Moscow’s digital procurement system enhances transparency and supports small businesses

Moscow’s procurement system has become one of the main invisible engines keeping the capital running, according to Kirill Purtov, head of the city’s Department for Competition Policy. Speaking in the podcast “Competitive Code of Moscow”, he said the city’s purchasing machinery is designed not simply to chase the lowest possible price, but to secure the right balance between cost, quality and reliability so that hospitals, transport services and municipal infrastructure conti...

Purtov described public procurement as a daily mechanism behind much of what residents take for granted. Medicines, medical equipment, maintenance materials, metro supplies, road works and public lighting all pass through competitive procedures, he said, making the department a key link between city authorities and the private sector. According to him, the priority is to ensure that goods, works and services are delivered on time and meet the standards set by city customers.

He argued that the city’s procurement model has been built to broaden participation rather than narrow it. Transparent rules, digital tools and standardised procedures have helped open the market to a wide range of suppliers, including small businesses and self-employed contractors. Purtov said Moscow now works with about 70,000 companies, a figure that reflects the breadth of the city’s contracting base and the scale of its purchasing needs.

The Moscow Times has previously reported that the capital is regarded as Russia’s most transparent region for procurement, with a decline in tenders attracting only one participant. That matters, because competition is one of the main safeguards against inflated prices and poor execution. At the same time, Purtov stressed that the city does not treat rock-bottom pricing as the sole objective. If a bidder offers an unusually low figure, he said, that does not automatically disqualify the company, but it does trigger additional scrutiny over whether the contract can be performed properly.

The department’s approach appears to be increasingly shaped by digitalisation. The city’s Supplier Portal has been moving towards what officials describe as a platform model, with searches, selection, contracting and execution brought into a more integrated online environment. Moscow’s procurement authorities have also said artificial intelligence is being used to help match businesses with relevant tenders, including by analysing a supplier’s own price list and suggesting suitable procedures.

That push has already brought recognition. The city’s Supplier Portal received a CNews Award in 2025 for digitalising procurement, with the judging focused on the platform’s use of artificial intelligence in procurement processes. Moscow officials say the aim is to reduce routine administrative work for both suppliers and customers while preserving oversight and transparency.

The city is also trying to make the system easier for newcomers. Purtov rejected the common belief that public procurement is only for large corporations, saying small and medium-sized businesses account for much of the contracting activity. He pointed to Moscow’s small-value purchasing channel, where the portal operates in a way that resembles an online marketplace and where, according to the department, 90 per cent of transactions are concluded by small businesses. He said that for many firms this can serve as a stepping stone from micro-enterprise to a larger operation.

Recent figures underline that role. According to city authorities, Moscow customers signed more than 113,000 contracts with small and medium-sized businesses through the Supplier Portal between January and August 2024, worth more than 21 billion roubles. The figures suggest that the platform has become not just a procurement tool, but a channel for business development, especially for firms providing construction materials, medical supplies, household goods and small-scale repair services.

Purtov said the city now carries out up to 2,000 procurements a day. In his view, the system’s scale makes reliability more important than ever. The department, he said, must work through complex legal and technical requirements before a tender is even published, from justifying the price to preparing the specification and ensuring compliance with federal rules. That burden also falls on suppliers, which is why, he said, trustworthiness remains the defining quality for any business seeking to work with the city.

The city’s procurement methods vary depending on the complexity of the purchase. In simpler auctions and quotation sessions, price can be decisive. But for more complicated contracts, Moscow often uses additional criteria such as experience, technical capacity and qualifications. Purtov said the structure is meant to let the city choose the most appropriate supplier rather than merely the cheapest one.

Officials are now trying to make that process even more accessible by reducing paperwork and increasing automation. Much of the information already held by authorities is now being transferred automatically into applications, while the portal continues to develop tools that help entrepreneurs identify opportunities more quickly. Moscow has also been sharing its procurement practices with other regions, presenting its unified management model and digital systems at industry forums as an example of how public purchasing can be made more efficient and more transparent.

For Purtov, the broader lesson is simple: success in government contracting depends less on scale than on discipline. Entrepreneurs, he said, need to understand the economics of their business, study the documentation carefully, assess deadlines and technical requirements, and begin with one manageable contract before expanding. In his telling, Moscow’s procurement system is not a closed club but a structured marketplace , one that rewards preparation, reliability and the ability to deliver.

Source: Noah Wire Services