etendering PORTAL User Manual Product Version 7-0-4

Transcription

1 etendering PORTAL User Manual Product Version Open Windows Software Pty Ltd ABN Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn VIC 3122, Australia Phone: support@openwindows.com.au Web:

2 1 Document Control 1.1 Document Version The full version history of this document can be found in the appendix. 1.2 Terms and Definitions Glossary containing the meaning of all names, acronyms, and abbreviations used within this document. Term/Acronym Access Code Buyer Closing Date Contract Dashboard etendering Portal Opening Date Pre-contract Respondent Revised Clarification Date Revised Closing Date Definition The unique code issued to an invited Respondent that will grant them access to the Rfx within the etendering PORTAL. Access Codes are only provided when the tender is an Invited Only tender. An internal CONTRACTS officer representing the entity that manages the etendering PORTAL for the purpose of establishing contracts with suppliers. The date and time at which an RFx will be closed and Submissions can no longer be uploaded via the online etendering Portal. Contract is the term used to represent an agreement between your organisation and another contracting Supplier or Suppliers (see below). A contract can refer to the actual agreement or to the contract record within the database, with associated data and documents attached. The Dashboard is the first screen the user will be directed to once they log into Open Windows CONTRACTS. It is made up of widgets, modules and a message bar. The dashboard can always be accessed by clicking on the Open Windows logo. The online portal in which RFxs are advertised and where Submissions are lodged electronically. The etendering Portal supports the tendering process on the web. The date and time in which an RFx is open and accessible via the etendering Portal. A pre-contract is a record used to capture budgetary, sourcing, and/or procurement information prior to letting a contract. This is the term used to refer to an organisation that has registered on the etendering PORTAL. When a submission is imported into CONTRACTS, the respondent is added as a supplier. The effective and revised closing date of the clarification period as it may be amended from time to time. After this date no further clarifications can be submitted. The effective and revised Closing Date as it may be amended from time to time.

3 RFx SOURCING Submission Supplier Tender Tenderer Unlocker A generic term used to represent a stage in your tender process such as Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quote (RFQ), or Request for Bid (RFB). An optional module for CONTRACTS which supports the tender lifecycle and allows you to record tender details and collate tender documentation each time you go out to market via Stages. A written offer submitted by the Respondent to an RFx via the etendering Portal. A Supplier is the term given to an other contracting organisation. In most cases, a supplier will be associated to a Contract, Preliminary or a Project within the application. A tender is the entity that is created in CONTRACTS and published to the etendering PORTAL. You can have more than one tender for a preliminary. Another term that is used for a respondent. Internal Staff member responsible for unlocking the RFX on the etendering Portal and importing RFx Submissions into Contracts. 1.3 Document References All documents referenced and / or used to assist the creation of this document. Document Author(s) Version CONTRACTS User Manual Various SOURCING User Manual Various etendering PORTAL Respondent User Manual Various All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 3 of 65

4 Contents 1 Document Control Document Version Terms and Definitions Document References Welcome How to use this manual Why can I not see that screen? What is the etendering PORTAL? etendering Roles within CONTRACTS The Electronic RFx Lifecycle SOURCING MODULE > RFX Preparation Creating a Pre-contract Managing multiple tenders through SOURCING Stages Adding RFx documents SOURCING Module > The etendering Record Creating an etendering Record etendering > Details Tab etendering > Documents etendering > Contacts etendering > Buyers etendering > Unlockers etendering > Confidentiality Agreement Invited Only Tenders Publishing a tender The etendering PORTAL Unlock/Open Submissions Viewing and Editing RFx s Show submissions Show Registered Respondents Home Buyer Details Account Details Logout Managing an Open Tender Record Editing a published tender Changing Tender Closing Dates All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 4 of 65

5 6.1.2 Issuing an Addendum Confidentiality Agreement Updating other tender information Adding or responding to a communication How to add a new communication How to respond to a communication How to close a communication Closing an RFX Updating the clarification period close / date time Unlock/Open Submissions How to Unlock/Open an RFx Import Submissions into CONTRACTS Step 1: Downloading submission and supplier meta-data Step 2: Associating suppliers to existing accounts Step 3: Downloading submission documents Requesting a clarification Evaluation of submissions Awarding a contract System Administration etendering PORTAL administration accounts etendering PORTAL Organisation Administrator View Adding new buyers User Management etendering PORTAL Organisation Administrator View User Management Editable Site Content Editable Content Setup Help Log System Settings in CONTRACTS etendering Unlockers Invited Tenders Default Confidentiality Agreement Confidentiality Agreement System Settings Import Communication Records Pre-Contract Tender Category OpenWindows.eTender.WindowsService.exe.config Settings All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 5 of 65

6 9 Appendix: Document Revision History All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 6 of 65

