How do I sell to the City of Helsinki?

The City of Helsinki is an attractive trading partner for many suppliers. We often receive inquiries about how suppliers can partner with the City of Helsinki.

How can I become a contracted supplier of the City of Helsinki?

To put it simply, you can become a contracted supplier of the City of Helsinki by following the city’s contract notices and participating in its procurement processes. There is no direct path to becoming a contracted supplier. 

The City of Helsinki complies with legislation on public procurement and the city’s own procurement guidelines. This means that procurements above the national threshold values for contracts must be put out to tender in accordance with the Finnish Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts. The City of Helsinki publishes these contract notices in the Hilma service.

For small-scale procurements, the City of Helsinki may conduct an open or restricted procurement procedure or purchase the product or service directly from the most suitable supplier in compliance with the City of Helsinki’s procurement guidelines. 

Information for suppliers

The City of Helsinki may publish requests for information, prior information notices regarding future procurements or invites to participate in market dialogue as part of its procurement preparations. Responding to requests for information and participating in market dialogue are efficient ways to influence the City of Helsinki’s planned procurements. 

  • Respond to requests for information and take part in market dialogue by following the instructions provided in the notice. Notices often request suppliers to respond to a survey, submit an answer through the Supplier Portal or sign up to participate by email. 
  • Please note that the requests for information, market dialogue and the answers given in them are not binding on either party. Requests for information and market dialogue do not mean that the City of Helsinki commits to carry out a procurement based on them. Additionally, the city is not bound by the descriptions or definitions presented in requests for information or market dialogue. 

  • Carefully read through the call for tenders and its appendices. The procuring authority cannot make essential changes to the requirements or terms and conditions stated in the call for tender afterwards. If you have any questions regarding the call for tenders, please submit your questions via the Supplier Portal. The procuring authority does not usually answer questions asked by phone/email.
  •  Please note that the procuring authority may correct the call for tenders by publishing a correction notice. You cannot submit a tender while the call for tenders is being corrected. It may take a few days before the correction notice is published. 
  • Respond to all of the required questions and sections.
  • Do not provide additional documents unless you are asked to do so (such as brochures, appendices and/or cover letters). 
  • Submit your tender in time. You can edit your tender via the Supplier Portal until the deadline given.

Considerations regarding supplier teams and subcontracting

  •  If your company is unable to meet the requirements by itself, you may submit a joint tender with other suppliers. 
  •  If the call for tenders uses the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) and you rely on a subcontractor’s capacities for your tender, reserve time to obtain ESPD information from the subcontractor. 
  • Prepare to provide the statements required in the call for tenders without delay, both for the company making the offer and any subcontractors it uses. 
  • The procuring authority checks the criminal records extract of the tenderers selected in tender processes exceeding the EU threshold value for contracts. Please visit the Legal Register Centre website for more information on how to order a criminal records extract.

Once the tendering period ends, the procuring authority opens the tenders and starts processing them. During this processing period, the procuring authority may ask the tenderers to provide additional information. 
 

  • Please note that the decision-making process may take some time, particularly if elected bodies consider the decision.
  • Keep in mind that the procuring authority will notify all of the parties concerned of the procurement decision at the same time. This marks the start of the appeal period. You can find the appeal instructions attached to the decision. 
  • Keep in mind that the contract cannot be signed until the procuring authority has received all of the statements required from the supplier and any subcontractors it uses. 
     

Do you need to send an invoice to the City of Helsinki?

The City of Helsinki accepts e-invoices only. The payment term for invoices addressed to the City is a minimum of 21 days.
The e-invoicing addresses, also known as EDI identifiers, of the city divisions and public enterprises are in the following format: 003702012566 + a division-specific number. List of city division and public enterprise invoicing addresses.

City of Helsinki’s business ID

The business ID of the City of Helsinki is 0201256-6.