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The 7.12 Release introduces significant enhancements to the Icertis Contract Intelligence (ICI) Sourcing Business Application. It strives to improve user experience and usability by further improving the platform functionalities and the user interface.The key enhancements of this release include:
These release notes provide an overview of the enhancements to ICI Experience for Sourcing.
573430 – Sourcing entities workflow revamp
With this release, the workflow for Sourcing has been revamped, in order to support the flexibility that is required in designing different types of sourcing processes and to make it more scalable. Enhancements have been made to the workflows of each of the entities – RFx, Round, Bid and Awarding as shown below:
RFX Workflow
590362 – Supplier bid status visibility to buyers throughout the RFx lifecycle
Previously, visibility of bids was controlled at the entire bid level only. However, it was not possible to know whether the supplier had submitted the bid (in case of open RFx), or if the supplier had submitted or declined it until the round was closed (in case of sealed envelope).
With this release, buyers can now view the status of bids for each supplier, regardless of the round status for a supplier who may or may not have submitted the bid. Hence, the bid count on the left navigation pane is the same as the number of bids displayed is the grid providing accurate visibility to the buyer of the current supplier status instead of having to wait for the bid to be submitted.
572078 – Availability of bid analysis attributes and values in Excel for bid analysis
With this release, the bid analysis downloaded file will contain all the bids, for all the suppliers, for all the rounds, with currency information and analysis attributes with their values, in a single Excel Workbook.
All bid analysis attributes are defined in the masterdata. Users can add the bid analysis attribute from masterdata for all items in RFx. This helps the buyer to get all the information in the Excel sheet to be able to easily analyze a bid for each supplier.
Buyers can now:
Note: Minimum one round has to be completed for any bid analysis.
560481 – Ability to copy RFx, copy associations and link it to original RFx
Procurement teams often use the same template, line items, questions and attachments for repetitive procurement of similar category items. Previously, as RFx/ RFI could not be copied, buyers had to create multiple sourcing events manually with different suppliers several times using the same line items, questions, attachments, and so on.
Buyers now have the capability to copy the RFx which helps reduce the timelines and avoids duplication of efforts for similar RFx creation. Additionally, as procurement involves globally distributed buyers’ team, they clone the sourcing event at the regional level and link them to one another. Linking the copied RFx to the original RFx can be achieved by enabling the Link To RFx flag on the Copy Record window.
Along with the RFx, users also have the ability to select any associated documents (line items, questions, attachments, etc.) where the Allow Copy with Associations flag is enabled at the contract type level. By default, the flag is disabled, hence only the RFx is copied without its associations.
With this release:
When copying the RFx:
The changes can be viewed in the History audit log on the RFx Details page.
Note:
560526– Modification of an approved RFx until awarding is initiated
Buyers require a provision to add, remove or edit certain parts of the RFx, as all the required criteria or business requirements may not be available at a glance during the RFx creation.
With this release, ICI provides the ability to modify a RFx which is in Approved or later status until the awarding is initiated.
When RFx modification is initiated:
The supplier cannot take actions such as Submit, Recall Bid, and Decline RFx on bids.
For RFx modification approval, the administrator can configure rules to set the Approver. Approver can approve or reject the changes:
When no Approver has been added, the RFx is auto-approved.
Note: The feature number # 560526 refers to the Modify RFx epic. The scope of the epic for this release includes features # 560560, 560575, 560576, 560578, 566708, 618441 and 620356 which are covered in these release notes.
567274 – Ability to evaluate and score suppliers based on bid submissions
Previously, buyers were not able to evaluate various suppliers in a round/RFx. They need a provision to evaluate suppliers on their bid submissions in response to the RFx as well as other capabilities (technical, commercial, tactical criteria). They can then provide objective scores and assign weightage that will help them not only in the awarding process, but also in selecting suppliers for future rounds.
With this release, buyers and administrators can conduct a review, and evaluators can score the supplier bids as well as provide feedback on the supplier submissions, contractual documents, etc. This is then consolidated and reviewed by the users which helps the event owner make an awarding decision based on the analysis.
Buyers can now:
Assigned evaluators will now:
The Start Evaluation button will be available only after the round is closed.