7 2 Welcome 2.1 How to use this manual This document provides guidance on how to use Open Windows etendering PORTAL. To obtain quick access to a particular topic, consult the Table of Contents or to perform a word search of the electronic document. There are a variety of different Open Windows CONTRACTS modules and portals which can be packaged together to suit every organisation s procurement and contract management requirements. This manual will cover the etendering PORTAL functionality. For instructions on using other packages in your environment, please refer to the appropriate document as follows: CONTRACTS (CONTRACTS menu): CONTRACTS User Manual PROCESSES (PROCESSES menu): WORKFLOW User Manual SOURCING (SOURCING menu): SOURCING User Manual CATEGORIES (CATEGORIES menu): CATEGORIES User Manual PROJECTS (PROJECTS menu): PROJECTS User Manual BUDGETS (Budgets menu): BUDGETS User Manual COMPLIANCE (Compliance menu): COMPLIANCE User Manual SRM (SRM Menu): SRM/DOCUMENTS/REPORTING User Manual This manual does not cover the administration functionality that is found in the System Setup menu and used by the system administrator. These functions are fully detailed in the CONTRACTS System Administration Manual. If you have any queries, Open Windows Support Help Desk ( ) are available to assist with most queries. Information on Open Windows CONTRACTS can also be found on the Open Windows website Why can I not see that screen? You will only see items in the menu that you have permission to access. Each module, menu and folder can be restricted from any user or security group within the application. As well as this, some CONTRACTS packages do not include the full suite of modules. This means that your menu may look different to other user s menus or the figures in this document. In both cases, you should contact your system administrator to discuss your access requirements. 2.3 What is the etendering PORTAL? The etendering PORTAL provides a secure, web based solution in which to electronically communicate with external suppliers/tenderers during the sourcing process. With the etendering PORTAL you are able to: All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 7 of 65

8 Advertise upcoming and current RFx s; Publish associated documentation; Allow self-registration of suppliers and notifications of upcoming tenders; Engage in two-way communication with registered respondents; Automatic closure of tender box; Publish tender results. There are two components to Open Windows etendering PORTAL solution: 1. The SOURCING module of CONTRACTS is used to prepare RFx s, publish to the portal, retrieve and assess submissions to then finally selecting winning submissions and creating a contract. This functionality is only accessible by registered users within your organisation that have the appropriate security. 2. The etendering PORTAL sits outside of your organisation s network firewall and can be accessed by anybody with access to the URL. CONTRACTS will pass and retrieve information to and from this portal. 2.4 etendering Roles within CONTRACTS There are three specific roles that are used to manage RFx s in CONTRACTS and the etendering PORTAL and are referred to throughout this manual: The Buyer is the person or organisation procuring the good or service and can: - Create an RFx within CONTRACTS and push information to the portal - Advertise RFx s and business opportunities on the portal - Notify respondents and potential suppliers of any Addendums or Communications during the RFx open period - Open and Unlock the electronic tender box - Import submissions and evaluate electronic RFx submissions within CONTRACTS - Notify suppliers of the RFx award - Convert any successful submissions into a contract to begin the contract management process. A Supplier or Respondent is the person or organisation interested in responding to a RFx bid and can: - View and download current RFx opportunities/documents - Register an interest in a RFx - Receive notifications on changes/addendums to a RFx and communicate with buyers via the portal - Setup notifications to be advised of RFx s as soon as they are published - Submit tenders electronically via the portal All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 8 of 65

9 - Be notified of RFx awards The Administrator conducts all administration of the application including the initial setup and configuration. Administrators can also create buyer and other administration accounts. 2.5 The Electronic RFx Lifecycle The etendering PORTAL supports the RFx process lifecycle, from the pre-contract procurement stage to contract award. During the RFx process lifecycle the following activities are managed by the integration of CONTRACTS and the etendering PORTAL: 1. RFx Preparation: The RFx is prepared within CONTRACTS and then published to the etendering PORTAL. 2. RFx Open: Suppliers register for an RFx, download documents and lodge their submissions via the etendering PORTAL. 3. RFx Clarifications and Addendums: The period of time where clarifications can be sought from the respondents using the communications functions in CONTRACTS and etendering PORTAL. 4. RFx Closed: When the RFx closes, submissions are imported into CONTRACTS for evaluation. Once a contract is awarded, award information can be pushed out to the etendering PORTAL if required. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 9 of 65

10 3 SOURCING MODULE > RFX Preparation This chapter provides details on how to prepare an RFx within CONTRACTS and then publish it to the etendering PORTAL. In order to publish an RFx on the portal, a pre-contract must first be created within the SOURCING Module of Open Windows. A pre-contract may have one or many (as shown in the diagram below) SOURCING Stages, however only one etendering Record can be published per SOURCING stage. 3.1 Creating a Pre-contract To publish an RFx to the etendering PORTAL you must first create a pre-contract within CONTRACTS. This pre-contract will be used to manage all information generated during the process of establishing a contract. Generally, you would create one pre-contract for a contract and this pre-contract can be used to manage multiple tenders or market stages. For detailed instructions on adding a pre-contract, please refer to the SOURCING User Manual. The information that you record for your preliminary will depend on your organisation s requirements, but may include basic pre-contract details such as budgets, key stakeholders etc. To create a basic pre-contract using the standard Add Pre-contract screen use the following instructions; 1. Expand the SOURCING module and select the Add Pre-contract menu item. 2. Complete the following details (note the field names may be customised in your environment): a. Title b. Type c. Category d. Number e. Estimated Value f. Date of Request g. Requested By All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 10 of 65

11 h. Description/Scope 3. Click Add. 3.2 Managing multiple tenders through SOURCING Stages A preliminary can be used to record multiple tenders or market approaches. This is done through the use of stages. Each stage can have only one associated electronic tender. To add a stage; 1. Go to the SOURCING > SOURCING STAGES > Stages screen 2. Click on the link Click here to add a new Pre-contract stage. Indicates the current selected stage for the pre-contract Click to add a new pre-contract stage 3. Select Request for Tender from the Stage dropdown. Click Add. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 11 of 65

12 You must indicate a stage as the current stage by clicking on the Current checkbox next to a stage name. All screens located within the SOURCING > Stages folder relate to the current stage. 3.3 Adding RFx documents The SOURCING > Stages > Documentation area allows you to upload documents specific to your preliminary stage and tender. This area may contain internal and external documentation. You are able to select documents from this list to be included with your electronic tender to be published to the portal. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 12 of 65

