Selling into Switzerland through distributors

How the market buys

Switzerland is not in the EU, but it rewrote its procurement rules in step with the revised WTO Government Procurement Agreement, which has applied to it since 1 January 2021. The federal government buys under the Federal Act on Public Procurement (BöB) of 21 June 2019, in force since 1 January 2021. Cantons and communes follow the Intercantonal Agreement on Public Procurement (IVöB 2019), adopted on 15 November 2019, which each canton joins on its own; where a canton has not joined, the 2001 agreement still applies. According to the overview of the cantonal construction directors' conference (BPUK) dated 3 February 2026, the IVöB 2019 is in force in most cantons, a few were still completing accession, and Bern applies the text as cantonal law.

Both texts use one publication channel. In open and selective procedures the buyer publishes the prior notice, the invitation to tender, the award and any abandonment on an internet platform run jointly by the Confederation and the cantons — simap.ch — and access to these publications is free of charge (Art. 48 BöB and IVöB 2019).

For the federal administration in 2026 and 2027, supply contracts from CHF 230,000 go to an open or selective procedure; from CHF 150,000 the buyer may instead invite tenderers of its choice, and below CHF 150,000 it may award directly (Annex 4 BöB). Four administrative units buy centrally for the federal administration: the Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (BBL), armasuisse, the Federal Roads Office (ASTRA) and the federal travel centre (Art. 5 Org-VöB).

EU companies may tender. The BöB admits tenderers from states to which Switzerland has committed by treaty to grant market access and, outside that scope, from states that grant reciprocity or where the buyer allows it (Art. 6), and the EU–Switzerland procurement agreement builds on the GPA. Language is the practical hurdle: federal supply notices appear in at least two official languages, and federal buyers accept tenders in German, French or Italian (Art. 48(5) BöB, Art. 22 VöB). Buyers therefore deal with suppliers that work in the language of the region and deliver and service locally — often a Swiss distributor.

Lawful first contact

Article 3(1)(o) of the Unfair Competition Act (UWG) makes it unfair to send mass advertising by telecommunication, without a direct connection to content the recipient requested, while failing to obtain the customers' prior consent, to give the correct sender or to offer a simple, free way to refuse. One exception: a seller that obtained a customer's contact details in a sale, and pointed out the right to refuse, may send that customer advertising for its own similar products without consent.

The provision speaks of "customers" and makes no exception for businesses. Its limit is the word "mass". OFCOM, the Federal Office of Communications, says no quantitative limit is laid down: one mailing that reaches several recipients may already count, and the final decision lies with the courts. A campaign to a list of distributors therefore needs prior consent. A single, individually written enquiry to one company falls outside the wording, but there is no safe number. Named contacts add a second layer: the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), in force since 1 September 2023, protects natural persons whose data private companies process.

What works: an individual letter or e-mail to the managing director or purchasing manager of one distributor, in the language of its region, saying who you are, why your range fits and how to decline further messages; a meeting at the sector's trade fair; or an introduction through a partner or an existing customer. Once a distributor has written back, you can correspond by e-mail.

What local distributors expect

• Product information in the language of the region. Swiss rules require it in at least one official language and may require warnings in the official language of the place of sale (Art. 4a THG). The official languages of the Confederation are German, French and Italian.
• Conformity evidence. Under the EU–Switzerland Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), in force since 1 June 2002, one conformity assessment is enough for both markets in 20 product sectors. Outside those, products lawfully on the EU market can in principle be sold in Switzerland, with exceptions such as products needing authorisation or an import licence, or under an import ban (Art. 16a THG). Proof of conformity may be in an official language or in English (Art. 17 THG).
• A plan for import. Switzerland abolished tariffs on industrial goods on 1 January 2024, but VAT and other taxes remain, so agree who clears the goods and pays them.
• A territory defined by language region, an open talk about exclusivity, prices that hold through a framework agreement, local service and spare parts, and references.

How to enter, step by step

1. Check market access for your product. In an MRA sector, your EU conformity assessment also serves Switzerland. Medical devices are the exception: the MRA's medical-device chapter has not been updated, and a manufacturer not established in Switzerland must appoint a Swiss authorised representative (Art. 51 MedDO). As of October 2026 we could not confirm whether the MRA's machinery chapter will be updated for Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, which applies from 20 January 2027.
2. Pick the language region first. Start in the German-, French- or Italian-speaking part, and prepare product information and a price list in that language; technical proof of conformity can stay in English.
3. Search simap.ch for awards in your CPV codes. Filter publications by type "award" and by CPV code. Invitations to tender carry CPV codes (Art. 35 BöB), and awards name the winning tenderer.
4. Map the buyers. For federal demand, look at the BBL, armasuisse and ASTRA; for hospitals, schools and municipalities, look at cantonal and communal buyers on simap.ch.
5. Shortlist the distributors that win. Companies named repeatedly in awards in your category and region already hold the buyers' trust.
6. Make lawful first contact. One individual letter or e-mail per distributor, with your identity and an opt-out; no list mailings without consent (Art. 3(1)(o) UWG).
7. Prepare the first meeting. Bring conformity evidence, an import plan (who clears goods and pays VAT), a proposed territory, framework-ready prices and a service and spare-parts plan.
8. Follow up. Once the distributor has answered, continue by e-mail, and act at once on any request to stop.

Where the evidence comes from

Swiss award publications live on simap.ch. Under Article 48 of the BöB and the IVöB 2019, buyers publish there the awards from open and selective procedures, and direct awards above the threshold for those procedures. Within the scope of international treaties, an award is generally published within 30 days and names the procedure, the buyer, the winning tenderer and the total price. simap.ch also documents a public API.

Swiss notices are visible on TED as well: a search of TED by buyer country returns 5,281 contract award notices from Swiss buyers published in 2025; a recent example is notice 599732-2026 from armasuisse (September 2026). Cresques, however, offers markets only in EU and EEA countries today, so Switzerland is not among the countries you can choose, and Cresques does not read simap.ch. Search simap.ch directly: the award publications are free to read and can be filtered by CPV code. The notices are evidence of who the buyers already trust; the lawful first contact above is how you reach them.