Choose the Swiss buyers and delivery locations your company can serve before building alerts. Your first useful output is a shortlist with source references, lot scope, permitted submission languages and unresolved eligibility questions. A matching keyword is not yet a bid decision.
Start with simap; use other sources for a specific job
| Your question | Starting point | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| Which Swiss opportunities match our work? | simap.ch, the shared procurement platform for federal, cantonal and municipal buyers | Open the project and obtain the current documents. Record the buyer, reference, publication type and lot. |
| Which rules and templates apply to this buyer? | Its official procurement guidance; for example, federal FDFA contracting guidance or Zürich's procurement resources | Confirm the buyer's regime rather than applying one canton or federal department's instructions nationally. |
| Does a publication also appear in European search? | TED | Link the records by procurement reference and source identifiers; do not count a second publication as a second opportunity. |
| Who won earlier work? | Award publications and the buyer's linked records | Distinguish award, modification, contract value and possible future procurement. An old end date is not a confirmed new tender. |
Swiss tenders are not categorically absent from TED. For example, TED notice 227304-2026, published on 2 April 2026, identifies Swiss locations and simap.ch as its TED eSender. This is evidence of publication, not a claim that the opportunity remains open or that TED contains every Swiss purchase. Maintain a Swiss source map rather than assuming either complete coverage or zero coverage.
Build a first shortlist around five buyers
Search named buyers alongside service terms and relevant CPV classifications. Include the terms used in the buyer's documents—for example, maintenance and entretien—where your team can assess the relevant language. Use classification matches as discovery aids, not proof that the deliverable fits.
For each candidate, save:
- Official project URL, reference, publication stage and lot.
- Delivery sites, response times and required staffing.
- Question deadline, submission deadline and accepted languages.
- Document version, amendments and the designated submission method.
- Mandatory qualification evidence, missing information and person responsible for checking it.
Open the specification and contract conditions before comparing headline amounts. A buyer based in Bern may require work across several cantons; a national organization may offer a lot confined to your service area. Use the notice-reading workflow to document the difference.
Federal, cantonal and treaty checks are different
Do not use EU threshold figures as Swiss procurement rules. Federal procurement has its own legislation; cantonal procurement uses the applicable intercantonal and cantonal framework. Zürich's official resources, for example, distinguish procedures inside and outside treaty coverage and separate supplies, services and construction categories.
This guide intentionally does not reproduce one threshold table as a rule for every Swiss buyer. Check the current rules for the buyer, contract type, value calculation and applicable treaty scope. Nor does a threshold alone establish your eligibility.
SECO's public-procurement guidance describes the GPA and other agreements, including bilateral arrangements. For an international supplier, check the covered buyer and procurement, relevant commitments, exclusions and qualification conditions. Do not assume treaty membership grants access to every contract or that an EU form substitutes for the buyer's requested declarations.
If delivering across a border, assign tax, customs, staffing and certification questions to the appropriate specialist. Those obligations depend on the proposed delivery model; this article is not a tax or market-access opinion.
Check the response route before the deadline
For active participation as a tenderer, the simap terms require a personal profile and membership in an existing or newly created organization profile. This is not a claim that registration is required simply to browse notices. The terms also specify that displayed times use Europe/Zurich. Record the actual deadline date and time rather than copying your browser's local time-zone assumption.
Follow the project instructions on how to submit. Where online submission is offered, confirm authorized users, required signatures, file requirements and successful submission confirmation. Do not assume every buyer accepts the same method. The simap help resources are the place to check current platform steps.
Check allowed submission languages explicitly. A translated search interface or notice summary does not establish which languages the buyer accepts. Assign a reader who can review the specification, evaluation criteria and contractual obligations in their authoritative form.
Worked example: a regional maintenance supplier
Illustrative example, not a live tender: a supplier can maintain equipment in Vaud and Geneva but cannot provide nationwide emergency response. It finds two notices with the same equipment classification. One requires service across Switzerland; the other separates a western-region lot. The team reviews lot access, sites, response times, required references and accepted languages. It rejects unsupported national delivery and records a clarification question for the potentially suitable lot before assigning a bid writer.
Save a pursue, clarify, partner, monitor or reject decision with evidence. The bid/no-bid checklist helps distinguish mandatory entry conditions from commercial attractiveness.
Turn the shortlist into a repeatable process
Assign one person to watch the official project for amendments and answers. Test your searches against known relevant notices and review rejected results for missed terminology. Keep historical awards separate from current opportunities. Continue with the monitoring workflow.
If evaluating Duke, bring your target buyers and example notices to a demonstration. Ask which Swiss sources, document links and updates can actually be shown. This guide does not certify current simap integration, real-time delivery or complete Swiss coverage, and Duke is not a substitute for the buyer's response channel.
Official source guidance checked: 13 September 2026. Next review: 13 December 2026, or sooner after portal or policy changes. Current tender documents and applicable rules govern each specific procurement.