An electronic auction can be created as a separate request or started based on a previously completed advanced RFx as a new round. Instructions have been prepared for both options:
A) Electronic auction as a separate request
B) Electronic auction based on a previously completed request as a new round (NOTE! Only based on an advanced RFx)
A) Electronic auction as a separate request
Electronic auction steps
1) Create an auction, fill out the objects for bidding and define the auction settings
2) Publish the auction to the Supplier Portal
3) The auction will commence at the defined time
4) The progress of the auction is monitored (auction report in the comparison or Excel view)
5) When the auction has ended, carry out the comparison and supplier selection (and prepare the potential contract award decision and procurement contract)
Create an auction
To create an auction, click the ‘Create new notice’ button. Click ‘Auction’ and then select the auction language and currency. Click the ‘Create notice’ button to create the auction. The auctions are listed in the auction folder.
FIGURE: To create an auction, start by creating a new auction
The ‘Auction’ form set is opened. Enter data in the ‘Company basic information’ and ‘Procurement object’ sections the same way as with a standard request.
Definition of evalution criteria
Procurement object divided into lots *
- Select whether the procurement object has been divided into lots
- If you select yes, sub-areas will be created in the procurement object criteria, and a different supplier can be selected for each sub-area
- If the procurement has been divided into lots, partial tenders can be allowed
- If you select no, the procurement will be treated as a turnkey procurement. You can create groups in the procurement object criteria section, but the supplier selection will be made collectively for the entire procurement.
- If the procurement has not been divided into lots, partial tenders cannot be allowed If you use the ‘No’ option in this section, tenderers will be required to submit a tender for all areas. The default selection is ‘No’
Partial responses within sub-areas allowed *
- If the auction incudes several different areas (the areas are defined in the ‘Procurement object criteria’ tab), use the ‘Yes’ option to allow tenderers to only submit tenders for the areas they prefer.
- If you use the ‘No’ option in this section, responses will be required to submit a response for all areas. The default selection is ‘No’
Definition of comparison criteria in the system
If you do not want to show the comparison criterion to the tenderers, click ‘Hide comparison criterion in the request shown to responders’
Select the criterion according to which the winner will be chosen:
- The cheapest price
- The response with the cheapest price will be marked as the winner in the comparison table
- No points can be set for the procurement object
- No criteria can be set for the procurement object
- Economically most advantageous tender, scoring
- The tenderer with the highest score will be marked as the winner in the comparison table
- The price and numerical criteria can be scored
FIGURE: Defining the ‘Procurement procedure’ section in the system
Rank and other information displayed to bidders during the auction
- Select which information will be shown to the tenderer on the auction form during the auction
FIGURE: Select the information that will be shown on the auction form
Sourcing items and criteria
Sourcing items are created in the section the same as in an advanced RFx with a few exceptions. For more detailed instructions on the functionalities in the ‘Sourcing items and criteria’ section, see instruction
The way how the price is asked cannot be changed for the auction. The selection always defaults to ‘Price is requested for the objects and it will affect the benchmark price’
- Enter the objects for bidding, the number of objects and the unit
- Set a minimum change for each object
- How much the price must be changed in order for the bid to be saved
- Set an auction base value for each object
- The value from which the bidding will start
- Where applicable, add qualitative numerical criteria for the object. NOTE! No criteria can be added if the selection criterion is the cheapest price
- Add points for the criteria
FIGURE: In the figure above, an auction has been defined for 100 desktop computers. The maximum score for price is 80.
Electronic auction
The ‘Electronic auction’ section is used for defining a validity period for the auction and the information included in the auction invitation sent to tenderers. The auction invitation will be sent by e-mail to the tenderers’ defined e-mail addresses when the auction is published.
Auction start and end date and time
Define when the auction will start and end. Select the dates and times from the calendar or enter them in the respective fields.
Click ‘After the previous bid new bids will be accepted’ if you want to allow an extension for the auction after the last response. If no selection is made, the auction will end as soon as its deadline expires.
Setting an extension time
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Click ‘After the last response, wait for’
- Enter x hours and/or x minutes
The extension time is enabled
- Click ‘Daily throughout the day’ if the extension time is to be continuous
- Click ‘At designated times’ if you want to set limitations for the extension time. These limitations define when the extension time will be active.
- Set the weekdays
- Set the time
FIGURE: In the example shown below, the extension time is set to be valid on weekdays between 8:00 - 16:00.
The auction flow
- Define the auction flow if applicable
- Add the auction invitation sender
- Add the e-mail address of the auction invitation sender
- Edit the auction invitation title if applicable
FIGURE: Auction invitation
The ‘Attachments and links’ and ‘Signatories’ tabs will be displayed the same way as with an extended RFx.
Preview and publish
On the ‘Preview and publish’ tab, you can view and publish the auction you have created. You can also print out the auction, save the auction document in PDF format or send the document by e-mail for preview.
When all the mandatory information has been entered, a green checkmark is shown next to each tab of the auction and the ‘OK, publish’ button appears.
- Before publishing the auction, select the publishing channels
- If you want to publish the auction for public viewing in the Tarjouspalvelu.fi portal, tick the ‘Supplier Portal’ option
- If you only want to publish the auction to selected tenderers by e-mail, tick the option ‘Send by email (enter addresses)’.
- In this case, an invitation to the electronic auction will be sent to the tenderers
- In the field that appears, enter the e-mail addresses of the recipients
- Each e-mail address must be entered on a separate row
- When you have made all the selections related to publishing, click the ‘OK, publish’ button
Auction
The published auction is moved to the ‘Active’ folder under the auction folder. The auction basic information and the tenderers who are participating in the auction are shown on the information page of the active auction. In the ‘Response comparison’ section, you can view the comparison table.
Auction invitation
Before the auction is started, the auction invitation can be edited in the ‘Auction invitation’ section.
- Edit the auction details and click ‘Save’.
- The system sends a new auction invitation to the tenderers who participate in the auction.
FIGURE: From the ‘Auction invitation’ tab, you can edit the auction invitation before the auction starts.
Auction report
The auction starts at the time specified in the auction invitation. The progress of the auction can be monitored in the ‘Auction report’ view.
Red = The tenderer has not been logged in to the Supplier Portal during the past minute
Yellow = The tenderer has been logged in to the Supplier Portal during the past minute but has not been in the auction mode
Green = The tenderer has been in the auction mode during the past minute
FIGURE: Click ‘Open auction report’ to access the auction report
When the auction has ended, it moves to the ‘Ended’ folder. For further instructions on managing a request that has ended, click here.
B) Electronic auction based on a previously completed request as a new round
You can start an electronic auction based on a previously completed advanced RFx. From the ‘Ended’ folder, select a request based on which you want to start an auction. Open the ‘Rounds’ tab of the request and select whether you want to make a notification to the tenderers or proceed to the auction preparation without a notification:
- Select ‘Auction’ as the type of the next round
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Select a template for the next round
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You can use the template of the request as a template, or
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create the auction on a completely blank template.
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- Click ‘Start new round’
FIGURE: Creating an auction round
The system opens the auction form. Fill out the auction details as instructed in section A) above.
The ‘Send by email’ section on the publishing page lists the e-mail addresses of the suppliers from the previous round so that they will receive the auction invitation by e-mail.