November 13, 2025
Application Deadlines in Public Contracts: Why Many Are Running Late
Raphael Mielke (Co-founder of Scelion)
Public tenders have clear deadlines. This means the clock starts counting from the day of the initial publication.
In national procedures according to UVgO or VOB/A, this typically ranges from 10 to 30 days, while in EU-wide procedures according to VgV, it is generally at least 30 days.
In urgency procedures, there are often only 7 to 15 days available. Anyone who discovers tenders too late is effectively out, regardless of how good their actual offer might be.
The Problem
The deadlines themselves are not the issue. The complexity arises before this:
Tenders are spread across many portals.
Each tender must be read, understood, and evaluated.
Similar texts and attachments must repeatedly be compiled for an offer.
Result: Teams spend hours searching, qualifying, and copying and pasting, yet still cannot manage to handle all relevant procedures. Opportunities and thus revenue are missed.
How We Change This
This is where Scelion comes in:
Accurate Automatic Search
Semantics instead of keywords: Scelion automatically finds suitable procedures, even if the tender is worded differently than the term used internally.Qualification in Seconds
The most important information: deadlines, volume, requirements, are clearly prepared. Teams can immediately see whether participation is worthwhile or not.Automated Proposal Creation
Recurring content, references, and documents are pre-structured. Proposals do not start from scratch but only need to be detailed technically.
Faster Tender Processing
When search, qualification, and proposal creation proceed significantly faster, more time remains for what truly matters: great content and a convincing proposal strategy.
Thus, "We can hardly keep up" becomes "We respond to all relevant tenders" - and that well before the deadline expires.
References:
Procurement Regulation (VgV) §§ 15-17
Sub-Threshold Procurement Regulation (UVgO) § 10
Contract Procedures for Construction Works (VOB/A) § 10
