Step 1 - Create sourcing project

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1. On the main menu, click Sourcing.
     a. Click Create Sourcing Project. 

Note: A Sourcing Project can contain one or more opportunities as separate Lots for example, RFP, RFI etc. 

General Information Form

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2. In General Information section, enter a description using the Opportunity Description text box.
3. Select the issuing organization from the Issued By drop-down list.
4. Optional: If you are issuing on behalf of another organization, select the organization in the Issued For drop-down list. To see more options, click See All.
5. From the Main Commodity drop-down list, select the appropriate commodity at the appropriate tier, based on the purchase. See the Commodity Codes video below.

To issue a Confidential Sourcing Project, contact an Administrator to set it up. The Opportunity Description text box limit is 192 characters.​

 

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6. Optional: Use the Other Commodities drop-down list to select the appropriate commodities at the appropriate tier. If a more detailed search is required, select See All.
7. Optional: Select a Program from the drop-down list to link it to the opportunity. See Programs for additional information.
8. Click Save.

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In the Set up Project menu, review the information entered after selecting Create Sourcing Project and make changes, if necessary.

1. Click Save.

To copy RFx tabs from an existing Sourcing Project, select the appropriate Sourcing Project from the Copy sourcing drop-down. This may not be applicable to all users.

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10. In the left-hand menu click Set up Team.

Set up Team is used to add users and assign Official Contact, Contributor, Responsible, or Read-only roles for the project. Assigning users to a team can only be done by the user with the Responsible role.
The creator of the sourcing project is assigned the Official Contact and Responsible roles by default.

There can only be one Responsible profile and one Official Contact profile assigned. The Official Contact does not have to be the same user as the Responsible profile.

Adding Users

There are several ways to search for users to add them to a sourcing team.

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11. In the Select user(s) drop-down list, enter the user name and select the user to add to the team. Then click Save.
  a. If unable to narrow the options sufficiently, click See All. This will open the Browse Users dialog box.

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12. The Browse Users dialog box has more details available on the users in case of multiple users sharing the same name. Enter keywords in Search by keyword to filter users by name.
  a. Click Search.
  b. Select the user in the Add column, close the dialog box and then click Save.
13. In the Browse Users dialog box select the Filter by profile drop down list to filter users by the user role assigned.
  a. Click Search.
  b. Select the user, close the dialog box and then click Save.

Note: The filter is applicable to internal profiles (i.e. not a Supplier) only. To view user information, select the user’s name.

14. In the Browse Users dialog box click the filter icon to open the advanced filter.

 

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a. Click the Organization drop down list to filter users by organization, then click Search and select the user. Close the dialog box and click Save.
b. Click the Commodity drop down list to filter users by commodity, then click Search and select the user. Close the dialog box and click Save.

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c. Use the Profiles drop-down list to select a profile for the added user.
d. Click Save.

Remove a User or Profile

To remove a user and profile, follow these steps:

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15. Click the X beside a profile to remove that profile for that specific user.
16. Click the X beside a contact email to remove that user from the team.
  a. Click Save.

Note: If you click the X in the Select user(s) drop-down, the entire team is removed.

Before reassigning the Responsible role to another user, to ensure you don’t lose access to the Sourcing Project, assign an alternate role to yourself.

The Discussion Forum is used for external communication between Buyers and Suppliers and internal communication between sourcing team members. 

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17. Optional: In the left-hand menu click Discussion Forum.

This menu allows Sourcing Project teams to keep relevant collaborative discussions in one place for records management. 

Users can write messages and attach documents.

Suppliers can submit enquiries and Official Contact can provide answers to all Suppliers, creating an Addendum. 

Creating a New Message

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  a. Click Compose.

A message field will display on the right of the window. By default, the message type is Enquiries.

Note: By clicking the Recover Messages button, any new Official Contact will have access to all communications sent to the previous Official Contact..

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  b. Optional: Select the Send me a copy checkbox to receive a copy of the email.
  c. In the To section, select the recipients using the Recipients drop-down list.
Selectable recipients include: sourcing project team members and Suppliers added in the Add Suppliers menu.
Recipients are grouped by role.

  d. You can send your message to an external email addresses by entering the addresses (separated by semi-colons) in the External Emails text box. They will not be able to see or open any attachments through their email. They will have to use the Public Portal/Supplier dashboard to access the documents. Only registered users will have access to the attachments in non-public events.

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  e. Enter the Subject in the following format: [Opportunity ID, Opportunity description].
  f. In the text box below, enter your message.
  g. Add attachments to your message by clicking Click or Drag to add files or directly dragging and dropping a file onto the button.
  h. Once your message is ready, click Send.

Note: You cannot delete a message once it has been sent. Select the tick icon to mark a message as replied (applicable to messages received from Suppliers only).

