Ivalua - Sourcing Management
Ivalua - Sourcing Management
Ivalua - Sourcing Management
Introduction
Conclusion
Introduction
Slide 1
Welcome to Ivalua Academy. My name is Pete Freimayer from Ivalua and I will be your trainer
for the Sourcing class.
Slide 2
Let’s take a look at where this course stands in the Ivalua Academy catalog:
This module is designed for users who have already taken the Beginner Sourcing Overview
class.
We also offer an intermediate Auctions module class, a Services Procurement class, and
an Advanced Sourcing Configuration class.
Sourcing Project Types define the steps available in the sourcing project. They are driven by
tasks for the RFX Type. (We will review each RFx type in this class).
2
When creating a Sourcing Project, we have the choice of using all the functionalities offered, or
selecting a simpler screen with fewer constraints.
The Standard Sourcing Project Types available can be adapted to the clients needs during the
project implementation phase. The list of available types are:
- RFQ (std_spot): is a very simple Project type which does not require a lot of planning or
needs gathering. This type was designed with a Purchase Request in mind, for which,
an existing catalog could not satisfy the request.
Let’s look at an example: A user creates a Purchase Request for a computer that isn’t in
the catalogue. The Purchasing department is involved as a result. Since the suppliers
are already defined, the Buyer will launch a simple RFx.
The RFx is sent to the suppliers, responses are gathered and an Offer is accepted.
The buyer returns to the Purchase Request to update it with the selected supplier’s
information. To do this, we click on the “Update prices” button which in turn opens a
popup with the following:
Lines added in the RFx will be duplicated in the Purchase Request with the main
information (quantity, price, currency and the supplier).
- Simple RFx (std_simp): This Sourcing Project Type is used to manage a simple RFx,
involving contributors and the buyers team, and uses different trading currencies. It is
used when the requirement is clearly defined.
3
- Strategic Sourcing (std_strat): This sourcing project type allows us to manage a more
complex RFx where the requirements are not already clearly defined.
A diversified team can be set up to gather, analyze and define the requirements. Task
and planning management enables us to pilot the project and identify bottlenecks and
any potential scheduling risk.
Finally, if items are standardized, we can shortlist the suppliers and have the suppliers
participate in bidding in order to select the best price.
- Services RFx (std_psp): This sourcing project type allows us to manage fee based
services RFx (consulting, etc…).
- Time & Materials Services RFx (std_psp_tm): This sourcing project type allows us to
manage temp labor services RFx (consulting, etc…).
To learn more about services RFx manage, please attend the “Services Procurement”
intermediate level course; dedicated to this subject.
The specifics of this RFx is as follows: The buyer in the same way as in a Strategic
Sourcing Event, defines the list of questions for the suppliers, as well as the grid of items
to mark. The difference is that the buyer must separate the technical questions ("For
your standard monochrome copier model, what is the number of copies per minute?")
from the financial questions ("Specify the delivery country for which your prices are
valid").
4
The buyer then publishes the RFx. Suppliers answer the questions, fill out the price grid,
and submit their offers.
Once the RFx end date is reached the buyer can review the offers from those suppliers
(he was unable to view while the RFx was still open). However, he can ONLY see
suppliers’ responses to the technical questions.
Once technically valid offers are determined, the buyer will confirm their choice.
Note that once a choice has been made, the buyer cannot undo their selection. In other
words, the buyer cannot disqualify a supplier in one step and alter that in the next.
The buyer can then view the responses to the financial aspects of the survey and the
prices offered by each supplier.
● NB: This type of process is usually performed by public or semi-public entities.
- MP- Triple Envelope (std_pm_triple): This sourcing project type is similar to the double
envelope; except that this one encompasses three envelopes:
The Triple Envelope uses the responses to the general survey to disqualify suppliers
that do not meet the criteria defined by the company.
As stated earlier, these types of sourcing projects are standard offerings. They can be
eleted or created by the project team.
restricted to certain users, d
5
A sourcing project type is available to users with the appropriate profile (for more information,
refer to the advanced configuration sourcing course).
A planning template can be attached (to enrich the creation of any sourcing project of this type).
This is useful when filtering sourcing projects in the search screen or for planning the copying
functionality, which we’ll discuss further in Chapter 6.
This is especially useful with the sourcing project duplication function in the search screen.
Click on the "Duplicate sourcing project" button, click on the 3 dots icon, and check the "is a
template" box. Only “template” sourcing projects will be returned.
Our new sourcing event has been created, and our label indicates that it is a copy. All elements
that we checked off have been carried over: the team, the currencies, the tasks, and the
suppliers, as well as all the elements from the RFx: the questionnaires and the grid.
6
2.1 Demo: RFx Types
RFx Templates are designed to save time by having completed various elements of the RFx
anticipating the business requirements in advance, and therefore eliminating the need to build
the RFx from scratch.
Reminder:
Sourcing event Types determine which Steps or Tabs will be available to the Sourcing
Project.
- The Tabs that are made Available on the RFx. NOT the Tabs that are on the
sourcing event. Tabs are dependant upon the sourcing event type selected. The
RFx tabs are the Setup, Item for the price grid , ’Define Questions’ for the RFI, RFx
exhibit for the documents…)
To summarize, When we select a RFx Type, some of the information is set up automatically:
Like the options, questions, quotation grid and so on. The buyer can amend any of these by
changing the options, adding questions, changing the quotation grid and so on…
7
2.2 Demo: RFx Copy & RFx Templates
Slide 5
We have seen that when we create an RFx, some of the RFx elements can be automatically
completed based on the RFx Type.
