This guide covers the critical stages of a Sourcing Event (RFX), from managing the internal evaluation team to viewing supplier submissions and finalizing the award.
Accessing the View Bid Request Screen
Navigate: Go to the
Sourcingmodule.Locate Bid: Locate the desired bid request by inserting the bid number in the Bid ID number field or by using Filters.
Open Bid: Select the bid name.
Bid Request Tab Overview
The Bid Request tab overview is divided into several tabs:
-
Summary: High-level details about the request, including award information (where applicable).
- Award Information: For RFPs and RFIs, the award information (manually entered upon bid creation), will appear under Award Breakdown header.
- If the bid is to be awarded as a whole (no breakdown), a note will indicate this instead of a table.
- Documents: View attachments added at the time of bid creation and add new attachments.
- Requirements: Review the requirements defined for the bid.
- Evaluations: Assess supplier responses against requirements.
- Team: View members added to the bid
Documents Tab
View attachments added at the time of bid creation and add new documents, by selecting Add Document.
Requirements Tab
The Requirements tab displays all requirements, that were set up for the Bid Request.
To view the detailed parts of each requirement, select the down arrow in the applicable line item.
Evaluations Tab
The Evaluations tab is a dedicated space for reviewing, how supplier responses measure up against the communities' requirements.
To view the detailed parts of each evaluation criteria, select the down arrow in the applicable line item.
Team Tab
The Teams tab within a bid is used to manage internal access, define who is responsible for evaluating supplier submissions and view the assigned Permissions.
Responses Tab (Reviewing Quotes)
The Responses tab is divided into several tabs:
- Suppliers: Provides a modern and streamlined overview of the suppliers invited to the bid, the status of their bid and additional features.
- Scorecard: A summary dashboard for the entire evaluation. Aggregating all individual supplier's input into a final result.
- Award: The final stage of the sourcing event, where the formal decision on the winning bid is actioned.
Suppliers Tab
The Supplier tab provides a modern and streamlined experience, for users.
Banner statistics: Provides an at-a-glance summary of supplier engagement (e.g., number of suppliers invited, responded, declined).
Search field: Locate specific by manually entering the supplier's name.
State field: Search by supplier's bid State type (e.g. New, Quoted).
Tags field: Filter search by designated Sourcing tags.
Show Quoted Only toggle: When enabled, bids that have been quoted by suppliers will appear.
Available Actions
Add Supplier icon: Click the icon to add Community Supplier, Directory Supplier and/or Add Non-Unimarket Supplier, to the bid.
Message Supplier: To send a message to a specific supplier, hover over the desired supplier's line item > click the 3 dots (More Actions) to the right > select Message Supplier.
Remove Supplier: To remove specific supplier, hover over the desired supplier's line item > click the 3 dots (More Actions) to the right > select Remove Supplier.
Copy Invite URL: To the uniquely designated supplier's URL, hover over the desired supplier's line item > click the 3 dots (More Actions) to the right > select Copy Invite URL.
Manage Tags: Designate Sourcing tag from a pre-defined list, created/managed by a Community Administrator. By hovering over the desired supplier's line item > click the 3 dots (More Actions) to the right > select Manage Tags. Can be used for filtering or labeling notes.
Team/Evaluator Edit Note: You can edit your team and evaluators at any time (even after a bid closes) by clicking More Actions > selecting Edit Team.
Scorecard Tab (Evaluation)
The Scorecard allows users to view and compare evaluation scores. Users can customize their search by utilizing the Tags, Suppliers and/or Sections filter fields.
All involved suppliers are listed, displaying their rating and score for any weighted sections.
To view individual supplier's data, click on the supplier's name and a pop-up box will appear to review.
To add tags to suppliers, locate the desired supplier >select Tags > the Edit Tags pop-up box will populate > enter the desired tag name > select OK.
Select and Award Tab
This tab is used to finalize the bid by selecting the winner and closing the request.
RFP/RFI Note: For RFP or RFI bids, the Select and Award tab is only available if Award Sections were included during the bid creation.
Select Winner: Select the Selection box, next to the desired line item >click Close and Award.
The
Award and Closepop-up box will appear (only when awarding RFQs).Notification (RFQs Only): If you would like to notify the supplier via email, check the Notify supplier(s) of their award by email box > click Award and Close.
RFP/RFI Notification Policy: No automated supplier notifications are sent for RFPs or RFIs when awarded. It is recommended to notify the awarded supplier separately via email.
Troubleshooting: Why can't I see bidder's attachments?
- Event Status: If the event is still "Open" and has a "Sealed" configuration, you cannot see any part of the supplier's submission (including attachments). Until the bid clock has expired and the bids are unsealed.
- Permissions: Ensure you have the Bid Requests role.
- Supplier Errors: Occasionally, a supplier may mention an attachment in their text response but fail to actually upload the file. If the paperclip icon is missing, use the Messages tab to request the file from the bidder.
- Pop-up Blockers: Ensure your browser is not blocking the download pop-up window when you click on a file name.
Cannot Award: Ensure all mandatory evaluators have submitted their scores.
Pro-Tip: When reviewing attachments in a ZIP file, the files are often renamed with a prefix that includes the Question ID. This helps you map the document back to the specific requirement in your RFX.