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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 orProposal 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:
1. Click the Sourcing tile on the Dashboard. The Sourcing page opens. A list of all the RFx instances is displayed.
5. Select orenter the values for all the required Attributes in the RFx Information group:
6. Select appropriate values and settings under the RFx Configs group.
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. ICM validates whether the prerequisite and mandatory contracts added to the RFx are in Approved state.
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 ICM as per the business requirement.
8. Click Next. The Verify (Step 4 of 4) page opens. Verify all the information you have just entered.
9. Click the Create RFx button. The RFx Details page opens.
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.
Buyers can perform the following actions from the RFx Details page:
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 ICM Sourcing.
To add line items:
1. Click the Create Association icon next to Line Items under the RFx Package tab. The Line Items window opens.
2. Enter the values in the following fields:
3. Click Create. The Line Item is created. The Count is updated in the left navigation pane on the RFx Details page.
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.
To add suppliers:
1. Click the Create Association icon next to Suppliers. The Supplier window opens.
2. Search for the desired supplier(s) or select the suppliers from the displayed list under the Supplier tab.
3. Click Next. The Supplier Contacts tab opens displaying the contact details of the suppliers.
4. Click the View Record icon next to the supplier’s name. The supplier’s contact details are displayed.
5. Select the desired Supplier Contact(s).
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.
Buyers will now receive a system message when:
To view the error validations:
2. Click the Mandatory Contracts tab next to the Prerequisite Contracts tab.
A message is displayed as above indicating that the contract types are either not created or exist in one of the statuses as Expired, Terminated, or Cancelled. In this example, the contract types Fixed Cost and NDA are not created.
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.
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 ICM. 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.
2. The Attributes (Step 2 of 4) page opens in the new browser tab.
3. Enter values for all the attributes, some of which may be mandatory.
4. Click the Select Multiple Suppliers icon next to Suppliers and Agreement Details. The Supplier page opens.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 6 from the Selecting Suppliers section to add a supplier.
6. Click Next. The Select Template (Step 3 of 4) page opens.
7. Select a Template.
8. Click Next. The Verify page opens. Verify all the information you have entered.
9. Click the Bulk Create Agreement button. The agreement is created.
10. Click the View Record icon next to the NDA instance on the Sourcing page. The NDA’s Details page opens with the NDA in the Draft state.
After the Agreement is created for a supplier, you can proceed with the agreement workflow as configured. For example, you can send the agreement for approval.
11. Click the Send For External Signature button on the Details page. The agreement is sent to the supplier(s) for signatures. The status of the agreement changes to Executed when all the suppliers sign the NDA.
Buyers can now:
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.
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 Add Team page opens in the right pane.
2. Click the Add Team icon. The Select User window opens.
3. Enter the search term in the Search User 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.
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.
The status changes to Waiting For Approval. A task is created for each approver.
When all the approvers approve the RFx instance, the status changes to Approved. After the RFx is approved, the first round is created automatically.
One cycle of seeking proposals/bids from suppliers and evaluating them is referred to as a round. A complete Sourcing event may comprise of multiple rounds. The first round is created automatically (if the start and end dates are entered) as soon as the RFx instance is approved. You can see the round on the RFX Details page. You must open the round instance and fill in additional details. There can be multiple rounds for one RFx instance.
Here is the round workflow at a glance:
You can schedule a round by entering the Round Start Date and End Date when creating the RFx instance. The buyer must click the Start Round button on the Round Details page to start the round.
To start the round:
1. Click Round on the RFx Details page. The auto created round instance is displayed.
2. Click the View Record icon. The Round’s Details page opens with the round in Draft state.
3. Click the Start Round button to start the Round. The status of the round changes to Approved when the round is approved and the status of the RFx changes to Round(s) Ongoing.
The buyer can also create a round manually if they need to conduct multiple rounds with the supplier. The buyer can create the round manually only if the RFx instance is in Approved state.
To create a round (manually):
1. Click the Create Association icon under the Round tab on the RFx Details page. The Create RFx -Round page opens.
2. Click the Organization Unit icon to select the Organization Unit.
3. Enter an appropriate name for the round.
4. Enter relevant details in the AppSrc Description field.
5. Select a Round Start Date. This field is already populated with the current date. You can select a different date and time if required.
6. Select a Round End Date and time.
7. Click Next. The Verify page opens. Verify all the information.
8. Click the Create Round button. The Round’s Details page opens. The round is now created in Draft state.
9. Click the Start Round button to begin the Round. The status of the round changes to Approved and Scheduled. When the round is approved the status changes to Approved and Scheduled. When the current date is equal to start date of the round the status changes to Published.
A bid is a collection of quotes for each Line Item. The system generates bids when a round is in Published state. The supplier can view the bids that were submitted in the previous rounds if the buyer selects Yes in the AppSrc Auto Copy Bids from the Previous Round option when creating the RFx.
Depending upon how the RFx instance is configured in the organization, suppliers must sign all the prerequisite agreements before submitting the bid responses. The suppliers won’t be able to view the RFx instance until the prerequisite agreement is in Executed state.
Here is the bid workflow at a glance:
A supplier can submit bid responses when the round is published.
To submit bid responses:
1. Click the Sourcing tile on the Dashboard after logging on to ICM. The Sourcing page opens. This page displays a list of all the RFx instances, rounds, and bids that the supplier is a part of.
2. Click the View Record icon next to the bid that you want to respond to. The Bid’s Details page opens with the bid is in Draft state.