Note: The feature number # 567584 refers to the Multi-Currency Support epic. The scope of this epic for this release includes features # 567585, 567586, 567587, 567588, 567589, 567590, 567591 and 567593 which are covered in these release notes.
571048 – Supplier contact management UI improvements
Previously, when selecting a supplier contact, only the first name of the supplier contact was displayed.
With this release:
The supplier contact full name column will be displayed by default on the supplier contact selection page, supplier contact details page and 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.
Note: This is applicable for RFx, RFI, Rounds and Bulk Agreements.
Note: This is applicable to both RFx and RFI.
568737 – Ability to link existing supplier contracts for prerequisite, mandatory and associated contracts
Previously, linking existing supplier contracts with the RFx was not possible. This created duplication of contracts and the user had to go through the complete contract lifecycle again.
With this release, an enhancement has been made to allow linking existing RFx supplier contracts for all prerequisite, mandatory and associated contracts.
Buyers can now:
573435/573436 – Ability to add bulk line items to RFx to address large volume of sourcing data
The bulk associations capability has enabled ICI to handle a large number of associations to 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 aEnable 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.
Bulk association is enhanced to be able to address the large volume of data that Sourcing apps require. These enhancements include:
Note: Please refer to the Technical Design Document for more details.
566709 – Addition of validations for shortlisted suppliers
Previously, validations for prerequisite and mandatory contracts appeared for all suppliers even if they were not shortlisted in the RFx.
Now, 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.
404532 – Editing round start and end dates in different states
Previously, when the round was scheduled or open, buyers could not change the round start and end dates. However, in Sourcing, timelines often change for various criteria, internal or external.
With this release, buyers can now edit the round start and end date when the round is in Draft, Waiting for Approval, On Hold, Open or Approved statuses.
You can make changes only to the round end date when the round is in Open state. The changes made to the round start and end date are captured in the History on round Details page.
This does not impact an ongoing round and suppliers can continue to bid. If configured, all the team members (buyers or suppliers) who are on the round receive a notification when the change is made.
627740 – Flexibility to use non-seeded masterdata for supplier and supplier contacts
Previously, to add supplier contacts, the buyer could select them from a list of supplier and supplier contacts in the Supplier window. This list of contacts belonged to a particular seeded masterdata contract type. Many customers have their own masterdata contract type for maintaining supplier and supplier contacts.
With this release, buyers can use any supplier and supplier contact masterdata contract type to add suppliers, whereas seeded attributes such as ICMAppSrcGlobalSupplierCode and ICMAppSrcSupplierContactEmailID are mandatory and should be a part of the custom contract types.
Note: This is applicable to RFx and RFI.
576084 – Inclusion of the RFx Change History Report for a consolidated view of all actions of an entity
Previously, the Sourcing application provided the change history of rounds, bids and awarding separately for rounds and bids within the RFx.
With this release, the Change History Report has been introduced, which provides a consolidated view of all actions for entity. This will help the procurement team to view the entire history of rounds, bids and awarding within a RFx, at a glance for auditing purposes. This report is accessible only to buyers (not suppliers), from within a RFx transaction, hence only authorized users with access to a RFx can view this report. All the latest updated information captured at the point of time when the report is generated will be displayed in it.
The Change History Report can be generated by applying the following filters - Entity Type, User Name, User Role and Supplier Name. By default, the report is filtered on Entity Type as RFx/RFI. Based on the requirement, users can change filters. The report provides details with columns such as Date & Time, Event, Entity Type, Entity Name, User Name, User Email, User Role, Supplier Name, Notes, Attribute Name, Previous Value and New Value.
Note:
573599 – Enhancements to Sourcing Reports
The RFx Summary Report and RFx Details Report provide a consolidated view of data for RFx with various categorizations, thus providing the visibility to top management on sourcing activities and helping them to take more informed decisions.
With this release:
1. Does the new RFx workflow support customization?
Yes, the new Sourcing workflow supports customization by making use of business status. Using technical configuration, customers can implement business status as desired to suit their requirements.
2. For customers using older version of Sourcing, do we support migration to the new workflow?
During upgrade process, existing data shall be migrated to ensure that legacy data uses the new workflow. However, rules that were created previously using older workflow status will have to be reconfigured manually.
