Supply chain traceability services and forced labour risk detection pilots

The European Commission DG GROW is running an open procurement (procedure reference EC-GROW/2026/OP/0068) to award two parallel service contracts for supply chain traceability and forced labour risk detection pilots, each with a maximum value of €425,000 and a maximum duration of 36 months. Bidders must provide platform access (minimum 10 user accounts) and on-demand bespoke supply chain mapping and risk analysis for at least 20 product groups, with defined response times and up to 100 consolidated reports deliverable within 7 calendar days. All contracting authority data must be stored on EU/EEA servers, security and data protection measures are mandatory, and AI usage must be disclosed with appropriate safeguards. Tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by 28 September 2026 (16:00 Brussels time) and awards will be made on a best price-quality ratio basis (quality 70%, price 30%).

Opportunity type

Call for tenders EC-GROW/2026/OP/0068

Open procurement to award two parallel service contracts via multiple sourcing to pilot digital supply-chain traceability and forced-labour risk detection services for use by European Commission services.

What it funds:Access to vendors’ existing traceability/risk-analysis platforms plus tailored on-demand supply-chain investigations and consolidated reports to support investigations under the EU Forced Labour Regulation ¹.

1. 1Who can apply: economic operators (companies) or consortia registered in the Participant Register with a PIC; subcontracting allowed.
2. 2Award: two highest scoring tenders (multiple sourcing) selected by best price-quality ratio; language and security requirements apply.
3. 3Budget and duration: up to €425,000 per contract; maximum duration 36 months; deliverables and interim payments defined in the draft contract.

How to apply:submit an electronic tender via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (eSubmission); EU Login and Participant Register (PIC) required; follow tender specifications, draft contract and annexes in the Portal Link to call. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Full procurement documents, tender specifications, draft contract and annexes are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu

This procurement is an open procedure published by the European Commission, DG GROW (Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) to conclude two separate service contracts under a multiple sourcing approach. Each contract has a maximum value of €425,000 and a maximum duration of 36 months. The purpose is to pilot supply chain traceability and forced labour risk detection services to support investigations and implementation of the Forced Labour Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/3015). The procurement documents include an invitation to tender, tender specifications, draft contract and annexes (security, IPR templates, financial offer form, declaration on honour, etc.).

Key administrative and submission details

Procurement reference:EC-GROW/2026/OP/0068 (TED reference 158/2026, 571625-2026). Estimated maximum value per contract: €425,000. Two contracts will be awarded (multiple sourcing) and performed in parallel for 36 months. Submission method: electronic via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission system. Tender language and official documents are in English. Deadline for receipt of tenders (final): 28/09/2026 16:00 Europe/Brussels. Virtual public opening: 29/09/2026 10:00 Europe/Brussels. Contracting authority: European Commission, DG GROW - Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.

Submission portal and account:Tenders must be submitted exclusively via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (Funding & Tenders Portal). An EU Login account and registration in the Participant Register (PIC) are required for each organisation intending to submit a tender. See the portal for eSubmission system requirements and the eSubmission Quick Guide F&T Portal.

What is being procured (scope and services)

Two types of service packages are procured under each contract. Both packages are required and described in the tender specifications. The contracting authority will use both services to pilot investigative support for the Forced Labour Regulation (FLR) and to inform future long-term choices.

1. 1Service package 1 (platform access, months 2–36): Access for at least 10 user accounts (transferable) to the contractor’s existing digital platform(s)/databases providing multi-tier supply chain mapping, supplier networks, facility locations and economic operator identification, economic and trade flows, and forced labour risk indicators/analyses. Up to 100 consolidated reports may be requested and must be delivered within 7 calendar days.
2. 2Service package 2 (on-demand tailored analysis, months 4–36): Provision of bespoke, on-demand supply chain mapping and forced labour risk analysis for a minimum of 20 product groups. Response times: minimum 3 calendar days, maximum 21 calendar days depending on complexity. The contractor must produce a delivery plan and handle multiple requests per product group.

Both packages require comprehensive documentation of sources, methodologies, data coverage and user interfaces. Contractors must provide training, customer support (technical and substantive), security protections, data export and the right for the Commission to download and store all data. Servers storing contracting authority data must be located inside the EU and EEA, and data must be disposed within 3 years after contract conclusion.

