TenderWolf
December 7, 2023

How do you search a massive archive of government contracts? Use TenderWolf!

How do you search a massive archive of government contracts? Use TenderWolf!

Every week, thousands of public contracts are published in Europe. Once the deadlines have passed, these contracts enter a gigantic archive. Each contract contains a wealth of information, about the client, the companies that competed, the winner, the specifications, the specifications requested, etc. When you are looking for information, you naturally want to find the best and most relevant results. That is why TenderWolf has developed a very powerful search engine that uses state-of-the-art search technology. Most people are familiar with this type of search technology because they know it from Amazon.com or Bol.com

In this blog post, we explain how you can best use this search engine to refine and improve your searches.

Filtering on a variety of dimensions

One of TenderWolf's key features is the ability to filter by various criteria relevant to government procurement. These filters allow you to refine your search results and see only the documents that meet your conditions.

For example, you can filter by CPV code, the common public procurement classification that indicates the type of products, works or services covered by the contract. You can also filter by recognitions of class and category, the requirements that indicate whether your company is qualified to compete for a particular contract. Furthermore, you can filter by contract type, such as services, works or supplies. Further, you can filter by procedure type, such as public, non-public, negotiation, competitive procedure with negotiation, etc., among others.

With these filters, you can quickly and easily find the jobs most suitable for your company. You can also combine multiple filters to make your search even more specific. For example, you can search for all public contracts for construction work in Category D Class 6, with a CPV code of 45000000.

Search by combinations of keywords

One of the most important aspects of the search engine is the use of quotation marks. When you put a word or phrase in quotation marks, you search for exactly that term. For example, if you search for "energy renovation," you will only get results that contain that exact phrase. This can be useful if you want to search very specifically, but it can also lead to fewer results.

The example searches for documents in which the words "energy renovation" appear verbatim and in that order, within the results that meet the following filters: "Belgium," CPV code equals 45000000, the requested approval category is D, class 6 or 7.

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If you don't use quotation marks, you search for all the words that appear in your search, but not necessarily in that order or next to each other. For example, if you search for energetic renovation (without quotation marks), you will get results that contain both energetic and renovation, but also results that contain only one of these words. This can be useful if you want to get a broader overview, but it can also lead to more noise.

One way to refine your search without using quotation marks is to use boolean operators. These are words such as AND, OR and NOT, which specify how the words in your search should be combined with each other. For example, if you search for energetic AND renovation, you will only get results that contain both words. This can be useful if you want more precision than without quotation marks, but more flexibility than with quotation marks.


In the example, we are looking for government contracts in which the words "energy renovation" appear verbatim, but not in combination with "offices" or "office building."

How does the search engine handle different variants of the same word or concept?

Another aspect of the search engine is the use of mood. This means that the search engine takes into account the different forms of a word, such as plural, diminutive or conjugation. For example, if you search for renovation, you will also get results that include renovate, renovate or renovated. This can be useful if you don't know exactly which form of a word is used in the publication, or if you want to find all possible forms.

As you can see, TenderWolf's search engine offers many ways to optimize and personalize your searches. We hope this blog post has helped you understand more about how our search technology works and its benefits. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to contact us. We would be happy to help you further!

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All public procurement placement procedures in Belgium explained

For whom does this offer value? Bid managers and companies wishing to bid for public contracts in Belgium. In this piece you will get a clear overview of all procedures, split into one-step and two-step, with the main advantages and disadvantages for each type.

One-step procedures: anyone may bid immediately

In one-step procedures, all bidders submit complete bids at one time. There is no separate pre-selection phase.

Public Procedure

Anyone may subscribe. Often used for assignments with a broad market.

VOPMVB (simplified negotiated procedure with prior publication).

After publication, anyone may submit a bid; the contracting authority may negotiate afterwards.

OPZB (negotiated procedure without prior publication).

Exception regime for legally defined cases (e.g., compelling urgency, exclusive rights, failed previous procedure, additional supplies/services/works). At least three companies are consulted whenever possible.

Two-step procedures: selection first, then bids

Here it proceeds in two stages: first candidacy and selection; then only those selected may submit (final) bids.

Non-public procedure (restricted)

After the selection phase, only the chosen candidates are allowed to bid.

Competitive procedure with negotiation (MPMO).

One or more rounds of negotiation follow selection. Suitable when the need is not completely "off-the-shelf."

Competitive dialogue

After selection, the government enters into dialogue with candidates to help define the solution; final bids follow. Ideal for complex projects (e.g. large IT or infrastructure).

Innovation Partnership

For the development and purchase of a solution that does not yet exist.

Variants and instruments

Advantages and disadvantages at a glance

Want a visual table? Then paste the "Embed" code at the bottom of a Webflow Embed block.

Conclusion for bid managers

Choose your strategy according to the complexity and maturity of the need. Simple and common contracts often go through public or VOPMVB. For complex or innovative projects, you are more likely to end up with MPMO, competitive dialogue or innovation partnership.

Tip: Always start with the question, "How complex is the need?" The higher the complexity, the more valuable procedures with dialogue/negotiation become.

Want to spot and track opportunities more efficiently? Find out how TenderWolf helps bid managers with real-time tender alerts, AI analytics and pipeline follow-up.