International public tenders: how to find them early and in your language

Why timing matters

Every tender has a submission deadline. Preparing a good bid takes time: reading the documents, asking clarification questions within the allowed window, finding partners, preparing prices and certificates.

A tender found in the last days often means a rushed bid or no bid at all. Found on the day it is published, the same tender leaves time to decide calmly whether to participate.

Where tenders are published

Each portal has its own format, language and search tools. Following several of them by hand every day is a full-time job.

Larger contracts are often advertised at regional level, for example in the European Union, while many smaller contracts appear only on national or local portals. Following both levels gives a fuller picture of the opportunities in the countries where you can deliver, and helps you spot the buyers that publish regularly in your field.

How to describe what you sell

Good matching starts from a clear profile. Unicorn Intelligence lets you combine:

• keywords in your language, such as the names of your products and services;
• CPV codes, the Common Procurement Vocabulary used in European public procurement to classify what is being bought;
• countries where you can deliver;
• minimum value, to skip tenders that are too small for you.

You can keep several search profiles, for example one per business line or per region.

What you receive

• a summary of each tender translated into your language;
• the value and the currency, when published;
• the submission deadline;
• direct links to the notice and to the tender documents;
• a weekly briefing every Monday and alerts as soon as a matching tender is published, by email, by signed webhook or by API.

Because every tender keeps its link to the official notice, your team can move from the summary to the full documents in one click and share the same item with colleagues, partners or the person who prepares the bid.

Why tenders are missed

Bid teams rarely miss tenders because they lack interest. The usual reasons are practical:

• the tender is published on a portal nobody follows;
• the notice is in a language the team does not read;
• the keywords used by the buyer differ from the ones the team searches;
• the notice is found, but too late to prepare a good bid.

Matching on CPV codes as well as keywords, with a summary in your language and an alert on the day of publication, addresses each of these causes. A short weekly review of the briefing then lets the team decide which tenders deserve a bid, and which partners or documents to prepare.

How to set it up

1. Sign in with your business email or a Google or Apple account: $50 of free usage to get started, no card required.
2. Create a search profile with keywords, CPV codes, countries and minimum value.
3. Choose the language of summaries and how you want alerts.
4. Read the matching tenders, open the documents and decide whether to bid.
5. Refine the profile after the first week, adding or removing keywords and codes.

What it costs

With pay as you go each search profile costs $300 per month, charged every week, with no monthly fee. The Tenders plan includes 5 search profiles, and tenders are also part of the Market and growth package and the Complete package. The current prices are on the pricing page.

Before you bid

Always read the official notice and documents: they are the only binding text, and deadlines or conditions can be corrected after publication. It also helps to check the public buyer and any partners with a company dossier.

Unicorn Intelligence is an information tool: the decision to bid and the bid itself remain with your company. The complete guide explains the other services.

Frequently asked questions

Which tender portals are covered?

TED for the European Union, SAM.gov for the United States federal government and open national portals that publish open data.

What is a CPV code?

The Common Procurement Vocabulary is the classification used in European public procurement to describe what is being bought. Adding CPV codes to your profile makes matching more precise.

Are tenders translated?

Each tender comes with a summary translated into your language, with direct links to the original notice and documents.

How quickly are we alerted?

You can receive an alert as soon as a matching tender is found, a daily email summary, and a weekly briefing every Monday.

Does Unicorn Intelligence submit bids for us?

No. It is an information tool that finds and summarizes tenders; the decision to bid and the bid itself remain with your company.