Writing Technical Specifications for Tenders Without Restricting Competition

Why do specifications restrict competition without anyone intending it?

Engineers and end users rarely set out to exclude suppliers. But the easiest route is often to open the datasheet of a product they know and copy the numbers: the dimensions, the model number, a precise rating that only one product matches. The result looks technical and rigorous, but it is really a description of a single product.

That is why international frameworks agree on one principle: a specification must not become a barrier to suppliers. The Agreement on Government Procurement prohibits specifications that create unnecessary obstacles to international trade. ^[2] The EU Directive requires specifications to give tenderers equal access without unjustified obstacles to competition. ^[4] The World Bank states the aim plainly: standards and specifications should promote the broadest possible competition while ensuring the required performance. ^[1]

There is a second form of restriction that has nothing to do with brands: over-specification. Asking for far more performance or capacity than the project needs raises the price and shrinks the number of suppliers able to comply. The Saudi law expressly prohibits specifications that go beyond the project’s needs and budget. ^[5]

What do international and Gulf rules say?

The rules are close in substance, even if the wording differs:

• WTO Agreement on Government Procurement: specifications should, where appropriate, be set out in terms of performance and functional requirements rather than design or descriptive characteristics, and be based on international standards where they exist. ^[2]
• World Bank Procurement Regulations (Seventh Edition, 2025): specifications are based on relevant technical characteristics and/or performance requirements, and brand names and catalogue numbers are to be avoided. ^[1]
• UNCITRAL Model Law (2011): the subject matter is described objectively and generally without reference to brand names, so that submissions can be prepared and compared on a common basis. ^[3]
• EU Directive 2014/24/EU: specifications may be written as performance or functional requirements, by reference to standards each followed by ‘or equivalent’, or a combination of the two. ^[4]

In Saudi Arabia, the Government Tenders and Procurement Law requires specifications to be detailed, precise and clear, to follow approved standards (or international standards where no national one exists), and not to refer to a particular type, category or brand. ^[5] The other GCC states each have their own tenders or procurement law and regulations, so do not assume the Saudi rule applies to your organisation outside the Kingdom.

Performance specification or descriptive specification?

A descriptive specification tells the supplier how the product is made: materials, dimensions, components. A performance specification tells them what it must achieve: the function, the level of performance and the operating conditions. ^{[2, 4]}

The working rule: start with performance, and add description only where it is genuinely needed, such as compatibility with existing systems or interfaces. The EU Directive requires performance requirements to be precise enough for tenderers to understand the subject matter and for the authority to award the contract. ^[4]

When is a brand name allowed?

Referring to a particular brand, model, origin or product is a narrow exception in every framework. It is used only when there is no other sufficiently precise and intelligible way to describe the requirement, and ‘or equivalent’ must then be added. ^{[1, 2, 4]}

The Saudi law adds a procedural condition: prior approval from the authority responsible for unified procurement, with the tender documents stating that equivalents will be accepted. ^[5] The Implementing Regulations also prohibit referring to numbers taken from suppliers’ lists, and specifications that only one product can meet. ^[5]

The phrase alone is not enough. If you write ‘or equivalent’ and then reject every offer that does not carry the named brand, you have emptied the phrase of meaning. So state in the tender documents which characteristics equivalence will be measured against.

Before relying on the exception, ask yourself: have you genuinely tried to describe the requirement in performance terms? The need to be compatible with systems or equipment the organisation already runs may justify naming a model, but “we are used to this brand” is not a justification. Either way, record the reason in the tender file; it is the first thing an auditor or a complaining bidder will ask about.

Standards and accepting equivalents

Referring to a recognised standard is stronger than a description you write yourself, because it sets the test method and performance level in terms every manufacturer understands. The frameworks prefer international standards, then national ones where no international standard exists or it is unsuitable. ^{[1, 2]}

But a standard is not a locked door. The World Bank Regulations require procurement documents to state that equipment, materials and methods meeting standards at least substantially equivalent to those specified will be accepted. ^[1] The EU Directive prohibits rejecting a tender for not complying with the named standard if the tenderer proves by appropriate means that its solution meets the requirements equally well. ^[4] In practice: cite the standard with its edition, and list the evidence you will accept, such as certificates of conformity and test reports.

Steps to writing a neutral specification

1. Define the need, not the product: what problem does the purchase solve? What outcome and operating conditions are required?
2. Consult the market openly: speak to more than one supplier to understand the solutions available. The Agreement on Government Procurement prohibits accepting advice on specifications from a person with a commercial interest in the procurement if it would have the effect of precluding competition. ^[2]
3. Write performance requirements: give each requirement a measurable minimum value, not a value that matches one product.
4. Link them to standards: international or approved national standards, with equivalents accepted. ^{[1, 5]}
5. Set the evidence and the minimum for acceptance: how will suppliers prove compliance, and what makes an offer non-responsive?
6. Review before issue: someone who did not write the specification reviews it and asks how many suppliers could comply.

Hypothetical example: from a named model to performance requirements

A government entity wants to buy 40 laptops. The first draft reads: “Brand X, model Y, processor Z, 14-inch screen, weight 1.36 kg”. These figures come from one model’s datasheet, and the weight in particular matches no other product.

After review the specification becomes: a processor reaching a stated minimum score on a published benchmark, memory of at least a set amount, a screen between 13 and 14 inches, weight no more than 1.5 kg, a stated minimum battery life, compatibility with the device management system the entity uses, and a warranty with local support for a set period. Several manufacturers can now compete, and the entity gets the performance it wanted. The figures are hypothetical, to illustrate the method.

Checklist before approving the tender documents

Any item that fails these questions goes back to its author before publication, not after clarification requests and complaints arrive, because changing a specification after the tender is issued costs time and may mean extending the submission deadline.

Remember too that the Saudi law requires specifications to take account of the needs of persons with disabilities, and Article 42 of the EU Directive sets a similar requirement for procurement intended for use by people, whether the general public or the authority’s own staff. ^{[4, 5]}

Conclusion

Write down the performance and outcome your organisation needs, not what a product you know offers. Rely on standards and genuinely accept equivalents, treat brand references as a documented exception, and have the specification checked by an independent reviewer before the tender goes out.