Advice for Clients in Public Procurement:

· Understand Thresholds & Procedures: Knowing EU and national procurement thresholds is essential to avoid procedural errors and legal challenges.

· Focus on Compliance & Risk Management: Adhering to procurement laws, anti-corruption, sustainability, and competition rules prevents disqualification, penalties, and reputational damage.

· Prepare Strong Tenders: A competitive bid should meet all requirements, highlight strengths like innovation and sustainability, and undergo legal review to prevent errors.

Current Legal Landscape in Public Procurement: Germany is undergoing significant procurement reform, aligning with EU policies. Key changes include procedural simplifications, mandatory digitalization, stronger sustainability requirements, and enhanced oversight.

Threats & Opportunities in Public Procurement:

· Threat: Non-compliance with evolving regulations, particularly stricter sustainability and digitalization requirements under the upcoming reform.

· Opportunity: Staying informed about regulatory updates ensures compliance and a competitive edge in procurement.

Technological Advancements in Public Procurement:

· AI-driven procurement platforms are streamlining tendering, improving efficiency, transparency, and decision-making.

· Clients benefit from reduced errors, faster processes, and data-driven insights.

Ensuring High Client Satisfaction:

· Staying updated on legal developments allows for tailored, up-to-date advice.

· Active participation in industry conferences and legal forums helps maintain expertise and align with emerging trends.

What three essential pieces of advice would you give to the clients involved in Public Procurement?
My first advice for our clients is always to understand thresholds and procedures. It’s critical for bidders to understand that EU and national thresholds determine whether procurement procedures are open, restricted or negotiated, and which are the exact legal regulations applicable to the particular bid. Mischarging these thresholds can lead to procedural errors, wasted resources or even legal challenges at the later stage.

Second, plans to focus on compliance and risk management. Compliance with procurement laws, anti-corruption regulations, sustainability and competition rules is essential to avoid disqualification, penalties, reputation of the image, blacklisting in a public procurement register, even or unlimited liability during the execution of A1 contract.

Plan should implement internal controls and compliance programmes to ensure all submissions are legally sought. Moreover, compliance requirements are not only relevant for the submission to a public bid, compliance should be borne in mind also during the execution of the contract, especially with the rise of scrutiny on sustainability and ethical sourcing which is spreading like a wave across the European continent.

My third and last advice is they were tenders. To maximise competitiveness, a well-prepared tender document is critical. It should meet all formal requirements while emphasising strengths like innovation, quality, sustainability. Avoid generic approaches. Your bid should align with the buyer specific goals and evaluation criteria.

Also, do not underestimate the need to seek legal review to mitigate risks of procedural errors and rejections due to such.

What is the current legal landscape for Public Procurement law in your jurisdiction?
The German public procurement landscape is at this moment undergoing significant change, with the plans reform currently under discussion in the German government. This reform seems to modernise and simplify procurement processes, aligning them more closely with EU policy priorities. Key proposed changes include simplification of procedures, mandatory digitalization, sustainability requirements, enhance flexibility, increase compliance and oversight.

What are the greatest threats and opportunities in Public Procurement in the next 12 months?
I think that the greatest threat in public procurement in Germany at this moment is non-compliance with the constantly evolving rules or in other words, not being up to date, especially with those rules from the upcoming public procurement legal reform in Germany, which is out to bring stricter sustainability and digitalization requirements. So, pay attention to the changes No and you should be on the safe side.

What technological advancements are reshaping Public Procurement, and how can clients benefit from them?
In the spirit of the most recent invasions in procurement platforms and AI driven tools represent most naturally the latest technological advancements in the public procurement landscape across Germany and Europe.

These platforms digitalise and streamline the entire tendering process from publishing notices to bid submissions to their evaluation. This resulting in greater efficiency, increased transparency and reduced administrative burden. On the other hand, it is important to know that clients benefit through reduced errors, faster processes and improved decision making based on data-driven insights.

How do you ensure high client satisfaction levels are maintained by your practice?
Well, exactly in the light of the just mentioned biggest threat in the public procurement sector in Germany, our team at the KP Partners strives to always ensure client satisfaction by constantly being up to date with the latest CEO of developments. And in order to reflect the latest regulatory changes, we are adopting our deal advice on a day-to-day basis.

Further, in order to be able to do so, we participate in industry conferences, and we are present at legal forms, enabling us to exchange insights with key stakeholders at the legislation. And this to remain at the forefront of public procurement trends in Germany.