The RFx Template Library is a collection of templates you design to suit the most frequent
Business requirements. Templates save time during the Sourcing Event setup process and can
be arranged by Commodity, Organization or Project.
When we create a sourcing project, and select an RFx type, a "Create from a template"
button is available.
This button allows us to draw from the template library. By default this feature is filtered by the
principal Commodity and Organization of the sourcing project.
If the search filter does not return a template, based on the Commodity and Organization, we
can simply remove the filters and search again.
A complete list of RFx Templates then appear from which we can make our selection.
We now need to determine what information we want to retrieve from the template:
● Elements of the RFx Description tab (labels and RFx type, automatic opening and
closing, progress, summary and options),
- Price grid columns (columns settings),
- Price grid articles,
- RFI survey,
- Documents annexed to the RFx,
- Suppliers offers evaluation survey.
If we have already created an RFx we can still copy information from a Template. For example,
we may have already set up the Price Grid and now want to initialize the Questionnaire using
a template. Using the ‘Other Actions’ button, select ‘Get data from RFx / template’
The same screen appears, allowing us to select a template (or RFx already created in the
current sourcing project).
This allows us to delete the settings in our RFx (for the selected type of information), and
replace it with the selected RFx.
Finally, when we want to create a new lot or round, we can easily duplicate an RFx in the same
sourcing project: Click the "Other actions" button and then "Create new lot" or "Create new
round".
Then, as we illustrated previously, choose the RFx to copy, the items to copy (excluding those
we are not interested in), and click "Create and Close."
To set an RFx as a template (allowing users to copy it into a new RFx), simply check the "Is a
template" box on the "Description of RFx" tab.
It will appear in the template list with the Commodity and main Organization of the sourcing
project it belongs to.
Note: Don’t confuse Sourcing Project "templates" with RFx "templates". These are two very
different things.
9
If we want to be able to use a sourcing event as a template, check the 'Is a template' checkbox
on the Setup tab for the sourcing event, not on the RFx. All sourcing event templates can be
easily identified from the browse screen by using the 'Is a template' filter.
Duplicating sourcing projects, copies all the information from the Sourcing Project (including the
RFx), but does not allow us to select the items to copy, nor does it let us update an existing
Sourcing Project.
3.1 Overview
Slide 6
Sourcing Projects are capable of handling Multiple Currencies simultaneously.
Naturally, using a single currency is the simplest form of Sourcing Project where Local
suppliers are involved.
All suppliers are requested to state their offers in the currency selected by the buyer.
The application automatically sets the default currency when creating a Sourcing Project and as
long as this currency is applicable to the sourcing event, no further action is needed.
For Sourcing Projects that involve International Suppliers or span Geographic areas it may be
beneficial to allow Suppliers to state their offers in their respective Currency.
For these Projects, the buyer will determine the Authorized Currencies and, in order to
compare the Offers, specify the Exchange Rate that will be used.
To prevent any distortion of the “offer analysis” and to accurately evaluate the evolution of the
supplier bids across the rounds, the exchange rate will not change for the duration of the
Sourcing Project (unless manual intervention is performed).
10
Using the multi-currency configuration, Suppliers submit their offers in the Currency of their
choice. The Supplier cannot submit some items in one currency and others in a different
currency.
In this configuration, the suppliers enter their Bids in THE currency of their choice. They cannot
submit individual items in one currency, and other items in a different currency.
For International Sourcing Projects involving a wide variety of items (some of which may be
coming from different countries) we can provide suppliers the ability to select the currency of
choice PER Item (so long as the currency is authorized by the buyer).
The last known exchange rate for each currency, is indicated in the corresponding column.
This rate can be easily copied by clicking on the left pointing chevrons [<<].
All exchange rates can be completed using the last known rate, by clicking on the icon with the
chevrons in the header of the column.
But we can also set up our own exchange rates, that will be used only for this sourcing project,
and will be valid during the sourcing project’s lifecycle.
This feature can be useful when we want to use an estimated exchange rate for a future date
(the projected contracting date for example), or for use with the hedging exchange rate that
our company is insured for.
The last known rate is retrieved as a result of recording the exchange rate by the
administrator in the Currency Conversion Screen.
11
Compared to the exchange rate entered by the administrator, the "last known rate" calculated
in this step follows these rules (in order of priority):
For example, if a rate is recorded for the 1st of September, 2015, and another rate for
the 4th quarter of 2015: the September 1st rate will be selected.
While many currencies are available to suppliers, (and this can be a very long list) filters allow
us to display:
- Only rates that have been recorded by the buyer ("filled rates"),
- Only rates that have been used by suppliers offers ("used rates"),
- Or all selected rates.
Here we are logged in with a supplier account which has been invited to an RFx.
After entering the General Information and answering questions from the RFI, we'll enter our
prices reflecting our offer.
At the top of the screen, we’ll select the Currency we’ll use for our Offer.
12
Note: there is no currency specified on the row in the grid. In addition, if we had inadvertently
set the wrong currency, we can still change it at any time. Also, no conversion is performed
when we change the currency.
