Placing and Managing Bids

This chapter provides an overview of bidding and discusses how:

• Bidders view pagelets that show available events.

• Bidders search for events upon which to bid.

• Bidders place bids.

• You can create bid responses on behalf of a bidder.

• Bidders can use automatic proxy bids.

• Bidders view their bidding activity.

• Bidders can optionally view the award details for an event.

Understanding Bidding

When the created event is posted, bidders receive notification of the event. They can browse events based on various search and sort criteria, place bids based on the parameters that you have set for the event, and receive notifications about the status of the event. For bidders who enter their bids using fax or mail, you can enter the faxed or mailed bids online for them.

PeopleSoft Enterprise Strategic Sourcing enforces the event rules that you set and maintains a bid history audit trail.

When a bidder posts a bid, PeopleSoft Enterprise Strategic Sourcing:

• Verifies that the event end date has not passed.

• Saves any changes that the bidder has made, if a previous bid is being updated.

• Verifies that bid responses have been entered for each required bid factor.

Depending on the situation, other edits can occur when a bid is posted. Here are some of the possible scenarios and how posting is affected.

Auction Event

The system verifies that the posting is the best bid received so far:

• If the bid currency is not the same as the event currency, it converts the bid price to the event currency to determine whether the bid is a winning bid.

• If the bid does not score higher than the current winning bid, it lists the bid's score compared to the winning score on the Create Bid Response page.

  The bidder can choose to post a bid that does not beat the current winning bid or revise the bid to obtain a higher score.

• If the bid scores higher than the current winning bid, it generates an email notification to the previous high bidder with information that the previous bidder has been outbid.

Auction event options depend on the combination of several different settings on the Business Unit Definition page (Set Up Financials/Supply Chain, Business Unit Related, Sourcing ).

• If the On the Basis Of option is set to Price, then the bidder is competing based solely on price, not on score.

• If the On the Basis Of option is set to Score, then the bidder is competing based on score.

• If Bids Compete Atoption is set to Event Level, then the bidder is competing based on total event price or total event score.

• If Bids Compete Atoption is set to Line Level, then the bidder is competing based on each line's unit bid price or line score.

• If the Bidders Must Beat option is set to Winning Bid, then the bidder must always beat either the current total winning bid (which again is determined as either the total event winning price or total event winning score) or each line's winning bid (unit bid price or winning line score) for the lines upon which the bidder bids.

• If the Bidders Must Beat option is set to Own Bid, then the bidder must always beat either his or her own previous total bid price or score or his or her last unit bid price or line score depending on what the Bids Compete At and On The Basis Of fields are set to.

  The bidder is not alerted if his or her bid does not score higher. Instead, depending on the options on the Event Settings and Options page, the bidder can see either the winning score on the create response so that the bidder can know whether his or her bid beats the winning bid. If the winning bid does not appear to the user, then the bidder can see his or her rank or bid status after bid posting.

• If Display Winning Bid to Bidders is not selected, bidders can only see their bid statuses (winning or outbid) or bid rank, depending on whether displaying the bid rank has been selected.

  Bidders cannot see the winning bid.

See Specifying Event Settings and Options.

Event Extension is Enabled

The system checks to see whether the posted bid is within the last bid received time frame and what number of extensions are set on the event:

• If the posted bid date is not within the last bid received time frame, the event end date is not updated.

• If the posted bid time is within the last bid received time frame and the number of extensions has not already been allocated, the event end date is extended based on the parameters set on the event.

• If the posted bid time is within the last bid received time frame, but the number of extensions has already been allocated, the end date is not updated.

• If the event has events lots associated with it, the Preview, Start, and End Date fields are updated for all subsequent event lots when an event extension is triggered.

Event is a Sealed RFx

The calculated score is not visible to the bidder.

The event originator cannot view either bids or bid history until the event end date is reached.

Event is an RFx but Not a Sealed Bid

The calculated score is not visible to the bidder.

The event originator can view the bid once it is posted.

RFI Events

When you bid on RFI events, you respond only to header bid factors; there are no line bid factors.

