¶ Introduction
Tender envelope opening is a formal, transparent process where sealed bids are opened (publicly or live-streamed) at a set time/place, usually with tenderers or reps present, to announce names, prices, and key details, ensuring fairness by recording everything, checking for compliance (signatures, required docs), and noting any rejections, all documented in minutes for the evaluation stage. It's crucial for public accountability and integrity in procurement.
In GRC, "envelope opening" refers to the revealing of sealed supplier bids in a sourcing event, done by authorized users once the event stage allows , often to evaluate technicals before commercials, with rules controlling who opens what and when, ensuring fairness by preventing early financial data exposure. To open them, you navigate to the event, find the Ribbon menu, click on Open envelope select suppliers, and choose to open.
In addition if negotiations are used, users can also open negotiation response envelopes. Go to the event, find the Negotiation index tab inside the Governance fast tab.
Envelope opening is governed by: dates, committee members, solicitation type rules and the bidders event status (Sent and Received).
Dynamics GRC supportes these type of envelope openings:
|
Type |
Description |
|
Single: |
This assumes one envelope (inclusive of at least the commercial response)
|
|
Parallel: |
Done side-by-side (at the same time)
|
|
Sequential: |
The opening and evaluation process is done in stages; not at the same time |
|
Negotiation: |
Done after one of the above three scenarios.
Finally via the Compare replies button, Negotiated values are now visible |
If any of the first three options are used (via the solicitation types) the following functions will not be available:
- Manage replies Enter a reply from a bidder/vendor as a procurement professional on their behalf.
- Compare replies Do a row-by-row comparison of replies received from bidders/vendors (assuming the have replied using the vendor bidding portal or a procurement professional did it on their behalf via the above Manage replies)
- Viewing of Totals, Overall pricing and Evaluation report
¶ Navigation
Users can also find Tender management under the Procurement and souring module
¶ Specific setups reviewed
¶ Step 1: Populate Scoring method
For enhanced scoring, additional fields exist on the Scoring criteria form
Go to: GRC > Governance > Setup for governance > Scoring method
- On the Action pane, click on the New button
- Enter a Name for the scoring method
- Enter a brief Description of the scoring method
- Select the Status for the scoring method
- Under the Scoring criteria Fast tab, in the Button strip, click on the New button
- Enter a Name for the Scoring criteria. This will be the text displayed on the checklist lines on the checklist feedback form.
- Enter a Description for the Scoring criteria. The text entered here will be displayed on the checklist feedback form in the Notes box under the grid.
- Enter the Range from and Range to for the Scoring criteria
- Enter the scoring Weight percentage for the Scoring criteria
- Enter scoring criteria Reference, explaining the reason for the weighting
- In the Include in checklist field, the user can choose to include the scoring lines into a Checklist
Tick the Pricing box if the line is to be used in envelope opening
Note that both Job plans and Scoring methods configurations are required for the creation and scoring of Checklists
¶ Step 2: Create Solicitation types
Solicitation is the act of requesting. The objective of solicitation is to prepare and issue a solicitation to ensure that all qualified bidders are given the opportunity to compete for a contract. For Advance procurement this object/form is where most of the rules are specified. Default values and rules specified here are carried over and applied to Procurement plans and RFQs.
