If an electronic auction is to be used in the procurement, the details pertaining to electronic auction need to be defined when the call for tenders is created. After the actual call for tenders round, an electronic auction can be held for the defined items.
Procurements steps when electronic auction is used
The call for tenders round (prior to the auction, see instruction bar on the left) includes the following steps:
1) The auction details are defined and the call for tenders is published at the editing stage
2) When the deadline for the procurement has expired, the call for tenders is processed and the tenderers are invited to the auction round
Auction round (the steps of which are presented in this article)
3) The auction invitation details are defined, and the invitations are sent to the tenderers
4) The auction is commenced
5) The progress of the auction is monitored (auction report in the comparison or Excel view)
Auction round
Auction invitation
When the procurement has ended, the auction invitation details are defined on the ‘Auction’ tab and the invitations are sent to the tenderers.
Note! The ‘Auction invitation’ tab activates when an interim contract award decision has been sent to the tenderers
If no steps are defined for the auction
- Specify the auction start and end date and time
- You may also change the extension time set in the call for tenders under ‘After the previous bid new bids will be accepted’ (x hours, x minutes)
If steps are defined for the auction
- Define the start and end of the first step. NOTE! The subsequent steps will be started from the system manually, and the schedules of the steps will not be defined in the system. The schedules of the steps can be indicated under ‘The auction flow’.
- The details of the next step will be defined when the first step has been completed.
- You may also change the extension time set in the call for tenders under ‘After the previous bid new bids will be accepted’ (x hours, x minutes)
The extension time is enabled:
- Change the details specified for the procurement if applicable
- Daily throughout the day
- On designated times
- Time
Rank and other information displayed to bidders during the auction:
- Show the leading value
- The tenderer will see their rank and the score of the tender leading the auction
- Show difference to leading tender
- The tenderer will see their rank, the score of the tender leading the auction and the difference between their score and the leading score
The auction flow
- Define the auction flow
- The schedules of auction steps, etc. are defined here. NOTE! The next steps will be started from the system manually, and the schedules of the steps will not be defined in the system.
- Add the auction invitation sender
- Add the e-mail address of the auction invitation sender
- Edit the auction invitation title if applicable
Edit the auction invitation
- The auction invitation can be edited before the auction starts
- Click ‘Edit the auction invitation’ and make the necessary changes
Starting the auction
The auction starts at the time specified in the auction invitation and moves to the ‘Active’ folder under the auction. The progress of the auction can be monitored on the ‘Tender comparison’ tab under ‘Open auction report’.
Auction report
The report shows the remaining time of the auction.
- A green user icon indicates that one or several of the tenderer’s users have been in the auction mode during the past minute.
- A red user icon indicates that none of the tenderer’s users has been logged in to the Supplier Portal during the past minute.
- A yellow user icon indicates that one or several of the tenderer’s users have been logged in to the Supplier Portal, but none of them has been in the auction mode during the past minute.
If steps have been defined for the auction
- If steps have been defined for the auction, each step will be reviewed separately following the respective process.
When the preceding auction step has been completed, you may start a new step on the ‘Auction steps’ tab by clicking ‘Start step’. NOTE! The duration of the next steps will be determined based on the duration of the first step. The schedules of the steps must be indicated in the invitation under ‘The auction flow’.
Selecting a supplier from the auction report
After the auction, the supplier is selected following the normal process.
- On the ‘Tender comparison’ tab, click ‘Open auction’
- Make the necessary supplier selections
For instructions on how to manage a closed procurement, click here.