An inquiry is a form created in the system that can be used for inquiring procurement-related matters from individuals outside of the system. To create a new inquiry, click ‘Inquiries’ and then ‘New inquiry’ from the top navigation.
FIGURE: New inquiry
In the window that appears, enter the name of the inquiry and, if applicable, select the template based on which the inquiry will be created. Inquiry templates are maintained in the library by administrators. If form fields have been added to the inquiry template, they will be included in the basic information of the inquiry.
NOTE! You can also create an inquiry without a template.
Tip! Select a template to view the form fields the template contains. If the template you selected has any form fields added to it, they will be displayed in the view.
To create an inquiry, click ‘Save’.
FIGURE: Name the new inquiry and select a template if applicable
An inquiry consists of the following parts:
- Basic information: contains the basic information and the form fields inherited from the inquiry template
- Name*
- Description
- Deadline
- Reminders (system will send reminder to all recipients added to an inquiry, if they haven’t submitted a response)
- Form fields (inquiry questions)
- If the inquiry is created without a template, click the plus button to create a new form field
- Template: select a predefined form field from the library
- If the question you want cannot be found from the library, click ‘Create new without a template’, and then create the question you want
- Type: select the type of the question: Is your inquiry of a date, data range, numerical information (numeric), number range, price, price range, text, yes/no, menu or multiple-choice menu type
FIGURE: New inquiry in which the questions of the inquiry are defined using form fields
FIGURE: Click ‘Select recipients’ to add recipients to the inquiry by typing the e-mail address to the field and by selecting system users from the drop-down menu.
FIGURE: A confirmation of the successful sending of the inquiry is displayed.
Click ‘To the inquiry information page’ to view the inquiry details. Click here for instructions on how to manage the inquiry.
Responding to an inquiry
The recipient will receive a message from the Cloudia Planning system displaying the name and description of the inquiry and a link to the inquiry.
FIGURE: E-mail from the system that includes the name and description of the inquiry and a link to the inquiry.
FIGURE: In the example shown above, the inquiry concerns a christmas party with the inquiry details consisting of form fields added to the inquiry. The respondent answers these questions.
The answers to the inquiry are sent by clicking the ‘Submit’ button on the ‘Preview’ page. Once the inquiry has been responded to (the answers have been submitted), the link has been used and the answers can no longer be edited.
FIGURE: Submit the answer to inquiry
FIGURE: A confirmation of the successful sending of the inquiry is displayed.