Online help

All documents that help you use the procurement platform simap.ch.

How do I register as a member of a company?

• Create a personal user profile. Instructions
• Log in.
• Click on «Create organisation or request to join organisation» in the user menu at the top right.
• Search for your company and click on «Request to join organisation».
• If your company does not appear, add it by clicking on «Create new tenderer». In this case, you will be assigned the role of «Administrator» for your company.

Explainer video on registration
 
How do I register as a member of a company mandated by a procurement office?

• Create a personal user profile. Instructions
• Log in.
• Click on «Create organisation or request to join organisation» in the user menu at the top right.
• Search for the procurement office that mandated you to create/support an invitation to tender and click on «Request to join organisation».
• The procurement office will review your request and assign you the role of «Project member», which will give you access only to the project for which you hold a mandate.

Explainer video on user management
 
As a member of a mandated company, how do I create a new procurement office (the company «Architects XY» is publishing an invitation to tender for the commune «Commune A»)?

• Create a personal user profile. Instructions
• Log in.
• Click on «Create organisation or request to join organisation» in the user menu at the top right.
• Under «Type of organisation", select the «Procurement office» section and navigate to the correct location in the tree structure.
• Click at the bottom on «Create new procurement office» and enter the name as follows: «Commune A (Architects XY) ». Under «Mandated organisation», select «Yes».
• Once the procurement office has been approved by the relevant competence centre, you can create the invitation to tender on behalf of the procurement office. You will have access to all projects for this procurement office.

How do I access tender documentation?

• Log in with your personal user account.
• Select the appropriate role from the menu on the left-hand side of the homepage (grey area).
• To do this, you must already be registered as a member of your company (see question 1).
• Search for the desired invitation to tender and navigate to the detailed view.
• Click on the «Register interest» button.
• You will now see the documents available for download under the «Documentation» tab.

How do I access tender documentation?

• Log in with your personal user account. 
• Select the appropriate role from the menu on the left-hand side of the homepage (grey area).
• This requires you to have already registered as a member of your company (see question 1).
• Search for the desired invitation to tender and navigate to the detailed view.
• Click on the «Register interest» button.
• You can now submit your tender under the «Submissions» tab.

 Explainer video on online tender submission
 
How is the electronic signature on my tender verified?
This is done using the federal government's signature validator (validator.admin.ch). As part of the online submission process, it automatically checks every PDF file uploaded by tenderers to ensure that it contains a qualified electronic signature (QES) that is valid in accordance with the requirements of the ZertES (SR 943.03). Once the check has been completed, the test report is displayed.
Please note that simap.ch does not block files without a QES. Whether a QES is required is specified in the tender documentation provided by the procurement office.
 
How are questions in the question and answer forum displayed?
Only the question submitter and the procurement office can view the company name. Other participants in the question and answer forum are shown only «Anonymous» under «Created by». When creating a question, ensure that the text does not inadvertently reveal the identity of your company.
Explainer video on question and answer session
 
Is it possible to create alert subscriptions?
Yes, when the user is logged on. After entering a search, click on the button «Save search subscription» (above right from the search field). An overview of all current subscriptions is available in the user account. 10 subscriptions can be saved per user profile.
Explainer video on searches
 
Is it still possible to establish an interface connection to simap.ch?
Yes, there is an API-interface. The documentation is available here:
https://www.simap.ch/api-doc
Request for an API client for simap.ch (for productive and test environment)

How do I register as a member of a procurement office?

• Create a personal user profile. Instructions
• Log in.
• Click on «Create organisation or request to join organisation» in the user menu at the top right.
• Search for your organisation/procurement office and click on «Request to join organisation». 
• If your organisation/procurement office does not appear, add it by clicking on «Create new procurement office» in the correct place in the tree structure. The responsible competence centre checks and approves the newly created procurement office.

Explainer video on registration
Explainer video on user management
 
Can all members of a procurement office see all of the office's projects?
Those assigned the role of «User» see all projects of their own procurement office. Within the projects, it is possible to filter by «Created by me».
By assigning the role of «Project member», it is possible, for example, to grant external employees access only to the project for which they hold a mandate.
Explainer video on user management
 
Can I, as a user, modify projects created by other members of the procurement office?
«Users» can modify all projects belonging to their own procurement office.
Those with the role of «Project member» can modify only the project to which they have been assigned.
 
Can tenderers be added to a procurement project by a procurement office in order to assign an award?
Yes, if they are registered as tenderers on simap.ch.

How can uploaded documents be deleted from a project that has not yet been published?
Documents can be deleted in the «Publications» section under «Documentation» using the recycle bin symbol.
 
Can questions received by email, for example, be entered into the question and answer forum?
Questions can be added individually to the forum using the «Ask a question» function, even after the deadline has passed.
 
When is the deadline for submitting questions for the second phase of the selective procedure announced?
The deadline is defined at the time of participant selection and announced via the invitation to submit a tender. This applies solely to tenderers permitted to submit tenders.
Explainer video on selective procedure

Is it possible to assign the role of «Administrator» to several users?
Yes, the role of «Administrator» can be assigned to several persons. In fact, it is advisable to assign at least one additional administrator to act as a deputy.
 
When are the various automatic alerts sent?
To procurement offices:

• New questions in the question and answer forum that have not been answered in the last 24 hours: daily at 5 p.m.

To tenderers:

• New answers in the question and answer forum: daily at 5 p.m.
• Changes to the documentation: daily at 5 p.m.
• Alerts on the upcoming expiry date for digital submission via simap.ch: 24 hours before the submission deadline.