Working with RFx Instances

The Icertis Sourcing app enables buyers to create and manage end-to-end RFx process. RFx is an acronym for Request for x, where x may stand for Information or Proposal or Quotation. Buyers can create an RFx instance, add line items, select suppliers and supplier contacts, create agreements with the suppliers, add team members to the instance for review and approval process and send the instance for approval. Here is the RFx workflow at a glance:

Creating the RFx Instance

1. Click the "Sourcing" tile on the "Home" page. The "Sourcing" page opens. A list of all the RFx instances is displayed.

5. Select or enter the values for all the required Attributes in the "RFx Information" group:

• Enter the RFx Name. For example, "Procurement for Admin department".
• Enter the information of the RFx instance in the "Description" field.
• Select the Category from the drop-down. For example, "Office Supplies".

• Select the Round Start Date and Round End Date. When you enter the dates, a round is created automatically as soon as the RFx instance is approved.

• View Bids: Select an appropriate option from the drop-down. There are following options:
  • Sealed Envelope: When you select this option, the bid and bid responses are not visible to the buyer until the round is closed.
  • Open RFx: When you select this option, the bid and bid responses are visible to the buyer throughout the duration of the round, as and when the supplier submits the bid.

• Select Yes or No for the following Configuration settings as per your requirement:
  • Auto Copy Bids from Previous Rounds: Select "Yes" if you want to allow copying bids from previous rounds to the new round. This displays the bids from the current rounds and the bid responses with values added in the most recently closed round in Draft state to the suppliers. The default value for this option is set to Yes. 
  • Allow Foreclosure of Rounds: Select "Yes" if you want to close the round before the selected round end date. This displays the Close Round button on the Round Details page to close the round manually. If you select No, then the round will be closed automatically only after the selected round end date. The default value for this option is set to Yes.
  • Allow Supplier Attachment changes in RFx: Select "Yes" if you want to allow making changes to the external attachments in any state of the RFx. The default value for this option is set to "Yes". 
  • Allow New Supplier During RFx Phase: Select "Yes" if you want to allow new supplier(s) to be added during the entire RFx lifecycle. However, the newly added supplier(s) can participate in a new round only, not in an ongoing round. The default value for this option is set to "No".

• Enter the Terms For Participation in the given field. They will be visible to the suppliers only if the buyer adds it when creating the RFx. The suppliers should accept the Terms before they can participate in the bidding process of the RFx. For example, if a supplier has multiple contacts and if one of the contacts accepts the terms for participation, then other contacts are not required to take any action on that and the Terms for Participation will not be displayed to the remaining contacts.
• Allow Line Item changes in RFx: Select "Yes" if you want to allow new line items to be added during the entire RFx lifecycle, However, the newly added line item(s) can be part of a round only before it starts and not in an ongoing round. The default value of this option is set to No.
• Select the following contracts (if applicable) by clicking the drop-down arrow or the Lookup Search icon:

• Associate Contracts: Sourcing app allows the buyers to create contracts such as NDA, for all the suppliers selected when creating RFx. A separate contract will be created for each supplier.
• Mandatory Contracts: It is the contract that should be present for all the suppliers before the RFx moves to the next phase. The value in this option will be populated automatically based on the value selected in the earlier option. You cannot select any value in this option if you don’t select anything in the Associate Contracts option.
• Prerequisite Contracts: The Supplier can access the RFx instance only after it is in Approved state. After the Round is started, a Terms for Participation window is displayed to the supplier with an option to accept or decline. The Suppliers can access the RFx only after they sign the Prerequisite Contract after accepting the terms for participation. If the Suppliers do not sign the contracts a message is displayed by ICI, along with a list of documents asking the suppliers to complete the documents before accessing the RFx.

The values selected in these fields are populated on the RFx Details page under the Agreements tab. This enables the buyer to create Agreements relevant to the RFx that is created.

The attributes for mandatory and prerequisite contracts are interlinked and both the attributes display the list of different contract types that can be associated with the RFx. ICI validates whether the prerequisite and mandatory contracts added to the RFx are in Approved state.