If the RFI is being scored, the calculated score is not visible to the bidder.

Bidding Using Automatic Proxy Bids

Bidders can submit bids for auction events by using the automatic proxy bidding feature. A proxy-bid is a bid where the bidder pre-establishes the best price for which he or she would supply or purchase the goods or services. Then the system makes bids automatically—as needed to take the lead—to the preset best offer. Thus, the bider gets the best possible deal while still winning the auction. In addition, the system emails the bidder if the best offer becomes outbid. This frees the bidder from having to monitor the auction "in-person" for its duration.

There are a few rules to keep in mind when using automatic proxy bidding:

• You can use proxy bidding on auction-only events.

• Bids compete at the line level based on price.

• The winning bid must be displayed to bidders and bidders must beat the winning bid. You cannot display a bidder's ranking for proxy events.

  Bidders who are currently winning on a line may enter a new proxy bid price for the same line. This price overrides the previous proxy price.

  For example, if Bidder A had a proxy price of $45 on line 1 with a current bid price of $60, Bidder A could copy in the previous bid and change his or her proxy bid price to $50. Subsequently, $50 would be the new proxy price for Bidder A, not $45. Bidders are allowed to have only an “active” proxy price even if the bidder has multiple bids.

To enable automatic proxy bidding, event creators can:

• Select Auction as an event format on the Event Details (add) page (Sourcing, Create Events, Event Details).

  • Select Enabled in the Proxy Bidding (Auctions Only) field on the Create Events page (Sourcing, Create Events, Event Details).

  • Click Add.

• Select Enabled in the Proxy Bidding field on the Event Settings and Options page (Sourcing, Create Events, Event Details, Event Summary).

Bidding on Behalf of Another Bidder

Internal users can save, post, and edit bids that they have entered on behalf of another bidder. They can also upload XML bids on behalf of other bidders.

Bidder Price Breaks

If bidding on an event that includes user-defined price breaks, bidders enter their bid prices based on the predefined tiers. Otherwise, if the event specifies bidder-defined price breaks, the bidders can define their own price tiers. When entering the price tier response, bidders indicate whether the tier pricing is adjusted based on a flat-dollar amount or based on a specified percentage. Alternately, the bidder can just enter the unit price for each tier and the system will automatically calculate the dollar and percent adjustment. If the bidder enters a negative amount that applies to the price tier, that amount is subtracted from the base price to determine the net bid price for the tier. If the bidder enters a negative percentage that applies to the price tier, the percentage is multiplied against the base price to determine the discount amount, and that amount is subtracted from the base price to determine the net bid price for the price tier. The discount percentage is automatically calculated and appears if the bidder enters a discount amount. In the same manner, the discount amount is automatically calculated and appears if the bidder enters a discount percentage. The bidder can enter the discount percentage or the discount amount.

The bidders can also specify whether the price terms are based on a quantity ordered to date or based on the current order quantity. If the bidders select quantity to date, the cost per item is based on a cumulative quantity ordered. If the event is awarded to a contract and there are multiple releases (orders) against the contract, the price is based on the cumulative ordered quantity of the orders related to the contract. If instead the bidders select current order quantity, the price is based on the quantity that relates to the specific release against the contract.

Entering Bids with Optional Quantities

If an event line is marked as quantity optional, for example for a services type of request, bidders are not required to enter the quantity for that bid. An enterprise could solicit a bid for consulting and may decide that it wants bidders to quote a flat amount for the entire implementation, instead of offering consultants at a rate per hour. In this case, the bidders enter an amount, but not a quantity.

Alternate Units of Measure

Event creators can indicate if alternate units of measure are allowed on a bidding event. The event creator can specify whether bidders can bid using any alternate unit of measure or only existing item/unit of measure relationships. If allowed, bidders may select a different unit of measure when bidding on a line. All line price and quantity details are converted to the bidder's selected unit of measure based on the specified conversion rate. During analysis, the bid prices are reflected based on the line item's unit of measure.

