Netherlands – Food, beverages, tobacco and related products – Delivery of groceries to locations

Opportunity description

Intended contract The Gezamenlijke Brandweer (GB) intends to award a contract for the delivery of groceries for the (professional) fire stations within its service area directly to Albert Heijn Zakelijk, established in Barendrecht, the Netherlands. The contract concerns a supply agreement with an initial term of one (1) year, with the possibility of subsequently extending it 9 times by one (1) year up to a maximum of 10 years. Rationale The Gezamenlijke Brandweer intends to award this contract via a negotiated procedure without prior call for competition as referred to in Article 2.32, first paragraph, under b, of the Public Procurement Act 2012. This choice is based on the absence of genuine competition due to objective logistical and factual circumstances. The contract concerns supplying several (professional) fire stations within the service area of the Gezamenlijke Brandweer. For business operations and operational readiness, it is necessary for the groceries to be delivered daily within the fixed time window from 07:30 to 08:30. Deliveries outside this time window are not operationally acceptable because they may affect the continuity of fire services and staff availability. Prior to this intention, the Gezamenlijke Brandweer conducted a careful market survey and contacted the market parties known to it that are active within this market segment. It investigated which suppliers were able and willing to provide the requested services under the stipulated functional and logistical conditions. This market survey showed that the suppliers approached cannot or do not wish to meet the required delivery frequency, the mandatory delivery time window and the logistical conditions arising from the service area of the Gezamenlijke Brandweer. For that reason, these market parties indicated that they could not perform the contract. Based on the market survey, the Gezamenlijke Brandweer concludes that Albert Heijn Zakelijk is the only economic operator demonstrably able and willing to perform the contract in accordance with all stipulated requirements. There is therefore no reasonable alternative or substitute available that can guarantee the continuity and reliability of supplies to the fire stations. The absence of competition is the result of objective logistical and factual circumstances and not of an artificial restriction of the conditions of the contract. The stipulated requirements have been included only insofar as they are necessary and proportionate to guarantee the continuity of operational fire services. Objection period With this announcement, the Gezamenlijke Brandweer gives market parties the opportunity to take note of the intended award decision and the rationale underlying it. Companies that believe they are also able to perform the contract in accordance with all stipulated functional and logistical requirements, or that object to the intended application of the negotiated procedure without prior call for competition, are requested to submit a reasoned objection no later than 26-08-2026 at 12:00 via Mercell or by email to klachten@gez- brandweer.nl, for the attention of R. Köhler, Senior Procurement Officer. An objection must set out, with reasons, why the submitter considers that the conditions for applying the negotiated procedure without prior call for competition have not been met, or why the submitter is able to perform the contract in accordance with all stipulated functional, logistical and operational requirements. After the expiry of the aforementioned period, it will be assumed that there are no objections to the intended award. If no reasoned objection is received within this period, or if a submitted objection does not lead to a different conclusion, the Gezamenlijke Brandweer is entitled to definitively award the contract to Albert Heijn Zakelijk. Submitting an objection does not automatically suspend the intended award. The Gezamenlijke Brandweer will carefully assess a timely and properly reasoned objection before making a definitive award decision. Procedure: neg-wo-call. Estimated value: 1,300,000 EUR. Review the original TED notice for the complete requirement, lots, amendments and attachments.