The objective of e-SENS in the e-Procurement domain is to take seamless cross-border e-Procurement to its next level, supporting the implementation of the new public procurement directives (2014/24/EU, 2014/25/EU) and the continued standardisation of public procurement processes. The goal is to take e-Procurement to a stage where users are offered services that enable participation in Europe-wide tendering processes and support for electronic ordering and invoicing across countries, regions and sectors.
e-Procurement is listed as one of five highly prioritised cross-border digital public services of vital importance for the Digital Single Market. The piloting scenarios for the e-Procurement domain include all major phases of electronic tendering in the pre-award phase, as well as key business processes in the post-award phase. The e-SENS pilot implements the necessary technical solutions for secure cross-border tender submission, authentication and transport of documents within three use cases: e-Tendering, Virtual Company Dossier and e-Invoicing.
Virtual Company Dossier (VCD)
This use case supports any authorised entity in creating an electronic information package consisting of the required documentation, evidence, attestations, certificates, declarations and data. It also contains the steps required for a successful response by any interested business to a call for tender issued by a public authority.
Example use case: A company from country A receives a call for tender-related information from the contracting authority. The most relevant documents received initially are the contract notice and the call for tender, including the specification of qualification criteria (criterion template). The economic operator uses the VCD Designer to create a Tenderer Structure and uploads the criteria template to the VCD Designer. The authority is able to open the bid and the VCD on its own platform. The contracting authority confirms the submitted qualifications and evaluates the bid. After awarding the contract, the authority sends an award notice to the company chosen.
Do you want to learn more? Visit our WIKI subpages:
| Motivation & goals | Process description | Use case description |
Looking to implement the pilot yourself? Visit our technical WIKI subpages:
| Architecture and building block implementation | Implementation guidelines | Pilot blueprint |
| Success Story |
e-Tendering
This pilot use case tests the ability to participate easily in public tendering procedures in the EU, thanks to seamless communication between foreign tendering systems. An interested company should be able to use a national system to easily submit a bid in compliance with the tendering specifications and receive a reply from the competent authority.
Example use case: A contracting authority (state, regional or local authority, body governed by public law) from a Member State publishes a business opportunity. Any business from another Member State can express interest and participate in the procedure using their own tendering system. The interested company knows how to respond to the opportunity, because it can find all the relevant information in the contract notice. Firstly, it sends a subscription message to the contracting authority to let it know that it is interested in the call for tender. This puts the company on the list of interested economic operators. Next, the company sends a request to receive all the tender documents, and finally is able to submit its bid.
The tender is signed electronically, and the transport protocol will provide proof that the tender has been received. All possible communication, including necessary questions, replies and the final award notification, is performed electronically.
Watch the video to learn more about the e-Tendering pilot
Do you want to learn more? Visit our WIKI subpages:
| Motivation & goals | Use case description | Process description |
Looking to implement the pilot yourself? Visit our technical WIKI subpages:
| Architecture and building block implementation | Pilot blueprint |
Do you want to learn more about pilot results?
| Pilot testing | Success Story |
e-Invoicing in the post-award phase
The aim of this use case is to facilitate the handling of invoices electronically. In this pilot sending an e-invoice by business after creating a purchase order from the contracting authority is tested. The authority will receive an e-invoice from a supplier and process it electronically, increasing efficiency in the business process. As a result, the public authority should be able to initiate the next step in the procurement process: payment of the e-invoice.
Example use case: A supplier company sends an e-invoice to a public authority in another Member State. It uses the customer reference element in the invoice to identify the person who made the purchase. The workflow system notifies the purchaser that an invoice has been received. The system is able to match the invoice with the order that was previously created for the goods received. The purchaser inspects the e-invoice and verifies the quantities. The purchaser then approves the invoice, and the invoice is processed for payment.
Do you want to learn more? Visit our WIKI subpages:
| Motivation & goals | Use case description | Process description |
Looking to implement the pilot yourself? Visit our technical WIKI subpages:
| Architecture and building block implementation | Pilot blueprint |
Do you want to learn more about pilot results?
| Pilot testing |
- Ensures compliance with the new Directive on public procurement and e-Invoicing, thus removing administrative burdens
- Increased market competition among bidders, resulting in the best value for money
- Easier participation in cross-border tendering thanks to lower administrative and technical burdens
- Equal access to all public procurement business opportunities with fully electronic communication
- Access solutions and standard specification in line with European requirements and directives
- An opportunity for innovative applications and products on top of the interoperable e-SENS solutions