13 To add a document; Go to the SOURCING > SOURCING STAGES > Documentation screen. Click the hyperlink Click here to add a new Document. Populate the following information: a. Document Type: Select a document type from the Dropdown b. Document Name: Tender Documents c. Document No: T-1 d. Author: (Officer Team): Officer will allow you to select an internal user, search for your name. Team will change the field to a drop down field that allows you to select the team that is responsible for producing the document. e. Required Date: Record the required date. f. Review: (Officer Team): Select the reviewer of the document if required. g. Review Date: Record the required review date h. Approval: (Officer Team): Record the document approver if required i. Approval: Record the approval date j. Date Sent: Enter today s date k. Attachment: Browse to locate the document and click Upload to attach the document. Click Add. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 13 of 65

14 4 SOURCING Module > The etendering Record Once you have prepared your pre-contract record, you can create an etendering record to be published to the etendering PORTAL in the SOURCING > SOURCING STAGES > ETENDERING > etendering screen. 4.1 Creating an etendering Record 1. Go to the SOURCING > SOURCING STAGES> ETENDERING > etendering screen and click on the Click here to add a new tender link. 2. This will open into the Tender Add form; some of the fields will be prefilled from the precontract and stage information. This information will be visible on the etendering PORTAL once the Tender is published so ensure the appropriate information is entered onto this screen. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 14 of 65

15 3. Complete the following fields; a. Stage: This is hard coded to the stage name for the current stage from the SOURCING > Stages > Stages screen b. Title: the title of the tender c. Time Zone: The timezone for which the tender is set to open d. Open Date / Open Time: The date when the tender is open to receive submissions on the etendering PORTAL. The tender will only be visible on the etendering PORTAL once the open date and time is reached. e. Close Date / Close Time: The date and time when the tender is closed for submissions. This date defaults to the date specific in SOURCING > Stages > Stage Closing but can be overridden. Once the tender reaches the close date and time, the tender status on the etendering PORTAL will display as Closed and no further electronic submissions can be made. Within CONTRACTS, the tender status will be shown as Closed Clarifications. All functionality for the tender in the etendering PORTAL, apart from the ability to respond to Clarifications, will be read only. Also after this date the tender cannot be edited or republished from CONTRACTS except for revising the Clarification Period Close Date/Time. f. Clarification Period Close Date/ Time: The date and time when the tender is closed for clarifications. Once this date is reached, the tender status in CONTRACTS will be shown as Closed and all functionality in the etendering PORTAL for this tender will become read only. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 15 of 65

16 g. Category: This is a configurable list used to categorise the type or industry for the tender. This category is used by suppliers to find current tenders within their area of expertise. h. Business Level 3: The business level that the etendering record is associated to. This defaults to the Business Level 3 value specified in SOURCING > View/Edit screen. i. Location: The location of good/service being requested. j. Description: A brief description about the tender. k. Electronic Submission Enabled: when this option is enabled, respondents will have the ability to submit electronic responses through the etendering PORTAL. If this checkbox is left blank it will disallow electronic responses. l. Invited Only: This option is used for a selective tender where an invitation to tender is made to a predetermined list of suppliers. The invited audience is selected to participate in a tender, of which tender information is restricted to the selected audience. The invited supplier will receive an access code for the etendering PORTAL to access restricted tender information. m. Proposed: This option can be selected when advertising RFTs and providing early notification of upcoming business opportunities or tenders. Suppliers are able to lodge submissions against proposed tenders. The screen name is visible here 4. Click Add to save the record. Note: Your tender has not yet been published and is not visible on the etendering PORTAL. Once saved a series of tabs will become available; you will need to complete these before you can publish the tender. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 16 of 65

17 4.1.1 etendering > Details Tab This tab contains the fields that were entered when the tender was created with the following changes: Open Date / Open Time: This field will remain editable until the open date has passed. You are able to create a reminder for the date by using the Create Reminder link. Close Date / Close Time: This field will remain editable until the open date has passed. Once passed you can specify a new closing date and time in the field Revised Closing Date / Time. You can create reminders for these dates using the Create Reminder link. Clarification Period Close Date/ Time: This field will remain editable until the open date has passed. Once passed you can specify a new date and time in the field Revised Clarification Period Close Date/Time. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 17 of 65

18 4.1.2 etendering > Documents This tab allows you to attach RFx documentation which will be displayed and downloaded by suppliers on the etendering PORTAL. The two document control options allow you to: 1. Import tender documentation that you have prepared earlier for your preliminary from the SOURCING > Stages > Documentation screen. To attach a document from this screen; a. Click on the link Click here to import Documents. b. This will display a list of documents that have been added to the SOURCING > Stages > Documentation screen. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 18 of 65

19 c. You can click on the document icon to view the document or the Select link to import it to your tender. Select all the documents you wish to import. Use this hyperlink to add the document Click this icon to view the document d. Click on the Add button to attach it to the etendering record. 2. Attach documents from your local hard drive or your integrated document management system to the etendering record. To add a new document; a. Click on the Click here to add a new document link. b. This will prompt you to browse for the document. Once you have located it, click on the Upload button. 1) Use the Browse button to locate the document and Upload to attach it. 2) Click Add to save the document All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 19 of 65

