Working with the Humanitarian sector requires more than capability—it demands strategic positioning in a sector where speed, compliance, and reliability outweigh price alone. This guide provides practical insights on how new vendors can navigate the competitive Aid & Relief sector, from building rapid response capacity to understanding the structural reforms reshaping humanitarian procurement.

The UN system procured $25.7 billion in 2024 across 32 organizations—representing the third-highest annual procurement volume on record and a solid 2.9% growth from 2023.

We regularly hear UN and NGO procurement officers describe the same avoidable errors they encounter when reviewing bids. Many of these mistakes have nothing to do with price or technical capability — they are procedural, preventable, and immediately disqualifying. We have summarized the most...