OData API (Procurement)

OData (Open Data Protocol) is a standardised REST-based web protocol for querying and retrieving structured data from web services, widely used in international procurement portals to expose tender notices, award records, and supplier data in a consistent, machine-readable format without requiring custom integration work.

What is OData API in Procurement?

OData is a protocol developed by Microsoft and now maintained as an OASIS standard. It defines URL conventions for filtering, sorting, and paginating data, and a standard response format in JSON or Atom XML. In procurement, OData APIs allow developers and suppliers to query a portal's database directly through URL-structured requests, retrieving tender notices filtered by category, date, status, or value without screen-scraping the website.

UNGM operates an OData v4.0 API documented at developer.ungm.org, exposing tender notices and award data from 17 or more UN agencies without authentication. QatarEnergy's procurement data is accessible through a SharePoint ASMX service that functions similarly, returning structured tender data from the QatarEnergy portal. Ashghal (Qatar Public Works Authority) exposes an OData v3 REST API that is unauthenticated and returns structured tender records. These APIs are among the most accessible data sources in international procurement and form the foundation of systematic tender monitoring for suppliers and procurement-intelligence-platform builders.

Why OData APIs matter for bidders

OData APIs are the highest-value technical capability for suppliers trying to monitor international procurement systematically. A well-structured OData query can return all active tenders in a specific UNSPSC category, above a threshold value, published in the last 30 days, as a structured JSON response that feeds directly into a database or alert system. This is categorically more reliable than monitoring a website manually or relying on email alerts that may be delayed or filtered. Suppliers that invest in connecting to OData APIs for UNGM, QatarEnergy, Ashghal, and other supporting portals build a real-time monitoring infrastructure that manual processes cannot replicate.

FAQ

Which international procurement portals expose OData APIs?

UNGM exposes an OData v4.0 API. QatarEnergy uses a SharePoint ASMX endpoint with similar structured access. Ashghal in Qatar exposes an OData v3 REST API. The World Bank uses its own REST API v2, which is not OData but similarly structured and unauthenticated.

Do OData APIs require authentication to access procurement data?

UNGM's OData API and Ashghal's OData API are publicly accessible without authentication for read-only tender and award data. Participation in tenders still requires formal registration on the relevant portal.

What programming knowledge is needed to use an OData API?

Basic familiarity with REST APIs and JSON data formats is sufficient. OData URL conventions for filtering and pagination are standardised and well-documented, and most modern programming languages have HTTP client libraries that can query OData endpoints directly.