3. Can a supplier choose to participate in RFx after declining the RFx?
Once the supplier has declined RFx, the supplier exits the RFx and shall not be able to participate unless added to the RFx explicitly by the buyer.
4. When using Copy RFx function, can I exclude and include a few attributes?
While copying RFx, all attributes of the RFx and its associations are copied. However, few attributes can be configured for exclusion. If configured, then values of such attributes are not copied in RFx and its association.
5. When copying an RFx, what does “Link to RFx” do?
If Link to RFx is set to Yes, it links the copied RFx to the source RFx. By default, this is set to No. In this case, the copied RFx will not be linked to the source RFx.
6. Is approval mandatory when modifying RFx? Can I skip the approval process?
It is recommended to get RFx modifications approved. However, RFx modification approval can be skipped if approver is not configured.
7. When RFx is in modification, what actions are permitted? Can I add suppliers, items, etc.?
When RFx is in modification, buyers can add/ shortlist suppliers, add questionnaires, add/ update/ shortlist line items, and add/ update/ remove external attachments.
8. Can I perform RFx evaluation at RFx level?
No, you cannot do evaluation at RFx level, although you can create the evaluation in a round that has all the suppliers participating in the RFx and keep the evaluation open till all rounds are closed. Hence, the evaluation will be done once and could be treated as RFx level evaluation.
9. Is it necessary to do RFx evaluation for each round?
No, you can choose before creating a round whether you want to enable evaluation in that round or not. Please note the Enable Evaluation flag cannot be modified using RFX modification.
10. How can I use scores and weightages in RFx evaluation?
While setting up the evaluation, you may assign weightages and while evaluating you can provide scores while final evaluation you may download the evaluation sheet and use these scores and weightages to get the weighted scores.
11. What are the nuances of evaluator role?
Evaluator is a new role. The evaluator has to be a provisioned user, who has limited access over the entities in the RFX and round, and can assign his role to someone else.
12. How can I invite different team members to different parts of evaluation?
After adding the evaluation type, you need to select the evaluators which could be a team too though they all work on the same instance.
Note: You may have same or different evaluators for different evaluation types.
13. I want to perform a bid analysis for every bid received for all or one supplier at a time? How can I do this'?
To do bid analysis for every single bid received in the RFx, you can use the Flexible Bid Analysis feature. Select the attributes that you want to use for bid evaluation at the time of creating an Item. As a buyer, you can enter values for each bid evaluation attribute. Thus, you can perform a bid evaluation.
14. Can I add more extension attributes after RFx is approved?
Currently, adding more extension attributes after RFx is approved is not supported. It is recommended to use all the extension attributes that are intended to be used before the RFx is approved.
15. After initiating award, how can I create another round of RFx?
After awarding is initiated, new rounds cannot be created. To create new round after initiating awarding, buyer has to delete the awarding object and then create new round the way it is normally done.
16. For customers using older version of Sourcing, do we support migration for currency?
At the time of migration, system will ensure that currency of existing RFx data is set to the organization currency. Allowed currencies is set to all currencies used in the RFx automatically. Post migration, currencies of existing RFx can be changed depending on the status of the RFx.
17. What happens if no exchange rates are available for any currency?
If exchange rate is not available for a currency, conversion to RFx primary currency or organization currency does not happen. Once exchange rate is set, conversion to RFx primary currency shall happen.
18. Can I modify exchange rate of currencies?
Exchange rate of currencies with current and future validity can be edited. Exchange rate records of the past cannot be changed. New exchange rates shall apply when bid analysis is done thereafter.
The Icertis Contract Intelligence (ICI) platform introduces the Risk Management Application to make it easier for professionals to carry out their tasks related to risk management such as assessment, due diligence, remediation, monitoring and reassessment. Risk management is the process of identifying potential risk, assessing the magnitude of risk based on the business objectives, devising strategies to eliminate them and tracking the performance until they are completely mitigated.
The platform’s modern, scalable and integration-friendly cloud architecture can model even the most complex risk management scenarios. The App provides secure access such that only authorized users can access the App entities and data, using ICI’s access control functionalities. The user-friendly interface makes it possible for anyone in the enterprise having access to be able to use the platform with ease.