Deliverables and payment schedule

Deliverables include inception report and draft plan (T+2 months), platform access (T+2 months), rollout/training (T+2–T+5 months), final delivery plan for service package 2 (T+4 months), intermediate reports at T+12 and T+24 months and a final report at T+36 months. Meetings (kick-off, quarterly progress, ad hoc) are required. The payment schedule is split: 30% first interim payment upon approval of initial deliverables, 40% second interim payment after the mid-term report (T+24 months) and 30% final payment on completion and final report.

Estimated total value:Maximum contract value per awarded contract: €425,000. Two contracts will be awarded, therefore total possible procedural exposure for both contracts is €850,000.

Eligibility and applicant types

The tender is open to any economic operator that has access to EU procurement rules (in scope of the EU Treaties and applicable international agreements such as the GPA). The tender documents set exclusion and selection criteria that must be met and evidenced.

• Eligible applicant types: startup, SME, large enterprise, university/research institute, nonprofit, NGO, public-private consortium members, joint ventures, individual experts acting within a legal entity, subcontractors (subject to restrictions).
• SME flagging: Organisations should keep their SME status updated in the Participant Register (PIC).

Consortium and subcontracting rules

Tenders may be submitted as sole tenderers or as joint tenders (groups of economic operators). Joint tenders must appoint a group leader and all group members sign a power of attorney (Annex 3 model). Subcontracting is permitted; identified subcontractors (those representing >10% of contract value or whose capacities are used to meet selection criteria) must be listed in Annex 4 and submit commitment letters (Annex 5.1). Entities whose capacities are relied upon (not subcontractors) must provide commitment letters (Annex 5.2). All involved entities must comply with exclusion and selection criteria and must not be subject to EU restrictive measures.

Geographic and beneficiary scope

Participation is open to natural and legal persons established in EU Member States and in third countries covered by EU procurement agreements (e.g. GPA) or specific access rules. The contracting authority requires that data and contracting authority-related information be stored in servers located in the EU/EEA for the duration of the contract. Where personal data processing is involved, processing must comply with EU data protection rules and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

Mentioned countries:Belgium (Brussels) is the contracting authority location. The procurement documentation requires EU/EEA locations for data servers. No other specific third countries are mandated in the call text; the scope is global coverage of supply chains for data, but storage and processing of contracting authority data must be within EU/EEA.

Target sectors and technology focus

The procurement targets services and technologies for supply chain mapping, multi-tier traceability, forced labour risk analysis and detection. Relevant technology and domain areas: database services, data integration, multi-source data aggregation and reconciliation, supply chain mapping/multi-tier supplier graph generation, trade and customs data linkage, entity resolution, geolocation/facility identification, risk scoring and risk modelling for forced labour, human rights due diligence analytics, natural language processing for open-source intelligence, web and trade data scraping, AI/ML models for risk detection (subject to AI Act compliance), secure cloud hosting, cybersecurity and access control, and user-facing platforms for searching, visualising and exporting traceability and risk reports.

1. 1Target sector tags: environment/ethical supply chains, agriculture/food, manufacturing, ICT, trade and customs analytics, compliance, human rights due diligence, investigative support tools.
2. 2Technology tags: database services (CPV 72320000), data services/platforms (CPV 72300000), IT services and consulting (CPV 72000000), AI/ML and data engineering, cybersecurity and secure EU-based hosting.

Project stage and expected maturity

The procurement expects mature, operational commercial platforms and services. Minimum experience requirements include at least one structured platform/project active in the last three years with coverage of at least 100 product groups and data from at least 2,000 economic operators. The services are intended for immediate piloting and operational use (research/analysis, validation, demonstration and early investigative application), therefore technology maturity should be development/validation/demonstration/commercial (TRL high).

Project stage:Expected maturity: mature commercial platforms and demonstrated operational delivery (development, validation and demonstration; near-term operational/commercial use).