• Primary Currency: Select the primary currency for the RFx. If the user preferred currency is not added in the currency master, then the corporate currency is set as the primary currency of the RFx. For example, if user preferred currency is SGD which is not added in currency master, then the primary currency is set as USD assuming it is set as the corporate currency. 
• Allowed Currency: Select the allowed currency for the RFx. This is the currency allowed by the buyers for the suppliers operating from a different country. The selected allowed currencies can be used by suppliers for bidding. Suppliers can view the newly added currencies even when the round is Open and select them as required. Buyers can update the allowed currency at any time using Modify RFx option. The allowed currencies cannot be deleted after the RFx is approved.
• Exchange Rate Basis:Buyers can view the exchange rate throughout the RFx lifecycle by clicking the View Exchange Rate Table icon at RFx, Line Items, Bids, Bid Responses. The exchange rate basis can have one of the following values:
  • RFx Open Date: This is selected by default. When this is selected, system uses the start date of first round for determining exchange rates
  • RFx Closed Date: This date must be selected same as the round end date. When this is selected, system uses close date of the last round for determining applicable exchange rates
  • User selected: This is the date from when the exchange rates are made applicable by the buyers. It is mandatory to select the Exchange Rate Date that is enabled after selecting User Selected as the Exchange Rate Basis. The selected date is used as the date to determine the exchange rate and all calculations of currency conversion. Buyers can view the exchange rate information when selecting the Exchange Rate Basis as RFx Open Date or RFx Closed Date after the RFx is approved and the round is created.
• Evaluate Round: Select "Yes" if you want to allow evaluating the round. The default value for this option is set to "No". 

7. Click "Next". The Select Template (Step 3 of 4) page opens. This is an optional step depending upon how the application is configured. Usually there would be only one template associated with the RFx that is selected automatically. However, multiple templates can be configured in ICI as per the business requirement.

RFx Details Page

Buyers can view the current status and details of the RFx in various sections of the left navigation pane on RFx Details page. Buyers can also perform a variety of actions based on the current state of the RFx.

Here is a brief description of the options in the left navigation pane of RFx Details page.

• Summary: Displays the name of the RFx instance (that is added while creating), who created it, and RFx instance details.
• Details: Displays the details specified while creating the RFx instance.
• RFx Package: This section displays the following details.
  • Line Items: Click this option to view the list of line items associated with the RFx. Click the plus icon next to Line Items on RFx Details page to add a new line item.
  • Internal Attachments: Displays the list of existing internal attachments associated with the RFx. Internal attachments are associated documents uploaded by the buyers and only available to the buyer team. Click the plus icon next to internal attachments to add new to the list.
  • External Attachments: Displays the list of existing external attachments associated with the RFx. External attachments are associated documents uploaded by the buyers and available to both buyers and suppliers. Click the plus icon next to external attachments to add new to the list.
• Supplier Information: Displays the list of existing suppliers and allows buyers to add new suppliers along with their contact information.
  • Suppliers: Displays the list of suppliers added to the RFx created by the buyer. Click the plus icon next to Suppliers to add a new supplier.
  • Supplier Contacts: Displays the list of supplier contacts that are populated automatically after you select the suppliers in the previous step.
• Agreements: Displays all the agreements that were selected initially when creating the RFx.
• Collaboration: Allows the internal or external team members to communicate with other internal or external team members by creating topics and posting messages in it.
• Round: Displays the list of rounds associated with the RFx along with their current state. Click the plus icon next to Round to add a new round.
• Awarding: Displays the RFx instance awarded to the supplier. After the rounds are closed and awarding is initiated by the buyer, an awarding object is created.
• Team: Displays the members added to the team for this RFx instance. Click the plus icon to add new team members to the RFx.
• Notes: Displays the additional information about the RFx if it is added.
• History: Displays how the RFx has progressed till now. The actions performed by the buyer are displayed by the buyer on the RFx instance are displayed under History in the left navigation pane on RFx Details page.