Icertis uses a standard framework of discovery, assessment, remediation, monitoring and optimization to manage enterprise risk.
The Risk Management process has the following stages:
1. Configure and Setup:
2. Discover:
3. Assess:
4. Remediation:
5. Monitor and Optimize:
ICI Risk Management supports the following risk management business scenarios:
Here are some terms that will help you better understand the risk management process:
Business risk can emerge from any division of a company and must be managed proactively to avoid devastating impacts. Often, these risks originate in the contracts of an organization with an external party or because of the business and regulatory environment in which the entity operates.
Yet, most organizations manage contractual, regulatory, financial reporting and environmental obligations manually. Automated extraction and monitoring of obligations are prevalent in very few companies across various industry verticals. Consequently, organizations do not have adequate visibility into the status of these obligations and end up being reactive in identifying and handling risks.
This raises the following challenges:
Built on the Icertis Contract Intelligence platform, the ICI Risk Management App brings a paradigm shift in the management of business risks. The App offers a process- oriented enterprise-wide solution to stay on top of all potential risks that a business faces – whether they emanate from the potential insolvency of a counter-party, payment default by a customer, supply disruption due to a pandemic or natural disaster, logistics blockades due to localized conflicts, or other market turbulence.
With the Risk Management App, companies can:
The intelligent and easy-to-use ICI Risk Management App offers these powerful capabilities:
The Risk Management process has the following stages:
Here is the ICI Risk Management App workflow:
This section provides details regarding seeded entities, rules and notifications. For more details on configuring the App, please refer to the ICI Risk Management Configuration Guide.
598329 – Seeded Entities
These include entities such as Masterdata and Contract Types that are necessary for the flow of the ICI Risk Management App, hence they are seeded. Using these seeded entities allows risk owners to populate an initial set of data imperative to the entity workflow.
Masterdata has to be configured for:
Contract Types have to be configured for:
The risk assessment and risk area actions are controlled using role action mapping.
598331 – Seeded Rules
Business rules that are critical to the flow of the ICI Risk Management App are seeded. These seeded rulesets can be modified as per the business requirement. Alternatively, you can create new rulesets and rules.
The seeded rules include:
620116 – Seeded Notifications
Notifications are sent out whenever a certain event occurs such as when a risk area is created. The notifications that are critical in the flow of the ICI Risk Management App are seeded.
Some of the seeded notifications include:
620110 – Risk Management Navigation
A dedicated Risk Management tile is introduced on the ICI Home page to provide a better user experience while working with risks. Users with view or manage access to the Risk Assessment contract type can access this tile and options Risk Assessments and Create Risk Assessment under it.
The Risk Management tile allows you to work with existing risk assessments or create a new one.
598341 – Risk Assessment Workflow
Risk assessment deals with the process of identifying and evaluating the magnitude of potential risk areas. For example, buyers can use the ICI Risk Management App for configuring a questionnaire to perform supplier risk assessment. The risk areas can then be identified based on the responses received for the questionnaire as the outcome of the risk assessment process.
Risk assessment workflow involves the following:
598342 – Risk Area Creation
Icertis risk management seeks to reduce risks and give companies better control over their contracts, supply chain and business processes. If these risks are not attended to, they may impact the compliance, revenue and business relationships.
Risk area is the exposure that an organization has from internal or external factor(s) that impacts the normal functioning of business and will lower its bottom line (or profits) or lead it to fail. For example, cyber security risk.
Risk areas can be auto-instantiated for the potential risks identified based on the responses gathered from the risk assessment questionnaire by configuring rules. Authorized users can also create risk areas manually.
598343 – Risk Area Workflow
Once the risk areas are identified, risk area includes the following stages:
The workflow is multi-directional. The risk area can move forward or backward in the workflow. The user can manually change risk related attributes.
1. Is the ICI Risk Management tile name configurable?
Yes, the Risk Management tile name is configurable.
2. Is the App available on smartphone as a mobile App?
No, the App is currently not supported on mobile App.
3. Is localization supported by the App?
Yes, the App has localization support for all languages supported in ICI.
4. Can I view a list of active risk area?
Yes, a list of active risk areas and risk assessments can be monitored.
5. Are audit logs available in the App?
Yes, audit trails of every action with user and time-stamp details are available.
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