20 c. Click on the Add button to attach it to the etendering record. From the Document list, you can use the Read File icon to the view the document or the Delete icon to remove it from the etendering record. Ensure these documents are marked correctly Note: Ensure you uncheck any documents you do not want listed as Addendums etendering > Contacts The Contacts tab is where you will specify the main contact(s) of the tender that will be visible to suppliers from the etendering PORTAL. You are able to add multiple for different aspects of your tender. To distinguish these the description field for each contact should be used (for example, Procurement Enquiries, Technical Enquiries). To add a contact for the tender; 1. Select the Contacts tab on the top of the screen to begin to record your internal contact for the tender. 2. Click on the Click here to add a new Contact link. The two Contact Type Options (Internal vs. External) allow you to; 1. Create an Internal Contact for internal contacts populate the following; All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 20 of 65

21 a. Description: Enter the description of the contact, i.e. Tender Queries b. Internal Officer: Search for an officer, enter their surname and click the magnifying glass and select the correct option from the available list c. Click Add d. Ensure the contact details are up to date. Note you will not be able to Add the contact if they do not have a Phone number listed. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 21 of 65

22 e. Click Add to save the contact 2. Create an External Contact - for external contacts you will need to populate the following details; a. Description (Mandatory) b. Last name (Mandatory) c. First Name (Mandatory) d. Phone (Mandatory) All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 22 of 65

23 3. Click Add. You can multiple contacts to an RFx etendering > Buyers As mentioned earlier, the buyer plays an important role, being responsible for the RFx process. If you are creating an RFx etendering record it is likely you are fulfilling the buyer role. To be able to manage the RFx in the etendering PORTAL once it has been published you will need an etendering All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 23 of 65

24 PORTAL user account and for it to be linked to your CONTRACTS account. You can add multiple buyers to an etendering record. Available buyers will be listed in the dropdown. Click Add to add a buyer to the below list. A list of all buyers on the etendering record. Note: If you do not have an etendering PORTAL buyer account, please contact your system administrator etendering > Unlockers The first step before assigning unlockers is to setup the minimum number of people required to unlock a tender in System Setup > System > etendering Settings. Once this is done, up to four unlocker(s) can be assigned to a tender. An unlocker is an internal staff member, registered as an etendering buyer, that will perform the role of unlocking a closed tender, providing access to the submissions. This process is designed to simulate the process of unlocking and witnessing of a physical tender box. To unlock a tender, unlockers are required to enter their password credentials into the etendering PORTAL. Only the minimum amount of people specified will be required to enter their credentials at the tender unlocking stage. For instructions on how to unlock a closed tender, please see section Error! Reference source not found.. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 24 of 65

25 To add unlockers, select from the Select Tender Unlocker list and click Add. All unlockers added to an RFx will receive a notification. Available Unlockers will be listed in the dropdown. Click Add to add an Unlocker to the below list. A list of all Unlockers on the etendering record etendering > Confidentiality Agreement This tab allows you to create a confidentiality agreement that a supplier must agree to before they are able to register for this RFx in the etendering PORTAL. To enable the confidentiality agreement for this RFx, tick the checkbox Include Confidentiality Agreement. This will then display the default confidentiality agreement text, which you can edit to suit your RFx. Click the Apply button to save these settings. This screen is governed by default values configured by your system configuration, which may mean you are not be able to edit the checkbox or default text. To add a confidentiality agreement; 1. Navigate to the Confidentiality Tab. 2. Check the tick box Include Confidentiality Agreement and click Apply. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 25 of 65

26 3. Enter the confidentiality agreement into the text box. Use the text formatting panel to format the text, if required. Adjust the content using the text formatting panel. 4. Click Apply All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 26 of 65

27 4.1.7 Invited Only Tenders The Invited Only option on the Details tab is used to create a selective RFx where an invitation to tender is made to a predetermined list of suppliers. The invited audience is selected to participate in the RFx, of which information is restricted to the selected audience. The invited supplier will receive an access code for the etendering portal to access restricted tender information. If you select the Invited Only option for your etendering record, another section will be available at the end of the SOURCING > SOURCING STAGES >ETENDERING > etendering screen, which will allow you to create an invitation list for your invited tender. To invite an existing supplier; 1. Go to the Invitations tab. 2. Place your curser into the Party: Search Existing field. A dynamic dropdown will appear, start typing the name of the supplier organisation. 3. Select the supplier from list options. 4. Click the magnifying glass in the Party Contact: Search Existing: field to see a list of available contacts. 5. Select the contact from the available list. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 27 of 65

28 6. Click Add. To add a new Supplier; 1. Select Create New in the Party field. 2. Enter the details of the supplier, ensure you populate each tab with information. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 28 of 65

29 Ensure you complete each of these tabs before clicking Confirm. 4.2 Publishing a tender Once you have prepared your tender information you can publish it to the etendering PORTAL. To do this you use the Publish Tender button which is found beneath the tab names in the etendering Details screen. At this stage it will be the only button that is available. A confirmation message will be shown, click Yes to publish the tender. A message will be displayed advising you that the tender was successfully published. The tender will only be visible to suppliers in the etendering PORTAL when it has reached the open date and time. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 29 of 65

30 5 The etendering PORTAL Tasks required to manage an open RFx are completed by buyers using functions in both CONTRACTS and the etendering PORTAL. Users that have a registered buyer account can login to the etendering PORTAL using the Login link located in the left hand menu of the public view. Once logged in, a buyer will have access to the specific buyer functions. 5.1 Unlock/Open Submissions This section will show any tenders that have closed and are ready to be opened. Only tenders where you have been nominated as an unlocker will show in this area. See section 7.2. for steps to unlock a tender. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 30 of 65