Buyers can perform the following actions from the RFx Details page:

• Preview: Displays how the RFx document would actually look. Click the click here in To see full document click here to download and view the full document in pdf format
• Download RFx Document: Click this button to download the RFx document in Microsoft Word format. The downloaded document is based on the template selected while creating the RFx instance.
• Edit: Click this button to go back and make changes to the RFx that you created.
• Send for Approval: Click this button to send the RFx instance for approval.
• Download Package: Click this button to download the RFx instance along with all its associations. You can select specific associations that you want to download or select the RFx instance checkbox to download the RFx package. RFx package is downloaded as a zip file that contains all the attachments relevant to the RFx. When the zip file is exported on user’s local machine, a folder structure is created that resembles the RFx structure, and the files are located in the respective locations.The files names will be the same when downloading or uploading them to ICI. The files will be downloaded as per the defined folder structure and folder naming conventions which helps users to easily identify files under individual folders of the RFx and avoid any discrepancies. The folder names for associations are now same as the contract type display names such as line items, internal attachments, round, bid response and so on. Downloading the RFx package displays the folders for RFx, round, bid, RFI Response as they are displayed in ICI. The rounds and bids folders are merged in a single folder and the template files are added to the relevant round or bid folder. This is applicable for RFx and RFI. Users can now download a single file for various ICI entities, by clicking the down arrow icon next to the entities listed on the “Download Package” window. This enables the users to download specific files relevant to the RFx in a single click, instead of downloading it as a complete entity package, and this also helps saving the time required to do so.

Adding Line Items

You can add line items at any stage of the RFx instance depending upon RFx configuration settings. Line items are products that the buyer is looking to procure through the RFx instance. When you create the RFx instance, the RFx Details page opens with the RFx status displayed as Draft. You can use the left navigation pane to add one or more line items. You can also add line items using Microsoft Excel import by selecting the file from your local machine and uploading it to ICI Sourcing.

1. Click the Create Association icon next to Line Items under the RFx Package tab. The Line Items window opens.

• Name: Enter the name of the items you want to procure. For example, Laptops.
• Part Number: Enter the specific details of the item. For example, Model number.
• Description: Enter more information of the item.
• Unit of Measure: Select appropriate unit of measure depending upon the item. For example, Piece, Each, Pack, etc.
• Unit of Order: Select the unit of order you want to procure. For example, in the multiples of 10s or 100s etc.
• Desired Quantity: Enter the quantity of the item you wish to procure.
• Bid Currency: Select the currency from the drop-down.
• Additional Details: You can upload a file that contains additional details about the item.

Bidder List 

Buyers tend to invite preferred suppliers when procuring goods or services of any specific category. ICI Sourcing App allows the users with approval privileges to approve an RFx and its associations including bidder list.

As part of global sourcing strategy, many organizations have bidder list approver who is different than RFx approver   to ensure only the eligible  suppliers are invited for the RFx event. This ensures any favoritism or unscrupulous practices are not followed by any business department for procuring goods or services.

ICI now allows: 

• Configuring a Bidder List association and Bidder List approvers at RFx level.

• Creating and editing the bidder list, based on the linkage between RFx and bidder list association as mentioned in the table below. 

 

• Sending the bidder list for approval to the user based on the approval rule configured. If the approval rule is not configured, the bidder list will be approved automatically.

• Approving and rejecting the bidder list as an approver or recalling it as a buyer. After the bidder list is approved, the suppliers and supplier contacts are synchronized with the RFx. 
• Copying the RFx after which the suppliers and supplier contacts are copied to the new RFx automatically if the Allow Copy with Association flag is enabled. The suppliers and supplier contacts are automatically added to the bidder list when it is created in the new RFx. 
• Providing the history of actions performed on the bidder list.

This feature can be implemented by configuring the Bidder List association contract type with Business Application Type selected as Sourcing and Business Application Category selected as RFx or RFI. 

Creating Bidder List 

To create a bidder list: 

1. Click the plus (+) icon next to Bidder List on the RFx Details page. The Create Association page opens.

• Discard: Click "Discard" to delete the bidder list you are creating.
• Previous: Click "Previous". This allows making changes to the information you entered to create the bidder list.
• Create Bidder List: Click "Create Bidder List". This publishes the bidder list for team members who are authorized to access it.  
   