Lastly, the supplier will not know the exchange rate the buyer used in the Sourcing Project (and
shouldn’t).
The supplier will enter their prices here, in the currency of choice, having performed their own
conversions prior to entering their bid.
When we set up a Proposal that allows the supplier to select their currency for each item in the
Grid, the buyer must setup the Proposal as follows:
For the supplier to choose their own currency for each item in the price grid, the buyer must set
up the following options:
- Add a "Currency" column, as a "Selector" field type and then select RFx Currencies
for the Selector Field .
- Select “Supplier Response Field” from the Visibility drop down list.
- And select “Fill in Main Item Only” as the Fill Rule Option
- Then Check the: “Is Item Currency” Checkbox
- Click Save and Close when completed.
- Now add or change the column to accept the price (unit price in general), and select the
"Monetary " as the field type.
The RFx can now be broadcast and we’ll take a look at how the supplier replies to the RFX.
13
Notice that the Currency drop down list no longer appears on the Header, In this case, We
have to specify the currency for each item.
A total of all items (all grids) is recalled above, for each of the currencies used.
We can now submit our proposal by clicking on the “Validate and Send My Answer” button. A
pop-up window appears to confirm the submission. We will click on the “Submit My Proposal”
button to proceed.
A message appears on the top of the screen, confirming our proposal has been successfully
submitted.
[Login as Sophia]
We are now logged in as Sophia, one of our suppliers’ contacts, who has been invited to an
RFx.
Sophia will navigate to the Items Tab. Here she will enter her prices and the desired currency
for each item. Euros for the Servers and the Server Racks; and British Pounds (GBP) for the
Switch.
Then she clicks on the Validate & Send My Answer Button to submit her bid.
In the pop-up window, Sophia continues to proceed by clicking on the submit my Proposal
Button.
A message appears on the top to confirm Sophia’s proposal has been successfully submitted.
[Login as Carolyn]
Logging in as another supplier, Carolyn. We will open the RFx; navigate to the Items Tab; Enter
the unit price for each Item; then select the desired currency, as demonstrated previously.
In this case, we will select USD as our bidding currency for all items.
Then Carolyn will submit her bid by clicking on the Validate & Send My Answer Button, and
confirm her submission in the pop-up window.
14
Logging back in as the Buyer, Sam Lewis, Sam can see the bids submitted by the Suppliers.
Navigating to the Setup Currencies Tab, we can see our Reference Currency is set to USD;
meaning the RFP responses will be analyzed in USD.
We can see the Exchange Rates are specified in the corresponding column. Note, all
exchange rates can be populated using the Last Exchange Rate, by clicking on the icon with
the chevrons in the header for the column.
Now the buyer can buyer navigate to the Analyze RFP Responses Tab, to view the offers. As
we can see the Prices are Converted to the Reference Currency for the Sourcing Project,
which is US Dollar.
The Currency used by the supplier is recalled for informational purposes, and since all prices
were converted, the buyer does not need to manually convert the prices.
The reference currency for this sourcing event is US Dollar. The column ‘Currency’ on each
proposal shows the currency that was used to bid by the supplier for each item.
To analyze the offers using a different currency, the buyer can go the the Setup Currencies Tab,
and change the Reference Currency. In this example, we will change it to Euros.
We have a customized exchange Rate, different from the rate on the Last Exchange Rate
column.
We can see the Analysis Currency is now in Euro, meaning all prices were converted
automatically.
Hovering over the converted prices, the tooltip shows the amount entered, with the currency
selected by the supplier.
In the case of a single currency authorized per offer, the currency is recalled in the line
"currency" at the top of the table. Also for informational purposes, since the amounts have
already been converted.
15
Cost-breakdown or decomposition of costs, corresponds to a request from the buyer, to the
supplier, so that it accurately reflects how prices are determined.
For example; What is the cost of each raw material? What is the cost of manpower, etc …
This information can be substantial, it can contain calculations and subtotals with numerous
iterations. Ivalua is not designed to contain this level of detail.
However, the data is useful for Identifying negotiation levers, productivity sources, strengths and
weaknesses of the supplier and more.
- Buyers can create an Excel answer file, formatted exactly as they wish (usually a
template file that is retrieved automatically).
- Suppliers can respond directly in the Excel file, that they upload as a reply.
- And where Ivalua analyzes certain cells in the Excel file to duplicate the contents in
the prices grid and answers analysis
As a result, the buyer will have a complete breakdown of the suppliers costs and can analyze
the aggregated data to compare offers without drowning in the details.
Then we’ll navigate to the Gather Suppliers Tab, to add supplier to this sourcing project.
16
China Ningbo Electric Company; and General Electric
- A price grid with the corresponding columns such as the raw material price, the
fabrication price, the logistics price and more.
To create a new cost breakdown template, we need to create the corresponding Excel file
first.
We can use any of the various formulas (like subtotals, etc ...), select the formatting, and
distributing information on multiple tabs, etc ...
Once the Excel file is completed, indicate which cells must be synchronized (or Mapped) with
the application.
17
Synchronization will allow:
- Suppliers, invited to the RFP, to download the file, which will be automatically be filled in
with information from the RFx and the item. Suppliers will complete the Excel file, and
send it in to Ivalua as a reply.