See Also

Alternate Unit of Measure Conversion

Bid Factors

If the event creator used functional bid factors, and information already exists for a bidder, the response to the functional bid factor automatically populates on the response page. Bidders may not change responses that are automatically populated. If the information does not exist, the response isn't populated and therefore the bidder may enter the response.

Upon posting a bid, the system verifies that all required bid factors have been responded to, and alerts the bidder if a required bid factor was not answered. The system also verifies that the mandatory responses were provided for bid factors with an ideal response requirement, and alerts the bidder that their bid is disqualified if the ideal response is not provided. Bids that are disqualified are not eligible to be awarded.

Bid Rankings

PeopleSoft Enterprise Strategic Sourcing ranks individual bids for auction events and provides the option to enable bidders to view their ranked bids. Bidders can see where their best-posted bids rank compared to the best bids from other bidders. For example, a bidder can view his or her bid ranking as fourth out of all the bids received. Whenever a new bid is posted, the system recalculates the rank.

Bidders can also view how many suppliers have bid at least once on an auction. A bidder can see that his or her best bid ranks fourth out of nine, thus indicating to the bidder that nine bidders have bid on the event thus far. In cases where bidders may view the bid history for an event, the system displays the rank on the bid history versus the price or score. Event creators can use ranking in situations where they don’t want to reveal what the leading bid price is, but still must convey to the bidder where the bidder stands in the bidding process.

Note. Proxy-enabled auction events cannot be ranked.

Event Lots

If multiple auction events are linked together in lots, you must bid on them in order. After bidding on the first event, the system provides a link to the next event in the linked lot list on the Bid Confirmation page.

Bid Uploads

If the event has the option to download bids, the system creates an XML document and attaches it to the event. A bidder can detach the XML document and use Excel 2002 or higher to open the document and view it in spreadsheet format. Once the bidder has created the bid response and is ready to upload, the bidder saves the spreadsheet as a XML document. The bidder then uploads the XML document into the PeopleSoft Enterprise Strategic Sourcing and registers it as an incoming bid.

Internal users can upload bids when bidding on behalf of another bidder. It's the same process as entering a bid on behalf: the user selects to upload a bid instead of entering a new bid.

Multiround Events

Bidders always bid on the most recent round and version of events. The system displays the round or version number on the Create Bid Response page.

If a new round is created for an event where you have already entered a bid, the system displays a Counter Event button on the Event Details page.

Instant Messaging

To facilitate collaboration between event owners and bidders, PeopleSoft Enterprise Strategic Sourcing provides chat or instant message capabilities between event creators and bidders. Bidders can initiate chats with an event owner, which enables bidders to receive immediate responses on questions or clarifications for a selected event. This is especially critical during auction events, which are often time sensitive.

Optionally, internal collaborators may also chat among themselves during the collaboration process. Multiple collaborators can participate in a single chat.

PeopleSoft Enterprise Strategic Sourcing uses the PeopleTools MultiChannel Framework (MCF) technology infrastructure to support multiple interaction channels for PeopleSoft users who must respond to incoming requests and notifications on these channels.

Common Elements Used in This Chapter

Using PeopleSoft Enterprise Strategic Sourcing Pagelets

This section discusses the supplier-facing pagelets that bidders see when they log in to view and bid on events:

• My Sell Events

• My Buy Events

• My Event Discussions

Pagelets appear whether the bidder is a vendor, bidder, or customer.

See Also

Registering and Maintaining Bidders

Pages Used to View Strategic Sourcing Events

Placing Bids

This section discusses how bidders:

• Search for events on which to bid.

• Enter bid responses.

• Enter a bid during preview period.

• Save a bid.

• Update a bid.

• Cancel a bid.

Pages Used to Place Bids

Searching for Sourcing Events

Access the View Events and Place Bids page.

Enter search criteria using any of these fields:

Search Results

Accessing Event Details

Access the Event Details page.