3. Click Bid Response under Quotation Details tab. The bid response is displayed in the grid along with its details such as Item Name, Quotation ID etc. As the buyer had added two line items, the count is updated to 2 next to Bid Response.
4. Click the Edit icon. The Edit Bid Response window opens. It displays the information of the line item given by the buyer.
5. Enter values for the following fields:
6. Click the Update button. The bid response is updated. The Bid Response window closes.
7. Click Submit on the Bid Details page. The bid response is now submitted to the buyer. The status of the bid changes to Submitted.
After submitting bids, suppliers cannot edit bids. To edit the bids, the suppliers must click Withdraw. This changes the status of the bid to Withdrawn. Suppliers can revert withdrawal by clicking Revert Withdrawal. They can also edit their bids and submit again.
As soon as one supplier submits a bid, the status of the round changes to In Bidding. When all the bid responses are submitted, the buyer can:
Or
It is the process of analyzing supplier responses with an intent to compare one against the others along the evaluation criteria. When all the desired Bid Responses are received, you can view and analyze all the responses to be able to take informed decision.
At least one round should be completed for conducting bid analysis, otherwise the user gets an error message indicating that the round must be started to download bid analysis. For an RFx with Sealed Envelope, at least one round must be in Closed state to download the excel sheet for bid analysis.
To analyze bid response:
1. Click the Download Bid Analysis button on the RFx Details page. An Excel sheet containing the bid responses is downloaded.
2. Open the Excel sheet. You can view the all the data collected from the bid responses such as Supplier ID, Item Name, Item Description, etc.
The ICM Sourcing app offers an ability to download either all or selected associations (line items, attachments, supplier documents) and attachments (files uploaded to the RFx instance) for review and analysis purposes. This is applicable for all types of RFx instances and all documents (buyer’s and suppliers). The application retains the file names of the attachments as they were while uploading them so that they could be recognized easily.
The files names of the attachments will be the same when downloading or uploading them to ICM. The files will be downloaded as per the defined folder structure which helps users to easily identify files under individual folders of the RFx and avoid any discrepancies.
Downloading the RFx package displays the folders for RFx, round, bid as they are displayed in ICM. The rounds and bids folders are merged in a single folder and the template files are added to the relevant round or bid folder.
The attachments can be viewed under RFx Package tab on the RFx Details page.
To download associations and attachments:
1. Click the Download Package button on the RFx Details page. The Download window opens displaying all the Associations and attachments.
2. Select the items you wish to download.
3. Click Download. The selected files are downloaded in a zip file.
You can initiate the Awarding workflow after receiving all the required bid responses and after all the rounds are in Round(s) Closed state. Buyers can award multiple suppliers using Excel upload.
To create award instances:
1. Click the Initiate Award button on the RFx Details page. The Attributes (Step 2 of 4) page opens.
2. Select the Organization Unit.
3. Select the Business Status (Default value - Draft).
4. Enter the Name of the Awarding instance.
5. Upload an AppSrc Supporting Document, if any.
6. Click Next. The Select Template (Step 3 of 4) page opens.
7. Select the template.
8. Click Next. The Verify page opens. Verify all the information.
9. Click the Create Award Agreement button. The RFx Details page opens with the status Awarding Initiated. The RFx Awarding instance is created with the status Draft.
After creating the Awarding instance, you must create an Awarding Decision as an Association. The awarding decision contains all the details of all items and the Supplier(s) who are being awarded the RFx along with the other details such as award quantity and price.
To create awarding decision:
1. Click RFx Awarding on the RFx Details page. The awarding instance is displayed in the right pane.
2. Click the View Record icon. The Awarding Details page opens with the status Draft.
3. Click the Create Association icon next to AppSrc Awarding Decision. The Awarding Decision window opens.
4. Click the icon next to Download File. The Awarding Decision excel sheet is downloaded on your computer. This excel sheet displays the information such as the price submitted by the supplier, the quantity of line items, currency, etc. This excel sheet contains all the bids for all suppliers for all rounds.
5. Enter values for the required fields entered on Excel.
Some of the important points to note when splitting the award between multiple suppliers are:
6. Click Select File to Upload and then click Upload File to upload the file. The awarding decisions are created automatically after uploading the File.
After creating the awarding instance and adding the awarding decision, you must send the awarding instance for approval.
To send the awarding instance for approval:
1. Click Publish on the Awarding Details page. The Published Successfully message is displayed.
2. Click Send For Approval. The status of the Awarding instance changes to Approved once the Approver(s) approve it.
After the awarding instance is approved, the status of the RFx instance changes to Awarded.
Contracts are created for the selected suppliers who are awarded with RFx. You can update the pricing information of the awarded line items in the awarded contracts.
To update awarded contracts:
1. Click Update Awarding Contracts on the RFx Details page. The Please Confirm window opens.
2. Click Yes. The Information window opens displaying a message Update to agreements for awarding decision initiated. Please check the agreements after some time.
3. Click Ok. The process of updating awarding contracts starts in the background and the status of the RFx changes to Contract Initiated. After the process is completed successfully, the status of the RFx changes to Contract Created.
4. Click the agreement associated with the RFx in the left pane on RFx Details page. The Agreement Details page opens.
5. Click Awarding Decision in the left pane on Agreement Details page. The awarding decision will be displayed with the updated pricing information.
Related Topics: Agreement Management | ICM Sourcing
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