The Promise vs Reality

Mercell is positioned as the gateway to public sector contracts across Europe.

And for most suppliers:

It’s not optional it’s mandatory

But instead of creating access…

It creates friction.

What It Actually Feels Like

When teams rely on Mercell daily, the experience looks very different:

“It’s like working in a digital museum from 1995.”

“The search engine is a joke.”

“I’m literally using ChatGPT to translate Mercell-speak.”

Instead of focusing on winning contracts…

Teams spend their time fighting the system

Where It Breaks

1. The “Click Marathon” UI

• Cluttered interface
• Constant navigation between modules
• No intuitive flow

Every tender becomes manual labor

2. The “Invisible Opportunities” Problem

• Hyper-specific search logic
• Missed tenders due to wording/CPV mismatch
• Over-reliance on perfect inputs

Companies miss contracts they should have won

3. The “Migration Chaos”

With the “New Tendering” rollout:

• Broken links
• Disappearing drafts
• Duplicate tenders

High stress + real submission risk

4. Support During Critical Moments

• Slow response times
• Generic answers
• Lack of local expertise

Especially dangerous near deadlines

5. Notification Overload

• Too many irrelevant tenders
• Poor filtering
• Important opportunities buried

“We’re drowning in noise.”

The Breaking Point

This isn’t just frustrating it becomes risky.

• Missed deadlines
• Incorrect submissions
• Compliance errors

And the moment that changes everything:

“We could lose a contract—or face legal issues—because of this system.”

The Mistake Most Companies Make

They assume:

“We need a better platform”

So they look for alternatives like:

• Tendium
• DeepStream

But they run into the same constraint:

They still need Mercell

The Real Problem

It’s not the platform.

It’s that:

There’s no system around it to make it usable at scale

The Solution: Building a Procurement System Around Mercell

We didn’t replace it.

We removed the friction around it.

What We Changed 

(Automation + Workflow Layer)

1. Fixing Tender Discovery

Problem: Missing opportunities

Fix:

• AI-assisted keyword expansion
• Smart filtering beyond Mercell logic
• External monitoring layer

Result:

• No missed tenders
• Higher opportunity visibility

2. Eliminating Manual Navigation

Problem: “Click marathon”

Fix:

• Centralized dashboard for all tenders
• Key data extracted automatically
• One interface instead of many

Result:

• Faster evaluation
• Less admin work

3. Securing Submission Workflows

Problem: Vanishing drafts / submission risk

Fix:

• Parallel document storage
• Version control systems
• Pre-submission validation checks

Result:

• No lost work
• Reduced legal/compliance risk

4. Killing Notification Noise

Problem: Too many irrelevant alerts

Fix:

• Signal-based filtering
• Priority scoring of tenders

Result:

• Only high-value opportunities surface

5. Reducing Support Dependency

Problem: Slow / generic support

Fix:

• Internal logic + automation replaces support reliance
• Error detection before submission

Result:

• Teams don’t get stuck waiting

What This Looks Like for a Supplier

Before

• Hours spent searching manually
• Missed relevant tenders
• Stress before every deadline
• High admin overhead
• Risk of submission errors

After

• Relevant tenders surfaced automatically
• Faster qualification decisions
• Structured, reliable submission process
• Reduced manual workload
• Confidence in compliance

The Outcome

• More tenders identified
• Faster response times
• Reduced admin burden
• Lower compliance risk
• Higher bid consistency

The Real Insight

Suppliers don’t struggle because of Mercell alone.

They struggle because:

The system around it is missing