Accept Invitation	Accepts the invitation to bid on this event. Use this if bidders are not ready to prepare their bids, but want to indicate their intentions to participate in the event. Bidders are not required to accept the invitation before preparing their bids. After you accept the invitation, you are returned to the Strategic Sourcing Events search page. You must return to Event Details page and click the Bid on Event button to enter the bid. You can accept event participation when bidding on behalf of another bidder.
Decline Invitation	Select to decline the invitation to bid on this event. You can decline event participation when bidding on behalf of another bidder. If you decline the event, you enter a reason code. If a bidder was invited to an event and declines the event invitation, the bidder can continue receiving updates on the event. Also, if a bidder declines the event invitation, the bidder can accept the invitation later and enter a bid for that event.
Bid on Event	Click to enter a bid response.
Bidding Shortcuts	Click any of these links to access other pages to view details regarding the event or bidder: View Event Activity: Access the Event Activity page, where you can view all events related to a specific bidder. See Reviewing Bidder Activity. Download XML Bid Packet: Access the Event Header Comments and Attachments page, where you can download the XML or PDF version of the event. Upload XML Bid Response: Access the Upload Bid page if you have used the XML file to complete the bid response. The responses from the XML file is uploaded into the bid response pages. See Uploading Bids.
Edit Bid	Click to modify or view an existing bid for the event. Note. Bidders can edit a saved bid or cancel a saved bid for any event type (RFI, RFx, Auction). Bidders can edit a previously posted bid for RFI or RFx events if the editing posted responses is permitted on the Event Settings and Options page.
Discuss Event in Forum	Click to enter the event discussion forums.
Award Details	Click to view information about the event award.
Request Live Chat	Click to chat with the event creator.

See Also

Using Discussion Forums

Downloading XML Bid Packets

Access the Event Header Comments and Attachments page.

Attachment File	Displays the name of the attached file.
Attachment Description	Displays the description of the attached file.
	Click the View button to view or download the XML file.

Entering Bid Responses for RFx Events

Access the Create Bid Response page.

Discuss Event in Forum	Click to access discussion forums to discuss the event with other users.
Request Live Chat	Click to initiate chat with the event creator using the Multichannel Framework.
Response	Bidder enter their answer to the bid factor.
Add Comments	Enter any comments related to the bid factor response.
View Associated Terms	Click to view any contract agreement terms or clauses.

Enter Line Bid Responses

See Also

Price Adjustments

Entering Bids Beyond Award Requested Quantities

Access the Create Bid Response - Event Details page, and click the Bid link for the line.

Select a Different UOM	Click this link if you want to submit a bid using a different unit of measure. This link is available only if the event allows bidders to submit bids in alternate units of measure.
Your Max Bid Quantity	Enter your maximum bid quantity for the original unit of measure for the event.

Selecting a Different Unit of Measure

Access the Unit of Measure Conversion page.

Bid Unit of Measure	Select a different unit of measure for the line item.
Conversion Rate	This display-only field indicates the conversion rate used for the new unit of measure.

Your Unit Bid of Measure

Note. In cases where the requested quantity is required, or the bidder may bid up to the specified quantity, the bidder will be allowed to bid over the maximum quantity up to the next whole number in the bidder's unit of measure. For example, if 100 pens were requested with a unit of measure of each, but the bidder bid in boxes of 15 eaches, the requested quantity in boxes is 6.66. The bidder will be allowed to bid up to 7 boxes in this example.

Line Unit of Measure

The system displays the original quantities requested using the event line UOM.

Entering Bids Using Automatic Proxy Bidding

Access the Create Bid Response - Event Details page.

If you are using automatic proxy bidding, complete these fields:

Submitting Proxy Bids for Line Items

To submit proxy bids for line items:

1. Click the Line Detail link on the Create Bid Response - Event Details page.

2. Enter a numerical value in the Your Unit Bid Price field.

3. Select Is Proxy Bid check box.

Note. The use of this page is optional. You can enter your bid information on the Create Bid Response - Event Details page as previously mentioned.

Entering Price Components

Access the Price Components page.

For each designated component, enter the best Unit Price, Component Quantity, and the system calculates the Component price.

Entering Price Adjustments

Access the Price Breaks page.