31 5.2 Viewing and Editing RFx s Clicking on a screen listed in the View RFx s menu will show you all tenders with that status. For example, clicking on View RFx s > Closed will display a list of all tenders with a status of Closed. The Search RFx s function can be used to search for a specific tender regardless of status. To view tenders that are currently open, click on the View RFx s > Current menu item. This will display a list of all current tenders. You can view the details of any tender in this list. If you have not been added as a buyer for the tender (done in the SOURCING > Stages > etendering > etendering Details screen > Buyers tab) then you will have read only access to the details. However, if you have been added as a buyer, you will have access to specific functions for that tender. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 31 of 65

32 5.2.1 Show submissions Clicking this button will display all the current submissions for a tender. From this screen the buyer can: Search submissions by entering the submission receipt number Once you click on a submission the buyer can view details about the submission such as, Filename, Size, Date and time it was uploaded and the Status of Ready which means the file passed through the portal successfully. The Open Log File function will open a notepad file summarising all the submissions with the most recent submission listed first. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 32 of 65

33 5.2.2 Show Registered Respondents This function will display the respondents who have registered for the tender. It will provide the buyer with respondent contact information in the event contact needs to be established. 5.3 Home This will return the user to the buyer desktop. 5.4 Buyer Details This screen allows you to update your own account details such as address, postal address and contact numbers. These are not populated from your linked CONTRACTS account. 5.5 Account Details This screen allows you to change your password. You must first enter your existing password and then the new password with a confirmation. Click Confirm to save your new password. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 33 of 65

34 5.6 Logout This will logout the buyer returning them to the default public desktop. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 34 of 65

35 6 Managing an Open Tender Record During the Rfx open period you may need to perform or manage a series of changes to the record. Such changes may include; Updating tender details or contact information Closing or extending the tender close or clarification dates Publishing addendums to the tender to registered respondents Responding to supplier clarifications and communications This section will detail how to perform these activities.in order to complete these activities, you will need to; 1. Be logged into the CONTRACTS environment. 2. Located and selected your pre-contract record from the SOURCING > Pre-Contract List screen. 3. Navigated to the SOURCING > SOURCING STAGES > ETENDERING > etendering screen. 6.1 Editing a published tender Once a tender has been published, you are able to edit most details before the closing date. Suppliers that have registered for the tender (or invited suppliers for an invited only tender) will receive a notification for most tender changes. The content of these notifications are customisable by the etendering PORTAL administrator. After the closing date all tender details with the exception of the Revised Clarification Date are noneditable Changing Tender Closing Dates Whilst the Open Date/Time and Close Date / Time fields cannot be edited, the Revised Closing Date and time and Revised Clarification Period field can be used to prematurely close or extend a tender beyond the initial closing date. Enter the new date and time in the appropriate date field and then click the Republish Tender button. All registered respondents will receive a Closing Date Changed Notification. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 35 of 65

36 6.1.2 Issuing an Addendum At any stage during an open tender, a new document may be added, or an existing document may be changed and all registered respondents will be notified of the change via an Addendum notification. The message will contain the tender details, the filename of the addendum and the date and time it was issued. To issue an Addendum; 1. Navigate to the SOURCING > SOURCING STAGES > ETENDERING > etendering > Documents tab. There are 2 options for adding tender documents: Option A: Add a new Document: This allows you to search for a document from your network or local drives. Option B: Import Documents: This allows you to import documents that have been saved against the Preliminary > Stages > Documentation screen. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 36 of 65

37 Option A: Add a new Document: 1. Click the hyperlink Click here to add a new Document. 2. Use Browse to locate the document and click Upload to attach the document. (Once the document has been attached no attachment-- will be replaced by the file name. 3. Click Add to save the document. 4. Ensure the Addendum checkbox is highlighted so the document will display as an addendum on the etendering PORTAL. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 37 of 65

38 Option B: Import Documents 1. Click the hyperlink Click here to Import Documents; if there are documents against the SOURCING > Documentation screen you will see these listed here. 2. To import a document, click on the Select hyperlink on the right side of the document record. The document will then move into the Selected Documents area. You may click on the remove link to remove the document. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 38 of 65

39 Click Select to import a document 3. Once selected the document will move into the Selected Documents section. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 39 of 65

40 4. Note: You can use the Remove button to take a document out of the Selected Documents area if you have made a mistake. 5. Click Add to save the selected documents to the tender. Ensure the Addendum checkbox is highlighted so the document will display as an addendum on the etendering PORTAL. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 40 of 65

41 6. Click on the Republish Tender button to add the documents to the RFx in the etendering PORTAL (Remember: you will need to say yes to the confirmation message). When the tender is republished, all respondents that have registered for the RFx will receive the Tender Addendum Notification. Note: Ticking the checkbox Is this document an addendum? when adding a document, will ensure it is listed separately in the etendering PORTAL Documents view Confidentiality Agreement The confidentiality agreement can also be added, removed or updated at any stage during an open tender. However, any changes will not include suppliers that have already registered for the RFx. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 41 of 65

42 6.1.4 Updating other tender information Other tender information can be edited while the tender is open such as the description, category, unlockers and buyers. Once you have made the appropriate changes, click on the Republish Tender button to save these changes to the etendering PORTAL. Respondents that have registered for the RFx will receive the general Tender Updated Notification for updates to visible tender details. There are no notifications if buyers and unlockers are modified. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 42 of 65

43 Remember to always click Republish Tender to push any changes out to the etendering PORTAL. 6.2 Adding or responding to a communication The etendering PORTAL provides a screen that allows suppliers to create and respond to communications regarding an RFx. Buyers are responsible for managing RFx communications and do this using the SOURCING > SOURCING STAGES > COMMUNICATION > Communications screen in CONTRACTS. This screen shows all communications and responses with suppliers for the selected Preliminary. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 43 of 65