Adding Bulk Line Items 

The bulk associations capability has enabled ICI to handle large number of associations in the tune of thousands, by presenting itself as a lightweight association as well as tremendously improving performance. The Sourcing event can include many line items for an RFx ranging from 500 to 50,000 maximum. In Sourcing, line items are considered as associations. 
The bulk association configuration has now been simplified by providing a Enable Bulk Processing flag at contract type definition level which triggers a set of defaults that has been intentionally restricted. The end user experience for the bulk association has not changed from the way that the conventional association is handled from the UI, rather the underlying data structure has been further enhanced to make it go the distance. 
Performance has been the key while introducing and designing this new association, which has given way to the new type of instance, namely the Proxy Instance, which is retrieved in every GET call. The actual instances are referred by using this proxy instance, thereby reducing the load on the GET APIs. Specialized GET and SET APIs have also been introduced for bulk associations to improve its adaptability and ease-of-use.
Bulk associations have very effectively consumed the Icertis Search Bulk API to sync a large set of data at one go, rather than the traditional way of one instance at a time, adding to the boost in performance.
Bulk association is enhanced to be able to address the large volume of data that Sourcing apps require, including:

• The associations do not have a workflow.
• Simplifying the association team by maintaining single team at proxy level for all instances, instead of each instance having its own team.
• Restricting document assembly, for individual instances, but the instances can be assembled in the parent agreement as a table or saved search. 
• Reduced the attributes to be indexed in the parent, so as to cater to more number of instances driven by the configuration key.
   

To enable the Bulk Processing flag: 

1. Click "Configure" > "Contract Types"> "Create".  The Select a type of contract window opens. 

4. Enter a Contract Type Name. For example,Acme Bulk Pro.

5. Toggle Enable Bulk Processing flag to Yes.

7. Enter details on the following tabs. 

8. Click Create on the Verify tab to create the contract type. It will now be in the Draft status. 

9. Click Send for Approval to send the contract type for approval. When approved, the contract type Acme Bulk Pro will be displayed in the grid in the Approved status.

 

Uploading Bulk Associations (Line Items)

Prerequisites:

• RFx is created.
• In the RFx, line item exists as an association with Enable Bulk Processing flag as Yes.
• The event rule Associated Document Created is created.

To upload bulk associations: 

1. Click Create RFx.

2. Enter the RFx Name. For example, Procurement for Admin Department. 

4. Select the template and click Next. The Verify page opens.

5. Click Create RFx.

6. Click Line item Details on the RFX Details page. The line items Details page opens.

7. Click the three dots icon above the list of line items and then click "Upload Template". The "Upload Document" page opens.

Selecting Suppliers

Suppliers are the businesses that participate in the RFx bidding process. The suppliers and their information such as Names, Addresses, Contact Numbers, Email Addresses, and Supplier Contacts are added to the Masterdata. The name of the existing Supplier Contact Name has been modified to Supplier Contact Full Name. For example, John Doe. Buyers can remove the supplier contact from the Supplier Contact page. This updates the count of selected supplier contact.The selected supplier contact’s full name is displayed on the new selected supplier contacts interface.The suppliers and supplier contacts saved earlier are now displayed as pre-selected when adding more suppliers and supplier contacts.

Now, the buyers can use any supplier and supplier contact masterdata contract type to add suppliers.

The supplier contact full name column will be displayed by default on:

• Supplier Contact selection page
• Details page of Supplier Contact
• Grid view of the supplier contact association 

This makes it is easier for buyers and Administrators to identify and select the correct supplier if there are multiple suppliers with the same first name. This is applicable for bulk agreements too. 

To add suppliers:

1. Click the Create Association icon next to Suppliers. The Supplier window opens.

6. Click Save. The selected supplier(s) and supplier contact(s) are added to the RFx instance. The count is updated under the Supplier Information tab in the left navigation pane.