- Buyers to review the supplier's answers. The answers are automatically analyzed by the
application, complementing the price grid with the information entered in Excel. As a
result, the buyer can analyze and compare the supplier answers.
To initiate the cost breakdown file, click on the Actions button on the grid and select
‘Pre-populate Excel RFx form’. The excel file is available on the Pricing Formula column and
can be downloaded. Let’s open the Excel file.
Slide 12
For Ivalua to detect the cell (in Excel), and fill in the RFP content, the cell must follow this
naming convention: field_input_ followed by {FIELD CODE}.
The name contains ‘INPUT’ because we need to populate the excel file with data that is on the
grid in Ivalua.
A cell can be labeled in Excel by first selecting the cell, then clicking the cell at the top left
(where Excel typically shows the Cell information), and entering the desired code.
Slide 13
RFP information:
Here we see the various Codes that can be used in the Excel Grid. It includes the RFP label,
dates, summary and more.
Code Label
18
rfp_label RFP label
requester_name User name of the user, logged in, while the file was generated (buyer
side)
Code Label
Code for each Inserts the contents of the column for the item in question. Be careful to
column on the set only the "RFP Side" columns, indicated by the buyer.
grid. Note: that the columns to be completed by the supplier will be empty
when the file is generated.
Finally, a drop down list can be generated in Excel to list the quote currency (in the allowed
currencies for the sourcing project): use the code “field_input_currency” .
Slide 14
To let the application know which cells, from the Excel file, must be used to copy into the price
Grid, the Cell must be named as follows: field_output_ and then the {FIELD CODE}.
19
This time the name contains ‘OUTPUT’ because this information is needed to populate in the
Application from the Excel file.
Therefore, when the supplier enters the data into the cell (or is automatically filled in via an
Excel formula) and subsequently loads the file into Ivalua, the application will automatically
retrieve the values.
The list of valid codes correspond to the column codes in the grid (only those on the "Proposal
Side", can be indicated by the supplier).
Let’s see how we can adjust the template. We’ll open the file and duplicate the Other Costs
section in order to add a certification cost.
Let’s rename the row to Certification for B13 plant. Remember, in order to retrieve the cost
into Ivalua’s grid, we must name the cell with the appropriate code.
This time with ‘output’ not ‘input’ since this information is received from the supplier for import
into the Ivalua Grid.
We’ll enter ‘field_output_certification’ for the F61 cell which will contain the cost of the
certification. We’ll also change the total unit price formula to include the certification cost. This is
an Excel formula so we just need to add the certification field name to the addition.
Let’s save our file and go back to the grid. We are going to delete the standard Cost
Breakdown template and click on ‘Create new document for this RFx’ so we can add the
template with the certification cost.
The document type must be ‘[Template] RFP answer form’. We’ll just add the file and save,
change the status to Approved and Save and Close.
20
- First, we’ll delete the cost breakdown template because it does not contain the
certification cost.
- Then, we need to add a column to host the certification cost. We’ll right clicking on the
header to give us access to the ‘Add a column’ feature. Let’s configure the column
- We can now re-generate the excel file using the Actions button above the grid. Let’s
open the file that was generated. The certification cost is there.
We can now send the notification to our Suppliers and open the bidding period.
We’ll login as the Supplier, acknowledge receipt of the RFx and confirm our intent to bid.
Let’s go to the item tab. The cost breakdown template is available. The supplier can download it
and answer the questionnaire. Then drag it back to the next column when it is populated.
Let’s open the template and populate the fields such as the currency. Note that the Contact and
the Items are already populated as they are INPUT fields, meaning that they are populated from
the Application.
We’ll enter our contact information and begin entering our cost information: the coolant, the fan,
and the screws for the raw materials. We’ll add some process costs…. package costs... other
costs… and lastly our certification cost: $3,200.
Let’s save our file and go back to Ivalua. We can now select our file in the next column. The
system is going to map all the OUTPUT fields to the grid. We can see that all our costs have
been imported to the grid, including the certification cost that was added to the standard
template.
21
We can save, make any other adjustments we need and then submit our bid.
Logging back in as the buyer, we have one submitted bid that we can open. The grid shows the
cost breakdown as expected and we can also open the excel file at any time.
Navigating to the Analyze RFP responses, the pivot table shows the excel file and all the cost
components in the grid, allowing the buyer to compare the cost components from each supplier
at a glance.
Enabling this option implies that the buyer will not be able to view the suppliers offers, while the
RFx is still open.
This also disables the options: "Buyers can bid on behalf of suppliers" and "Buyers can fill in
questionnaire on behalf of suppliers."
NOTE: the sealing of bids protects the confidentiality of all bids. This feature prevents the risk of
disclosure of information by the buyer to competitors.
A sealed bid prevents the Buyer from completing a bid on behalf of a supplier since this would
give them an unfair advantage.
22
Let’s send the notification to the suppliers and open the RFx.
Buyers can monitor the bidding progress by using the ‘View RFP Activity ’ tab.
We have one submitted bid but no hyperlink on the bid to open it. Instead, we have a message
below indicating that the bids are sealed.
Offers can not be automatically or Manually reviewed by the buyer, until the RFx is closed.
The bid cannot be viewed because the RFx is not closed yet.
