Are UK, France and Germany Having a Competition Crisis?

January 31, 2021
Procurement

We recently completed a study of European government procurement changes in the three years up to and including 2020, to assess the impacts of Covid.

In the process of our work, one area of focus has been a year on year calculation of the number of bids per tender, across all Europe. Analysing the data has highlighted a marked drop in the number of bids in many Western European countries.

The below visualisation is a compilation of all available records by country by year and shows the average number of bidders. The data shows that some countries are becoming more competitive, such as Ireland, Lithuania and Sweden, however, many major western European economies have become progressively less competitive with fewer bidders per tender.

This is particularly noticeable in large western markets. France has seen a -57% bids per tender, Germany shows a reduction of -51% bids per tender. Not far behind is the UK with -48% bids per tender.

What’s interesting is, the pandemic does not appear to have caused this effect, the pattern had formed for all of these countries before 2020. Is there a competition crisis happening in these countries?

Average bidders per contract

 

In all three countries the decline in bidders was a well established trend before the Covid crisis hit, so what reasons could be behind these declines?

Is there a trend toward directly award contracts, or are unpublished tender opportunities on the increase? Either reason is cause for concern.

The links between transparency and increased completion in public procurement are well established. The Open Contracting Data Standard provides a framework for governments, to disclose data and documents at all stages of the procurement process.

While the extenuating circumstances of Covid have provided a rational for expedited process and increase in direct award in 2020, the table clearly shows this downward trend was well established prior the pandemic, and cause for concern.

Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss with us our research projects or our procurement data products and services.

May 30, 2023

Space To Innovate- New UK Gov Opportunity

The UK Government's, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) Space Systems Programme has announced it is seeking proposals to aid UK Defence...
May 25, 2023

EU Commission Move To Electronic Procurement

The European Commissions Directorate Generate for Informatics (DIGIT), has launched a new dynamic purchasing system for software licences and associated services (SIDE...
May 22, 2023

Biosecure Procurement Trial

The UK Government yesterday announced new measures for domestic tree seed production and biosecurity procurement requirements. The next round of the Domestic...
May 18, 2023

New Industry Body White Paper Review of Covid Procurement

Since early on in the pandemic, there has been significant focus on the procurement of Covid related PPE, due to unprecedented nature...
May 11, 2023

EU Council Joint Procurement Under European Peace Facility

The European Union Council has adopted an assistance measure worth €1 billion under the European Peace Facility (EPF) that will further contribute...
May 10, 2023

Measuring Sustainable Public Procurement

One of the projects we are most proud of is working with The Open Contracting Partnership to create a Sustainable Public Procurement...
May 3, 2023

From Hero to Zero – UK Digital Marketplace Shuttered

Within living memory, the UK’s Crown Commercial Service (CCS) had planned to reshape a large swathe of public procurement in the image...
May 2, 2023

We Sell Data, Not Seats.

Why we sell data not seats? We're data analysts. We really understand the data we gather. We've been doing it for 15...
May 2, 2023

New Tech Disrupts Traditional Government Procurement

A Silicon Valley startup, GLASS, has created a revolutionary new tech, Glass Commerce, an e-commerce marketplace enabling compliant transactions between government buyers...
April 25, 2023

Green Public Procurement: New Report

At Spend Network, we are always on the look out for governments, think tanks, research bodies, and other organisations who are working...
April 25, 2023

EU Agrees on Anti-Coercion Instrument

The European Commission and European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade have agreed on an anti-coercion instrument (ACI) which will enable public procurement...
April 13, 2023

£256 Million Contract for Cyprus Awarded by UK Government

The UK Ministry of Defence  has awarded a £256 million contract, for work, repairs, servicing, and facilities management for the UK defence...
April 5, 2023

Endorsements For Export Agencies

Endorsements are a win-win for export agencies. Exporters face new challenges, both in terms of increased barriers to trade following the pandemic,...
April 4, 2023

Looking For Reasons To Export to Government?

If you are looking to grow exports, you should start with the largest and most transparent industry in the world, and here...
April 5, 2023

Lockheed Martin Selected As Preferred Bidder.

US defence giant Lockheed Martin has won a contract to deliver Australia’s first sovereign-controlled military satellite communication constellation. Lockheed Martin was recently announced...

Newsletter

Compelling research, insights and data directly into your inbox.

Recent media stories

Search