2008 New Release of CPV codes

The European Commission is introducing a new version of the CPV codes. These new codes will be introduced into TED on 17th September 2008.

Below there is a link to a zip file containing two files (an updated Codes.mdb and an Excel spreadsheet giving a correlation between the old codes and the new codes). Unzip this file and copy the Codes.mdb file into your filtered directory overwriting the existing file. This will now enable you to select the new CPV codes for your clients search profiles.

NOTE! it is extremely important that you do not start using the new codes before 17th September 2008 as this may result in documents being missed. In order to prepare for the implementation of the new codes we recommend that you follow one of the two options outlined below.

1. Print out all of your search profiles and use these printouts to compare the existing CPV codes to the new CPV listing, writing any necessary changes onto the appropriate printout. The printouts can then be used to help you update your search profiles on 17th September.
2. Create copies of all your search profiles and set their status to suspended. Then modify these suspended profiles to include the changes to the CPV codes where appropriate. On the 17th September you can then remove the old profiles and set the new profiles to 'active'.

Filtered New Release

There are now 23 official languages in the enlarged European Union and in order to support all of the characters used by these languages the European Commission has decided to change the format of the TED data file from ISO to the UTF-8 character set. To accommodate this change in character set the Filtered software has been amended accordingly.

This is a major change to the Filtered software and it is essential that this new release is installed before the ISO data file is discontinued. As the changes affect every database file and table in the Filtered software we are taking this opportunity to discontinue support for the 6.10 (Access97) version of Filtered.

The majority of the changes to the software will be invisible to the user as they are hidden behind the software interface, improving the reliability and performance of Filtered. However, the new release includes some new features which have been requested by the Filtered operators.

These include:

• E-mails to include a subject line of 'Batch No. X of Y' to allow the users to know how many emails to expect.
• Option to disable the E-mail Batch No's facility has been added to the Filtered Settings.
• Suspending a company will now automatically change the status of all their search profiles to suspended.(and vice versa).

Nimis will continue to support and develop the Filtered system and we are always pleased to receive new ideas for additions to the software.

Update of the TED country list

The list of country codes in the TED search masks will be updated on the 1st of June. The following changes will apply:

CS - Serbia and Montenegro - will be replaced by the new codes RS for Serbia and ME for Montenegro. The code CS should only be used when searching old notices published with that code.

The ISO code for United Kingdom has been updated: the code GB is replaced by UK, already used in the titles of tender notices. All notices from the United Kingdom will be available under this new code, even if initially published with the GB code and still valid. Archived notices published with the country code GB will be searchable using the code UK from the 4th of June.

Change of Country Code

As of the 1st of May 2005, the notices published until now under the country code "YU: Yugoslavia" will be published under the code "CS: Serbia and Montenegro". If you want to retrieve notices published under the old country code, you will find them using the new code.

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New Country Codes

As from the 1st May 2004, several new countries joined the European Union. Please find below the list of the new member states, along with the corresponding country codes

Code	Country	Code	Country
CY	Cyprus	LV	Latvia
CZ	Czech Republic	MT	Malta
EE	Estonia	PL	Poland
HU	Hungary	SK	Slovakia
LT	Lithuania	SI	Slovenia

If you wish to perform an individual search on any of the above countries, you will need to enter the country code into the additional country codes field. Alternatively, if you wish to search on all of the above countries, you do not need to select any of the country codes.

For a complete list of all country codes used - Click Here

For a complete list of all language codes used - Click Here

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MS Outlook 97

In recent weeks, we have discovered a problem when users are sending emails via Outlook 97. The problem occurs when using the MIME encoding option in Outlook 97, this may result in some of the attached email message being lost.

We have discovered that it is a bug is MS Outlook causing the problem, and to solve the problem, you would need to change the encoding from MIME to UUENCODE.

This will however put the email message as an attachment and not into the body of the email.

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New Datafile Changes

The commission have introduced changes to the format of the TED data.

The Type of Awarding Authority field now contains a new authority type '6 - Body governed by public law'. In addition the Type of Awarding Authority 2 - Armed forces is to be phased out, and all Armed Forces contracts will have an awarding authority type of Central Government.

During this change over period we recommend that any profile searching for Type of Awarding Authority - Armed Forces should include Type of Awarding Authority - Central Government to ensure that no documents are missed.

The sections of the text field are now identified using roman numerals as shown below :

I
II
III
IV
V

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New CPV Codes

Last year the European Commission proposed replacing the references to the CPA, CPC, NACE and the Combined Nomenclature classifications by that of one single classification: the Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV). In order to achieve this goal the CPV codes have been revised to reflect the proposed changes.

As part of the consultation panel, we were asked to advise on the draft CPV 2001 codes in February. This month the 2001 CPV codes were released.