Evaluation, award method and timetable

Award method:best price-quality ratio. Price weighting 30% and quality weighting 70% (detailed quality sub-criteria and minimum scores apply). The two highest scoring offers that comply with minimum quality thresholds and selection/exclusion criteria will be awarded contracts (multiple sourcing). Tender validity, timelines and deliverables are defined in the tender specifications. Public Q&A channel is available on the F&T Portal but none were published at time of scraping.

1. 1Evaluation formula: score = (lowest price / tender price) * 100 * price weight(30%) + quality score(0–100) * quality weight(70%).
2. 2Minimum quality rules: sub-criteria minimum scores apply and tenders under overall 65% are excluded.
3. 3Two contracts to be awarded: the two highest scoring compliant tenders.

Selection and exclusion checks

Tenderers must submit a Declaration on Honour (Annex 2) for exclusion and selection matters. The Commission will verify exclusion situations (Article 138 Financial Regulation) and may consult the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES). The contracting authority may request documentary evidence (legal existence, financial accounts, project references, CVs) from the presumed successful tenderer(s) prior to award.

Templates, application forms and structure

Tender documentation contains mandatory templates and annexes which must be completed and uploaded in eSubmission. The documentation set is composed of: Invitation to tender, Tender specifications and annexes, Draft contract and annexes, Annex I — Financial offer form (Annex 6 template), Annex II — Declaration on Honour (Annex 2), Annex 3 Agreement/Power of attorney (joint tenders), Annex 4 list of identified subcontractors, Annex 5.1 commitment letter by identified subcontractor, Annex 5.2 commitment letter by entity on whose capacity the tenderer relies, Annex II IPR templates for transfer/statement on pre-existing rights, security annex and VAT allocation template for group members (Annex V).

Outline and required structure of applications:Technical tender (must address all technical requirements and award criteria; limit 60 pages): 1) Executive summary and compliance statement; 2) Detailed description of platform(s) and services (tasks 1 and 2), data sources, methodology for forced labour risk scoring and traceability; 3) Coverage and data scope (product, sector, geographies); 4) Security and data protection approach, server locations and business continuity; 5) Use of AI and safeguards; 6) Delivery plan for Service Package 2 including suggested product groups and maximum number of requests; 7) Customer support and training plan; 8) Team and CVs (Europass format) and roles; 9) References and project descriptions (2 pages max each); 10) Details of subcontractors and entities relied upon with commitment letters. Financial tender: use Annex 6 Financial Tender Form (daily rates, man-days, other costs) and provide full price quotation in EUR, VAT excluded.

The Annex 6 Financial Tender Form requires a breakdown:human resources (staff categories, daily rates, quantities in man-days) and other direct costs; subtotals and total (a+b). Consolidated financial offer must not exceed the tender budget and must be free of VAT.

Selection evidence and templates (detailed)

1. 1Declaration on Honour (Annex 2) — mandatory for each involved entity; required to show non-exclusion grounds are absent.
2. 2Annex 3 Agreement/Power of attorney — mandatory for joint tenders to appoint group leader and confirm joint & several liability.
3. 3Annex 4 list of identified subcontractors — mandatory if known (subcontractors >10% of contract or relied upon for selection criteria).
4. 4Annex 5.1 commitment letter from identified subcontractors (model) and Annex 5.2 commitment letter for entities whose capacities are relied upon (model).
5. 5Annex 6 Financial Offer form — mandatory financial breakdown template (human resources and other costs).
6. 6Annex II IPR declaration templates — mandatory declaration on pre-existing rights to be provided with results or before balance payment.

Selection criteria, minimums and evidence (summary)

Tenderers must demonstrate legal status, financial capacity and technical/ professional capacity with evidence. Key minimums (selection thresholds) include an average yearly turnover of the last two financial years above €150,000 (consolidated), at least one structured platform/project in the last 3 years covering at least 100 product groups and data on at least 2,000 economic operators across at least 3 continents, customer support evidence (licensed users serviced, support query numbers and training numbers), at least one project focusing on human rights/forced labour risk analysis with a minimum value of €60,000 in the last 3 years, and team composition minimums (project manager, data analysts, platform/engineering specialists, customer support specialist). CVs must be submitted in Europass format.

