Public procurements worth SEK 642 billion

This is apparent from this year's "Statistik om offentlig upphandling 2017" [2017 Public Procurement Statistics], a joint report issued by the National Agency for Public Procurement and the Swedish Competition Authority.

Close to 1,300 authorities announced procurements during 2016. Municipalities are the most common procuring authorities. More than half of authorities that announced procurements in 2016 announced 1–5 procurements. A total of 18,330 procurements were announced in accordance with the laws on procurement in 2016.

The report shows that there has been a significant increase in the use of framework agreements in recent years, with no less than 39 per cent of procurements announced in 2016 having been framework agreements. In 2016, 41 per cent of the procurement notices were governed by the EU public procurement directives, representing a 10-per cent increase since 2012.

The report also shows that when NGOs, such as non-profit organisations, foundations and funds, participate in procurements, they win contracts more often than other organisations. Of the tenderers, at least 213 companies and other organisations belonged to the category of NGOs. In total, NGOs submitted 426 tenders in 2016, and just over six out of ten of these resulted in contracts. This can be compared with a little over four out of ten for other suppliers.

"Statistics are of considerable significance for our operation. They allow us to offer well-grounded support to both procurers and suppliers in order to use public procurement as a strategic tool for creating good public business", says Inger Ek, the director general at the National Agency for Public Procurement.

"Relevant facts, including statistics, represent an important tool in our supervisory activity. They help us to see signs of weak competition for example, or to identify needs for other measures in order to achieve effective public procurement", says Rikard Jermsten, director general of the Swedish Competition Authority.

Read the report 2017:11 (in Swedish with a summary in English)