Users with Buyer Rights have the ability to create Requests or Tenders using the Request Wizard. Any type of user can hold Buyer Rights and this is allocated to them by an Administrator.
When creating a Request or Tender, you'll need to progress through each step of the Request Wizard, providing the required details. When you click on Save and Continue on each step, your progress is saved as a draft and you can come back to complete the request at a later time.
You can also find articles on Creating a Practice Request and Editing a Request or Tender.
Creating a New Request
To create a Request, click the '+ create new' button located at the top of your home page under My Requests.
Alternatively, you can hover over the My Requests in the menubar and select Create a new request.
You will then need to complete each required step and add any information necessary to your Request. An explanation and overview for each tab are provided below:
RFx Name
Name your Request here. You can also add your own reference number (this may be an internal ID number that your organisation will use to identify this specific Request).
Click on Save and Continue when you are ready to move on to the next step.
Selecting Suppliers
Selecting which Supplier Lists to use
You will first need to select which Supplier Lists you wish to use for your request. Depending on the Supplier Lists you have access to in your enterprise and the Local Group you're registered to, you'll be presented with the options to use Internal lists, External lists or Public Marketplace lists.
- Internal lists are Supplier Lists that are managed by your own internal organisation.
- External lists are Supplier Lists that are managed by another organisation and have been shared with your enterprise to use.
- Public Marketplace lists give you access to Suppliers who have self-registered on the VendorPanel Marketplace.
You can click on the View Lists button to get an overview of the lists available under each option.
If you select to use either Internal or External Supplier Lists, you can only send requests to invited specific Suppliers on these lists only.
If you select to use the Public Marketplace lists, you'll have the option to select whether to invite specific Suppliers or you may also have the option to post a Public Tender to the Marketplace (if enabled for your enterprise and Local Group).
You'll only be able to send out Public Tenders via the Public Marketplace lists if this has been activated for your enterprise. If you do not have the option then you'll need to speak to your Administrator or Customer Success Manager to discuss this.
Click the Use These button to make your selection on the type of Suppliers Lists you want to use.
Once you make the selection of which lists you want to use you will not be able to change your selection once you have saved this step.
Selecting Suppliers
For a select-Supplier Request:
- Choose the Categories of goods and services you want to use.
- Select the specific Supplier List(s) you want to use (based on the Categories you've selected in step 1).
- Then, select the specific Suppliers you want to invite to your Request.
There are options to filter the Suppliers by the following.
- You can use the Filter Suppliers textbox to search for Suppliers by name or by keyword, which will look at all Suppliers' business names and business descriptions.
- You can click on the filter button on the right of the field to display your options to filter Suppliers by Filter Tags or SI Badges.
- You can change the distance to look at Suppliers' locations to find Suppliers located closer to your location.
To view a map of Suppliers, click the Map button.
To view a specific Supplier’s details, click on their business name.
To select a Supplier, select the checkbox next to their name on the left.
Once you've made your selections, click the Use these Suppliers button at the bottom of the page.
Note: Once you have posted the Request, you cannot uninvite Suppliers that have been invited.
For a Tender:
- Choose the Categories of goods and services you want to use.
- Select the specific Supplier List(s) you want to use.
- Specify the Regions where the work will be carried out/delivered to.
For a Supplier to have access to view the tender details in their account they will need to be registered on at least one of the Supplier Lists selected, one of the categories selected on those lists and one of the regions of service selected. You can find more information on how Suppliers access Public Tenders here: How Suppliers View & Access a Public Tender.
Suppliers will select the Regions they can service or are interested in receiving Tenders for in their accounts.
We recommend only using the specific Region(s) that the work needs to be delivered to or where the work will be completed, as Suppliers throughout Australia who can provide services to that location will have that Region selected on their account.
Selecting one Region does not limit the Tender to only Suppliers who have their location set in that region.
Details & Information
Here you are required to describe what you are requesting from the Suppliers. The information you provide can be as detailed or broad as required. You also have the option to provide any background information or desired outcomes in the relevant fields.
Click on Save and Continue when you are ready to move on to the next step.
Ask Questions
At the Ask Questions step of the Request Wizard, you will be able to set questions for your Suppliers to answer when responding to your request. You are able to enter your question in free text, then choose whether your question is mandatory or optional for Suppliers to answer. You will also set the format in which the answer should be given, choosing from the below options:
- Text: Provides a free text field for Suppliers to respond within.
- Numbers: Suppliers must enter only a valid number, positive or negative, to any number of decimal places.
