This guide covers the following topics: Access Solicitation Responses in VSS Solicitation Responses: My Responses tab Modify a Solicitation Response o Modify a Draft Response o Modify an Accepted Response o Withdraw an Accepted Response 1 Access Solicitation Responses in VSS Step 1: Enter Username and Password. Click Login. The VSS application opens to the Account Information section. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 1 of 15
Step 2: Click on the Solicitation Responses tab. The Solicitations Response section opens. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 2 of 15
2 Solicitation Responses: My Responses tab The Solicitation Responses section has a single tab, My Responses, that shows the list of responses created by users under your vendor code. The top portion of the tab allows the user to search for a specific response. The user can search by a link (e.g. In Progress Items, Closing Soon) or use the Keyword Search. The bottom portion of the tab displays all the Responses matching the search criteria. If no search criteria is entered, all Responses display. Use the First, Prev, and Next buttons to navigate through the list, if necessary. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 3 of 15
For each response, there is a Link to Response, the Response Status (Draft, Accepted, Withdrawn), and details of the referencing Solicitation, including Solicitation ID, Status, and Closing Date. To view or edit a response, click on the ID in the Link to Response column. Refer to the Modify a Solicitation Response section of this document for more information on modifying a response. When an Accepted Response is modified, the system creates a new version in Draft status. The modified version will remain in Draft until it is submitted. Each version of the response on the My Solicitation tab will have a number at the end of the ID to indicate which version of the response it is. Refer to the Modify an Accepted Response section of this document for more information. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 4 of 15
2.1 Searching Responses Step 1: Use the desired link at the top of the page to narrow the list (e.g. click Closing Soon). Step 2: The list filters. Click Advanced Search to view additional search fields. Additional search fields display. Field Description Required Keyword Search Used to search against the solicitation description. No Response ID The ID of the response document. No Solicitation The ID of the solicitation document. No Response Status The status of the response. Options include: Draft, Rejected, Accepted, Withdrawn, Old Version, FIN Rejected. No City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 5 of 15
Step 3: Enter search criteria. Click Go. Search results display any responses matching the search criteria. Step 4: Click Next to view more matching responses. The page shows the number of results displaying on the page. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 6 of 15
Step 5: Click the link in the Link to Response column to open the desired response. The selected response opens. The available links will vary depending on the Response Status of the response and the Status of the solicitation. Response with Response Status of Draft and Solicitation Status of Open: City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 7 of 15
Response with Response Status of Draft and Solicitation Status of Closed: Response with Response Status of Accepted and Solicitation Status of Open: The following section describes the steps to modify a response. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 8 of 15
3 Modify a Solicitation Response Once a user clicks Respond Online on a solicitation, the system creates a Solicitation Response. Even if the user closes the response without submitting it, it will be available on the Solicitation Responses section of VSS. Note that responses may only be modified and submitted while the solicitation is still open. Once the solicitation closes, responses can no longer be modified. 3.1 Modify a Draft Response Note that the draft response must be completed and submitted prior to the closing of the solicitation. Once the solicitation closes, responses will no longer be accepted. Step 1: Step 2: Locate the Response following steps in Searching Response section. Click on the ID in the Link to Response column. The My Online Response page opens for the selected solicitation response. The layout is the same as detailed in the How to Submit a Response to a Business Opportunity guide. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 9 of 15
Step 3: Click Edit. The response is editable. Step 4: Complete the steps to edit and submit the response as outlined in the How to Submit a Response to a Business Opportunity guide. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 10 of 15
3.2 Modify an Accepted Response Once a response is submitted, it may be necessary to modify the response. This can be done from the Solicitation Responses section. Responses may only be modified while the solicitation is still open. Once the solicitation closes, responses can no longer be modified. If the changes are not submitted prior to the Closing Date and Closing Time of the solicitation, the latest Accepted version will be considered the final version. Step 1: Step 2: Locate the Response following steps in Searching Response section. Click on the ID in the Link to Response column. In order to modify the response, the latest version must be selected. For example, if edits have already been made to the response, and a version 2 has been submitted and accepted, click the Link to Response for version 2 to edit based off the latest version. The -1, -2, etc. at the end of the Link to Response number indicates the response version. See the Response Versions section below for more information. The My Online Response page opens for the selected solicitation response. The Solicitation Version Number indicates the version number. The layout is the same as detailed in the How to Submit a Response to a Business Opportunity guide. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 11 of 15
Step 3: Click Edit. Step 4: Step 5: The response opens in draft format. Make any needed changes. Refer to the How to Submit a Response for a Business Opportunity guide (available under the VSS Guides link on the LA VSS website) for details on how to respond to each section. Submit the new version of the response. Note that the modified draft version must be submitted prior to the Close Date and Close Time of the solicitation for the changes to be applied. If no errors are issued, the response is submitted. The My Responses tab now shows the second (-2) version. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 12 of 15
3.2.1 Response Versions When you click Edit on a response that has Accepted status, a second version will be created in Draft status. Each version of the response on the My Solicitation tab will have a number at the end of the ID to indicate which version of the response it is. The modified version remains in Draft until is submitted. One version exists for this response (note the -1 at the end of the Response number). After clicking Edit on version 1, but before submitting, a second version is listed in Draft. Once submitted, the second version s Response Status will update to Accepted. If any further changes are needed while the solicitation is still open, click the Link to Response version 2, and repeat the steps in section 3.2. Once a modified draft is submitted, changes can no longer be made to previous versions. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 13 of 15
3.3 Withdraw an Accepted Response Once a response is submitted, it may be necessary to withdraw the response. This can be done from the Solicitation Responses section. Note that a response can only be withdrawn while the solicitation is Open. If the Status of the solicitation is Closed, and the response needs to be withdrawn, contact the designated Central Purchasing Representative listed on the solicitation details page. Step 1: Step 2: Locate the Response following steps in Searching Response section. Click on the ID in the Link to Response column. If multiple versions of the response exist, select the latest version. The My Online Response page opens for the selected solicitation response. The layout is the same as detailed in the How to Submit a Response to a Business Opportunity guide. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 14 of 15
Step 3: Click Withdraw. Step 4: A pop-up message appears to confirm withdrawal. Click OK. The My Response tab updates with the Response Status updated to Withdrawn. The Withdrawn solicitation can be viewed but it cannot be modified. City of Los Angeles VSS Guide Page 15 of 15