Security, data protection and AI safeguards

Strict security, confidentiality and data protection requirements apply. Contractors must provide a security plan, implement access control, authentication, continuous infrastructure monitoring, business continuity and incident management. All contracting authority-related data (including non-public and investigative information) must be stored in EU/EEA servers for the duration of the contract and disposed of within three years of contract conclusion. If AI is used, contractors must disclose scope and ensure segregation of contracting authority data and must not incorporate contracting authority data into shared training corpora without express written consent. AI uses may be subject to EU AI Act rules and contractor must commit to compliance. Personal data processing must comply with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 (EUDPR) and, where relevant, GDPR. Security screening for personnel may apply for access to Commission premises; the Commission may require security advice from Belgian authorities for personnel accessing Commission buildings in Belgium.

The procurement contains an Appendix 1 Security Requirements and a Security Baseline for External Connections (Appendix 2) that detail mandatory technical and organisational measures, incident notification within 48 hours, and cooperation with contracting authority security teams and audits.

Security and screening practical note:Where contractor service providers require access to Commission premises or IT assets, the Commission may require background checks and a positive national security advice (Belgium) and return of access cards on termination; the contractor bears all costs for screening and security compliance.

Application type, process stages and evaluation flow

Application method:open call for tenders via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (eSubmission). The process comprises a single-stage submission and evaluation, but administrative and selection verifications may prompt requests for additional evidence. The contracting authority will perform exclusion checks first, then selection criteria checks and evaluate award criteria (quality + price). The contracting authority may request further evidence from the presumed successful tenderer prior to award and reserve the right to cancel the procurement before contract signature.

1. 1Application type: open procedure — single submission stage via eSubmission.
2. 2Application stages: 1) Submission, 2) Administrative & exclusion/selection screening, 3) Technical and financial evaluation, 4) Award decision and pre-award verification and contract signature. (Effectively 4 stages.)

Success rates:Success rates are not provided in the tender. The procedure will award two contracts; therefore, the ex-ante success probability depends on the number of bidders. No historical success rate data is provided in the documentation.

Funding type and nature of support

This is a public procurement awarding service contracts. The primary financial mechanism is procurement (services contracts). Beneficiaries (contractors) will receive monetary payments according to the contract milestones (interim payments and final balance). Non-monetary support includes access to contracting authority requirements, data sharing (subject to confidentiality), and operational use of the awarded services by the contracting authority.

• Funding type: procurement — service contract (direct service contract).
• Nature of support: monetary payments for contracted services and in-kind operational access (contracted platform usage) and collaboration with Commission services.

Co-funding and financial obligations

No co-funding from the contracting authority is required. The contract price must be quoted net of VAT. Tenderers must demonstrate financial capacity (average yearly turnover threshold) and provide financial documentation when requested. The contractor bears all costs for complying with security and screening requirements and assumes responsibility for staff and subcontractors. The Commission may offset outstanding debts to the EU against payments due under the contract in accordance with the Financial Regulation.

Success and risk factors for applicants (practical checklist)

1. 1Demonstrate a mature platform with multi-tier supply chain data and entity resolution capability, with clear examples and statistics (product groups, economic operators, continents covered).
2. 2Provide transparent methodology for forced labour risk detection, including sources, risk scoring, differentiation by risk level and validation measures.
3. 3Describe data provenance and make sources available on request; provide reproducible workflows and explain how evidence/sources will be provided to the Commission.
4. 4Show EU/EEA server locations for contracting authority data, detailed security measures, incident handling and business continuity plans.
5. 5Confirm training and customer support plan, number of trained users and response SLAs for consolidated reports and on-demand requests.
6. 6Include required legal and financial documentation, Declaration on Honour, IPR pre-existing rights declaration, financial offer in Annex 6 format, and any commitment letters for subcontractors or relied entities.

Applicants should carefully comply with the tender specifications and mandatory templates (Annexes). Variants are not allowed and will be disregarded. Tenderers must ensure all required attachments are uploaded in eSubmission per Annex 1 and should anticipate requests for supporting evidence, preparing documents (legal status, financial statements, client references, CVs) in advance.

