Analyzing Events and Awarding Bids

This chapter discusses how to:

• Analyze events

• Award bids

Analyzing Events

This section provides overviews of event analysis for requests for information and event analysis for requests for quote and discusses how to:

• Analyze a request for information.

• Analyze event summary information.

• Analyze responses to header questions.

• Analyze responses to line questions.

• View price components and price breaks.

• Add bid questions.

• Modify ideal responses.

• Modify responses.

• Score text questions.

Understanding Event Analysis for Requests for Information

Use the Analyze Event form, which you access from the Event Workbench program (P43Q70), to analyze both requests for information (RFIs) and requests for quotes (RFxs).

The event analysis process for an RFI involves reviewing and comparing the responses from bidders to the header questions that are attached to the event to determine the bidders with whom you want to conduct business. For each question, you can toggle between viewing bidders' scores and viewing their responses. You can also change the weights that are associated with each question and then review how the score for each bidder changes.

The Analyze Event form provides further options for event analysis by enabling you to add new questions to the event and enter responses on behalf of the bidders. You can also change bidders' responses to existing questions and change ideal responses. You can either save the new responses and resulting scores or discard the changes to preserve the original responses.

If an event includes text questions, you can assign scores to the responses of each bidder. As you assign scores to each response, the system adds them to the total scores for each bidder.

Understanding Event Analysis for Requests for Quotes

The event analysis process for an RFx involves reviewing and comparing responses to determine the bidder or bidders from whom you want to purchase the items in your event. You can begin reviewing the responses from bidders as soon as they submit their bids. However, if the event is sealed, you cannot review responses until the event has ended.

When you analyze an RFx, the Analyze Event form provides several different views of event information, including:

• Event summary information

  This view displays the total bid amount, the total score, the total score and weight for each line, and the header score. The system displays this information for each bidder.

• Event header information

  This view displays the header questions for the event and the responses from each bidder. This view also displays the weight for each header question. You can toggle between viewing the bid amounts and viewing the bid scores. You can view responses to header questions from only three bidders at a time, but you can select a single question and view the responses from all bidders for that question by clicking the View All Responses button.

• Event line information

  This view displays each line for the event and the questions that are associated with each line. The system displays only one line at once, and displays the responses for each question. If the price question that is associated with the line contains price breaks or price components, the system displays the break and component information and the bidders' responses to that information. You can view responses to line questions from only three bidders at a time, but you can select a single question and view the responses from all bidders for that question by clicking the View All Responses button.

When analyzing an RFx, you have the same analysis options that you do when analyzing an RFI: you can change question weights, add new questions and respond to the new questions on behalf of bidders, modify ideal responses, and modify bidders' responses to existing questions. You can perform all of these actions for both header and line questions.

You can change the price question for a line, but you cannot add a new price question.

Forms Used to Analyze Events

Analyzing a Request for Information

Access the Analyze Event form.

Sort by Method	Select a value to specify the method by which the system sorts the bidders who have responded to the event.
Ascending and Descending	Click one of these options to specify the order in which the system sorts the bidders.
Sort	Click this button after selecting a value in the Sort by Method field and either the Ascending option or the Descending option to change how the system displays the bidders.
Bidder Name	Click the link in this field to view the address information for the bidder or supplier.
Clear Selected Bidders	Click to clear the bidders that you have selected. After you select new bidders, you must click Display for the system to update the Bid Line Information subform with the information for the selected bidders.
Select First 3 Bidders	Click to have the system select the first three bidders. After clicking this button, you must click Display for the system to update the Bid Line Information subform with the information for the first three bidders.
Weight	Specify a percentage to evaluate event lines by different weights.
Recalculate Scores	Click this button after entering a value in the Weight field to recalculate the bidders' scores based on new question weights.
View All Responses	Click this button to view the responses of all invited bidders for a particular question.
Score Text Questions	Click this button to assign scores to the answers of header text questions.
	Select Add Questions to add additional header questions to the RFI. See Adding Bid Questions. Select Modify Ideal to change the ideal response for a header question. See Modifying Ideal Responses. Select Modify Responses to change bidders' responses to the header questions, or to enter responses on behalf of bidders for questions that you added to the event during analysis.
	Click this button after you have selected Add Questions, Modify Ideal, or Modify Responses.
Save	Click to save the results that are created by changing question weights, adding questions, and modifying responses.
Advance Status	Click this button after you have completed your analysis of the RFI. The system advances the status of the RFI to RFI Reviewed.