Let's End the RFx .. now that it's closed we can manually open the bids.
By clicking the "Open Sealed Bids " button, the buyer is stating that the Offers Opening
Session has ended.
The bids can then be reviewed. The RFx can not be reopened and suppliers cannot change
their answers or bids. A new round will have to be created to allow suppliers to adjust their bids
or change the answers to the questions.
Ivalua’s Access Rights management allows us to manage which Sourcing Projects a user can
access. Access rights take into account, Organizational structure, Purchasing Commodities
and the Profile of the Sourcing Project Team.
Having said that, Confidential Sourcing Projects can be marked as Confidential restricting
access to specific users. Check the “Confidential” checkbox in the “General Information” tab
to mark this Project as confidential.
Depending on the settings, only certain users will have access to this sourcing project: Members
defined in the team and an Administrator and / or the Purchase Director).
23
A confidential sourcing project should not be linked to a project or a purchase requisition.
Projects and Purchase Requisitions cannot be marked Confidential, only some of the
Sourcing project’s information would be made available to non-selected users.
On the Setup tab, we see the ‘Confidential Process’ checkbox. This checkbox is checked,
which means that this sourcing event is confidential and is only visible to the team and
authorized users who have extensive access rights for confidential sourcing events.
We can uncheck or check this box to make the project confidential or not.
Navigating to the team tab, we see the users who have access to this confidential project, even
though they may not have the authorization or access rights to confidential projects. Being
a member of the TEAM overrides the lack of Authorization.
Lets look at Dave Baker. We see that he is NOT listed in the TEAM Tab. However, if we look at
his Profile, we see that he is a Purchasing Director. Purchasing Directors have the
Authorization to Enable or Disable Confidential Projects, as well as to view them.
Let’s login as Sam Lewis (Our Buyer). Sam was listed on the team tab of our sourcing event.
As expected, he can view the event. However, he cannot disable or enable the confidentiality
feature. A stop sign confirms that the checkbox is not enabled for Sam.
Dave Baker would be able to change it, since he is a Purchasing Director, who has the
appropriate authorizations to do so.
Let’s look at the team tab again: we have three users, George Garner, Sam Lewis, and
Patrick Taylor. Adam Smith is not listed.
We’ll login as Scott Price, our Administrator, to confirm Adam’s profile settings.
24
Adam is a Buyer, and as mentioned, the Buyer Profile does not have the authorization to view
confidential sourcing events.
However, they do have the authorization to view all sourcing events on the entire
organization and commodity perimeter.
We’ll login as Adam and browse for the “Tax Sourcing Event”. Even though Adam has the
Authorization to view all sourcing events for the entire Organizational and Commodity
Scope, The authorization to view confidential events is not part of Adam’s profile so the View
Confidential Sourcing events authorization supersedes the ‘Organizational and Commodity
Scope’ authorizations.
By default, only sourcing projects that have been identified as "Is a template" in the General
information tab, will appear.
When we select the sourcing project, all of the tasks for that Project will be copied in the current
sourcing project.
- And The manager and the person assigned to the task are modified by the owner of the
project.
25
The aforementioned information is not applicable to the new sourcing project.
If we open the sourcing project we used as the template, we can see that all the dates and
workload, but aren’t populated.
To Create a Planning Template, simply check the ‘Is a Template’ in the ‘General Information’
tab of the Sourcing Project.
This will allow users to more easily find the sourcing project when they launch a similar sourcing
process, such as sourcing the same commodity for example.
Let’s open this sourcing event and navigate to the Track Project Milestones tab. We are going
to create the task from the template we just created. We’ll click on the ‘Create from a template
schedule’ button and look for our template.
We’ll select the Electrical Components commodity and select our template.
In this case, we won’t need to copy an existing plan from another Sourcing Project.
For more information on configuration requirements, please view the Advanced Sourcing
module course.
26
Chapter 8 - Public RFX
The Public RFx allows us to Broadcast an RFX to a larger audience rather than restricting it to
manually selected Suppliers.
The prospective suppliers need to know the Purchasing Portal URL to be able to review it.
Usually, this URL is made available on the Company Website so the Suppliers can easily find it.
When creating a Public RFX we can select the option to display the details of the RFX (Articles,
Questions, etc). This requires the checking of the Corresponding Option.
If we choose not to publish the details, the prospective suppliers can see the RFx, but to
be able to view the details, they will need to register on the Purchasing Portal.The
Registration process requires the buyer to validate the supplier's registration information,
or the registration can be validated automatically after the system checks for duplication.
If the supplier wishes to respond to RFX, he must register beforehand by filling in the
information form, and wait for the validation of his account.
The creation of a Public RFX is no different than that of a non-Public RFX. The distinction is
done by entering the Publication Dates in the ‘Publication on the Public Portal’ area and
selecting the appropriate advanced option.
Let’s create a new sourcing event by duplicating the air coolers event. We’ll adjust the name to
Air Cooler USA, select any type of sourcing and navigate to Prepare RFx tab.
27
The Public feature is compatible with any type of RFx. We’ll enter the begin date for the RFx.
But this time, we will also add the publication dates. These are the dates we want the RFx to
be visible on the portal to anonymous users.
Publication dates are usually limited because you don’t want to keep the publication running
when the bidding period is open.
