The user can view supplier responses for events that have passed their due/sealed by dates, as well as select suppliers to award events to in the Award tab.
There are two ways to access an event for award: via the Manage tab, using the Review Responses button, or directly in the Award tab. The event cannot be accessed for award purposes until the Due Date/Time has passed, and the event is unsealed (if the Sealed Event checkbox was selected for the event.)
Table of Contents
- Event Search
- Event Header
- Navigation
- Supplier Responses
- Supplier Response Details
- Rating a Supplier Response
- Compare Responses
- Award Notes and Attachments
- Approval Workflow
- Publishing an Award
- Awarding No Responses
- Retract Award
- Additional Support for Excel Output
- Create Purchase Catalog
Event Search
By default, the user will be brought to the Event Search upon entering the Award tab. All previously awarded events as well as any events which have passed the due/sealed by dates will display, sorted in descending order by Due Date. The Sort By field can be used to sort the results by another value, such as Event Name or Status.
The filters at the top of the screen allow the user to search using the following criteria:
- Event ID
- Event Name
- Created Date (range)
- Due By Date (range)
- Sealed Until Date (range)
- Template Name
- Effective Start Date (range)
- Effective End Date (range)
- Invitation Type (Open, Invitation Only or both)
- Status
- Event Under Review (responses have been opened)
- Ready for Review (event has passed due/sealed date but has not been accessed)
- Awarded (award has been published)
- Event Not Awarded (user selected Award No Responses)
Each Event Name will display as a hyperlink. The user can select the hyperlink to access the award detail and supplier responses.
If the event has a Sealed Until Date and Time specified, a popup will display when selecting the event for the first time. Select Yes to unseal the event and view the responses.
Event Header
The Event Header will display the same fields found on the Manage tab. The user can access the terms and conditions, attachments and response status for the event as needed.
In the Next Step drop-down, Review Responses will display as the default option. This drop-down can also be used for the following actions:
- Compare Responses: This step allows the comparison of the content of selected supplier responses.
- Publish Award: Once an award has been proposed to one or more suppliers, the Publish Award option will be active. The publish step notifies the suppliers that awards have been made.
- Award No Responses: This step can be used if the event will not be awarded to any suppliers.
These actions will be explained in greater detail below.
The caret icon can be used to collapse the event header. Use the Back button to return to the Event Search.
Navigation Pane
Selecting a Content Only section will display the text of that section.
Selecting a Question and Answer or Pricing Matrix section will prompt with supplier responses to compare. The comparison process is described in further detail below.
Selecting the Supplier Responses text in the navigation pane will return to the list of Supplier Responses.
Supplier Responses
Each supplier who submitted a response to the event will display in the Supplier Responses section.
- Supplier Name: Select the hyperlink for the supplier name to access the detail of the supplier’s response.
- Date Submitted: The date the supplier submitted the response for the event.
- Submitted By: The name, phone and email address for the user who submitted the response. The email address will display as a hyperlink.
- Review Status: This will display the status of the supplier’s response with respect to the award.
- Viewed: The detail of the supplier’s response has been viewed.
- Not Viewed: The detail of the supplier’s response has not been viewed.
- Proposed Awardee: The supplier has been proposed for an award. The award has not yet been published.
- Awarded: The supplier received an award for the event. The award has been published
Supplier Response Details
After selecting a Supplier Name from the Supplier Response section, the user will be navigated to the detail of the supplier’s response. The Review Status for the supplier will update to Viewed.
The Supplier Response Detail header will display the supplier’s contact information. The supplier’s Response Terms and Conditions can be viewed in the Terms & Conditions popup by selecting the view link. In addition, the header will display the number of question and answer and pricing matrix sections completed by the supplier. (Content Only sections are considered complete by default since they do not accept input.)
The Back button will return the user to the Event Header and list of supplier responses.
Using the navigation pane, the user can drill into the response details for each individual section. Any attachments uploaded by the supplier can also be viewed by selecting the attachments link.
For each question and answer and pricing matrix section, a Questions Complete indicator will also display to indicate how many questions the supplier completed.
In the Next Step drop-down, several additional options display:
- Propose Award: This option will propose an award for the event to the supplier. The supplier’s Review Status will update to Proposed Awardee. This step does not notify the supplier. Awards can be proposed to multiple suppliers if necessary.
- Cancel Propose: If the supplier was previously proposed an award and the user no longer wants to award to this supplier, use Cancel Propose to undo the Proposed Awardee status.
- Print: Selecting Print will generate a PDF copy of the event, including the supplier’s response.
When an award is proposed, a popup will display. If any supplier responses have not been read, this will be noted in the confirmation message.
Rating a Supplier Response
If a section weight was assigned to each section in the Manage tab, a score can be entered as part of the Award process for each section of a supplier’s response.
