There is a persistent myth in the medical devices and pharma supply space that public tenders in Portugal are won purely on price. It is understandable why the myth survives: price is the most visible criterion, and losing on price feels definitive. But the data tells a more complicated story. SpotGov analysed 3,200 healthcare procurement awards from Portuguese hospital centres, regional health administrations, and SPMS between 2022 and 2025. In contracts above €100,000, the lowest-priced bidder won outright in only 41% of cases. In the remaining 59%, quality criteria, delivery terms, technical specifications, or service level commitments were enough to offset a price disadvantage. The weighting of non-price criteria has actually been increasing. The 2023 and 2024 procurement frameworks issued by several regional health administrations explicitly increased the weight of post-award support, clinical training, and digital integration in their evaluation models. A company that prices at 8% above the lowest bid but offers a stronger implementation programme and local clinical support can still win. Past award decisions are public. They contain the full scoring breakdown for every shortlisted bidder. Very few companies analyse them systematically. The ones that do build a picture over time: which authorities weight price heavily, which ones reward service continuity, which ones have evaluation committees that consistently favour local support structures. That picture is worth more in a tender than a 5% price reduction. Winning in healthcare procurement is less about having the cheapest product and more about knowing the buyer well enough to build the right proposal for the right audience.