We need a publication begin and end date so that the RFx can be considered Public.
There is one remaining “Optional” Setting for Public RFx’s, the ability for the supplier to view the
RFx without being authenticated or Validated.
In the list of available options, we’ll find the "Allow viewing the details of RFX to
non-connected users." We’ll leave this option unchecked for now.
The RFX will become available on the Portal as soon as the Publication date is reached.
Publication dates for a Public RFX are generally identical to non-Public RFX’s with a begin and
end date. However we can set different dates for a public RFX taking into account that new
suppliers can take longer to validate. Here’s an example of what we mean:
- Publish our Public RFx for a time period. Allows registered suppliers to answer (new
suppliers will need to register on the portal, this process may take extra time)
- Stop the public publication of the RFX during the RFX’s bidding period, or before the
beginning of the bidding period (if registering and validation of suppliers take too much
time compared to the remaining time of the RFX)
- Publication Starting and Publication Ending date. This is specific to the publishing of
public RFx’s. These Dates indicate that we can publish the RFX, BUT stop the RFx at
anytime before the end of the bidding period.
In this case, the RFx will essentially be closed to any further unregistered and/or non
invited suppliers and only those suppliers that have already registered for this
sourcing event or added by the buyer will be able to bid.
28
Now let's see how a supplier, visiting the portal, will view the public RFX.
On the portal home page we see a "Show public request for proposal" button. (the homepage
is where a user typically enters their username and password). Anyone can see the link and
click on it.
All Published ‘Public RFX’s’ are displayed here. A Keyword search capability is also present,
allowing the Prospective Supplier to search for an RFX they may wish to respond to.
This RFX can potentially be of interest to our supplier. Let’s click on it to review it.
The Supplier cannot see the contents of the RFX from this screen. A message prompts us to
enter our Username and Password if we have one. Clicking the ‘Login’ button authenticates
us and we can see the RFX. From here we can open the RFX and respond.
IF we do NOT have a login, we’ll need to complete the Registration form and submit it for
authorization. The approval of a new supplier will follow its normal path and the supplier will be
then able to participate to the RFx.
Let’s take a look at what our Public RFX looks like when we check the "Allow viewing of
details RFx to unconnected users" option.
We have created a new RFx, we’ll enter the dates and the publication dates and enable the
option to view the details of the RFx. Let’s validate and look at the portal.
When we access the Public RFx, we can view all of the following information:
However, as a Visitor (vs Registered supplier) we cannot answer the RFX without login
credentials.
29
An informational message tells us we must login or register to participate in the RFx.
The "Participate" button allows us to authenticate, or create an application for registration in the
same way as before.
Envelopes can be used to promote an unbiased response. Evaluating the supplier based on
price can sometimes lead to an incorrect selection. For example, excluding a supplier because
we think the price indicates poorer quality.
Some purchasing organizations will take this approach another step further by using a Sealed
Envelope. This approach is particularly common in RFx’s issued by public or semi-public
entities.
Ivalua’s Sealed Envelopes process is identical to the traditional ‘Paper’ operation where
envelopes containing paper written offers are collected and evaluated.
30
Each supplier must complete their offer by separating the elements (answers) into 3 parts or
Envelopes:
- Answers to the general survey (company and contacts identification, etc ...)
- The technical survey (Item specifications)
- And finally answers to the financial survey (payment conditions, etc ...) including the
prices being offered.
Here we have three sets of answers that must be evaluated in order by the buyer.
For this, the supplier is obliged (at the risk of being disqualified) to print their answers to the
General Survey, and group them in a sealed envelope which they may mark as "Envelope
No. 1 - General" (for example).
Then, to print their answers to the technical survey and group them in a sealed envelope
marked "Envelope No. 2 - Technical".
And finally print their responses to the financial survey and group them in a sealed envelope
marked "Envelope No. 3 - Financial".
Then, gather all 3 envelopes and place them in an another envelope (also sealed) marking the
envelope with our supplier’s name.
Then, when the expiration date of the RFx has passed, the purchasing department will meet to
examine the suppliers offers.
All envelopes marked "Envelope No. 1" are gathered together keeping the others separate and
unopened.
All No. 1 envelopes (the general envelopes) are opened, responses reviewed and evaluated
by the Purchasing department.
31
The Purchasing department’s objective is to assess the offer eligibility in relation to the Sourcing
criteria.
In the General Envelopes, the Insurance, Warranty, Certificates and other documents are
reviewed for accuracy and the like.
A question not answered can be considered disqualifying or an answer that does not match
the desired criteria may also disqualify the supplier, and therefore make their response
"ineligible".
The evaluation of an answer’s eligibility is different for each RFx, because the sourced items
characteristics require different assessment criteria and surveys.
The eligibility criteria (specified internally) should be used to accurately evaluate each answer in
the GRID
Once all of the No. 1 envelopes are evaluated, only "eligible" bids will be reviewed in detail.
Only the eligible bids or (Qualified Offers) from Envelope No. 1 will be reviewed for Envelope
No. 2.
The admission of each offer will be evaluated using ad-hoc criteria, selected for the RFX, and is
common to all suppliers.
The objective is to ensure that the Suppliers Proposals meet the criteria expressed by the
buyers with respect to: technology, the supplier’s ability to deliver, and other aspects.
