If the community has the Sourcing module enabled, users with the Community Administration or Community Management role can manage and configure setting.

 

Access Sourcing Module Screen

To access the Sourcing module screen, go to the Administration module > select Modules > click Sourcing.

 

The Sourcing Administration screen will populate, displaying 7 tabs: Email Templates, Standard Criteria, Tags, Scales, Removed Supplier Reasons, Security Profile and Collaboration.

 

Email Templates Tab

Community Administrators can create and manage email templates for emails sent to suppliers informing about bids. The email uses tokens as placeholders for information specific to the bid, such as Supplier Name, Contact Name, Response Date, etc.

To Add A New Email Template

To add a new email template, select Add Email Template > a pop-up box will appear > complete the fields marked with a red asterisk. Making use of the tokens (at the top of the screen) where appropriate. If you desire to preview the new template, select Preview. Once completed, select OK. 

 

To Update An Existing Email Template

To update an existing email template, locate the email template > select Edit > a pop-up box will appear > complete the fields marked with a red asterisk. Making use of the tokens (at the top of the screen) where appropriate. If you desire to preview the new template, select Preview. Once completed, select OK. 

Set Default Email Template

To set a default email template, select the dropdown in the Default Template field > choose the desired template.

 

Delete Email Template

To set a delete an email template, in the desired email template field, select Delete.

 

Standard Criteria Tab

The community can pre-define a standard question sections that can be quickly added to bid requests.

Manually Add 

Standard question sections can be manually added, by selecting +Add Question Section > a po-up box will appear to add the desired name in the Name field > select Add. To add addition question sections, click Add More.

 

Upload via CSV

Upload question sections by clicking Upload Question Sections > a pop-up box will appear, to download the template by selecting Download Template.

 

Once the file is updated, save file as a CSV file > click Browse > select OK.

 

Tags

Users evaluating sourcing bid responses can add tags against each supplier. The tags can be assigned to the desired supplier on the Responses tab of the bid request. Tags are automatically created when a user enters a new tag name when tagging a supplier.

Community Administrators can delete unwanted or old tags on the Tags tab, by selecting Delete. Deleting tags does not impact existing bid requests, but it will no longer be offered as a suggestion.

 

Scales

Scales are used to add specific evaluation scales for your community to choose when creating a bid request (e.g. 1-3, 0-10, 1-100). The desired evaluation scale allocated to the bid upon creation, will be used by the evaluators when scoring supplier responses.

Add a New Scale

To add a new scale, select +Add Scale > a pop-up box will appear > enter required information in the fields marked with a red asterisk > select Add. To add additional scales, click Add More. 

 

Edit An Existing Scale

To update an existing scale, locate the desired scale > select Edit > a pop-up box will appear > update the Name field > click OK.

 

Delete An Existing Scale

To delete an existing scale, locate the desired existing scale > select Delete.

 

Removed Supplier Reasons

Supplier Reasons are used when a supplier is rejected during the bid request process. These values are used to assign a reason picklist.

To add a supplier reason code, select +Add Removed Supplier Reason Code > a pop-up box will appear > in the Name field, insert desired name > select OK.

To delete a supplier reason code, locate the desired reason code > click Delete.

 

Security Profile

Community Administrators can create security profiles that are assigned to bid request users. The Sourcing security profiles are customizable so that communities can configure access the way they want. 

If the community desires to assign individual permissions to users rather than selecting group, check Ad-hoc Permissions box. Upon which, the listed permissions can be assigned to a user when adding them to the bid request.

For a descriptive list of ad-hoc permission, refer to the chart below.

 

Add Group Permission

A group permission defines the security role that will be assigned to users. Give the group a name (e.g. 'Reviewer') and then configure the permissions you will give to anyone assigned that group (e.g. 'Collaborate: Add Products'). 

To add a new group permission, select +Add Group Permission > a pop-up box will appear > in the Name box, insert the desired name > in the Permissions field, select the desired check boxes. The bubble help on the Group Permission screen explains the different permissions.

