Market Consultation Notice
A market consultation notice (markkinakartoitusilmoitus) is a notice published by a Finnish contracting authority on Hilma to tell the market about a contract it is preparing and to request information from suppliers before the tender documents are drafted. It is submitted on the Hilma form for market consultation notices (FI/TED E1). For a supplier, this notice is in practice the earliest public signal of an upcoming contract: it may appear months, or in major projects even years, before the contract notice itself. At this stage the subject matter, the requirements and the contract terms are still open to change, so the opportunity to influence them is far greater than at the tendering stage. Publishing the notice is not mandatory for the contracting authority, but authorities commonly announce their consultations through Hilma. Systematic monitoring of Hilma should therefore cover market consultation notices, not only contract notices.
Definition
A market consultation notice is a notice through which a contracting authority launches the market consultation referred to in section 65 of the Finnish Act on Public Procurement (1397/2016) and invites interested suppliers into dialogue. It is not a call for tenders but a request for information: responding does not oblige a supplier to submit a tender, and not responding does not prevent participation in the later tender competition. Nor does the notice commit the contracting authority to carrying out the procurement at all. The notice typically sets out the preliminary subject matter, scope and timetable, the objective of the consultation, the form and deadline for responses, and the specific questions the authority would like answered. Material such as a draft call for tenders or a draft contract may be attached to the notice, or delivered separately to everyone who responds. Information given during a market consultation binds neither party, and all of it is requested again in the actual call for tenders. Respondents are generally not paid for taking part. The authority must treat respondents equally at the consultation stage too: for example, an opportunity to present a solution at a meeting must be offered to all interested parties.
Practical Example
A city is planning to procure a workforce management system for home care and publishes a market consultation notice on Hilma eight months before the planned tender competition. The notice describes the preliminary subject matter and volume, states that this is a request for information rather than a call for tenders, and asks four questions: does the supplier's solution meet the requirements set out in the draft, which draft contract terms could the supplier not accept and why, which cost drivers are missing from the draft, and what would be a realistic implementation schedule. The response window is two weeks. A software supplier responds in writing, marks the parts it considers trade secrets, and proposes that the requirement for a particular interface standard be reframed as a functional requirement, because the current wording would limit the market to two suppliers. The city also offers every respondent a 30-minute online meeting. When the call for tenders is published the following spring, the interface requirement has been reframed and the implementation schedule extended by three months.
Common Mistake
The most common mistake is not monitoring market consultation notices at all, because they are not seen as sales opportunities. Many suppliers follow only actual contract notices on Hilma and enter the process once the tender documents are already locked. A second common mistake is responding with a sales brochure about the supplier's own features instead of answering the authority's questions and providing market information. A third is failing to indicate which parts of the response are trade or business secrets — authorities usually ask for this explicitly, and omitting it may render the information public. A fourth is treating the figures given in a consultation response as binding: information given in a market consultation binds neither party, but a price level quoted too low may still survive as the authority's budget frame.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is publishing a market consultation notice mandatory?
No. Finnish procurement law does not require a notice of market consultation to be published, nor does it define which parties the consultation must be held with. In its decision MAO H203/2022 the Market Court confirmed that a contracting authority may use various means and forms in a market consultation. In practice, however, authorities commonly announce their consultations through Hilma, because a notice reaches the market broadly and supports the equal treatment of suppliers. Note that the consultation itself, or an assessment of alternative delivery options, is required under section 65 where the estimated value of the contract excluding VAT exceeds EUR 10 million.
Does responding to a market consultation oblige me to tender?
No. Responding to a market consultation does not oblige a supplier to submit a tender in the later competition, and not responding is not an obstacle to taking part in it. Equally, the contracting authority does not commit itself to carrying out the procurement. Information given during a market consultation binds neither party, and everything material to the contract is requested again in the actual call for tenders.
What should I include in my response?
Answer the questions the authority has actually asked, and give reasons. What authorities value most is market information: which solutions exist, which requirements narrow the field of suppliers, which contract terms raise prices, and what drives costs. Present proposed changes as concrete wording and justify them in terms of competition and the authority's own interest. Clearly mark which parts of your response are trade or business secrets. If you give price information, give a range and explain what affects it.
Related Guides
Market dialogue: a strategy guide for bidders
Market dialogue under section 65 of the Finnish Procurement Act: when to take part, what to ask and how to influence the requirements of the future call for tenders. Includes Hankinta-Suomi's market dialogue guide (2026) for download.
Read guideHilma Guide: Finland's Public Tenders & Contract Notices
Hilma (hankintailmoitukset.fi) is Finland's official tender notice channel. How to search tenders, set alerts, and submit bids on the right platform.
Read guideRelated Terms
Request for Proposals
Understand the request for proposals (tarjouspyyntö) in Finnish public procurement. Key document that defines requirements and evaluation criteria.
Contract Notice
Learn about contract notices in Finnish public procurement. The official announcement published on Hilma and TED to invite tenders from suppliers.
Hilma Platform
Learn about Hilma, Finland's official public procurement notice platform. How to find and respond to procurement opportunities on hankintailmoitukset.fi.
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