Once again, suppliers that do not meet the requirements in Envelope No. 2 will be marked
‘Ineligible’ and will not be considered for Envelope No. 3.
Envelope No. 3 (the Financial Envelope) will examine the offers from ONLY those suppliers
marked as ‘Eligible’ from Envelope No. 2.
32
The objective of this phase is to assess the answers to the financial survey, including the
prices offered by the supplier. This final phase should determine which supplier to award the
RFX to.
By following this process, we expect to avoid favoring a supplier whose Prices may be very low
but does not provide the guarantees or the same product characteristics as others. Nor would
we penalize a supplier whose prices are higher but offers better guarantees.
The Double envelope process is similar, but contains only two envelopes:
Envelopes can only be opened sequentially. The opening of the envelopes are tracked with
date/time stamps ensuring the process is respected.
First, the buyer will create a new sourcing project, selecting the "Double" or "Triple envelope"
option according to the desired process.
33
We will create a Triple envelope sourcing project.
As with any other project, the team, currencies, tasks and documents steps for the RFx are
defined.
The first phase of the sourcing project is to define the requirements including the detail
characteristics desired for the articles.
We’ll add an end date for the survey, add an attachment and some additional information and
Save.
We’ll also add our contacts and add our internal questionnaire.
This process that has been described in the previous Sourcing classes.
We’ll send the survey to our contacts and track their responses in the next tab. We still have
one survey in progress. Let’s approve it.
Looking at the survey answers, we now have the Gas consumption for our two sites.
Remember that the next tab allows us to see all answers at a glance and download the files
that were provided by the contacts.
Then select the suppliers we want to invite to the RFX or determine if we want to create a Public
RFX and evaluate new potential suppliers.
We’ll select a few suppliers such as Atmos, Direct Energy and more.
Navigating to the ‘Prepare RFP tab’, we’ll select the RFx type ‘Triple Envelope’ (which is
available because we selected the Triple Envelope Sourcing Project Type in the project setup)
and enter a bid due date and Save.
Beyond the usual Setup, Exhibits, Items and Confirm Invited Suppliers step, the RFX step
offers three "Survey” tabs. The buyer will enter the Questions in each tab that suppliers will
need to respond to.
As we discussed in the previous section, each tab’s questions should be specific to the Tab’s
survey type:
34
● In the general survey, general questions about the company.
● In the technical survey, technical questions & Requirements the supplier must meet.
● And in the financial survey, questions regarding the supplier's ability to meet financial
obligations.
Lastly the "Price Grid" tab must be completed with details for the pricing of each item.
Completing the Surveys as well as Price Grid is similar to other Sourcing Project Types.
Once the information has been completed and verified we will validate the suppliers we want to
sent the RFX to.
We will be unable to alter the RFX once it is opened. IF, after the start date, we want to make
changes, we will need to notify the suppliers and create a new round.
While the RFX is open, we can track which suppliers have opened the RFX, which have begun
to prepare their offer, which have completed their offer or which supplier did not wish to
respond.
On the Supplier Homepage, we become aware of an invitation to the RFX. We can review the
RFX, and if required by the Buyer, sign an NDA.
We can login as the Buyer. All NDAs have been submitted and can be validated.
We can see that the View RFX tab contains the General Elements related to the RFX and the
documents the buyer attached.
35
The supplier can then review all 3 surveys and the Price Grid for the Items.
If we want to respond to the RFX we simply acknowledge receipt indicating our intent to
respond.
The tab "Your Proposal’s Info & Docs" will allow the supplier:
Its clearly marked that the document the suppliers attaches, must correspond to the respective
Envelope.
The supplier can respond to the Surveys and then attach the files based on their answers.
Note: For the supplier, the steps are not sequential. They can answer the questionnaires in
any order.
The Suppliers must complete the entire Survey, the Price GRID, upload their documents and
then Complete the offer submission.
Since there are only 2 questions, we’ll answer directly in user interface.
Our proposal is ready. We can use the message board for discussions with the buyer and add
more contacts to our team. Our proposal is visible on the history tab.
36
We can now go back to the Documents tab and add supporting documents for each
envelope. We’ll add two documents for the general envelope, one for the technical envelope
and one for the financial envelope.
Connecting as the Buyer let’s review the RFX since the End Date has passed. All of our
suppliers have submitted a bid.
If the Automatic Close feature was NOT enabled, we’ll need to manually close the RFX and
then Unseal the offers.
At this time, the bids are still sealed. We cannot open the bids as shown here and on the
Prepare RFP tab.
Envelopes need to be unsealed first so we need to close the round and unseal the bids by
clicking on the ‘Open Sealed Bids’ button. The bids are now available.
Once the offers are unsealed, the "Open general info envelope" step will display ONLY the
envelope No. 1 offers.
The buyer and the committee, assessing the suppliers’ responses, will now begin to review the
answers for envelope No. 1. This is the same principle as the paper process.
Note: the following steps: "Open technical envelope" and "Open financial envelope" do not
display any information. Envelopes 2 and 3 can only be opened when the previous envelope is
open, Supplier eligibility selected and the choice has been validated.
All offers are listed by supplier. With a summary of the number of questions answered, and the
number of uploaded files for envelope No. 1.
37
By clicking on the label of the supplier's response, we can review the answers to the questions.