Legal, IPR and compliance obligations

The draft service contract establishes that the European Commission acquires ownership of the contract results and broad exclusive rights to reproduce, adapt, distribute and exploit results worldwide, while pre-existing rights are to be licensed to the Commission on a royalty-free, non-exclusive, irrevocable basis unless otherwise agreed. The contractor must provide an Annex listing pre-existing rights and corresponding evidence upon delivery of results or prior to final payment. The contractor must ensure creators transfer necessary rights and document evidence (Annex II templates).

Data protection and IPR:Processing of personal data must comply with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. Contractors must prevent incorporation of Commission data into third-party AI training sets and must not transfer contracting authority data outside the EU/EEA without prior written consent. IPR obligations require evidence and documentation for any pre-existing rights that appear in results; the contracting authority receives wide exploitation rights to results generated by the contract.

What is this opportunity about and how to approach it (summary)

This procurement is a time-limited pilot to acquire traceability platform access and tailored investigative analytics to support the European Commission’s enforcement and investigatory responsibilities under the Forced Labour Regulation. The Commission will award two parallel service contracts to different providers through multiple sourcing. The contracts are intended to provide access to multi-tier supply chain mapping, forced labour risk signals and the ability to request bespoke on-demand investigations into specific products and supply chains. The services will be actively used by Commission staff and may be shared with Member State competent authorities internally during investigations. Security, provenance and EU server location are mandatory for contracting authority data. Bidders must demonstrate mature platforms or documented service delivery, proven experience in supply chain traceability and forced labour/human rights risk analysis, robust customer support, and strong security and data governance. The award is based on best price-quality ratio with strict minimum technical thresholds and explicit procurement documentation and templates that must be completed faithfully.

The technical offer should be concise (maximum 60 pages) and directly address the specified tasks, sources, methodology, data coverage and user experience; the financial offer must use the provided Annex 6 financial form and be VAT-excluded in EUR. Prepare Declaration on Honour, subcontractor commitment letters, IPR forms, and security and data protection statements to be ready for pre-award checks. Where AI is used, declare scope and safeguards and comply with AI Act and EU data protection rules. The contracting authority will only process tenders submitted via eSubmission before the deadline. Tenderers are advised to subscribe to the Funding & Tenders Portal tender page to receive updates and documents.

Reference materials and where to apply:the full tender dossier, the Invitation to tender, Tender Specifications, Draft Service Contract, Annexes (financial tender form, declaration on honour, security annex, IPR templates) and downloadable documents are published on the Funding & Tenders Portal opportunity page. Subscribe there and submit the tender only via eSubmission before the closing time. For portal navigation and technical support refer to the eSubmission Quick Guide and Helpdesk.F&T Portal opportunity ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents, templates and tender specifications are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal opportunity page. See the Invitation to Tender and Tender Specifications for full and binding contractual terms Funding & Tenders Portal opportunity.

This is an open EU procurement run by the European Commission, DG GROW, to award two parallel service contracts for digital supply chain traceability and forced labour risk detection pilots, with electronic submission through the Funding and Tenders Portal and an estimated value of €425000.[1] The wider policy context is the EU Forced Labour Regulation and the Commission's public resource page on forced labour guidance and traceability tools, which confirms that traceability and risk identification are central practical supports for implementation.[15]

What the opportunity is about

The Commission seeks service providers that can support investigations and pre-investigation work related to products made with forced labour. The contract scope covers both access to an existing platform or database and tailored on-demand research and analysis for specific products or supply chains. The aim is to help the Commission identify supply chain tiers, map economic operators, assess exposure to forced labour risk, and obtain evidence or corroborating information for enforcement under the Forced Labour Regulation.

The tender documents describe two service packages. Service package 1 provides access to the contractor's existing supply chain mapping and risk analysis platform from month 2 of the contract. Service package 2 starts from month 4 and covers bespoke on-demand traceability and risk analysis for product groups not fully covered by the platform.

Who can apply

• Any economic operator able to meet the exclusion and selection criteria in the procurement documents can submit a tender, including sole tenderers and, where allowed, groups or consortia.
• Tenderers must have a valid Participant Identification Code and use an EU Login account for eSubmission.
• All tenderers, members of a joint tender, subcontractors, and relied-on entities must comply with the declaration on honour, including exclusion criteria, selection criteria, restrictive measures checks, and no outstanding debt to the Union.
• Tenderers must have no conflicting interests that could negatively affect performance.
• Variants are not allowed, so tenders must fully follow the model solution and specifications.