Go to: GRC > Governance > Setup for governance > Solicitation type
- On the Action pane, click on the New button
- Enter a Name for the Solicitation type
- Enter a brief Description of the Solicitation type
- Expand the General Fast tab
- Select the relevant Scoring method from the dropdown list
- Expand the Governance Fast tab
- Select the following under the TEAMS field group:
- Approval team
- Specification team
- Qualification team
- Envelope team
- Technical team
- Commercial team
- Negotiation team
- Evaluation team
- Recommendation team
- Enter the following under the RULES field group:
- Maximum value of bid
- Select the relevant Currency from the dropdown list
- Select whether a Bid waiver is applicable, optional or mandatory
- Select the relevant Action and question group from the dropdown list
- Enter the Minimum number of bids required for this classification
- Enter the duration in days of the bidding process
- Enter the number of days to hold the purchase agreement
- In the Negotiation level field the user can indicate whether negotiations will be done on Header or Line level
- Move the Negotiation criteria slider to Yes to include commercial scoring criteria to the negotiation checklists during checklist creation
- Select the relevant method of Envelope opening from the dropdown list (if applicable)
- If any team member should be able to open the envelopes, move the Any team member can open envelope slider to Yes
- Only users that belong to the Approver group/committee selected on the RFQ, will be able to extend the due date of the RFQ if the Lock amendments slider is moved to Yes
- Enter the following under the DEFAULTS field group:
- Select the relevant SOP from the dropdown list
- Select the relevant Document pack from the dropdown list
- A Default item can be selected for RFQ services
- Select the relevant Event type from the dropdown list
- Select the relevant Baseline contract from the dropdown list
- If the Enable voting slider is set to No, all voting buttons will be hidden on the RFQ
- Enter the following under the EVALUATION field group:
- Select the relevant Evaluation setup from the dropdown list
- Enter the Technical weight %
- Enter the Commercial weight %
- Enter the Risk weight %
- Enter the Safety weight %
- Enter the Other weight %
- Enter the following under the OTHER field group:
- Select the relevant Task list from the dropdown list
- If it is required that reply tasks should be created, move the Create manage reply tasks slider to Yes
- Indicate whether suppliers should be “masked”
- Indicate whether buyers should be “masked”
- Indicate whether the solicitation type should be “masked”
- By moving the Validate attachments slider to Yes, Procurement plan records will not be allowed to be approved if attachments have not been added
- The user can choose to hide/display the following index tabs under the Governance Fast tab on the RFQ Header:
- Committee
- Specification
- Enterprise portal
- Commercial checklist
- Technical checklist
- Additional checklists
- Negotiation
- The Job plan that is selected in the Qualification job plan field, will be displayed on the RFQ, Governance Fast tab, Qualification checklist Index tab
- The Job plan that is selected in the Technical job plan field, will be displayed on the RFQ, Governance Fast tab, Technical checklist Index tab
- On Awarding of the bid, the RFQ will create the purchase agreement with an effective date of Today + “7”
- When selecting the Baseline contract, make sure that the clauses that have to be copied to the contract when the RFQ is awarded, are ticked to be copied
- A Default item can be selected for RFQ lines. When users create an RFQ, a line is created for them using this value.
- On the Action pane, click on the New button
- Enter a Name for the team
- Select the relevant Team type from the dropdown list
- Under the General Fast tab:
- Enter a brief Description for the team
- Select the Administrator for the team from the dropdown list
- Select Yes to indicate that this team is Active
- In the Action pane on the Teams form, click the Team types button
- On the Team types form, select the team that you are choosing members for
- Select the relevant tick boxes under the Restrict membership to include group
- Click on the Close button
- Under the Team members Fast tab:
- In the Button strip, click on the Add team members button
- Select people that you want to add as team members, then click Add
- Select the Team leader by ticking the box next to the relevant person’s name
- Under the Governance Fast tab, open the Committee Index tab
- In the Button strip, click on the Add button
- Choose the Role that the selected team will perform during the RFQ process
- Select the relevant Team from the dropdown list
- On the RFQ header, expand the Governance Fast tab and open the Committee Index tab
- Select the team that you want to change the members of and click on the Change team member button
- On the Change team member dialog, select the relevant Type of change from the dropdown list
- If Add is selected, a Worker can be selected from the HR worker list
- If Remove is selected, a Team member can be selected form the dropdown list
- Click on OK
- Select the relevant RFQ
- On the RFQ, in the Action pane, in the Process group, click on the Open envelopes button
- On the Open envelope confirmation dialog:
- Select which envelope you want to open in the Envelope type field
- Indicate whether you want to open the envelope for all qualifying suppliers/vendors. If you select No, then:
- Select the supplier/vendor that you want to open the envelope for, from the dropdown list
