Not because they cannot. The figures show the threshold sits before the bid, not after it.
Of Dutch companies with staff, 2.4% ever took part in an open tender via TenderNed over five years. Those who do take part win about as often regardless of size: SMEs win 68% of awards, and in mixed competition SMEs win in more than half of the cases.
What companies themselves say: a bid takes three weeks to produce, there is no capacity, requirements look disproportionate, criteria are unclear, and deadlines fall in holidays. Meanwhile the number of bidders per tender is falling and some tenders receive too few suitable bids.
What we do about it: we find the tenders that fit a company, show how it compares with the winners, read the complete tender guide and say honestly whether bidding has a chance. We do the hours a bid takes; the company provides what only it can: documents, two conversations and a signature.
What we do not say: that a company "never takes part". TenderNed publishes awards, not bidders. A page therefore states exactly what we know: whether a company appears as a winner in the awards of the past twelve months, and nothing more.
Sources: CBS (2024), SEOR (2025), PIANOo/TenderNed (2024), TenderNed annual statistics 2025.