Once completed, click Save. 

 

Edit Group Permission

To edit an existing group permission, locate the desired group name > select Edit > a pop-up box will appear > update the Name and Permissions fields > once completed, select Save.

 

Delete Group Permission

To delete an existing group permission, locate the desired group name > select Delete.

 

Below is a descriptive list of Ad-hoc Permissions:

Permission	Description
Read	Allows the user to view the contents of the Bid Request including the summary, selected suppliers, attachments and Bid Request requirements. It includes access to the forums.
Administrator (Full Control)	Allows the user to view and update the contents of the Bid Request including the summary, selected suppliers, attachments and Bid Request requirements. It includes access to the forums. This allows the user to make any administrative changes to the Bid Request, including cancelling the Bid Request.
Collaborate: Add Requirements	Allows the user to add their requirements to the Bid Request. Used when collaborating with other buyers.
Collaborate: Update Requirements	Allows the user to add volume to existing requirements on the Bid Request. The user cannot add new lines. Used when collaborating with other buyers.
Workgroup Forum Read	Allows the user to read workgroup forum posts.
Workgroup Forum Write	Allows the user to read and post to the workgroup forum.
Notifications Read	Allows the user to read the public notifications area.
Notifications Write	Allows the user to post to the public notifications area.
Supplier Forum Read	Allows the user to read the supplier forums.
Supplier Forum Write	Allows the user to post to the supplier forums.
Can View All Scores	Allows the users to view all scores. (Organizations can keep scores hidden until the bid evaluation process is complete and scores can be reviewed collectively.)

 

Collaboration

If a community wants to collaborate on bid requests with other organizations in the extended Unimarket community, this tab is used to select which communities to collaborate with. This will allow chosen communities to add your community to their bid requests. If you wish to add other communities to your bid request you will need to ask them to add you.

To add another community to the community bid, insert the community's name in the field > select Save.

 

The bottom field displays communities that have shared bid request collaboration with you, allowing your community to add them to your bid requests.

Communities can communicate with supplier regarding bids, send responses, evaluate/compare scorecards and award desired supplier.

 

Access View Bid Request Screen

To view the Bid Requests screen, go to the Sourcing module > locate the desired bid request, by inserting the bid number in the Bid ID number field or use Filters.

Once the desired bid is located, select the bid name.

 

Messages

The Messages tab within a bid request gives a forum for collaborators and/or suppliers to communicate.

To add a new comment, click the Messages tab > select +Add Comment > the Add Comment pop-up box will appear > select dropdown in Comment in field, to select desired option.

• Notifications - Messages posted here are sent to all collaborators in the community and all invited suppliers.
• Workgroup - Messages posted here are sent to collaborators in the workgroup only. Suppliers will not see them.
• Supplier - Messages posted here are sent to the bid request creator and the selected supplier. Other suppliers will not see them.

In the Comment In field, enter the name of a community user's name (optional) > insert desired message in the message box > once completed, select Send.

 

Responses

When it is time to award the Bid Request, the user can navigate to the Responses tab > select Supplier Reponses tab > in the Supplier Type field, select Quoted > click Search > view quotes from suppliers.

All final quotes are displayed for comparison and actions, to be taken on desired quote. Below are the possible options.

• View - View the breakdown of quoted costs from the supplier response
• Evaluate - Evaluate the question responses from the supplier
• Decline - Reject the supplier's response from eligibility in the bid.
• Tags - Create tags to label suppliers. These tags can be used to group responded suppliers together and filter them out. You can also use them to label notes about the responses. Tags used will be saved for easy access in the future.

If needed, you can edit your team and evaluators without reopening the bid request by clicking More Actions > select Edit Team.

You can edit at any time including after a bid closes.

 

Scorecard

The Scorecard allows users to view the evaluations and compare scores, by going to Responses tab > Scorecard tab.

 

All suppliers involved will appear in a list, displaying a rating and score for any weighted sections. The filter allows a user to view the Scorecard by all sections or sort by a specific section.