Error Validations 

Buyers have the option to select mandatory and pre-requisite contracts while creating the RFx. The attributes for mandatory and prerequisite contracts are interlinked. The prerequisite contracts are derived from the mandatory contracts. So, if the buyers select the following contracts – NDA, Warranty Agreement, Fixed Cost Agreement as mandatory, then they have the option to select one or more, or all as prerequisite contracts.

Suppose the NDA is the prerequisite contract for accessing the RFx, then the validations are done such that ICI expects that the Instance of an NDA contract type for all the suppliers is associated with the RFx and contract should be in Approved state. Similarly, if Contract Types are made mandatory, then the instances of these should exist before RFx is sent for approval.

Buyers will now receive a system message when:

• Sending an RFx for approval in case prerequisite contracts are not in the Approved status for suppliers.
• Sending an RFx for approval in case mandatory contracts are either not created or exist in one of the states - Cancelled, Expired, or Terminated for suppliers. 

Buyers will be able to view the validations for the prerequisite and mandatory contracts for the shortlisted suppliers only.
For a shortlisted supplier, if all the prerequisite contracts are inactive or if any one of the contracts is active but not in Approved or later state, then the validations will be displayed. 
For example, if there is one shortlisted supplier with two prerequisite contracts NDA 1 (in Draft state) and NDA 2 (in Waiting for Approval) state, then validations will be displayed. 
The validations will not be displayed for shortlisted suppliers when at least one active prerequisite contract exists, and all such contracts are in Approved or later state. 
For example, if there is one shortlisted supplier with two prerequisite contracts NDA 1 (in Approved state) and NDA 2 (in Expired state), no validations will be displayed since one of the two prerequisite contracts (NDA 1) is in Approved or later state.
 

To view the error validations: 

3. Click the plus icon to the mandatory contract that was configured when creating the RFx and create the mandatory contracts using the process to create the bulk agreement. 

4. Click Send for Approval. The Contract Status Validation window opens displaying only the Prerequisite contracts. 

Creating Bulk Agreements

The Sourcing App offers you a convenient way of creating bulk agreements with the suppliers, without having to move out of RFx instance that you are working on. The agreements must be already configured in ICI. These agreements may be made mandatory for the supplier to sign before the supplier can participate in the RFx. The RFx displays all the agreements created from the RFx and they have all the agreement information. This allows the buyer to conveniently navigate between the RFx and the agreement associated with the RFx.

To create an agreement:

1. Click the Create Association icon next to the agreements in the left navigation pane on the RFx Details page. For example, NDA, Warranty Agreement. The "Please Confirm" window opens indicating to select existing contracts or create a new contract. 

4. Click the plus icon next to "Suppliers and Agreement Details". The Supplier page opens.

6. Click Next. The Select Template (Step 3 of 4) page opens.

Link Existing Contracts 

Buyers can now: 

• Link existing supplier contracts (prerequisite, mandatory, associated contracts) allowing buyers to leverage existing contracts with suppliers. 
• View the contracts of the supplier when creating the bulk agreement that allows assigning any supplier contact as a signatory for the agreement.
• View the signatory of the prerequisite contracts that allows the suppliers to connect with the signatory if there are any issues with the contracts. 
• Send the agreements for approval in bulk that helps avoid sending the agreements for approval individually. 
• Select the new signature type Click to Sign allowing suppliers to participate in the sourcing event by previewing, accepting, or declining the terms and conditions set by the buyer. 

To link existing contracts: 

1. Click the Create Association next to the agreements in the left navigation pane on the RFx Details page. For example, NDA, Warranty Agreement. The Please Confirm window opens. 

2. Click Existing Contracts. The Select existing contracts to link to RFx page opens. 

3. Select the contract that you want to link with the RFx and click Link Contracts. 

The selected contract is linked with the RFx.  

 

Adding Team Members

A team of Approvers, Reviewers, and Observers can be added to the RFx instance for completing the workflow.