Commercial and financial highlights

• The tender notice states an estimated total value of €425000, while the specifications also state that each of the two contracts may have a maximum total value of €425000; applicants should verify the final tender documents and price accordingly.
• The contract duration is 36 months, with no additional renewal stated in the summary data.
• The contract will be awarded on a best price-quality ratio basis, with quality weighted at 70 percent and price at 30 percent.
• A negotiated follow-on procedure may be used within three years after signature for additional similar services up to 50 percent of the initial contract value, subject to satisfactory performance and funding availability.
• The contracting authority may offset any overdue debt owed to the Union or related EU bodies against payments due under the contract.

Core technical requirements

• The platform must support mapping of supply chain networks and multi-tier transparency information, including product identification, supplier relationships, geography, and where available facility-level details and subcontractors.
• The risk analysis must identify forced labour exposure using credible risk information and reputable sources, including direct and indirect indicators.
• The contractor must provide at least 10 individual user accounts and allow transfer of access to replacement users during the contract.
• The contracting authority may request up to 100 consolidated reports over the contract period, with delivery due within 7 calendar days of each request.
• For the on-demand service package, the contractor must be able to handle at least 20 product groups and respond within 3 to 21 calendar days depending on complexity.
• The technical offer must not exceed 60 pages.
• The contractor must explain sources, methodology, sectors covered, geographic coverage, level of data granularity, and how sources are made available to the Commission.
• If AI is used, the offer must disclose its scope and safeguards, including quality controls, segregation of customer data, and compliance with GDPR, EUDPR, and, where relevant, the AI Act.
• All data related to the contracting authority's activities must be stored on servers located in the EU for the full duration of the contract.
• All such data must be disposed of no later than 3 years after the end of the contracts.
• The contractor must provide customer support, training, and a clear escalation route for technical and substantive questions.
• Security controls must cover access control, authentication, cyberattack protection, continuous monitoring, business continuity, recovery, and incident reporting.

Deliverables and timeline

The contract also foresees regular progress meetings every 3 months and ad hoc meetings where needed. Service package 1 access starts earlier than service package 2, reflecting the Commission's need to begin using a platform quickly while more tailored work is prepared in parallel.

Eligibility, declarations, and compliance points

• Tenderers must complete the declaration on honour covering exclusion grounds such as bankruptcy, tax or social security arrears, grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, money laundering, terrorist offences, child labour, trafficking in human beings, irregularity, and obstruction of audits or investigations.
• Tenderers must also declare whether any managers, directors, controllers, or beneficial owners are subject to those exclusion grounds.
• The tender must confirm compliance with EU restrictive measures.
• Tenderers must declare that they do not have an established debt to the Union, the European Atomic Energy Community, or an executive agency implementing the EU budget.
• Tenderers must confirm the tender was prepared independently.
• If evidence is already available from another procedure of the same contracting authority and is still valid, it may be reused under the conditions in the declaration.
• The draft contract and annexes show strong emphasis on confidentiality, intellectual property rights transfer, VAT treatment, and security requirements.

Practical assessment for applicants

This opportunity is best suited to companies that already operate mature traceability, supply chain intelligence, trade data, or forced labour risk analytics platforms, and that can combine software access with responsive expert analysis. The Commission is not buying a generic database subscription alone; it is seeking a service that can support investigative work, provide reliable source-backed outputs, and adapt quickly to short deadlines and sensitive enforcement needs.

Applicants should pay particular attention to the required evidence chain, the need to explain methodology clearly, the data hosting and disposal obligations, and the possibility of repeated on-demand research assignments during the contract period. Because the procedure is a multiple sourcing arrangement, the Commission expects distinct providers to run in parallel, so differentiation in methodology, coverage, and analytical value may matter in evaluation.

Useful documents listed on the portal

• Invitation letter
• Tender specifications
• Financial tender form
• Declaration on honour
• Draft service contract
• Security requirements annex
• Intellectual property rights statements annex
• VAT annex