Only the "Proposal information" and "General questionnaire" tabs are available revealing the
the answers and the files attached by suppliers for envelope 1.
Once the offer is analyzed, the assessment of the suppliers Offer must be Prioritized by
clicking the corresponding button in the offers list.
We can also review the suppliers’ offers by downloading all their documents (Excel attachments
and extract of their survey answers).
Simply check all the applicable boxes, and click on the ZIP icon.
Suppliers’ responses can also be compared to each other through the "analysis and
attribution" step.
The price comparison table is empty at this stage, because the financial envelope is not
opened.
However, the "Compare RFI Answers" tab allows us to compare the suppliers’ answers, but
only for opened envelope surveys.
As long as the pre selection has not been validated, it is possible to change it for a specific
supplier or for all suppliers.
This can be useful as a Temporary or Draft eligibility, prior to a final review by the Team. As
an example we’ll set this offer to “Not Admissible” after the team review.
Once the Suppliers responses have been evaluated and determined as accepted for the next
step, we can click the ‘Validate and open the next envelope’ button. Each step is a pre
selection for the following step. Once Clicked, our choice is considered final and cannot be
undone.
Once the eligibility of each offer is accepted and made final, the next envelope can be reviewed.
38
A Tooltip for each offer shows the User who marked the supplier as Eligible, who validated the
eligibility as well as a Timestamp of the action.
Envelope No. 2 is now available, and we can click the "Open technical envelope" step.
The process is identical to the first envelope: Review the suppliers’ offers, determine eligibility
and then validate the envelope.
By clicking on the Bid’s Label we can access the content of the second envelope (the
Technical Survey).
However, the bid that was rejected in Envelope 1 is not present in the list for Envelope 2. That
offer was pronounced “Not Acceptable.
The Price GRID is not available yet because it’s part of the 3rd Envelope. The Second
Envelope must be validated before we can see the Financial content.
By consulting suppliers’ offers, it may happen that the buyer wishes to launch a second round,
to refine suppliers’ responses, clarify a question that was misunderstood, etc ...
Let’s return to the ‘Prepare RFP’ step and create a new round by clicking ‘Other Actions’ and
selecting the ‘Create a new round’ option.
For example, we may want to change a Question and send the RFx again.
Suppliers who have previously been determined as Unacceptable will not be able to participate
in the new Round.
Let’s change this question for example. We’ll refine the question asking for 3 years of
information and save and Close.
ATMOS, the supplier, that was rejected in the first envelope cannot be invited to this round
and is not listed as a potential bidder.
39
Our technical questionnaire has been updated with the change we made on question 56. We
can now send the notification to the suppliers and open the new round.
Bids are sealed. We can navigate from round 1 to round 2 on the General Envelope. There is
nothing on Round 2 for this envelope. It will only be related to envelope #2.
Looking at the technical envelope, we can see that an eligibility decision is expected for this
round for each supplier.
Let’s login using the UserID of one of the Suppliers who participated previously.
We see the next round posted on the Homepage and we can begin to answer the revised
questions.
We will click on "Recover my last offer", which will copy my previous answers to all envelopes.
NOTE: We cannot change the answers in the general envelope because eligibility has already
been determined and validated. All of these answers will be in a read-only state.
NOTE: If several rounds were previously created and offers submitted, the offers will be copied
as long as they were marked “Admissible”.
We can alter any of the responses to questions in the next envelopes: the Financial Envelope
has not been opened so we can change any of these responses. The Details in the Technical
Envelope can also have an impact on the Responses we provide in the Financial Envelope, so
this Envelope is also open for editing as well as the Quotation grid
We can also change the documents for the envelopes that have not been processed yet. The X
to delete the documents is available for the technical and the financial envelope but not for
the General envelope.
40
Like we did in the First Round, we need to close this round and then Unseal the Offers.
The General Envelope has already been reviewed and the Suppliers Responses have not
changed so the Eligibility is still valid.
We can see Round 2 of the Supplier’s Responses for the Technical envelope. We’ll set these
Answers as Admissible and this one as NOT Admissible. Again, as long as we haven’t
validated the envelope, we can change our decision.
The Financial Envelope is now available and shows each of the suppliers Offers.
The buyer can also view the "Analysis and Attribution" step to compare the surveys’
responses from the various suppliers. Now that the Financial Envelope is completed the
Analysis GRID shows the Prices offered by the Suppliers.
This summary view can help the buyer to assess the eligibility of an offer, whether it is missing
pricing, is a non compliant item or other. Since the Financial envelope is not yet validated, we
can’t approve an offer at this step. We need to click the ‘Open Financial Envelope’ step and
determine the admissibility of each offer.
Here we are setting this Offer as “ Admissible” and we are validating the Envelope. Once this
is done, we will not be able to alter our setting.
The "Analysis and Attribution" step now allows us to select “A Supplier” or ‘Several Suppliers’
whose Offers were Acceptable across all 3 Envelopes.
The rest of the process is exactly the same as any other RFx type.
The sourcing process for “Double Envelopes” is exactly the same process only there is no
“General Envelope’. Double Envelopes only have the “Technical and Financial” Envelopes.
Conclusion
This concludes this class. Thank you for your attention and thank you for choosing Ivalua. We
hope to see you in other Ivalua Academy courses.
41