To add tags to suppliers, select Tags > the Edit Tags pop-up box will populate > enter desired tag name and > select OK.

 

Select and Award

Note: On RFP/RFI, the Select and Award tab is only available if the Award Sections are in use.

To select and award a supplier, go to Responses tab > select Select and Award tab > in the Awarded Supplier field, select the desired supplier > click Close and Award > a pop-up box will appear to confirm awarding and closing, by selecting OK.

 

Once completed, the Close and Award pop-up box will appear.

Note: The Close and Award box will only appear when awarding RFQs. No automated supplier notifications will go out for RFPs or RFIs when awarded. We recommend notifying the awarded supplier separately via email.

 

Check Notify Suppliers box if you want to automatically notify suppliers by email of their award win > select OK.

 

Once successfully awarded and closed, the following message will appear:

 

Creating sections for items or questions is made simple through the Sourcing module. However, in the case of a very large set of bidding requirements, some users may prefer to upload requirements via a CSV spreadsheet.

Utilizing the upload feature, users may download the required template and upload it directly back into Unimarket, once file is updated. This help article will provide instruction on how to create Item and/or Question sections using the upload feature.

 

Access Bid Requests Screen

To access the Bid Requests screen, select the Administration module > click Sourcing.

 

The Bid Requests screen will populate > click the Sections tab.

 

Item Section Upload

Item Section is an option for RFQ Bid Requests only.

To upload the item sections, select Upload Item Sections > a pop-up box will appear > select Download Template, to insert the mandatory information.

Open the Excel file for editing. For additional requirement details, refer to the chart below.

For unit of measure information, select the Unit of Measure List link at the bottom of this help article.

 

Insert all required information in the template > save as a CSV file > click Browse > select OK.

Once the desired Item Section and/or Question Section upload is complete, users must manually add requirements for each section. For additional instructions, refer to help article Create a Bid Request.

 

The following fields are included in the Item Section template:

 

Question Section Upload

To upload the question sections, select Upload Question Sections > a pop-up box will appear > select Download Template, to insert the mandatory information.

Open the Excel file for editing. For additional requirement details, refer to the chart below.

 

Insert all required information in the template > save as a CSV file > click Browse > select OK. 

Once the desired Item Section and/or Question Section upload is complete, users must manually add requirements for each section. For additional instructions, refer to help article Create a Bid Request.

 

The following fields are included in the Question Section template:

Column	Description	Mandatory: Section Line	Mandatory: Question Line
TYPE	Choose S or R for this value. This tells Unimarket whether this line of your upload is a Section (S) or a Question (R).	Y	Y
NAME	The Question or information you would like to include (example: "Please enter your contact information").	Y	Y
SCORED	This allows the user to choose whether or not this section can be evaluated and counts towards the final score. Choose YES or NO.	Y	N
WEIGHT	The percentage of the score the line makes up. If TYPE = S then choose what percentage of the final score this section will represent. If TYPE = R then choose the percentage the question should be weighted for within the section. All sections must add up to 100 and all questions within sections must add up to 100 within their own section. If you would like Unimarket to auto-weight your questions within sections by assigning them equal percentages, leave this blank and answer NO on 'WEIGHT_QUESTIONS'.	Y (If SCORED = Y)	Y (If SCORED = Y)
WEIGHT_QUESTIONS	This is asking if you would like Unimarket to allow you to manually weight questions within a specific section. If answered YES then enter weights manually on 'WEIGHT'. If NO or left blank, Unimarket will Auto-weight the questions.	N	N
INTERNAL	This allows you to choose if these questions will be answered by suppliers, or internally by evaluators.	Y	N
MANDATORY	If the questions are not internal, they may be optional or mandatory based on what you choose here.	Y (If INTERNAL= N)	N
EVALUATORS	Enter the username of the evaluator. If left blank, the user creating the bid request will be automatically added as an Evaluator. If other users are evaluators on the 'Team' tab, their usernames may be added here as well.	Y (If SCORED = Y)	N
DESCRIPTION	Shows as a caption below the question. (example, for a Yes/No question that says "Can you deliver by required date?" this line can read "If no, explain in comment field" and include an optional comment field).	N	N
ATTACHMENT	If question is not internal, choose whether an attachment from the supplier is DISALLOWED, OPTIONAL or MANDATORY. Note: If MANDATORY is chosen then the Section must also be MANDATORY	N	Y
COMMENT	If question is not internal, choose whether an attachment from the supplier is DISALLOWED, OPTIONAL or MANDATORY.	N	Y
QUESTION_DATA_TYPE	If question is not internal, choose whether a question is a PICKLIST (drop down menu allowing multiple options), YES_NO (drop down menu allowing yes or no), or TEXT (blank field for text). Question types are not supported for internal questions.	N	Y
OPTIONS	If you have chosen a PICKLIST for QUESTION_DATA_TYPE, include the possible options separated by semi-colons (example: Option1;Option2;Option3;Option4).	N	Y