To add team members:

1. Click the Team tab on the RFx Details page. The "Team" page opens in the right pane.

3. Enter the search term in under "Refine View" field to search for a desired user.

4. Select a User from the displayed user tiles.

5. Select a Role. For example, Approver, Business Owner, Observer, etc.

6. Select or enter the Step Number if you select Approver in the Select Role field.

7. Enter a comment in the Add Note field (optional). You can see this comment under the Notes tab.

8. Select the Send Notification checkbox if you want to the user to receive a notification of the task.

9. Click Add. The User has been added successfully message is displayed.

Sending the RFx Instance for Approval

The RFx instance must be in Approved state before a round is created automatically and the RFx workflow can be completed.

1. Click the Send For Approval button on the RFx Details page. The RFX instance is sent for approval to the approver(s) you have selected in the Team.

 

Approving the Shortlist Suppliers

Users can now add shortlist approvers who are different than the Round approver and responsible for approving the suppliers in the round when they are different than the suppliers approved in the RFx. The Shortlist Approver user can be added manually using the “Teams” section or using the Rules for a sequential or parallel approval.

ICI now allows: 

• Configuring Suppliers Changed attribute in Round. If the list of suppliers’ changes at the round level, then this attribute is enabled. Note that the Suppliers Changed attribute is disabled by default.
• If the approver rule is configured when the Suppliers Changed attribute is enabled, it triggers the rule and an approver is added for approving the shortlisting changes. Note that this happens only when the Round is sent for approval.

This feature can be configured using the Approver rule configured for the round contract type. The shortlist supplier approver and the round approver are differentiated based on the step number assigned. 

This feature can be implemented for any agreement contract type with Business Application Type selected as Sourcing and Business Application Category selected as Round. 

You can configure the “Shortlist Supplier” by creating an approval rule for the round. 

To configure the approval rule: 

1. Click Configure> Rule> Create Rule. The Create Rule page opens. 

2. Select or enter the details on this page and click Next.

3. Select or enter the value on this page and click Next. 

4. Click Create to create the rule.

The Information window displays the message Rule Created Successfully. 

5. Click Ok. This triggers the shortlist supplier approval process.

As part of the shortlist supplier approval process,

• If there is a difference between the suppliers present in the round and the shortlisted suppliers present in RFx, then the Suppliers Changed attribute is enabled.
• If the Suppliers Changed attribute is enabled and the approval rule is configured, then  tthe approval rule is triggered which adds the shortlist approver to round team.

ICI Sourcing event may have the following scenarios.

Scenario 1: Suppliers added to the round are different than RFx

If the RFx has five suppliers and buyer removes some suppliers manually in round then, the number of suppliers in round and RFx will be different. Buyers can then send the round for approval. 

The shortlist approvers are added to the round team based on the rule configured. Shortlist Approvers can approve or reject the suppliers in round depending on the requirement. 

Approving the Shortlist Suppliers 

The shortlist approver approves the suppliers list in the round. If the round approver is configured, the round is sent for approval else the status of the round changes to Open and the RFx status changes to Bidding Open. 

Rejecting the Round 

If shortlisted suppliers are rejected, or the buyer recalls, then the round moves to the Draft state. Buyer can make the necessary changes to the round and send it for approval. 

When the suppliers added to the round are same as RFx, the shortlist supplier workflow will be skipped as the Supplier Changed attribute is not changed and remains disabled. This approves the round and changes the status to Open automatically.

When the shortlist approver is added manually, the round is sent for approval to the manually added shortlist approver. This happens irrespective of any changes made to the list of suppliers.

 

Selecting Suppliers 

Suppliers can be selected if the required information is added to the Supplier master.

The default columns displayed for the supplier and supplier contacts for the bidder list are:

Default columns for suppliers:

• Actions 
• Supplier Name
• Supplier ID
• Shortlist Supplier
• TnC Accepted 

Default columns for supplier contacts:

• Actions 
• Supplier Contact Full Name 
• Supplier Contact First Name 
• Supplier Contact Email ID
• Supplier Name

1. Click the plus (+) icon next to “Supplier”. The Suppliers window opens that allows you to select the suppliers and corresponding supplier contacts.

Sending Bidder List for Review 

ICI has a robust review process for each entity relating to RFx.