44 The screen displays a list of subjects on the left hand side, with the most recent located at the top. Messages are grouped beneath a subject. Unread messages are shown in bold. Clicking on a subject will display the messages within that subject in the right hand side reading pane with the most recent at the top of the screen. You can scroll done to view all messages that have been sent within that subject. Clicking on a message will collapse/expand the message to show either a summary or the full message. Clicking on the arrow icon next to the Respond button will display the reading pane over the full width of the screen (hiding the list of subjects). This can give you more room to read a message. The arrow icon can be clicked again to return it to original size. You can search the list of messages using the Search Message function located at the top of the subject list. You can also control what messages are displays in this list by using the View toggle with the following options: All: this will show all messages. Closed: this will show only messages that are closed How to add a new communication 1. Click on the Add New button located at the top of the list of subjects. 2. Select the communication type from the drop down list. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 44 of 65

45 3. Enter the recipients of the communication by first selecting the type. a. Internal will allow you select from another CONTRACTS officer. b. External will allow you to select from suppliers that have registered for the RFx. To send a clarification to all registered respondents, select Public. To send a private communication to a specific supplier, enter a search term and select the recipient from the drop down list of results. c. Before your progress with a Public Communication you will be prompted with the following warning message. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 45 of 65

46 4. You can add multiple recipients. To remove a recipient, click on the X next to their name in the recipient list. 5. Enter a subject. 6. Enter the content of your communication. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 46 of 65

47 7. If the communication is confidential, click this box. This means that the message details and responses will only be able to be viewed by those users listed as the recipients. 8. Add any attachments using the attachment control. 9. If you would like to record when a response to your communication is required by, you can enter a date in the Response Required By field. This will automatically send a reminder to the recipients for this date. 10. Click on the Send button (located at the top of the screen) to send your communication. When a new communication is created, all recipients will receive an notification. Internal officers will also receive a message in their Message Bar when they next log in to CONTRACTS. If your system administrator has configured auto-numbering for communications, the subject will be prefixed with an automatically generated unique number. Registered suppliers for the tender are able to add communications. When this has been done you will receive a New Communication Notification . When you log in to CONTRACTS and view the pre-contract, the communications list will highlight communications that are waiting on a response in bold How to respond to a communication 1. When you are viewing a message that you wish to respond to, click on the Respond button above the reading pane. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 47 of 65

48 2. Add or remove recipients if required. Use the toggles to select the source of recipient: Internal will allow to select a CONTRACTS officer, External will allow you to select a registered respondent for the RFx and the Public option will send the communication to all registered respondents. For example, a respondent may have sent you a query and you would like to communicate this query and the response to all respondents. 3. Enter the content of your response, including any attachments. 4. Click on the Send button to send your response. As it does when a new communication is sent, all recipients of a response will receive an notification. Internal officers will also see a message in their Message Bar when they next log in to CONTRACTS How to close a communication You may wish to close older messages or those that are no longer relevant. This means that no other responses to the message can be made. To do this: All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 48 of 65

49 1. In the list of subjects on the left hand side, tick the checkbox next to those that you wish to hide. 2. Once a checkbox has been ticked, the Close button above the subject list becomes active. Clicking on this button will close all messages that have been ticked. These messages will no longer be displayed in the default view for the My Communications screen but can be viewed by changing the View toggle to Closed. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 49 of 65

50 7 Closing an RFX Buyers and respondents will receive an notification when the RFx is near to closing, as well as another notification when it has reached the closing date. Once an RFx has closed, it will move into the Closed Clarifications period, whereby the buyer is able to request clarifications from respondents regarding their submissions. In CONTRACTS, the status for the tender on the etendering list screen will show as Closed Clarifications. The closing date/time for the clarifications period is shown and can be revised on the Tender Details screen. On conclusion of the clarification period, the tender is officially closed. New functions become available for Buyers in CONTRACTS and etendering PORTAL to allow for the finalisation of the tender. These are described below. 7.1 Updating the clarification period close / date time The Clarification Period Close Date/Time can be changed by the buyer in CONTRACTS using SOURCING STAGES > ETENDERING > etendering > Tender Details screen by entering a new date in the Revised Clarification Period Close Date/Time field and republishing the tender. 7.2 Unlock/Open Submissions Before submissions can be downloaded into CONTRACTS, the RFx needs to be unlocked in the etendering PORTAL. This simulates the traditional manual process of physically unlocking a tender box containing hardcopy submissions. Only the unlockers specified for the RFx (see section 4.1.5) are able to perform the unlock process How to Unlock/Open an RFx All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 50 of 65

51 1. All unlockers for the RFx are required to use the same screen, so a time should be arranged when they can meet. 2. An unlocker should log into the etendering PORTAL using their buyer account details. 3. Click on the Unlock/Open Submissions item on the dashboard. 4. This will display a list of RFx s that are ready to be unlocked. Select the RFx from the list that you would like to unlock. 5. The Unlock RFx screen is displayed. The minimum number of unlockers required to unlock the RFx will be shown at the top of the screen. Each unlocker that was added to the RFx will have a box with their name on this screen, where they must enter their login details. Once the minimum number of unlockers has entered their login details, click on Unlock Step 6: When the RFx has been successfully unlocked you will be taken to the View Submissions screen showing all submissions for the RFx. You are now able to import the submissions in CONTRACTS. 7.3 Import Submissions into CONTRACTS Before you can import submissions into CONTRACTS: The Close Date/Time and the Clarifications Period Close Date/Time must be in the past. The RFx must be unlocked in the etendering PORTAL. The submission import process uses a multi-step wizard that will guide you through the steps required. Go to SOURCING > SOURCING STAGES > ETENDERING > etendering and click on the Get Submissions button at the top of the Tender Details screen to begin the process. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 51 of 65