If the community has the Sourcing module enabled, users with the Bid Requests role can create a Bid Request.

 

Access Bid Requests Screen

To access the Bid Requests screen, select the Administration module > click Sourcing.

 

The Bid Requests screen will populate.

 

Create A Bid Request

To create a bid request, select Create Bid Request.

 

The Create Bid Request screen will populate, with the following tabs: Summary, Sections, Suppliers, Attachments, Email and Publish.

 

Summary Tab

To complete the summary tab, insert desired information in the mandatory fields marked with a red asterisk. 

For detailed information and behavior regarding each field, see the list below.

 

Name: The name of the Bid Request. This is displayed to the supplier and on all bid listings.

Description: A short description about the bid request. This is displayed to the supplier and on all bid listings, providing a short explanation of the request.

Type: There are three types of Bid Requests.

• A Request For Quote (RFQ) is used to invite suppliers to bid on specific products or services, specified using Items on the Section tab. The quoted items can be added to a cart and checked out once an RFQ is awarded.
• Request For Proposal (RFP) and Request For Information (RFI) are used to invite suppliers to respond to your requirements for a commodity or service or submit responses to questions for evaluations. You may specify Award section on the Sections tab, to award the bid for item purchase with the awarded supplier.

Bid Behavior: This determines the type of Bid Request that is issued to suppliers. There are 3 possible types.

• Standard: Responses submitted by suppliers can be viewed immediately.
• Sealed: Responses submitted by suppliers are sealed until the Response Date.
• Reverse Auction: Suppliers can view competitor bid price (anonymous).

Evaluation Scale: The scale on which your evaluation rating will follow (e.q. 0-3, 1-10, 1-100). The default setting is (0-3). These are configured by a Community Administrator.

Allow Online Registration: If enabled, a public URL for the Bid Request is created to be published on a bid listing site for potentially any supplier to respond and bid.

Require Company and Tax Profile: If enabled, the supplier must complete their Company Profile (company information) and Tax Profile (W9, W-8BEN and W-8BEN-E - US ONLY) before the supplies can respond to the Bid Request.

Award Type (for RFQs only): This allows the user to select a Bid Award Type. The Award Types are as follows:

• Quote: The bid is awarded based on all components of a quote. The entire quote is only awarded to one supplier.
• Section: The bid is awarded by section, allowing the bid to be awarded to a different supplier for each section.
• Line: The bid is awarded by each line, allowing the bid to source from several suppliers for each individual product or service.

General Category: The UNSPSC category of the Bid Request for future reporting purposes.

Requester: If the Bid Request was requested by a user other than the primary contact.

Contact Details: The contact details of the Bid Request initiator. This should be the user all supplier correspondence directly with regarding the bid.

 

Once completed, select Continue.

 

Sections Tab

The Sections tab is where items and questions are entered for suppliers to respond to. This can be completed manually or via CSV file upload.

