Competitive Bid: How to define the Competitive Bid

This article provides Competitive Bid managers with the steps necessary to build out the contents of the Competitive Bid. The purpose of the competitive bid is to define the scope of the proposed Project, including background information and other specifications. It should also explain the rules/conditions the participating vendors need to follow for the sourcing event.

This content reflects standard Beeline Enterprise functionality which may vary from what you see when logged into Beeline Enterprise depending on any client-specific settings or adjustments.

Table of Contents

To define a Competitive Bid:

1. Navigate to your Beeline Enterprise Home screen.
2. Select Search Competitive Bids from the drop-down selection list in the Simple Search box located above the Header Menu bar.
3. In the Search box, enter all or a portion of the competitive bid number, competitive bid name, or competitive bid owner.

   As you type, the auto suggestion/type ahead feature begins displaying search results.

4. Click the competitive bid you want to access from the list of suggestions. The Competitive Bid profile screen appears with a status of Ready to Define.
5. In the upper left-hand section, click View Details. The screen displays the bid in the tabbed ribbon format, and you are now in “edit mode”.
6. Click the Events tab.

   Notice that the Action tab moved to the final slot on the ribbon and you now have access to all tabs. The General Info and/or Contributors tabs will have no, or limited, edit rights since this content was previously approved during the initial approval.

7. Select your local time zone from the pull-down Time Zone list. This ensures that all participants know how to adjust their submit time to match your time zone.
8. Enter the Bid Deadline date and select the time from the pull-down list. Notice that the deadline includes both date and time.
9. Verify and/or adjust the Open and Close date/time for the Q&A Forum. Notice that the Close date/time automatically defaults to match the bid deadline.
10. Click Next to move to the Details tab. The first section tab is General Information.

    The General Info tab and General Information/section tab have different content. General Information under the Details tab is populated from the Competitive Bid template.

To create/edit content on the Details tab:

• Click the Pencil icon to edit text blocks. Use the Attachments link to upload content you want to include as part of the bid.
• Click the down arrow next to the + Add Content box (upper right-hand side below the ribbon) to add additional blank text blocks to your current screen or to select content from the stored content library.
• Click the Plus icon (upper left-hand side adjacent to the section icons) to add a new section at the end of the Details tab section.
• Click the Comments icon to add notes to yourself or content to be shared during the bid process. The number displayed within the icon indicates the total number of comments and is a helpful tracking feature. New comments can be created at any time. Use the check box if the comments are meant to be visible to the participating vendors. NOTE: Competitive Bids are intended to be “vendor-neutral” so any comment designated, “Visible to Vendor” will be visible to all participating vendors.

  Remember to click Save after each of the above modifications to retain your changes. Content added to the Details section is not negotiable by the vendors; it is read only.

11. Continue to click Next to move through all sections under the Details tab. The edit options will be the same as those described above although the user can add sections as needed.
12. Once you have completed all sections, click Next to advance to the Assessment Builder tab. You can also click the Assessment Builder ribbon icon to go directly to that tab.

To create/edit content on the Assessment Builder tab:

• Click the Pencil icon to edit individual assessment questions.
• Click the down arrow next to the + Add Question box (upper right-hand side below the ribbon) to select the format you want to use for additional assessment questions. Grab the plus sign icon to drag items from this list to the screen area where you want the question displayed. There is also a “Move Up” or “Move Down” option in the lower right-hand corner of each entry to make final adjustments.
• Adjust the assessment question fields based on the selected format. A warning alert section displays below the ribbon to advise the user as to required content for each format. As you build out the question fields, the warnings will drop off the displayed list. Assessment question formats include:
  • Drop Down: This format includes a question with an expandable list of possible answers from which the vendor picks a single response. Use the format to indicate which response is the correct one. The question can be designated as required and/or knockout. Points are required while Instructions, Allow Comments, and Attachments are optional.
  • Essay: This format provides the vendor with a larger text area than the Text Box format so vendors can provide a more detailed, free-text response. The question can be designated as required and/or knockout. Instructions, Allow Comments, and Attachments are optional. Points are excluded. (Note: Evaluator’s will need to review essay responses separately since they are not included in the side-by-side comparison display.)
  • Multiple Option Multiple Choice: This format displays a list of possible answers to the posted question which the vendor “checks” to indicate their answers. The build out indicates which of the possible responses are the correct ones. The question can be designated as required and/or knockout and can indicate is the vendor must select all correct answers. Points are required while Instructions, Allow Comments, and Attachments are optional.
  • Multiple Option Single Choice: This format displays a list of possible answers from which the vendor can only “check” a single response. Use the format to indicate which responses are the correct ones. The question can be designated as required and/or knockout. Points are required while Instructions, Allow Comments, and Attachments are optional.
  • Text Box: This format provides the vendor with a small text area where the vendor provides a short, free-text response. The question can be designated as required and/or knockout. Instructions, Allow Comments, and Attachments are optional. Points are excluded.
  • True/False: This format provides a vendor with a “true” or “false” select option. Use the format to indicate the correct answer. The question can be designated as required and/or knockout. Points are required while Instructions, Allow Comments, and Attachments are optional.
  • Yes/No: This format is the same as the True/False format except the response options are “yes” or “no”. Use the format to indicate the correct answer. The question can be designated as required and/or knockout. Points are required while Instructions, Allow Comments, and Attachments are optional.
• Use the Plus icon (upper left-hand side adjacent to the section icons) to add a new section to the Assessment Builder section. Assessment question edit functions and formats will be the same on each section tab.

  Remember to click Save after each of your modifications to retain your changes.

13. Click Next to move to the Financials tab. Notice that you have no editing rights in this tab. The participating vendors will enter their proposed financials during the Response phase of the Competitive Bid.
14. Click Next or the Invite Vendors ribbon icon (envelope) to advance to the Invite Vendors tab.
15. Click in the Add Vendor box to select a recommended vendor or use the search option to locate a vendor based on industry. A snapshot of Recommended Vendors is displayed at the top of the screen.
16. Select the Point of Contact for each vendor; then click Add to save them to your Selected Vendors list. You can select a total of five additional points of contact for each vendor.
17. Repeat for each vendor you plan to invite to participate in the Competitive Bid.
18. Click Next to move to the Q&A Forum. The forum opens to participating vendors after the bid is released.

    This forum is intended for participating vendors to submit questions related to the bid. All participating vendors have visibility to all questions and responses posted in this forum.

19. Click Next to advance to the Action tab in the ribbon.
20. Click Submit for Approval. A Perform Action dialog box appears.
21. Click Submit to confirm your intent. The system returns to the Competitive Bid profile screen and displays an updated status of Pending Final Approval.

    When you click <Submit> in the Action tab dialog box, a final verification check is processed across all tabs in the Competitive Bid. Error warnings will display for any content that did not validate. You will need to go back to the respective tab to make adjustments before your submit is final.

22. Click Return to exit the Competitive Bid profile and return to your Home screen.