ADB procurement includes the Asian Development Bank's own purchases and contracts for consulting, goods, works and services under ADB-financed projects across Asia and the Pacific. In project procurement, the buyer and contract counterparty is usually the borrower's executing or implementing organisation. The individual notice identifies the procedure and submission channel.
A supplier should begin with one country-and-sector cluster. Treating the whole region as a single market produces a large watchlist but says little about delivery capacity, partner coverage or the first contract the company could credibly win.
From 1 January 2026, the Asian Development Bank requires merit point criteria for internationally advertised works, nonconsulting services and goods contracts, with stated exceptions including pharmaceuticals, vaccines, commodities and low-value off-the-shelf items. The method makes evidenced quality and value factors more prominent, but it does not create a universal scorecard: the live bidding document still controls the criteria, weights and minimum conditions for each package.
Match the opportunity to the correct procurement route
| Opportunity | Typical route | Evidence that carries most weight |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting firm | Consulting notice, expression of interest, shortlist and proposal | Relevant firm assignments, methodology, regional capability and experts |
| Individual consultant | Individual profile and assignment-specific application | The person's education, experience, availability and independence |
| Goods | Project notice and bidding document | Technical compliance, delivery, warranty, training and support |
| Works | Prequalification or bid | Financial capacity, comparable works, equipment, safety and local execution |
| Nonconsulting services | Notice-specific competition | Service model, personnel, performance levels and price |
The ADB Consultant Management System is relevant to consulting assignments. It is not a universal gateway for every goods or works contract. A CMS profile also does not replace the expression of interest or proposal requested for a particular assignment.
Find the package, not just the project
An ADB project page can reveal the country, sector, financing status and responsible organisations. Its procurement plan gives an earlier view of intended contract packages. Those records create preparation time, but they are not yet invitations to bid and may change as implementation progresses.
The opportunity record should identify the project, executing agency, implementing agency, package description, procurement category, current stage and next official event. Total project financing is not the value of the supplier's opportunity. One education programme, for example, may contain separate contracts for advisory work, learning software, devices, connectivity and teacher training.
Award information adds context. It can show realised contract sizes, winning suppliers and procurement rhythm. It does not prove that the next package will use the same requirements or evaluation model, so historical awards belong in the market assessment rather than the compliance response.
Put every opportunity through six gates
A failed gate is not always an immediate no-bid. A missing licence might be obtainable before the deadline, and a support gap may have a credible partner solution. The decision record should distinguish a resolvable action, an assumption requiring clarification and a condition that stops the bid.
Use CMS as a controlled company record
For consulting work, CMS supports company and individual profiles as well as opportunity and assignment processes. Names, contacts, service areas, country experience and references should be current before a live deadline creates pressure. An expert should not be named without consent and confirmed availability.
The expression of interest remains assignment-specific. Its role is to earn a place on the shortlist, not to tell the company's entire story. The strongest evidence maps a small set of comparable assignments to the terms of reference: client, date, value where permitted, the firm's actual scope and the result delivered.
After shortlisting, the proposal must be rebuilt around the request for proposals. Methodology, deliverables, expert inputs and the financial offer need to describe the same workload. A senior expert shown in every workshop but priced for two days creates a visible contradiction.
Illustrative example: an education technology supplier
A European learning-platform company finds an ADB-financed education project with three packages. It provides software but has no local hardware operation.
| Package | Initial fit | Material gap | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education strategy consulting | Medium | Education-policy and country references | Do not lead; consider a defined specialist role |
| Learning platform | High | Local support and data requirements | Continue to delivery and partner diligence |
| Student devices | Low | Hardware portfolio, import and field maintenance | No-bid |
The company does not combine the packages into an artificial consortium simply because they belong to one project. It validates hosting, accessibility, offline operation, integrations and support for the learning-platform package. A local support company is assessed against a specific work package and service level before it appears in the bid.
A local partner needs more than a reference call
Partner diligence covers legal identity, ownership, sanctions, relevant licences, tax position, financial health, personnel and comparable delivery. Conflicts matter as well: a company working with several bidders on the same package may expose confidential strategy or create an exclusivity dispute.
The pre-bid agreement should name the lead organisation, work packages, pricing basis, currency, proposal costs, intellectual property, data handling, liability and withdrawal rules. If the partner provides a qualification reference, the bid must describe its real delivery role and include the commitment required by the bidding document.
An intermediary whose only stated contribution is access to decision-makers is not a substitute for this model. Communications with the buyer belong in the official process, and fees should correspond to transparent, documented services.
Price the country and the payment path
A workable price includes local taxes, travel, work permits, security, foreign exchange, bank costs, bid or performance securities, logistics, acceptance testing, training, warranty and the time between delivery and payment. ADB financing does not remove the practical cash-flow risk in the executing agency's contract.
Consulting days must reconcile with the methodology. For goods, the delivery term determines which party carries freight, insurance and customs exposure. Software suppliers need a position on hosting, connectivity, implementation, local support and recurring licences. At least a base case and a delay or currency case should be reviewed before approval.
Acceptance deserves particular attention. The contract and technical documents should reveal who approves a deliverable, what evidence is required and when an invoice becomes payable. A multi-stage approval route can matter more to working capital than the nominal payment period.
Test whether the market is repeatable
The first ADB cycle should test whether a repeatable market exists. A narrow country-and-sector scope makes the result interpretable. Each observed package can be classified as bid-ready, capability-building or monitor-only, with one reason and one next event.
Review relevant package count, recurring requirements, realistic bid cost and the largest capability gap after enough comparable opportunities have been observed. If every viable package requires the same local maintenance capability, the next investment may be a partner network. If package sizes consistently exceed the company's balance sheet, a defined subcontracting route may be more credible than leading a consortium.
Sources and related decisions
- ADB: Operational procurement and consulting services.
- ADB: Merit Point Criteria and scope from 1 January 2026.
- ADB Consultant Management System.
- ADB Procurement Regulations for Borrowers.
Compare ADB with other routes in the development bank procurement guide, and assess a consulting shortlist through the World Bank EOI workflow. Trace the notice and supporting evidence through a tender compliance matrix before preparing the response.