52 7.3.1 Step 1: Downloading submission and supplier meta-data The first step downloads the meta-data for suppliers and submissions that will create the Submission records in CONTRACTS. Unless there is an error, this should require no interaction from you. Once it has successfully downloaded the meta-data, press Next to continue to the next step Step 2: Associating suppliers to existing accounts The next step will attempt to associate all RFx respondents to an existing supplier in CONTRACTS. If the respondent has made a submission for a previous RFx then they may already be associated to a supplier record. If not, you will be prompted to create the association. For each respondent requiring an association to be created you will see a table like the below. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 52 of 65

53 The organisation name that the respondent used is listed in the Tenderer column. It is best practice to first search the existing list of suppliers to ensure the organisation is not already available using a similar name. To do this, enter a search term into the Supplier text box and click on the magnifying glass. If you have confirmed that the respondent s organisation does not exist as a supplier record, tick the Create New check box. This will create a new supplier record using the details that were supplied by the respondent. It is a similar process for the respondent contact. If you can associate the respondent organisation to an existing supplier, you are able to search the contacts associated with this supplier by clicking on the magnifying glass in the Contact column. If the respondent contact is not listed as a contact for the supplier, tick the Create New checkbox to add the contact. Click on Save to save the associations you have just entered and then Next to continue to the next step Step 3: Downloading submission documents The wizard will now download all submission documents that were uploaded to the etendering PORTAL. This process usually takes some time. You do not have to keep this screen open for the batch process to run. You can continue other work in CONTRACTS and return to the SOURCING > STAGES > ETDNERING > etendering > Tender Details screen and click on the Get Submissions button to view progress. When the download has been successful, this screen will display a summary of the number of submissions and documents that were downloaded. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 53 of 65

54 You can now view the submissions in the Submissions screen. 7.4 Requesting a clarification The process to request a clarification uses the same functionality available in the Communications screen (see section 6.2). Ensure you select the etendering Clarification communication type and use the External Contact option to choose the respondent to direct the clarification to. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 54 of 65

55 Once the clarification period has concluded, the communications screen will not allow you to send communications to a respondent. 7.5 Evaluation of submissions There are two methods for conducting evaluations of submissions within CONTRACTS. Please refer to the SOURCING User Manual for a full description of these. Alternatively, you can conduct the evaluations outside of CONTRACTS using your own process. Whichever evaluation method is used; the winning submission or submissions need to be indicated in CONTRACTS. To do this, navigate to the SOURCING > STAGES > Submissions screen and tick the Successful checkbox next to the winning submission(s). 7.6 Awarding a contract After a submission has been marked as Successful, the Award Date in the SOURCING > SOURCING STAGES > ETENDERING > etendering >Tender Details screen will become editable. It will default to the date that the submission was marked as successful but can be changed if required. To publish this date to the etendering PORTAL, click on the Publish Tender Award button. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 55 of 65

56 This will display a prompt asking if you would also like to display the Final Tender Price (from the successful submission(s)). Click Yes or No, depending on whether you would like this information to be visible in the etendering PORTAL. These details will now be available in the etendering PORTAL for users to see in the Awarded list. The submission can now be converted to a contract. Please refer to the SOURCING User Manual for instructions on how to do this. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 56 of 65

57 8 System Administration 8.1 etendering PORTAL administration accounts To access system administration functions in the etendering PORTAL you will need to login using an administration account. There are three different types of administration accounts for the etendering PORTAL: Account Type Description Functions Administrator Global Administrator Organisation Administrator If your environment is not multi tenancy, then this will be default administrator account that is used. For multi tenancy environments, you would generally use an organisation administrator account for most functions. This account type is only used for multi tenancy environments and can create administrators for individual organisations. This account type is used to view/change settings for the current organisation. Can create Global or Organisation Administrator accounts and customise site, help and content. Can create Organisation Administrator accounts and view the log. Can create Buyers and Organisation Administrators and view the log for the current organisation only. A multi tenancy environment is one where a single implementation of CONTRACTS has multiple organisations. Each organisation will have separate data, users and configuration. etendering PORTAL also supports multi-tenancy so that each installation can contain many organisations each with their own settings and buyers. As a buyer you will only have access to a single organisation. If you are not sure of the administrator account to use for an administration task, please contact your system administrator or Open Windows Support. 8.2 etendering PORTAL Organisation Administrator View This chapter details the functions available in the etendering PORTAL when logged in as an Organisation Administrator Adding new buyers There are two methods to add a new buyer. Login to the etendering PORTAL as an administrator and select either of the following options: Invite Buyer: enter the buyer s address, first name and last name and click on the Send Invite button. This will send an invitation to the buyer with a link that they can use to create their own password. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 57 of 65

58 Manage Users: click on the New User button and select the Buyer radio button. Enter the buyer s name, address and create a password, then click Add. The and password can then be used to login as a buyer. Once a buyer profile is setup on the etendering PORTAL, you will need to assign the buyer to its corresponding officer profile within CONTRACTS. This is required so both applications are aware of which user in CONTRACTS corresponds to which user in the etendering PORTAL, allowing the buyer to perform the required functions in both systems. To do this, login in as a system administrator to CONTRACTS and navigate to the System Setup > User Management > Users screen. Select the CONTRACTS user that you would like to link the buyer account to. In the Business Details tab there is a field called etendering Buyer which lists all buyers that are registered for the etendering PORTAL. Select the buyer that you want to link and click Update. A buyer account can only be associated to one CONTRACTS user User Management This screen will list all administrator, organisation administrator and buyer accounts that have been created for the etendering PORTAL. You can select one of these users to view or edit their details or delete the account. From this screen you are also able to create a new buyer accounts by clicking on the Create New button. 8.3 etendering PORTAL Organisation Administrator View This chapter details the functions available in the etendering PORTAL when logged in as an Administrator. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 58 of 65