Analyzing Event Summary Information

Access the Analyze Event form, and click the RFx Summary link.

Use the RFx Summary form to review the bidders that responded to your event and their total scores and bid amounts.

Analyzing Responses to Header Questions

Access the Analyze Event form, and click the RFx Header link.

Use the RFx Header view to review total scores, total header scores, and responses to header questions.

Analyzing Responses to Line Questions

Access the Analyze Event form, and click the RFx Line link.

Use the RFx Line view to review total bid amounts, total scores, total line scores, and responses to line questions.

Viewing Price Components and Price Breaks

Access the Analyze Event form.

Expand the node for the price question to view responses to price breaks and components.

Adding Bid Questions

Access the Analyze Event form, and click either the RFx Header link or the RFx Line link.

1. Add a bid question, and then click Save and Close.

   See Setting Up Bid Question Templates.

2. Enter responses to the question on behalf of the bidders.

   See Modifying Responses.

3. After you enter responses on behalf of the bidders, click Recalculate Scores on the Analyze Event form

Modifying Ideal Responses

Access the Analyze Event form.

1. Modify the ideal answer, and then click Save and Close.

2. On the Analyze Event form, click Recalculate Scores.

Modifying Responses

Access the Analyze Event form.

Depending on the type of question for which you want to modify responses, the system displays one of seven forms. This form appears when you modify responses to a list question.

1. Modify responses to the question, and then click Save and Close to save the new responses and scores or click Cancel if you want to preserve the original responses.

2. Click Recalculate Scores on the Analyze Event form.

Scoring Text Questions

Access the Score Text Question Revision form.

Enter a score in the Response Score field, and click Save and Close. The system adds the scores to the total score for the line.

Awarding Bids

This section provides an overview of awarding bids and discusses how to:

• Award a bid at the event header level.

• Award a bid at the event line level.

• Post an award.

Understanding Awarding Bids

After you have analyzed an event and have determined the bidder or bidders to whom you want to award the bid, you can award the bid and then post the award. When you post the award, the system sends a message using the preferred contact method to the awarded bidders and creates either a purchase order or blanket order, depending on how you set up the event.

You use the Analyze Event form to award a bid and post an award. You can award a bid at either the header level or the line level. If you award a bid at the header level, you specify a percentage amount for the bid. For example, you can award 50 percent of the event to one bidder and 50 percent to another. If you award a bid at the line level, you can specify either a percentage amount or a quantity.

After awarding a bid and posting the award, you must click Complete on the Analyze Event form so that the system can advance the status of the event to Awarded.

Forms Used to Award Bids

Awarding a Bid at the Event Header Level

Access the Analyze Event form.

1. Click the RFx Header link.

2. Complete the Award Action field for one or more bidders.

3. Complete the Percent Award field for one or more bidders.

Awarding a Bid at the Event Line Level

Access the Analyze Event form.

1. Click the RFx Line link.

2. Complete the Award Action field for one or more bidders.

3. Complete either the Percent Award field or the Award Quantity field for one or more bidders.

Posting an Award

Access the Analyze Event form.

Click the Bidder Award link.

1. In the Bidder Award - Bidder Selection subform, choose the supplier for which you want to post an award and click Select Bidder.

   The system displays the Bidder Award - Bidder Selection subform.

2. In the Bidder Award - Post Award subform, review the information and, if necessary, change any of the following fields:

   • Buyer

   • PO Business Unit

   • Award Currency

   • Freight Handling Code

3. Select one or more of these options, which determine the information that bidders can view in the Bid History program (P43Q41):

   • Display Award Details

   • Display All Bids

   • Display Bid Scores

   • Display Total Bid Price

   • Display Bid Questions

4. Click Post Award.

   The system creates a purchase order or blanket order, depending on the properties of the event, and then populates the Award Document field with the document number.

5. Click Complete to advance the status of the event to Awarded.