OK	Click to return to the Create Bid Response page. Clicking OK does not submit the bid; the bidder must click the Submit button on the Create Bid Response page.
Cumulative Order Quantity	Displays the price adjustments which are based on the total quantity for the awarded contract.
Individual Order Quantity	Displays the price adjustments which are based on a specific order released from a contract.
Ignore Errors	Click this button to ignore calculation errors when saving. Errors must be fixed before posting a bid.

See Bidder Price Breaks.

Line Detail Group Box

Line Response Group Box

Uploading Bids

Access the Event Details page.

File Selection

Access the Upload Bid page.

To upload a bid:

1. Open the Excel version of the event with which you have been working.

2. Select File, Save as, and save the spreadsheet as an XML spreadsheet type.

3. Click the Select XML File button, and select the XML Spreadsheet that was just saved.

4. Verify that the path is correct and click the Upload button.

See Also

Bidder Downloads

Bidding on Linked Events

Access the Bid Confirmation page by submitting a bid.

If the auction event that you bid on is linked to one or more other auction events in a lot, you must bid on them in order. The system provides a link to the next event in the linked lot list on the Bid Confirmation page. The end date and time of the first event is the start date and time of the second event, and so on.

Entering Bids for RFI Events

Access the Strategic Sourcing Events search page.

Select the Request for Informationcheck box and search for RFI events. Select an RFI event to access the Event Details page. Click the Bid on Event button to enter an RFI response. RFI events display only event header information and header bid factors because there are no lines in RFIs.

Entering a Bid During Preview Period

If an event has a preview period, a bidder can enter and save a bid even though it cannot be posted. Responses are ready for posting as soon as the start time for the event is reached.

1. The bidder enters the bid but clicks the Save button, not the Post button (which is unavailable during preview).

2. When the start time arrives, the bidder accesses the bid for that event and clicks the Post button to post the event.

Note. Saved bids are not automatically posted when the start time arrives. The bidder must access the bid and post it.

Saving a Bid

The bidder can click the Save for Later button at any time to save his bid before posting it. This is helpful to protect data already entered, take a break from the work, or research the answer to a certain bid factor.

To return to the bid and complete it, the bidder must access the Search Event page to edit the particular bid.

Updating a Bid

How a bidder, after entering a first bid on any event, updates his or her bid depends on the event type:

• On auction events, the bidder enters a new bid on the event.

  This provides a bidding trail for the event creator.

• On RFx events, the bidder edits the original bid.

Canceling a Bid

To cancel a bid for an event, the bidder accesses the Search Events page, clicks the Edit button for the specific event, then clicks the Cancel button.

You cannot cancel posted bids for auction events.

Viewing Rankings and Scores

Depending on the settings that the event creator selected for the auction event, you can view rankings and scores on the Create Bid Response page. Define these settings on the Event Settings and Options page.

Bidders can optionally view:

• Start prices.

• The winning bid.

• The Bid History page.

• Current round and version.

• The identity of all bidders.

• Bid rank.

• Number of bids.

• Header score, line score, and combined total score (only for auction events).

Bidder Display Options

The event creator sets up bidder display options on the Event Settings and Options page in the Creating Events component.

See Defining Basic Event Information.

Beating Own Bid or Best Bid

The system displays whether a bidder must beat his or her best bid price or score or the winning bid price or score based on the Event Settings and Options page.

If Display Start Price to Bidders option is not selected on the Event Settings and Options page, and the bidder must beat his or her own bid, then each bidder sets his or her own start price based on the bidder's initial bid price.

Bids Required on All Lines

If you selected the Bidders Compete at Event Level option, and the bidder must beat his or her own previous bid, the system compares the total score/price from the best previous bid to the current bid and ensures that the current score/price is better than the previous score/price. In this case, it’s possible for a bidder to bid higher on one or more line items on the subsequent bid as long as the overall total bid price/score is better than the previous bid. If the current bid does not beat the previous bid, the system issues an error and does not allow the bidder to post the bid.

