If you are well versed in the world of tendering or use a tender alert service you should be quite familiar with CPV codes and how they can be used to boost your chances of finding the perfect tender matches. 

CPV codes are the industry classification codes that are used to categorise each tender that enters the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Typically a CPV code is 9 digits long, with each group of digits working together to provide certain information. For example, the first 2 digits of the code identify the division that the tender has been assigned to, third digit then comes in to identify the group that the tender fits into within that division. The fourth and fifth digits in turn identify the class within the group, and the category within the class.  The final digits of the code then provide even further precision as to the classification of that particular tender.

For example:

03000000-1 is Agricultural, farming, fishing forestry and related products (division)

03100000-2 is Agricultural and horticultural products (group)

03110000-5 is Crops, products of market gardening and horticulture (class)

03111000-2 is Seeds (category)

03111100-3 is Soya beans (further detail)

Luckily the OJEU provides a document detailing all of the codes and what they relate to so that we don't have to worry too much about working these codes out! All that you need to know when tendering is which codes relate to your industry, and how specific you are able to get them. 

Using the above example, if you deal specifically in Soya beans, you could use  03111100-3 as your CPV code of choice when searching for useful tenders, however if you deal in all types of seed, you might want to move up to the category level to ensure that you have as much chance as possible of finding relevant tenders.

These codes come in particularly useful if you are using a tender alert service. Often with these services you are asked to put forward keywords and/or CPV codes that are then used to automatically filter through all of the tenders in the database and extract those that you might find useful or be able to apply for. 

Using CPV codes is a very specific way of searching so you can guaranteed a certain level of compatibility between your business and the tenders you receive (if you have used the right codes). Alternatively, using keywords as filters is a more general way of searching and results can't always be guaranteed to fit with what you do. 

If you're already in the process of, or are considering tendering, then it is worth taking a look at the OJEU documentation outlining CPV codes. As well as there being a lot of useful information to be found, there are also a lot of very odd / interesting tender classifications to be found:

03141000-1 Bull's semen

18320000-8 Brassieres, corsets, suspenders and similar articles

03142200-0 Snails

14212110-4 Pebbles

15118900-7 Ass, mule or hinny meat

18221200-6 Anoraks

22411000-4 Christmas stamps

33141570-5 Human blood

35411000-8 Battle tanks