Manually Add Sections

Dependent upon the Bid Request Type selected, all options below may not be visible.

Manually Add an Item Section

To add an item section, select +Add Item Section > a pop-up box will appear > insert information in the mandatory field marked with a red asterisk. 

• Name: The desired name of the item section.
• Allow Substitute: If enabled, suppliers may quote substitute items for requirements in this Item Section.
• Base required: If enabled, suppliers must provide a quote for the base items specified.

Once completed, select Add. To add additional item sections, click Add More.

 

Manually Add Question Section

Question Section templates are created for the community, by a user with the Community Administrator role.

To manually add a question section, select +Add Question Section > a pop-up box will appear > enter mandatory information in the required field marked with a red asterisk.

• Name: The name of the section (e.g. Warranty and Service Level).
• Score: If enabled, the settings determines if the section will be scored as part of the scorecard evaluation.
• Weight: If Score is enabled, the percentage entered will place desired weight on the section.
• Manually Weight Questions: If enabled, the setting allows individual questions to be weighted rather than weighted evenly across the section.
• Internal: If enabled, the internal sections are for user evaluation only. If check, this will not be sent to the supplier.
• Mandatory: If enabled, it will require the supplier to answer the section as part of their response.
• Evaluator: Defines the users who will evaluate and score the sections responses.

Once completed, select Add. To add additional item sections, click Add More.

 

Manually Add Award Section

When creating a RFI or RFP, there are no priced items for the evaluators to choose when awarding a winner. Award Sections are used for the awarding the supplier, once agreed by the community.  

To manually add award section, select +Add Award Section > a pop-up box will appear > in the Name field, insert the desired name > click Add. To add additional award sections, select Add More. 

Note: If an Award Section is not included when creating a RFP or RFI, the option to Select and Award the elected supplier.

 

Manually Add Standard Question Section

To manually add a standard question section, select +Add Standard Question Section > a pop-up box will appear > in the Questions field, select the dropdown > choose the desired section listed. 

The sections provided in the list, were added by a Community Administrator. 

 

A pop-up box will appear, to enable to desired options. For additional information about each field, hover over the encircled question mark. Once completed, select OK.

 

Upload Item Section

Item Section is an option for RFQ Bid Requests only.

To upload the item section, select Upload Item Sections > a pop-up box will appear > select Download Template, to insert the mandatory information.

Open the Excel file for editing. For additional requirement details, refer to help article Uploading Sections To A Bid Request.

For unit of measure information, select the Unit of Measure List link at the bottom of this help article.

 

Insert all required information in the template > save as a CSV file > click Browse > select OK.

 

Upload Question Section

To upload the question section, select Upload Question Sections > a pop-up box will appear > select Download Template, to insert the mandatory information.

For additional requirement details, refer to help article Uploading Sections To A Bid Request.

 

Insert all required information in the template > save as a CSV file > click Browse > select OK. 

 

Once the desired Item Section, Question Section and/or Standard Question is created manually or via upload, users must manually add requirements for each section.

 

Add Requirement for Item Section

In the Item Section, select the encircled "i" > the section will expand > click +Add Requirement > a pop-up box will appear > insert the required information in the field marked with a red asterisk. To detailed field information, refer to the information below.

Once completed, select Add. To add additional item section requirements, select Add More.

 

Add Requirement for Question Section or Standard Question Section

In the Question Section or Standard Question Section, select the encircled "i" > the section will expand > click +Add Requirement > a pop-up box will appear > insert the required information in the field marked with a red asterisk. To detailed field information, refer to the information below.

• Requirement: Free-form type the desired requirement
• Description (optional): This will display additional information around the question.
• Attachment: Select the desired available option if attachments are Disallowed, Mandatory or Optional for suppliers to provide.
• Comments: Select the desired available option, if comments are Disallowed, Mandatory or Optional for suppliers to provide.
• Question Type:

1. Picklist: Suppliers are given options to choose from a list.
2. Yes/No: Suppliers must choose Yes or No in their response.
3. Text: Suppliers are asked to fill out a field using standard text.