- Select the relevant Signature type from the dropdown list
- If the envelope is to be opened by an external consultant, select the relevant consultant from the dropdown list
- Enter the name of the Contractor employee
- Click on OK
- Open the Quotation tab on the RFQ Action pane
- Click on the Compare replies button on the Action pane in the Replies group
- Mark the Header line of the quote that you want to accept
- In the Action pane, click on the Accept button
- On the Action pane, open the Reply tab
- Select the relevant vendor from the list on the left
- On the Action pane, in the Process group, click on the Accept button
- On the Accepting request for quotation form, click OK
- Select the relevant RFQ
- On the Request for quotation Header:
- Expand the Governance Fast tab
- Open the Negotiations Index tab
- In the Button strip, click on the Add request button
- Select the Type of request from the dropdown list
- Enter a brief Description
- Enter the number of the Round of negotiations
- Enter the date on which the response from the vendor is expected
- Move the All qualifying suppliers/vendors slider to Yes if a negotiation request must be created for all qualifying vendors with status of Requested on the RFQ
- If a negotiation request must only be created for one vendor, select the relevant vendor form the For which supplier/vendor dropdown list
- Click on the OK button
- Select the relevant RFQ
- On the Action pane, in the Replies button group, click on the Compare replies button
- On the Compare request for quotation replies, use the Mark tick box to indicate for which lines you want to create a negotiation request
- In the Action pane, click on the Negotiation request button
- On the Request drop-dialog:
- Select the Type of request from the dropdown list
- Enter a brief Description
- Enter the number of the Round of negotiations
- Enter the date on which the response from the vendor is expected
- Click on the OK button
- Select the relevant Vendor on the left-hand side
- Open the Lines view and expand the Purchase quotation lines Fast tab
- Select the line that you want to do the negotiation request for
- In the Button strip, click on the Negotiation request button
- On the Request line level negotiation dialog:
- Select the Type of request from the dropdown list
- Enter a brief Description
- Enter the number of the Round of negotiations
- Enter the date on which the response from the vendor is expected
- Click on the OK button
- When the Status = Requested
- If no checklist has been created
- On the RFQ, Governance Fast tab, open the Negotiation Index tab
- In the Button strip, click on the Open envelope button
- On the Open envelope confirmation dialog, select the relevant Signature type from the dropdown list
- Click on the OK button
- On the RFQ under the Governance Fast tab, open the Negotiations Index tab
- In the Button strip, click on the Negotiation analysis button
- On the All checklists list page, select the checklist that you want to provide feedback on and click on the Feedback button in the Action pane
- On the Checklist feedback form, enter the Score for each line
- On the All checklists list page, click on the Closed button
- A note can be entered (optional)
- Click on the OK button
- On the RFQ under the Governance Fast tab, open the Negotiations Index tab
- In the Button strip, click on the View scores button
Bid teams are explained below in Step 4.
There is a validation to check that the sum of the Technical weight %, Commercial weight %, Risk weight %, Safety weight % and Other weight % will always be 100 %
¶ Daily use
A typical proses
¶ Step 3: Bid dates
¶ Step 4: Bid teams (committees)
It is important to choose the right evaluation team for your procurement bids. Small groups work better, bringing a balanced perspective to the scoring process. Ideally organisations should include a combination of financial, technical, and purchasing expertise within a bid team. Properly done, bid teams will ensure proper segragation of duties and proper governance.
¶ Step 4.1: Create teams
Inside GRC, a Team is a collection of workers (and system users) who are getting together for a temporary assignment. An example is a bid adjudication committee.
Go to: GRC > Governance > Setup for governance > Teams
¶ Step 4.1.1: Choose Team types
¶ Step 4.1.2: Add teams members
Go to: GRC > Governance > Setup for governance > Teams
The Add team members form will open
You can filter the list of people by name or by skill and add them in bulk
¶ Step 4.2: Assign Bid committees
Bid committees are crucial to mitigate the risk of corruption and fraud. Different roles are assigned to these committees. One such example would be the Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC). They are responsible for the evaluation of bids submitted in response to a public invitation for bids.
The Scoring role ensures segregation of duties when the Scoring criteria button is clicked on the Action pane.
¶ Step 4.2.1: Change team members
There might be a scenario where team/committee members change during the tender process. To change team members from the RFQ, follow the steps below.
The functionality to replace a team member is for fututre use
The Teams setup form will NOT be updated with changes made to a team on the Change team member dialog
The RFQ case ID will be added, in brackets, to the Team name
¶ Step 5: Evaluation of bids
Bid analysis involves examining bids after the tender submission deadline. It helps identify the most suitable offer that meets the requesting organisation’s needs.