Buyers are encouraged not to use the External Emails field. Buyers should encourage Suppliers to register for a BC Bid account. Messages sent through the Discussion Form do not contain attachments. Suppliers and sourcing team members need to log in to the BC Bid application to retrieve attachments.

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18. Optional: In the left-hand menu, click Set up Documents.

This section provides an overview of all the General Documents, Program Documents, and Sourcing Project Documents relevant to the project. Buyers can also upload Sourcing Project Documents.

Note: General Documents are controlled by Administrator. So, it is not applicable to any user.

Uploading Documents

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  a. Click Create Document.
    i. Enter a Title.
    ii. Using the Document Status drop-down list select Approved to make the file visible to Suppliers.
    iii. Optional: Enter a Summary.
    iv. To upload files, click Click or Drag to add files or drag and drop files on top of the button.
    v. Click Save & Close.

Note: Although multiple documents can be uploaded at once, this isn’t recommended as those documents cannot be sorted. Sorting is based on the value in the Title text box, not the actual document names.

Downloading Existing Documents

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  b. Select the Checkbox next to the document(s) to be downloaded.
  c. Click Zip Selected Documents to download the document(s).

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19. Optional: In the left-hand menu, click Add Suppliers to create a list of invited Suppliers.

The Add Suppliers menu can be used to:
  • invite a list of potential Suppliers to participate in a specific opportunity, and
  • add Suppliers for uploading Submissions not submitted through the BC Bid application.

Add Suppliers shows Public Portal by default. Even if the opportunity isn’t posted publicly (from the Prepare RFx Setup tab) the Public Portal needs to be selected to allow addenda to be visible to invited suppliers.

The main contact identified in the Supplier’s profile will receive notifications when the Supplier is invited to participate in an opportunity.

Adding Suppliers

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20. In the Select Suppliers drop-down list, enter the name of the Supplier and select the Supplier. Then click Save.
  a. If unable to narrow the options sufficiently, click See All to make a more detailed search. This will open the Browse Suppliers dialog box. 

If adding additional suppliers after initially completing this step: go to the Prepare RFx, Suppliers tab, check that the supplier is listed and click Validate & Save.

NOTE: In the Select Suppliers drop-down you will be able to identify Shell Suppliers as they will be marked with [SHELL (Unregistered) Supplier] to the right of the supplier name. Please do not invite a [SHELL (Unregistered) Supplier] to an invite-only sourcing project as these accounts cannot be used to log in and view the details of the opportunity. If you wish to invite a supplier to an invite-only opportunity they are required to register for their own account prior to being invited. 

 

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  b. In the Browse Suppliers dialog box, search for the Supplier by keyword, Alerts, Type or Commodity.
    i.    Select Search.
    ii.    Select the Add Supplier  checkbox beside the Supplier to be added and close the dialog box. Click Save.
  c. Click the filter icon to open the advanced filter.

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  i. In the Browse Suppliers sliding menu, use the appropriate drop-down list, checkbox, or text box to filter Suppliers, then click Search and add the Supplier. Close the dialog box and click Save.

Removing Suppliers

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21. To remove a Supplier from an opportunity:
  a. Click Add Suppliers in the left-hand menu.
  b. Click the X beside the Supplier name.
  c. Click Save.

Invited Suppliers cannot be removed after the opportunity is issued.

 

Creating a New Supplier

Creating a new Supplier is used when a Buyer is inviting a Supplier to an opportunity or uploading Submission from a Supplier that is not yet identified in the BC Bid application. Buyers should ensure that the Supplier does not yet exist, prior to creating a new one. If a duplicate is found, contact the BC Bid Help Desk. 

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22. To create a Supplier:
  a. From the Add Suppliers menu, open the Browse Suppliers dialog box by clicking Select Suppliers then See All.
  b. Click Create Supplier.

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  c. In the dialog box, enter the mandatory fields in Supplier Information section.
    i. In the Type drop-down list, select Shell for offline Submissions.

Note: SHELL supplier accounts require an address to comply with trade agreement requirements.

 

2.    In the Browse Suppliers window, click Create Supplier.

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  d. In the Address section, select an option from the mandatory Country drop-down list.
  e. Click Save & Close.

Note: The Supplier is automatically added to the Add Suppliers menu.

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  f. Click Save.
  g. Click the newly created Supplier to edit the Supplier information.
 

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  h. In dialog box, in the left-hand sliding menu, select Contacts.
  i. In Supplier contacts box, click + Create Contact
  i. Enter the details of the Main Contact for the Supplier, or
  ii. Use Select Existing Contact to designate a contact as the Main Contact.
  j. Complete other left-hand sliding menus as necessary.
  k. Click Complete Account Registration.
  l. Click Save & Close.

Extract Supplier List

Extracting the Suppliers list allows the list to be used outside of the BC Bid application.

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23. To extract a Supplier list, go to the Add Suppliers menu, click Extract Supplier List.

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a. Click the Download icon (arrow and sheet of paper) to download a Microsoft Word file for your official records.