a procurement technique that may be used in framework agreements to allow reopening of competition for specific contracts on the basic of updated catalogues.
Last update: 20 June 2023
Source: PPRI