Once completed, select Add. To additional question sections requirement, select Add More.

To move to the Suppliers tab, click Continue.

 

Suppliers Tab

The user can add the desired supplier(s) by selecting +Add [Community's Name] Supplier, +Add Directory Supplier and/or +Add Non-Unimarket Supplier.

Suppliers can be added or removed after the bid request has been published, using the Edit function.

Once added, select Continue. 

 

Attachments Tab

Attachments will be visible to the suppliers upon accepting the bid.

The attachment feature is useful if the community desires to provide detailed requirements, for the specific bid or any documents that requires a supplier signature.

The convenience of the attachment tool allows users to provide any important documents, without distributing to participating suppliers individually. 

To attach documents, select Browse > add the desired documents > select Continue.

Email Tab

Users can send a customized email, all elected suppliers will receive once the bid request is published. A number of tokens are available to customize the email sent to suppliers.

The use of tokens eliminates the need to draft a different email for individual suppliers.

A generic email is pre-populated in field, as a suggestion. However, users can edit the message in the text box.

Users can preview the message, by selecting Preview. To review extended formatting and editing tools, view the Markup Help guide, by clicking Help. The Revert option, restores the message back to the original version. 

Note: Please do not remove the @ symbols and/or alter the capital font between the @ symbols.

Once completed, select Continue.

 

Team Tab

If the Community has Bid Request Collaboration enabled (by a Unimarket Customer Success Manager), users with the Bid Request or Bid Request Collaboration role can invite:

• Any user within their organization or
• Any other users within the extended Unimarket community, to collaborate on the bid request.

Add Other Users Within the Extended Unimarket Community

To add other users, select Add Other Users to Collaborate on this Bid Request > select Add a new user > a pop-up box will appear to select the desired user, in the User field.

If the community has Allow Ad-hoc Permissions enabled in Sourcing Modules (on the Security Profile tab), a list of permissions will appear. In the Permissions field, select the desired permissions to grant user.

The Read permission is enabled by default. For a descriptive listing of permission, hover over the question mark icon.

Once completed, select Save.

 

Edit Evaluators

Evaluators are community users who will evaluate and score the criterion bid responses, from suppliers who participate in the bid request.

To add or remove evaluators, select Edit Evaluators > a pop-up box will appear > in the Evaluator field, enter or remove the desired community user > select OK.

Note: For additional information on configuring the community features for Sourcing, refer to help article Sourcing Administration Module. Community Administrators can also pre-configure roles with pre-set permissions.

 

Publish Tab

When a bid is ready for publishing, users can customize the subject matter dates/times.

• Issue Date (From): By default, Now is enabled. To sent the bid request to suppliers after selecting Finish. If the user desires to postpone the date/time, uncheck the Now box > enter the desired date/time
• Response Date (To): The date/time suppliers must respond with their bid (quotes).
• Reminder Date: The date/time supplier will receive an automatic reminder if a response is not received by the date/time entered in field.
• Questions Due Date (optional): The final date suppliers can submit bid questions.
• Expected Award Date: The date the bid request results will be published.

Once completed, select Finish or Save for future submission. The saved bid request will be in an Incomplete state and listed on the Bid Requests view screen.

Note: If the bid request is edited, the user will be prompted to add a description of the changes being made. They can also choose to notify the workgroup of the changes being made.

 

Edit Options/Cancel Bid Request

Users can edit a bid request after submitting, by going to the Sourcing module > on the Bid Requests view screen, select desired bid name.

 

The desired bid request view screen will appear > click More Actions.

 

• Edit: Once selected, the user will be routed to the Summary tab (the first tab of the bid).
• Edit Section: Once selected, the user will be routed to the Section portion of the bid.
• Edit Team: A pop-up box will appear to add new users and/or Edit Evaluators (for additional information, refer to instructions above). Users can edit at any time, including after a bid closes.
• Cancel Bid Request: If selected, the bid request will be canceled.