Tenders
This module is enabled per organization. If you don't see Tenders in your menu, talk to your Sourced contact.
Tenders are the formal equivalent of a spot purchase. The logic is the same (request, compare and award) but with much more rigor: suppliers don't quote by email; instead, they submit their proposals by uploading them to Sourced's supplier portal, within a schedule that includes a question period, a bid closing and evaluation by weighted criteria.
They are designed for processes of higher value or complexity: major purchases, contracting of significant services, equipment, price lists or more complex commercial agreements. You publish the terms with items and criteria, the invited suppliers ask questions and submit bids through the portal, and a team of evaluators scores the proposals before awarding.
Life cycle
Status | What happens |
|---|---|
Draft | You're putting it together; it's not yet visible to suppliers. |
Published | The invited suppliers receive the notice and access the terms. |
Question period | Bidders ask technical/commercial questions; the answers are published for everyone. |
Receiving bids | Suppliers upload their proposals through the portal until the closing date. |
Under evaluation | The evaluators score according to the defined criteria. |
Awarded | There's a winner; the purchase orders are generated. |
Cancelled | The process was taken down. |
Types
Open bid: the competition conditions are visible.
Sealed bid: the bids remain hidden until the receiving period closes.
In this section
Create a tender: terms, items, criteria, evaluators and dates.
Manage a tender: questions and answers, circulars, bids, evaluation and awarding.
Technical evaluators: the pool of evaluators and how they work from their portal.
In Metrics you have the analytics dashboard: participation, response rate and evaluation times.