This revised CPV listing has not yet been applied to the TED data and as yet no date has been forthcoming as to when they will be applied. As soon as this information is available we will let you know when the changeover will occur; if you find out through your own network of contacts before we do, please let us know so that we can make the necessary changes to your software.

When the new codes are applied to the TED data we will issue you with an update to the Filtered software so that you can select from the new CPV codes when editing your search profiles.

If you wish to prepare for the change to the new CPV codes in advance, you can use the add partial CPV option in Filtered to add a code which does not appear in the current CPV list. If you choose to do this then we recommend that you apply the new CPV codes to suspended copies of your existing profiles in Filtered so that they will not be executed against the current CPV codes in TED. As soon as the new codes are applied to TED you can simply unsuspend these profiles and remove your old profiles.

The list of proposed amendments to the existing CPV codes are available from the following location http://simap.eu.int/EN/pub/src/main5.htm.

Response from the European Commission :

Question N° 4706

Concerns: latest revision and implementation of CPV codes

In reply to your question concerning the revision and implementation of CPV codes, please note the following:

In March 2001, the European Commission launched a consultation on the revision of the 1998 version of CPV. An article was published on the EIC web site inviting all interested EICs to submit their comments to the service in charge within Directorate General Internal Market (see http://eic.cec.eu.int/EN/Themes/Public_Procurement/News_Archive/CPV-change_en.htm).

In August 2001, a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Common Procurement Vocabulary was presented by the Commission {see COM (2001) 449 available on the web site of Directorate General Internal Market at the following address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/publproc/voc/cpv.htm). An article on this issue will also be available shortly on the EIC web site.

Our sources in Directorate General Internal Market and the Office for Official Publications informed us that the current version of CPV codes (version 1998) will not be changed until the above mentioned regulation has been approved by the European Parliament and the Council (codecision procedure) and has entered into force.

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Filtered Version 6

Filtered Version 6 contains several new options and has a number of changes, which will enhance the reliability of the product. The new features include: -

1. Automatic splitting of profiles that are too complex
2. Logging of all documents found for each search profile.
3. Links from the emailed documents to our online resources
4. Multi-user support
5. Option to import sub-threshold tender opportunities
6. Compatibility with Outlook 97 for sending e-mails
7. New Tender Report Layout
8. Details of New Features

1. Automatic splitting of profiles that are too complex

This option will automatically split any search profile that is too complex to evaluate. The split profiles are not visible to the user but are executed as if they were one complex profile.

2. Logging of all documents found for each search profile.

Every time a document is found it can be added to the log. The log allows you to review the documents found for a client and retrieve the document again from our on-line archive.

3. Links from the emailed documents to our online resources

The emailed HTML attachment has hyperlinks to the Tender Support web site where they can get further help on the meanings of the various fields on the Tender Document. They can also view market reports on the Awarding Authority or the successful bidder as well as lookup referenced documents. The Tender Support web site can be branded as your site by simply sending your logo to us, we will then issue you with an ID number which can be entered into the Filtered settings so that your clients will always view the Tender Support site branded with your logo.

4. Multi-user support

This version of Filtered can be configured with the Accounts.mdb and Tenders.mdb files located on a central server. This will allow several users to access the same profiles and tender documents from their own PC's.

5. Option to import sub-threshold tender opportunities

The sub-threshold tender opportunities will be added to the data file we send you and will be imported as a document type of 'S'. This new data file will be faster to import and should be available by the end of august.

6. Compatibility with Outlook 97 for sending e-mails

Filtered can now be used with Outlook 97 as the e-mail client instead of the Filtered E-mail system. Note! Filtered will not work with Outlook Express it will only work with the full version of Outlook 97.

7. New Tender Report Layout

The Tender Report has been amended to the same layout as the emailed documents to give a more consistent look to the output from Filtered. The Compact reports have also been restructured to provide a much shorter report whilst still conveying the most relevant information. You can now select which report to use individually for each client.

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Filtered On-line Archive

Nimis have developed an on-line archive that contains all TED documents for the past year and beyond.

The Filtered Archive is available free-of-charge exclusively to Filtered users.

This facility has been added to help you to facilitate retrospective searching, to save time and to help with your marketing. The provision of this on-line archive forms part of our ongoing committment to provide Filtered users with constant improvements and innovations.

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Remote Problem Solving

The technical support team at Nimis are able to solve problems on your computer using remote networking software. This service is very seldom necessary, however it is worth being prepared. For more information please contact the technical support team.

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Changes to the Public Procurement Directives

In May 2000 the European Commission adopted a package of amendments to simplify and modernise the Public Procurement Directives.

These changes should come into force during 2001, they will have an impact on tender monitoring.

The object is to enhance the transparency of the award process and to combat corruption and organised crime. This should in time lead to more companies being interested in the contract opportunities.

Nimis will, as always respond immediately to any changes that affect the monitoring operation. As in the past, we see little likelihood of any real disruption to the service.

Further news will be posted here when available.

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