Bautzen launches Europe-wide tender for school teaching materials!

Bautzen launches Europe-wide tender for school teaching materials!

The city of Bautzen is taking a new approach to school book procurement and has decided to put the school books for the years 2026/27 to 2029/30 out to tender across Europe. How saechsische.de Reportedly, the resolution was passed during the city council meeting in September. The aim of this call for tenders is to give regional booksellers greater consideration and to offer them fair opportunities.

The tender includes the provision of textbooks, workbooks and printed materials for all city schools. This is done in three lots, which are distributed between primary schools and the support center, secondary schools and high schools. Interested bidders can apply for one or more lots, although fortunately the original rule that prevented one bidder from awarding all three lots has been removed. The price does not play a role in these tenders, as school books are price-linked and there is no need for price and service competition.

Procurement framework conditions

The awarding of textbook contracts is usually done through public tenders, which is considered by many to make little sense. According to the requirements of EU antitrust law, public contracts worth more than 221,000 euros must be advertised across Europe, while smaller contracts can be awarded privately. The local school authorities must always observe the fixed book prices, which brings with it not only legal but also practical challenges. The Exchange Association of the German Book Trade has compiled helpful information on this.

In order to offer communities and booksellers the necessary support, the Börsenverein creates information sheets on the procurement of school books, which show the legal framework and possible pitfalls. This is done under the keyword “need for clarification”, as the complexity of procurement law poses major challenges for many municipalities and smaller bookstores. These articles deal, among other things, with the choice of award procedure and how fixed book prices are to be applied in the context of tenders.

Service and quality in focus

The evaluation of the offers from the tender is not primarily based on price, but rather focuses on service and quality. 70% of the assessment is based on technical consulting services and 30% on the processing time of repeat and individual orders. Fixed book prices also ensure that all applicants offer the same price for textbooks, which often means that tenders have to focus on other, non-monetary performance characteristics. Loud Cosinex This is crucial in order not to distort market conditions and not to disadvantage regional providers.

Overall, with this Europe-wide call for tenders, Bautzen is pursuing a well-thought-out concept that offers regional booksellers a fair chance of participating. This could not only strengthen the local economy, but also give schools the confidence of receiving high-quality materials that fit the city's educational goals.