Postal Services Procurement

Postal services procurement is the regulated purchasing activity of entities that operate postal networks or provide postal services. It is the fourth of the four sectors covered by Directive 2014/25/EU, alongside water, energy, and transport. The postal sector presents a distinctive challenge under the Utilities Directive because postal markets have been progressively liberalised across Europe under the Postal Services Directive (2008/6/EC), meaning that many activities that were once exclusive monopolies are now directly exposed to competition and therefore potentially exempt from the procurement rules.

What is Postal Services Procurement?

Annex II of Directive 2014/25/EU defines the postal activities covered as: the provision of postal services (including parcel delivery), and the provision of other services than postal services, on the condition that such services are provided by an entity which also provides postal services and the conditions under which those other services are provided are not subject to competition.

A postal service is broadly defined as a service consisting of the clearance, sorting, routing, and delivery of postal items (letters and parcels). The key entity is a national or regional postal operator that manages a postal network: the infrastructure of sorting offices, collection points, and delivery routes used to carry postal items.

Contracting entities in this sector include incumbent national postal operators (such as Deutsche Post, La Poste, Royal Mail, and their counterparts across Europe) where they continue to operate infrastructure under a universal service obligation or exclusive right, and any other operator that has been granted a special or exclusive right to provide postal services in a defined area.

Common categories of postal sector contracts include: vehicle fleet procurement and maintenance; logistics technology and route optimisation software; sorting equipment and automation; parcel tracking and information systems; real estate and sorting facility management; and professional services such as engineering and ICT consultancy.

Because postal markets have been largely liberalised in many EU member states, the directly exposed to competition exemption is more commonly invoked in this sector than in the water or energy sectors. Where the European Commission has confirmed that specific postal services are subject to free market competition, the relevant contracting entities may not need to follow the Utilities Directive for those activities.

Why it matters for bidders

Suppliers targeting postal sector buyers need to understand whether a specific buyer and activity remain subject to regulated procurement or have been exempted. An incumbent postal operator that has been granted an exemption for its parcel delivery business may procure those services commercially, without the transparency obligations of the Utilities Directive. Checking the current status of exemptions is an important preliminary step before investing in a pursuit.

Example

A central European national postal operator holds a universal service obligation and continues to operate its letter network under a statutory right. It procures vehicle fleet maintenance under 2014/25/EU using a qualification system to maintain a list of approved fleet service providers. However, for its separately incorporated parcel delivery subsidiary, which operates in a fully competitive market, the European Commission has granted a competition exemption, and that subsidiary procures its logistics technology commercially without procurement law obligations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which postal operators in Europe remain subject to the Utilities Directive?

The position varies by member state and by activity. Operators that retain a universal service obligation and operate a postal network infrastructure are most likely to remain in scope. Activities that are fully liberalised and competitive (express parcels in particular) are more likely to have been exempted. Buyers will typically state in their notices or procurement documents whether they consider themselves subject to 2014/25/EU for a given contract.

Does the Utilities Directive apply to courier and express delivery companies?

Only if the courier company holds a special or exclusive right from a public authority. Most private courier and express delivery companies (operating in competitive markets without exclusive licences) are not contracting entities and procure commercially.

How do I find postal sector procurement opportunities in Europe?

Above-threshold contracts where the operator considers itself subject to 2014/25/EU are published on TED. Given the exemption landscape, many postal sector contracts are awarded commercially. Bidovate tracks TED-published notices for the postal sector and can alert suppliers to new above-threshold opportunities as they appear.