Introduction

Efficient procurement practices, both private and public, play a key role in modern economies as they ensure reduction of wasteful activities. Achieving such efficiency is an ambitious task, as procurement faces numerous challenges, especially due to the market structure, the legal framework, and the political environment that procurers face.

Although reaching efficiency always implies experimenting with new methods and techniques of tendering, and although at a single point in time these might also vary depending on the level of development of institutions, market and the economic well-being of the given country, one should expect that procurement practices would tend to converge after controlling for all these factors.

Indeed, in recent years public and private procurement players have set up several initiatives and networks aimed at sharing best procurement practices. Some examples are the International Federation of Purchasing and Materials Management (IFPMM), the International Purchasing and Supply Education and Research Association (ISPERA), the Public Procurement Network (PPN) and the EU Public Procurement Learning Lab (EU Lab).