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Bid Management

Use Proliance Bid Management to administer the solicitation and collection of proposals submitted by vendor companies. Bid Management provides bid coordinators with the tools they need to initiate and manage the bid workflow directly in Proliance.

The bidding process in Proliance is organized around the bid package. Using a bid package as a portal to the bidding process, bid coordinators can manage the bidding process from beginning to end, including specifying potential bidders, monitoring the status of bidding documents, assessing the submitted proposals, and awarding the winning bid.

The following diagram shows a high-level view of the bid management process in Proliance.

The two major parties participating in the bidding process are bid coordinators (the main contact within the company requesting the proposals) and bidders (the main contacts at their respective vendor companies who submit proposals).

Bid coordinators can use Proliance Bid Management to:

• Invite bidders to be included in the bidding process.
• Set a deadline for bidders to submit their proposals.
• Define the scope of work to be included in the proposals.
• Instruct bidders about how to prepare their proposals.
• Issue invitations (also known as requests for proposals or RFPs) to each bidder.
• Assess the status of each bidder's proposal.
• Communicate changes to the original bid request using a formal addenda process.
• Award the winning proposal.

Contractors (bidders) participating in the bidding process must have a user account and be assigned a Participant license to log on to Proliance. After they log on, bidders can use Proliance Bid Management to:

• Review the details of their invitation to bid.
• Download drawings, spreadsheets and other documents.
• Communicate to the bid coordinator that they have reviewed the invitation and that they expect to submit a proposal.
• Complete and submit their proposal.
• Respond to addenda and make changes to their proposal accordingly.

Bid Management Documents

Bid coordinators and bidders work with the following Proliance documents to carry out the bidding process:

Bid packages: Bid packages are used by the bid coordinator to manage most aspects of the bid process. Using a package, bid coordinators can specify potential bidders, issue invitations to bidders, create and issue addenda, and monitor the state of invitations and proposals. When bid coordinators issue packages, a corresponding invitation is created for each bidder on the bidders list.

Bid invitations: Bid invitations are made available to each vendor company on the bidder list when a package is issued. Invitations contain all the information required to respond to the bid request.

Bid proposals: Bid proposals are created automatically when bidders accept their invitations. Proposals are structured so that bidders can easily enter their bid information. Proposals are hidden from bid coordinators until the proposal is submitted and the bidding competition deadline has passed or the bidding competition has been closed.

Bid package addenda and bid invitation addenda: After a package has been issued, bid coordinators can create package addenda to update the requirements of the bid request. When package addenda are issued by bid coordinators, corresponding invitation addenda are made available for each bidder on the bidders list. Bidders can review the invitation addenda and update their proposal accordingly.