59 8.3.1 User Management This screen will list all administrator and organisation administrator accounts that have been created for the etendering PORTAL. You can select one of these users to view or edit their details or delete the account. From this screen you are also able to create a new organisation administrator accounts by clicking on the Create New button Editable Site Content You can use this screen to set content for the following screens in the etendering PORTAL: Contact Us: this option will allow you to create or edit the content that will be displayed on the Contact Us page which is accessible using a link at the bottom of every screen in the PORTAL. Disclaimer: this option will allow you to create or edit the content that will be displayed on the Disclaimer page which is accessible using a link at the bottom of every screen in the PORTAL. Links: this option will allow you to create or edit the content that will be displayed on the Links page which is accessible using a link at the bottom of every screen in the PORTAL. Update or lodge a new submission terms and conditions: the content that is created for this option will be displayed to a respondent when they choose to update or lodge a new submission. Update or lodge a new submission - update or lodge a new submission: the content that is created for this option will be displayed at the top of the screen where respondents update or lodge a new submission. To set the content for these screens, select the option from the Select Content drop down and add or edit the appropriate text in the text editor Editable Content All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 59 of 65

60 Using this screen an administrator is able to set the content that for all notifications that are triggered by the etendering PORTAL. Use the Select Content drop down to choose the content that you would like to edit. These will already be populated with default content. You can specify the subject and body. Both can include the use of tags, which insert data from the relevant RFx. The tags that are available for subject and body fields are different and are listed beneath each field. The tags can also differ for each type of notification. To use a tag, insert the tag name enclosed with two sets of square brackets. For example, the Subject field shown below has two tags available: PrelimStage and TenderNumber. Both tags are used in the subject of this where they are included as [[PrelimStage]] and [[TenderNumber]]. An example of how this subject will appear in an notification is: etendering :: Request for Tender Updated Notification :: TECH Setup Help The etendering PORTAL provides online help which is accessed via the blue question mark icon at the top right of each screen. This displays help text for the screen that the user is viewing. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 60 of 65

61 The Setup Help screen, accessible only to administrator users in the PORTAL, is used to create the help text. To create or edit help text, select the screen from the Page dropdown. Enter a title for the screen and then use the large text editor to add the help text. You can include images and hyperlinks in your help text Log This screen will prompt you to enter an address, which will then display all notifications that have been sent to it, or attempted to be sent along with any errors. This screen can be used to troubleshoot problems with suppliers not receiving s. 8.4 System Settings in CONTRACTS There are several etendering PORTAL settings that are configured in CONTRACTS on the System Setup > System > etendering Settings screen. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 61 of 65

62 8.4.1 etendering Unlockers This setting describes the minimum number of unlockers required to be assigned to a tender in the SOURCING > SOURCING STAGES > ETENDERING> etendering > Tender Details screen Unlockers tab before it can be published Invited Tenders This section defines settings for invited tenders: New tenders default to: this defines the default setting for invited tenders for new tenders. Lock New Tenders: if this option is enabled, then users are unable to change the default that is specified above. Send tender communications to: if the all invited tenderers option is enabled then tender communications will be sent to all invited respondents, regardless of whether they register for the tender. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 62 of 65

63 8.4.3 Default Confidentiality Agreement This text editor allows you to create the default text for the confidentiality agreement that can be optionally displayed to suppliers when they register for a tender Confidentiality Agreement System Settings This area contains two settings for the confidentiality agreement function. Lock Confidentiality Agreement: if this is set to Yes, then users will be unable to edit the checkbox on the SOURCING > SOURCING STAGES > ETENDERING > etendering Details screen > Confidentiality Agreement tab, which will be set to the value specified in the next setting. Confidentiality Agreement Defaults to: if the above option is set to Yes, then you are required to define whether all tenders will Include the confidentiality agreement or Exclude it. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 63 of 65

64 8.4.5 Import Communication Records This area contains two settings that determine whether to import communication records from the etendering PORTAL, including for respondents who have not lodged a submission. Import all Communications: this sets the default value for each tender, whether to Import all communications or Don t Import. Lock the Import Communication setting per Tender: If this setting is set to Locked then users are unable to override the default value specified above Pre-Contract Tender Category This setting determines whether the Tender Category uses a defined list or the UNSPSC. The UNSPSC stands for the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code, and is a globally accepted method for defining goods and services. The UNSPSC values and versions that are used are managed by the CONTRACTS System Administrator on the System Setup > UNSPSC screen. If the Tender Category option is selected, values for this are maintained on the System Setup > SOURCING > Tender Categories screen. 8.5 OpenWindows.eTender.WindowsService.exe.config Settings The settings in this configuration file are completed by Open Windows during installation of the etendering PORTAL and determine when tenders will be moved from Closed to an Archived status and then finally being removed from the Archived list in the etendering PORTAL. If you need to change these settings, please contact Open Windows Support. Item Name Closed To Archived Duration Archived To Deleted Duration Description The amount of days between a tender closing to when it will be moved to the Archived list. The default is set to 30 days. The amount of days from when a tender is Archived to when it will no longer appear in the etendering Portal in the Archived list or via searches. This will NOT delete the Preliminary information from CONTRACTS. The default is set to 10 days. All material copyright Open Windows Software Australia Pty Ltd Page 64 of 65