When to use multiple rounds? 

Issuing a solicitation with multiple rounds is a common practice – whether you are pre-qualifying, short listing a select few vendors, or asking for a Best and Final Offer (BAFO). Multiple rounds are applied when you want to have a set of qualified suppliers advance to the next round.  

 

When setting up a multiple round solicitation, keep the following in mind: 

 

An additional Round is different from an additional Event/Date on your agenda. 

  • A new round means a new digital vault for your suppliers to submit a response 

  • A new round means a new start date, and new (optional) Q&A deadline, a new deadline and a new round of evaluations and a new round of award. 

  • The software expects your suppliers to submit a second proposal 

 

 

 

Setting up Multiple Rounds 

The second round can be created at any point: while you are preparing the first round, after the first round is over, or any time in between. 

 

A. Adding a Round 

  1. Navigate to the Schedule & Approvals tab. 
  2. In the top right part of the screen, click on the three-dots to the right of the Schedule & Approvals title. Then click Add Round. 
  3. This new round will copy the same dates from your first round. Add/remove/edit these dates for the new round as needed. 
  4. Click the pencil icon next to the new round title in order to edit the new round title. Then, click the green check mark to save the change. 

 

NOTE: It is recommended to leave the new Round Start Date empty, then when you are ready to start the next round, you can simply select to “start now” once you are ready. That way if there were any changes to the original submission deadline (i.e. deadline extension), you will not have to change the start date once again. 

 

B. Moving Suppliers to the Next Round 

  1. Once your evaluations of Round 1 are complete, and those evaluations have been finalized. You can move to the Awarding tab. 
  2. You will land on the Select Internal tab, where you can select which suppliers are moving to the next round. Click the blue Edit button, check off the suppliers moving to the next round and click Save. 
  3. Click Finalize Awarding. 
  4. A new yellow bar will appear at the top of the page, where you can click the button Proceed to Next Round. In the next window, click Proceed. 

 

NOTE: You may need to add the content/submission requirements for the next round if you did not already do so. This could be a simple pricing component, a list of references, or a document upload question to submit an interview presentation (just to name a few examples). 

 

The short-listed suppliers have already been added to the Suppliers tab under the new round.  

 

C. Adjust Settings, Schedule, and Requirements for the New Round 

  1. As stated above, make all the necessary adjustments to the content in the Solicitation tab. The software expects a submittal from your suppliers during your second round. It is therefore important to create at least one question for your suppliers to respond to and allow them to submit their response. Otherwise, your vault will stay empty and the software thinks there is nothing to evaluate. (Important – leave the Schedule & Approvals for last – see step 3). 
  2. Adjust all other settings as you normally would with a solicitation. 
  3. Once all adjustments are made to the content and settings of the new round, navigate to the Schedule & Approvals tab. 
  4. The Round Start Date now has a blue Start Now button. Click this button, then click Open (leave the supplier notification box checked – so that they are notified that they are able to submit a response for the new round). 
  5. Carry out the second round as you would with any normal solicitation (Q&A, evaluation, and awarding, etc.) 

 

Here is a quick video for how these final steps in section C will look: https://www.screencast.com/t/GShGjc8hooY