Quote and join tenders

One important clarification first: signing up as a supplier does not guarantee you will be invited to quote. Registering makes you visible and eligible, but it is your customer who decides, process by process, which suppliers to invite based on your categories and their purchasing needs.

When you are invited, it can be through two different channels — the company chooses which one to use in each case — and each one is answered differently:

• Quotation requests by email: you receive an email with the request and you reply by email, in the same thread. No need to enter the portal.

• Tenders through the portal: the invitation arrives by email, but your proposal must be submitted through the portal; it cannot be sent by replying to the email.

Always check which channel each request came through before answering. Below we explain each one in detail.

Quotation requests by email

• You receive an email with the items, quantities, delivery location and deadline.

• Reply to the same email with your prices, lead times and terms, either in the body or by attaching your quotation (PDF, Excel). The system processes it automatically.

• To make sure your quotation is processed without errors, include the unit price and the currency for each item, state whether prices include taxes, and add lead time, payment terms and offer validity.

• You can quote partially; make it clear to avoid confusion. If you are not going to quote, let them know: your customer can record it and won't send you reminders.

• If you made a mistake or a price changed, simply reply again in the same thread with the corrected figures: the new quotation replaces the previous one, with no need for a separate notice. You can correct it while the purchase is still open; once it has been awarded or closed, changes are no longer accepted.

• Before the deadline you receive automatic reminders.

• Expecting requests that never arrive? Check your spam folder and verify in My Profile that your sales contact's email is correct.

Tenders through the portal

1. Invitation: it arrives by email with access to the tender in My Tenders. The email is just the entry point: your proposal is prepared and submitted from the portal, not by replying to that email.

2. Terms: in the Information tab you see items, dates and conditions; in Documents you download the specifications and annexes. Also review the Circulars, where clarifications and changes are posted.

3. Questions: during the Q&A period you can ask technical or commercial questions about the terms. When the buyer sets the Q&A as public, questions and answers are visible to all bidders, but anonymously: no one sees who asked each question.

4. Your proposal: fill in price and lead time per item (you can quote at least one), add technical or commercial notes and upload the required documentation (up to 100 MB per file). You can save a draft and come back to it later. If the tender is sealed bid, your offer is not visible to the other bidders until closing. If the process requires technical and commercial documentation separately, you will find two upload zones. Before submitting you may have to accept the general terms, either with a checkbox or by uploading the signed form.

5. Submission: when you submit, you confirm the total amount of your proposal. A submitted proposal can still be corrected as long as the offer deadline has not passed: open it with the Edit button, change whatever you need and submit again. Your offer stays in the process the whole time — editing it does not withdraw it — and the new version fully replaces the previous one. This also applies to sealed-bid tenders, because until closing the company has not seen any offer yet. Once the deadline has passed your proposal is final: from then on you can only improve it if the company opens a new round.

6. Result: you follow the status in the portal; if you win, you receive the purchase order.

Not going to participate? You can decline the invitation from the tender, so your customer knows and doesn't keep insisting.

Quoting via WhatsApp

Some companies also use the WhatsApp channel: if that's your customer's case and your contact has that channel as preferred, the quotation request reaches you on WhatsApp and you can reply right there, in a normal conversation. State the unit price for each item, the currency and the delivery time; you can also attach your quotation as a file or photo. The system processes it just like an email quotation and confirms receipt. If you need to correct something, you can send the quotation again in the same chat: the latest one replaces the previous.

What happens after you quote

• Your customer compares the offers received from all suppliers.

• They may contact you asking for clarifications or a better price: it arrives by email and you reply through the same channel.

• If you are awarded, you receive the purchase order by email.

• If the deadline has passed and there is no news, the purchase was most likely awarded to another supplier. Not being chosen in one process does not exclude you from the next ones: each request is decided separately.

Tips

• Enter the prices per item exactly as requested: the comparison is automatic and a unit error can affect your position in the comparison.

• Always state the validity of the offer and the payment terms.

• If something in the terms is unclear, ask your question during the Q&A period: once that period is closed, there is no further opportunity for clarifications.