simap.ch on its own, or simap plus bid management?
Updated: 2026-09
simap.ch is not a competing product but the official publication platform — and authoritative for every bid. The question is not simap or software, but whether the daily manual work on simap is still proportionate for your search field.
This page does not compare a product with a competitor. simap.ch is the official publication platform of Swiss public procurement, it is free, and its documents are authoritative for every bid. Submira connects to its API and draws its data from there.
What is compared, therefore, are two ways of working: working exclusively on simap directly, or using simap as the data source and putting a working layer above it.
For some suppliers the first is entirely sufficient. Where the line runs is set out below.
| Criterion | Innopulse | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Authority of the documents | Unchanged: the awarding body’s official documents remain authoritative. Submira does not replace them. | The awarding body’s official documents are and remain the binding basis. |
| Cost | Free plan permanently free; paid plans for the full feature set. | Free. |
| Finding relevant tenders | Semantic matching on search profiles plus automatic alerts — including where the awarding body words things differently. | Search and filters on the official platform; requires regular manual checking and the right search terms. |
| Handling large document sets | AI extraction of requirements, deadlines and knock-out criteria, each with a reference back to its source. | Full manual reading of the documents. |
| Bid drafting | Drafts from your own knowledge base with a compliance check against the formal requirements. | Not part of the platform — happens in your own tools. |
| Analysis of awards | Win/loss by canton, sector, contract size and competitive density from published award data. | Awards are published and viewable; the analysis is manual. |
| Setup effort | Creating search profiles and filling the knowledge base — a one-off effort that amortises with use. | No setup effort. |
When an alternative is the better choice
If you watch exactly one awarding body and one type of service, using simap.ch directly is sufficient and the simpler choice. A platform would only add complexity.
If you handle only one or two submissions a year anyway, building a knowledge base does not amortise.
If your firm runs an established bid team with functioning knowledge management, the bottleneck is not finding and reading — the gain is then limited.
FAQ
Is Submira an alternative to simap.ch?
No. simap.ch is the official publication platform and authoritative for every bid. Submira connects to the simap API through official access and adds a working layer above it.
Is simap.ch enough on its own?
For suppliers with a narrow, clearly bounded search field and few submissions a year: yes. With a broader field and higher bidding frequency, the daily manual check becomes a burden.
Do you submit through Submira?
No. Submission happens by whatever route the awarding body prescribes. Submira accompanies the path to that point.
Is the data in Submira current?
Data comes through the simap API and is updated continuously. For any actual bid, the awarding body’s official documents always govern.
Does access to tender data cost anything?
Publications on simap.ch are public and free. What Submira charges for is the processing above them — with a permanently free plan as the entry point.
Submira
Submira works with simap rather than against it: official, cleared API access instead of scraping published pages.
The value arises exactly where simap deliberately stops — working through the documents, drafting the bid, and evaluating the outcomes.
Because the free plan is permanently free, the question can be answered against your own tenders rather than in theory.