The supplier’s Total Score will display in the navigation pane. The user can enter a score for a section in one of two ways:
- Select the Click to Score link to access the popup
- Select the section name from the navigation pane and enter a value in the score field
In both cases, the Update button is used to save changes. The Update button will activate once a value is specified.
Each section’s maximum score value, as originally determined in the Manage tab, will also display. The score field accepts fractional values up to two places to the right of the decimal point (ex. 100.75).
If scoring fields do not display in Award, this indicates no section values were assigned in the Manage tab when the event was created.
Compare Responses
In the Next Step drop-down in the Event Header, the user can select the Compare Responses option to launch the compare function. The Compare feature can also be launched from the navigation pane by selecting a question and answer or pricing matrix section.
After selecting Compare, the user will select which supplier responses will display in the comparison view by selecting the Compare checkbox to the left of the Supplier Name. Once two or more suppliers are selected, the Compare button will activate.
ESM recommends comparing no more than five (5) supplier responses at a time to avoid issues with the readability of the information on the screen.
Use the Clear All option to remove the checkbox selections. The Cancel button will return the user to the list of supplier responses.
After selecting the Compare button, the Supplier Response Comparison Grid will display. Above the grid is an Instruction section. The caret icon can be used to display the instructions.
Selecting the Section Name will navigate the user to the list of responses for the section in a grid format.
If section weights were specified, a score can be entered for a supplier’s response to a section by clicking the supplier name. Any score information previously entered will display.
For a question and answer section, each question will display with each supplier’s response side by side. Any attachments associated with the supplier’s answer will also be accessible.
If a question required supplier input as part of the answer, additional detail can be accessed from the hyperlink. Use the Cancel button to close the popup. 
For a pricing matrix section, a link will display to access a popup with each supplier’s input.
If a content only section is selected from a grid, no additional data displays as the suppliers cannot enter input for these sections.
If a score link is selected, the user will be navigated to the supplier response for the selected section.
Other sections from the supplier’s response can also be viewed. If section weights were assigned to the event, the user can enter scores here as well. The Back button in the event header can be used to return to the Supplier Response Comparison Grid.
In the Event Header, a Print option will display in the Next Step drop-down. Selecting Print will generate a PDF containing a copy of the event as well as all responses from the suppliers selected for comparison.
Award Notes and Attachments
In the Award tab, an Internal Attachments field and Award Note field will display for each event. If the event was created from a Purchase transaction, the Internal Attachments link will also contain any attachments added in Purchase.
The Internal Attachments and Award Note options can be accessed and modified at any time during the award process. This data will be accessible in the Manage tab but will not be visible to suppliers.
Approval Workflow
Users can be assigned an Approve privilege in Add/Edit User to approve event responses or awards before publishing to suppliers. Entity administrators can create workflows in Add/Edit Workflow to determine which users will approve when a workflow is selected.
In the Award tab, a Request Approval option will display in the Next Step drop-down.
The user will be prompted to select an approval route using the search/browse bar. Once a route is selected, by clicking on the Workflow Name, email notifications will be sent to the approvers to indicate the event requires approval. An approver can opt to approve or reject, as well as add award notes.
Publishing an Award
After proposing an award to one or more suppliers, the award can be published by selecting the Publish Award option from the Next Step drop-down.
A confirmation popup will display with a list of all proposed awardees.
Selecting Yes from the popup will update the event’s status to Awarded and trigger supplier notifications. Any suppliers selected for an award will receive an award notification email. If a supplier responded to the event and did not receive an award, the supplier will receive a notification email indicating the award has been published but the supplier was not selected for an award.
Selecting No from the popup will close the window. The event remains in its previous state.
Awarding No Responses
If the event will not be awarded to any suppliers, select the Award No Responses option from the Next Step drop-down.
After clicking No Award, a popup will display to confirm the decision.
Selecting Yes from the popup will update the status of the event to No Award. Selecting No from the popup will close the window. The event remains in its previous state.
Retract Award
A user with access to the Award Tab is able to retract the published event award using the Next Step drop-down option.
The action button will update to Retract. Select it to continue.
The user has two options regarding supplier communication: Send an email notification to all suppliers who responded to the event or not to send a notification of the retraction.
Select the appropriate option and confirm the action. Users may publish the award to a different supplier after the retraction is completed.
Additional Support for Excel Output
The Print option found within a supplier’s response in the Award tab can be used to generate a printout containing only the selected supplier’s response. In addition, the Print option found within the Compare Responses screen can be used to generate a printout limited to the responses of the suppliers selected for comparison.
Create Purchase Catalog
A purchase catalog can be created from an event that has been awarded, where all awarded suppliers have been linked to a supplier in purchase,the event has at least one line item bid section, and either a catalog has not been created from the event, or the award has been retracted.
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