- Money: Suppliers must enter a monetary value to a maximum of two decimal places.
- Date: Suppliers are given a calendar to choose a date. Selection may be in the past or future.
- Yes/No: Suppliers are given a Yes or No radio button to choose from.
- Custom Selection Dropdown: Customise your own dropdown for Suppliers to choose from. Enter each option on a new line in the supplied textbox, and these will be provided in a dropdown for Suppliers to select from
As this is an optional step, you can also click Skip this step if you do not want to ask any questions.
Click on Save and Continue when you are ready to move on to the next step.
Add Files
Here, you can upload a maximum of 50 files up to 15 Mb each. If required, you can click the Switch to large file upload mode button to upload a maximum of 5 large files up to 150 Mb each.
You can use both the standard and large file upload methods on the one request to upload multiple files of various sizes.
As this is an optional step, you can also click Skip this step if you do not want to attach any files.
Please note
The supported file types are: pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, xlsm, csv, mpp, ppt, pptx, ppsx, jpg, jpeg, png, x-png, bmp, x-bmp, img, tif, tiff, gif, x-jpg, psd, eps, ai, avi, mp3, mp4, mpg, 3gp, qt, mov, swf, wmv, flv, dwg, acad, dxf, zip, kmx, kml, kmz
Click on Save and Continue when you are ready to move on to the next step.
RFx Budget
First, set whether a ‘total cost’ is mandatory for each Supplier’s response to this Request. If this is set to Mandatory, then Suppliers will need to complete the Pricing step in their response on VendorPanel and include a value.
Select an estimated value and whether the value is hidden or visible to Suppliers.
You also have the option to add a budgeted value, which is automatically hidden from Suppliers.
Click on Save and Continue when you are ready to move on to the next step.
Submission Dates
All Requests must have a set open and close date. This is the window in which Suppliers can prepare and submit their responses.
The open date is automatically set to today’s date, meaning that if you were to post the Request now, it would instantly be open. You can edit the open date to any future date, and it will open at 00:01 am on that day.
When you select the close date, you will also need to set a specific closing time. Suppliers will have up until that time to submit their responses.
Lastly, you will have to select an evaluation period from 1 day to 6 months. Once the Request has closed you can extend the decision date a maximum of 3 times. Suppliers will see this is as the Expected Decision Date in their accounts.
Click on Save and Continue when you are ready to move on to the next step.
Save & Post
In the final step, you will be asked to first select an evaluation method (you can change this later). You may see the below options to choose from:
Next, you can select if your name and contact details should be kept private or made visible to Suppliers in the Request Details.
Supplier query cut-off period
If the functionality has been turned on for your organisation, you can also set a cut-off period to the Request where Suppliers can no longer ask questions.
In the drop-down menu, you can choose not to have a cut-off period for Supplier questions, or a range of cut-off periods prior to the Request closing. Selection options displayed are dependent on the length of the response period, capped at 21 days prior to closing time. The time of day of the cut-off period will match the closing time of the Request (e.g., closing time = 5 pm, cut-off time = 5 pm).
It should be noted that if the Request close date is subsequently edited, the Buyer will be prompted to re-select the query cut-off period to appropriately reflect the new closing date.
You can then either save your Request as a draft (click Save as draft) or post it to Suppliers (Post it!).
When Buyers post a Request to Suppliers, Suppliers receive an email notification that they have been included in a Request and are able to submit a response by logging into their VendorPanel account. Suppliers will not be able to view which other Suppliers have been included in a Request.
Request Wizard Controls
At any point during the Request Wizard, you can Preview, Delete, or Exit the Request.
- Preview shows the version of the Request that Suppliers see.
- Delete will delete the Request you are working on.
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Exit will take you out of the Request Wizard. All saved changes will be kept as a draft. Anything unsaved will be lost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my request 'Pending Approval'?
Your Local Group has been setup so that requests require approval by your manager before being released to Suppliers. You can find more information on this here: Pre-Market Request Approvals.
I hid my contact details from the Supplier, but when I preview the Request, I can see them. Why?
If you have hidden your contact details, the Supplier will be unable to view them, but they are shown to you so you can confirm they are correct. There is a note below your details that states if they are hidden from the Supplier.
What happens when I post a Request?
The request is sent to Suppliers to review and then respond to. Invited Suppliers are notified via email of the invitation. You are able to track the status of Supplier responses when viewing the request and clicking on the statistics icon (which looks like a graph).