If bid decrements are entered during event creation, apply the bid decrements to the bidder’s previous bid on each line that has a decrement. This applies only you selected the Bidders Compete at Line Level and Based on Price options on the Event Settings and Options page.

See Defining Basic Event Information.

If the system is not set to display the start price and the bidder must beat his or her own bid, then each bidder sets his or her own start price based on the initial bid price. So if a line has a price of $2,000, one bidder may enter an initial bid price of $2,500, and another bidder may enter an initial bid price of $3,000. From that point forward, each bidder must beat his or her previous bid price.

If the bidder must beat the current winning bid, compare the total score/price from the winning bidder to the current score/price for the bidder and ensure that the bidder’s current total score/price beats the current winning total score.

Bids Not Required on All Lines

If you selected Bidders Compete at Line Level, and the bidder must beat his or her own previous bid, the system compares the line score/price from the bidder’s best previous bid to the current bid and ensures that the current line score/price is better than the previous line score/price for each line bid on.

If the current bid does not beat the bidder's previous bid, the system issues an error and does not allow the bidder to post the bid. Any defined bid decrements must be applied to the bidder’s previous best bid for each line. The bid decrement is applied to the maximum unit bid price. Therefore, if a bidder entered an initial unit bid price of $2,000, and the bid decrement is $200, the maximum unit bid price is updated to reflect $1,800 ($2,000 - $200) on the subsequent bid.

If the bidder must beat the current winning bid, the system compares each line score/price from the winning bidders to the current line score/price for the bidder and ensures that the bidder’s current line score/price beats the current winning line score/price for each line bid on.

If the current bid does not beat the current winning bid for all lines bid on, the system issues an error. Again, apply the bid decrement to the current winning bid for each line.

Price Only Events

If the event is price-only and bids are not required on all lines, the system compares the unit bid price of each line to determine whether the bid beats the last bid or current winning bid. If the event is price-only and bids are required on all lines, the system compares the total bid price to determine whether the bid beats the last bid or current winning bid. If the event is not price-only, the system compares the score to determine whether the bid beat the last bid or the current winning bid.

Display Winning Bid

If you did not select the Display Winning Bid check box, theBidders Must Beat field value must be Own Bid, because you can’t beat the winning bid if you don’t know what it is.

Creating Bidder Responses

If you receive bids by mail, fax, or phone, you can enter the information into PeopleSoft Enterprise Strategic Sourcing on behalf of the bidder. The bidder must be a registered and invited bidder and is treated by the system as any other bidder.

To create a bidder response:

1. Collect the bid information from the bidder.

2. Access the Search Criteria page from the Create Bidder Response menu.

3. To find the correct event and bidder, enter an Event ID or select an Event Format, Event Type, Event Name, or Bidder Type.

4. Click the Search button.

   The system displays the event information, including version and round, as well as the name of the bidder, customer, or vendor.

5. Click the Event ID link for the bidder.

6. Click the Enter a New Bid button to manually enter the bid, or click the Upload Bid button to upload a bid from Excel or XML.

Pages Used to Create Bidder Responses

Reviewing Bids

This section discusses how to review bidder activity.

Pages Used to Review the Bid Activity of a Bidder

Reviewing Bidder Activity

To review bidding on an event by a specific bidder:

1. Enter Business Unit, Bidder Type, or ID on the Search Bid Activities page.

2. Access the Bid Activities page by clicking the name of the company whose bidding activity you want to review.

3. Click one of the categories in the Search Events group box to populate the Events group box with specific events.

   You can view the number of events that a bidder was invited to or awarded or upon which the bidder bid. The system displays bids for the bidder across all sourcing business units.

4. In the Events group box, expand the event line to view the details of the invitation, bid, and award.

   If the award is for a consolidated requisition, the system displays an award for each purchase order that is created to the awarded bidder.

Here is an example of the Bid Activities page:

Bidders Reviewing Their Bids

Access the My Event Activity page.

Bidders can use this page to view their own bidding activities. This page includes the same information for each bidder as the Bidder Activity page, except that bidders can see only their own bids.

Bidders can view their event status and navigate to events by clicking the linked event ID.