To send the Bidder List for review: 

1. Click Request Review on the bidder list Details page. The  Request Review window opens. 

To view the notification:

1. Click Tasks on the Home page. The User Tasks page opens. 

• View RFx: Click this button to view the RFx associated to the bidder list.
• Download All: Click this button to download all the documents associated with the bidder list.
• Delegate: Click this button to delegate the task of reviewing the bidder list.
• Cancel Request: Click this button to cancel the review request and changes the bidder list status to Draft again.
• Approve: Click this button to review and approve the bidder list. The Add Note window opens. Type the appropriate comments and click Add. 
• Reject: Click this button to reject the review request for the bidder list. It is mandatory to add the reason code to reject the review request.

Sending the Bidder List for Approval 

Buyers can send the bidder list for approval only after adding atleast one shortlisted supplier to the bidder list.  Sending the bidder list for approval without adding any shortlisted suppliers displays a validation message indicating You must add or shortlist atleast one supplier.

1. Click the Send for Approval button on the bidder list Details page. The bidder list is sent for approval to the approver(s) you selected in the team.

Approving the Bidder List 

You can approve or reject the bidder list in the following ways:

• From the list of your tasks 

To approve the bidder list: 

1. Click the Tasks tile on the Home page. The User Tasks page opens.

2. Click the "View Details" eye icon next to the bidder list to open it for approval.  The bidder list Details page opens.

Updating the Bidder List 

The Update Bidder List button will be displayed only after the bidder list is in Approved state and RFx is in Draft or In Modification state. You can update the bidder list by clicking Update Bidder List button that changes the status to Draft. Follow the steps mentioned above to add or remove suppliers or contacts from the bidder list or enable or disable the shortlist supplier flag.

Sending RFx for Approval

ICI Sourcing displays the following validation messages in the following sequence if the bidder list configured and RFx is sent for approval. 

If RFx is sent for approval without adding line item, then a validation message is displayed indicating At least one line item should be added to RFx.

You can send the RFx for approval only after the bidder list is approved. If bidder list is not approved and RFx is sent for approval, then a validation message is displayed indicating to send the bidder list for approval.

Click close icon to add the bidder list and send the RFx for approval.

The RFx is sent for approval after all the above-mentioned activities are performed.

 

Viewing the History of Bidder List 

History tab displays the entire lifecycle of a bidder list in the form of logs. Here you can view all the logs relevant to the action taken on the selected bidder list in the specific state. If there are no changes made to the bidder list, the History tab displays No Changes Made under Detail column. It also displays the date, time and by whom the action was taken. History logs can be viewed either using Grid or List view. By default, Grid view is selected.

Let us go through both Grid and List view in detail.

Grid View 

Grid view dramatically reduces the time required to go through the complete list of available logs to find a specific one. Using this view, you can easily refine your search for any specific historical log.
The search results are displayed in a tabular form. You can further sort your results by using the Filter provided in each column.

 

The List view displays the complete list of historical logs available. You can refine your search by selecting the specific Status provided on the page. 

Scenarios 

Bidder List and RFx Supplier list is different

Number of Suppliers and Supplier contacts in RFx 

Number of Supplier and Supplier contacts in bidder list 

If the number of suppliers and supplier contacts added to the bidder list and RFx do not match, a message is displayed indicating that the bidder list and RFx supplier list are not in sync. 

Copying RFx and Bidder List 

If Allow Copy with Associations flag is not enabled, only the selected RFx will be copied. The suppliers and supplier contacts will be copied to the new RFx only if they are selected and the Allow Copy with Associations flag is enabled. 

Now,

1. Click the plus icon next to the bidder list to create the bidder list following the same steps in the Creating Bidder List section.

The suppliers and supplier contacts from RFx is copied automatically to the bidder list after the bidder list is created. 

You can follow the same process mentioned in the Sending Bidder List for Approval section to send it for approval. 

Modify RFx 

If the Allow New Supplier During RFx Phase flag is not enabled and the RFx is in In Modification state, buyers will not be able to add any suppliers and supplier contacts in the bidder list.  

Modifying RFx

Initiating RFx modification and workflow

Prerequisite:

• RFx is created and is in Approved or later status until awarding is initiated. For example, Bidding Open status.