10 November 2026 – Anyone seeking to win public contracts today knows the rules of the game: price is what counts, while everything else often plays a secondary role. The European Commission wants to change that. In September 2026, it presented its proposal for a Public Procurement Act, which would fundamentally reshape European procurement law. This is likely to significantly change the rules of the game for logistics providers, transport companies and freight forwarders alike.
Specifically, the Commission's proposal stipulates that quality criteria should generally account for at least 30 per cent of the overall evaluation of bids. For labour-intensive contracts, this figure is set to rise to at least 50 per cent. This could potentially include many services in the transport and logistics sector. Exceptions are to remain possible where the required level of quality can already be adequately ensured through technical specifications or contractual provisions.
NEXT STEP: NEGOTIATIONS AT EU LEVEL
The European Commission presented its proposal for the Public Procurement Act on 9 September 2026. It is intended to replace the three existing EU procurement directives with a single regulation while also simplifying and digitalising procurement procedures. The European Parliament and the Council of the EU will jointly decide on the final version. An agreement is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027. Until then, the proposal remains subject to the legislative process.
AN IMPORTANT SIGNAL FOR SAE MEMBERS
For members of System Alliance Europe, this development sends an important signal: high-performing European networks, reliable partnership structures and consistent quality standards could carry greater weight in public tenders in the future. After all, particularly in cross-border freight transport, it is not just the price of an individual transport service that determines success, but the interaction of numerous partners that ultimately defines the quality of the entire supply chain.
“With the high and consistent quality standards of System Alliance Europe, our member companies have all the tools needed to meet the criteria that will matter under the planned procurement framework,” says Tassilo Schneider, Chairman of the Board of System Alliance Europe. “The strength of our alliance will become even more visible in EU tenders in the future.”
