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Advisory for clients in the public and private sector

Procurement of Removals, Logistics and Disposal
expertly prepared

We relieve your specialist department of the preparatory burden, prevent the typical pitfalls in the specification document, and bring sound market knowledge to your procurement.

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What makes a sound removals, logistics and disposal tender — and what can go wrong

When commissioning relocations, internal logistics and disposal services, problems often only become apparent when it is too late: relocation deadlines are not met, damage occurs to furniture or buildings, fixed-fee bids develop into disputes about additional work, or in document destruction the evidence required to demonstrate due care is missing. Such problems are rarely accidental — they almost always have their root in the tender.

On top of this: the procurement procedure itself must be structured and documented — from needs analysis through specification to bid evaluation and award decision. Each of these phases ties up capacity in the procurement department and the building management, which still has to handle day-to-day business in parallel.

All of this can be avoided.

Three reasons why we are commissioned

01

Relieving the specialist department

Preparing a removals, logistics and disposal tender — including needs survey, volume and quantity assessment, bill of quantities, schedule and process plan, suitability and data protection requirements as well as procurement documentation — typically requires several hundred hours of specialist capacity. We take on this preparatory work in modular form, tailored to your needs. The decisions remain with you; we handle the demanding detail work.

02

Quality assurance in the specification

The most common problems during ongoing logistics contracts — delayed relocations, damage without clear liability provisions, disputes over services not included in the lump sum, gaps in data protection evidence in document destruction — do not arise at contract signing, but later, because the specification had gaps or the suitability requirements were drafted too generically. Our specifications are structured so that it is clear what must be delivered in which scope within which time window, how damages, additional work and quantity deviations are governed contractually, how data protection obligations are passed on to the contractor in a practical way. We close these gaps consistently, because we know them from many procedures.

03

Market knowledge and pricing insight

For years we have been supporting tenders in building services, and we understand how relocation and disposal contractors price their bids: which hourly and volume rates are realistic, where packaging materials and special transports are correctly priced, which lump-sum risks bidders must factor in, which bidder calculations are sustainable and which fail in operations. We bring this knowledge into the bid evaluation — without recommendations for or against individual bidders, but with a technical assessment of which bids are sustainable.

Our services — modular and individually bookable

You decide which part of the process you keep in-house and where you bring us in. The following modules can be commissioned individually or in combination.

01

Needs analysis and concept development

Systematic recording of the relocation and logistics needs: which sites are affected, how many workplaces and document holdings are to be moved, which deadlines are critical and must be met, which special holdings require particular handling. Definition of the procurement model — single award per project or framework agreement with call-offs for recurring services such as document destruction. Assessment of the existing logistics organisation and identification of optimisation potential.

02

Specification and bill of quantities

Preparation of a differentiated specification with a clear separation of internal relocations (furniture, workplace equipment, IT devices), document and data carrier destruction (security levels under DIN 66399), packaging, provision and disposal (removal boxes, furniture blankets, used-furniture disposal), special transports (safes, artworks, heavy equipment, IT servers) as well as recyclable and residual waste disposal (container provision, collection cycles, quantity records). The bill of quantities is structured so that bidders submit comparable price calculations — including travel time, daily rates and volume-based positions.

03

Procurement documents and procedure support

Support in compiling the complete procurement documentation, technical input on the development of suitability and award criteria as well as the evaluation matrix. Technical support of the procedure through to the award decision — including communication with bidders, bid evaluation and technical assessment. In this service area, particular attention is paid to suitability evidence: forwarding licence, insurance evidence, confidentiality concept and destruction logging, as well as references for comparable properties.

04

Contract input with quality assurance mechanisms

Technical input to the contract document — so that topics such as adherence to deadlines, damage and liability provisions, sanctions for delay, adjustment mechanisms for quantity and effort variations, data protection obligations in document destruction and clear responsibilities for points of contact are addressed in a practice-oriented way. Consideration of the standard sectoral collective bargaining landscape and the resulting pricing basis.