The process normally includes a qualification step. The organisation’s team will evaluate each bid during this preliminary stage. They will check if the bid is signed, has the necessary security, and contains no omissions or errors. Additionally, they will assess if the documents meet all legal and tax requirements. Bids that do not meet these conditions will not advance to the next step.
Normally a formal bid envelope opening step is involved.
¶ Step 5.1: Opening of bid envelopes
The opening of bid envelopes is part of the bid evaluation process. Technical, Commercial and Envelope teams are selected on the Solicitation type and carried into the RFQ event. It is also determined who can open the envelopes. The default is that only Envelope team members can open envelopes.
On the Procurement plan header, under the Planning and approvals Fast tab, users can determine how and when envelopes will be opened by selecting the relevant value in the Bid opening field.
The Open envelopes button on the RFQ will only be available if the logged in user is a member in the committee/team selected on the Solicitation type, and on the date specified on the Procurement plan. Only members of the technical and commercial teams can open their respective envelopes for an RFQ, as long as the envelope's opening date is not earlier than the current date.
Go to: GRC > Governance > Tender management > All requests for quotations
If the All qualifying suppliers/vendors slider is on Yes, a sign off record will only be created for all qualifying vendors under the Sign off Fast tab
If the Do commercial pricing score slider is moved to Yes, the Score column on the Commercial checklist will be auto populated
A record with these details will be added on the RFQ header under the Sign off Fast tab
It is assumed that the Purchaser has already updated the commercial values on the RFQ manage replies form, or alternatively, the Vendor used the Self-service portal functionality.
¶ Step 5.2: View overall pricing
The user can view a summary of the overall pricing of all the bidding vendors by clicking on the Overall pricing button on the Action pane, in the View button group
¶ Step 5.3: Compare Vendor responses (optional)
Replies from suppliers can be compared as follows:
A warning will come up if a baseline contract does not exist on the selected solicitation type.
On the Compare request for quotation replies, a summary of the Header and Lines of the vendor’s quotes can be viewed
The accepting of a quote can also be done from the Manage replies form:
On acceptance of the RFQ, the Financial dimensions of the RFQ will be passed to the contract
After accepting the RFQ, the Rejecting request for quotation form will open with the RFQ details of the vendor(s) that was not accepted.
After accepting the vendor’s bid on the RFQ, the status of the Procurement plan will be updated to Awarded
¶ Step 6: Bid negotiations
Sometimes a post-Tender Negotiation is a separate exercise from Tender evaluation and clarification. In other cases, the negotiation prices are used in the final evaluation. It is communication between the procurement officer and the bidder(s) to refine and improve the bid(s) received to ensure that prices, delivery or associated terms of the contract are competitive.
Negotiation is conducted after the receipt of formal tenders by the procurement officer, and before the award of any contract. It is not always used, but when it is used an audit trail will be kept by the procurement officer so that it can be seen that Negotiation was conducted in a fair manner.
With reference to the above Solicitation type config, note that users can only do either header level or line level negotiations for one (RFQ) tender event
Negotiation checklists can only be created once commercial checklists have been created
¶ Step 6.1: Negotiation requests to bidders
¶ Step 6.1.1: Header level requests
Go to: GRC > Governance > Tender management > All requests for quotations
¶ Step 6.1.2: Line level requests
Line level negotiations can be done on procurement category lines and item lines
Go to: GRC > Governance > Tender management > All requests for quotations
Alternatively, users can go to RFQ manage replies to do negotiations on RFQ lines
Negotiation request records can only be removed from the grid if the following is true:
For Header and Line level requests:
¶ Step 6.4: Open envelopes
The Negotiation envelopes can be opened once vendors have sent responses to the negotiation requests
¶ Step 6.5: Viewing Vendor negotiation responses
Vendor responses can be viewed on the Manage replies header under the Quotation Fast tab
If Line level negotiations were done, click on the Gear icon to update the value in the Negotiation price field
Header and line level Vendor responses can be also viewed on the RFQ header, Governance Fast tab under the Negotiation Index tab tab
¶ Step 6.6: Negotiation analysis and View scores
After completing the checklist, it has to be closed to "post" the scores
