Competitive Bid Cancellation Reasons: Self-service setup

Turn every cancellation into insight with standardized, easy-to-use reasons.

Track why competitive bids and Statements of Work (SOWs) are cancelled and capture consistent, actionable data at the moment decisions happen. With predefined cancellation reasons and optional comments, you can simplify cancellations while building a clear picture of supplier performance and sourcing outcomes.

Why it matters

• Reduce disputes by documenting clear, consistent reasons for cancellations
• Improve sourcing outcomes with data you can measure and analyze
• Support fair, unbiased processes aligned with corporate policy
• Understand where and why deals fall through—during bidding or after a project starts
• Build a stronger supplier pool based on real performance insights

Who it’s for

• Managed Service Providers (MSPs)
• Program Managers
• Self‑managed program users
• Administrators who configure and standardize cancellation reasons

How it helps

• Standardizes decisions: Users choose from predefined reasons instead of free‑text guesses
• Speeds up workflows: Cancel bids or SOWs quickly with simple selection + comments
• Drives better decisions: Analyze trends across suppliers, projects, and stages
• Improves transparency: Everyone sees consistent, explainable cancellation data
• Enables lifecycle analytics: Track outcomes from sourcing through execution

How it works

• Administrators create predefined cancellation reasons in Self‑Service
• When a user cancels a competitive bid or SOW, they select a reason from a list
• Users can add comments (and can be required to do so) for additional context
• All data is captured for reporting and analytics on sourcing events and supplier performance

Action steps

• An administrator has configured cancellation reasons in Self‑Service
• Your VMS is set up to allow comments on cancellations (optional but recommended)
• Your organization may require comments as part of workflow (configured by your COM)

How to steps

Providing standardized reasons about why a competitive bid or an SOW was cancelled helps your organization gather analytics about your sourcing events and about Supplier performance. The reasons you define display in the Reasons list on the Cancel dialog when a user cancels a competitive bid or an SOW.

1. Select Preferences > VMS Settings > Competitive Bid. A Competitive Bid page displays.
2. Select Competitive Bid Cancellation Reasons. A Reasons List page displays.
3. Select Add New. A New Status Reason page displays.
4. In the Name field, enter a label for your reason.
5. In the Code field, enter an abbreviation for your reason.
6. Optional. In the Description field, enter an explanation for when the reason should be chosen.
7. Select the Active checkbox.
8. Select OK.
9. Repeat steps 3 through 8 to create SOW cancellation reasons.

The reasons you created are available to users when they cancel a competitive bid or an SOW.