05

Quality measurement and acceptance

Definition of measurable quality criteria: adherence to deadlines, damage rate, completeness of destruction certificates under DIN 66399, response times to defect notices, cleanliness after completion of work. Establishment of control routines that work in practice during contract operations and do not turn the day-to-day acceptance process into an excessive burden.

06

Social and environmental criteria

Integration of social standards into the specification: collective-agreement remuneration, provision of work clothing, language requirements for deployed personnel. Environmental aspects: low-emission vehicles, recyclable packaging materials, reuse of returnable removal containers. These requirements can be weighted as award criteria or formulated as binding minimum requirements, depending on your priorities.

07
Beyond contract award

Quality assurance and ongoing contract management

Our involvement does not end with the award. We support the supervision of the relocation day or the ongoing analysis of destruction certificates, the handling of damage claims and defect notices as well as the structured escalation in cases of recurring poor performance. This keeps the contract sustainable, and remediation happens in a planned rather than reactive manner.

Advisory path

Restructuring mandates — when existing contracts no longer hold

A frequent reason for being engaged is not new tenders, but existing arrangements that no longer hold: framework agreements with call-offs for document destruction deliver incomplete destruction certificates, the last major relocation resulted in damage and disputes over additional work, or recyclable and residual waste disposal has been running for years without competition under unclear terms.

In such cases we conduct a contract analysis, identify the root causes of the difficulties and develop an approach — which can range from remediation within the existing contract through to a full new tender. The aim is a baseline that will hold for the years ahead.

Restructuring existing contracts is a distinct advisory path — for public sector and private sector clients alike.

Specialist insights

Technical specifics of logistics and disposal tenders

A removals, logistics and disposal tender differs from other service tenders in several technical respects, which we address in the specification and the contract:

Adherence to deadlines as a central quality criterion

Unlike continuous services, deadlines for relocations are often non-negotiable — start of school or semester, cut-off dates and move-in dates are hard. We anchor adherence to deadlines, delay clauses and escalation paths in the contract so that they hold in practice without exposing the contractor to risks beyond their control.

Quantity and effort variations

Volume and effort can only be estimated in advance — actual quantities regularly differ from estimates. We draft the specification so that quantity variations are calculably manageable and do not give rise to disputes over additional work.

Data protection and destruction evidence

The destruction of records and data carriers is governed by DSGVO (German implementation of the GDPR) and the BDSG (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz — German Federal Data Protection Act). Security levels under DIN 66399, confidentiality concepts, destruction logs and data processing agreements must be clearly governed contractually. We draft the requirements so that the contracting authority's due-diligence obligations are met in practice.

Damage and liability provisions

Damage regularly occurs during relocations — to furniture, buildings or IT equipment. We govern liability, insurance cover, damage assessment and burden of proof so that the handling of damage events does not become an additional dispute.

Special transports and special items

Safes, artworks, IT servers, laboratory equipment or heavy machinery require particular suitability evidence and insurance cover. We draft the specification so that these special items are appropriately addressed in the procurement procedure.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

What must a document destruction and disposal tender address?

Data protection requirements are central: security levels under DIN 66399, chain-of-custody obligations, destruction certificates and transport documentation. Public sector contracting authorities often have additional classified-information handling requirements.

Is external procurement support worthwhile for relocation services?

For larger relocations or site consolidations, yes. Internal capacity is often insufficient to tender relocation, disposal and storage services simultaneously. Bundled procurement can be more economical — but requires precise specifications.

What procurement procedure is typically used for disposal services?

Below EU thresholds, negotiated procedures or competitive tendering under UVgO are common. Above threshold, open or restricted procedures under VgV apply. Contract value and market conditions determine the appropriate procedure.

How can sustainability be embedded in disposal tenders?

Through suitability and award criteria such as recycling rates, vehicle fleet emissions, certified disposal routes and sustainability certifications. These criteria must be drafted in a legally sound manner to withstand scrutiny in the procedure.

Further reading

Related content

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Procurement Advisory: The Questions Most People Have — But Rarely Ask

What does procurement advisory cost? When does it make sense? How does the collaboration work in practice? This article answers the questions that public and private contracting authorities most commonly face before a procurement procedure — directly, honestly and without evasion.

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