bidder’s guide to strategic sourcing events€¦ · bidder guide to sourcing events registration...

Bidder’s Guide to Strategic Sourcing Events

GSA-Purchasing Alameda County

Bidder Guide to Sourcing Events Sequence of Events

Sequence of Events

Checklist Step I Register as Sourcing Bidder (if not already registered) Step II Login to ALCOLINK Strategic Sourcing Step III Accept or decline the Event. This is not a requirement or commitment for your

organization. It merely indicates to the event manager at the County your general intentions. It is recommended that you accept the invitation to ensure that your company is included in any future event correspondence.

Step IV Attach your proposals, exhibits and any other attachments required to the sourcing event before the specified due date and time. Be sure to include all attachments required. For instance, many proposals require certain signed forms. The signed forms must be present in your proposal or as a separate attachment.

Step V Submit your bid before the specified due date and time.

Bidder Guide to Sourcing Events Table of Contents

Contents Sequence of Events ....................................................................................................................................... 2

Contents .................................................................................................................................................... 3

Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

1.0 Registration ............................................................................................................................................. 5

Register as a Sourcing Bidder .................................................................................................................... 5

Common Issues ....................................................................................................................................... 15

2.0 Bidding on a Sourcing Event ................................................................................................................. 16

2.1 Login to ALCOLINK Supplier Portal .................................................................................................... 17

2.2 Viewing Events .................................................................................................................................. 17

2.3 Reviewing Event Detail ..................................................................................................................... 19

2.4 Entering Response ............................................................................................................................ 20

2.5 Entering Multiple Bids for a Sourcing Event ..................................................................................... 26

2.6 Viewing Bidder Activity ..................................................................................................................... 26

2.7 Viewing Bidder Activity ..................................................................................................................... 27

3.0 Bidder Maintenance.............................................................................................................................. 28

3.1 Maintain My User Contact ................................................................................................................ 28

3.2 Maintain My Bidder Profile ............................................................................................................... 29

3.3 Change passwords ............................................................................................................................ 31

Bidder Guide to Sourcing Events Overview

Overview

Businesses and individuals interested in doing business with the County of Alameda (COA) are now required to register in the ALCOLINK Strategic Sourcing Supplier Portal (Supplier Portal) in order to participate in certain online sourcing events. After registering in the Supplier Portal, the registered individual or business will be able to view all public sourcing events and place bids, view recent bid activity, and maintain contacts.

With this system, the County of Alameda will be able to streamline its RFP/Q process by formulating requirements, selecting and inviting bidders, receiving bids, analyzing results, and awarding contracts electronically.

As a bidder, your company will have the ability to access the events for which you were specifically invited and decide how to respond. You can also search public events for other possible bid opportunities

Bidder Guide to Sourcing Events Registration

1.0 Registration

To register in the ALCOLINK Strategic Sourcing Supplier Portal, open a browser to https://ezsourcing.acgov.org/psp/SS/SUPPLIER/ERP/h/?tab=DEFAULT

To view all current contract opportunities, open a browser to http://acgov.org/gsa_app/gsa/purchasing/bid_content/contractopportunities.jsp

Only register once in the Supplier Portal. Duplicate registrations can cause workflow issues and information errors between the two accounts.

Register as a Sourcing Bidder

If you have not done so already, register as a sourcing bidder. Registration is a simple and quick 8-step process.

Registration can be cancelled at anytime using the Cancel Registration button located at the bottom of each of the steps; however, keep in mind that any information that you entered will be lost. Modifications can be made during registration by clicking on the Back button at the bottom of the pages.

An asterisk (*) means that a question or field requires a response. You will be unable to continue until you give a response. A red error will appear at the top of the registration page to tell you what is missing.

https://ezsourcing.acgov.org/psp/SS/SUPPLIER/ERP/h/?tab=DEFAULT�

http://acgov.org/gsa_app/gsa/purchasing/bid_content/contractopportunities.jsp�


It is essential to thoroughly complete the registration as this information will be used to send you notifications related to sourcing events that you participate in.

Step 1 of 8: Preliminary Information

Select Business or Individual. The remainder of the registration will differ slightly depending on which you select. (A field that doesn’t appear on the Individual registration will be marked with “Business Only”.)

Select which bidding activities you are interested in. The County of Alameda will only be posting sourcing events for goods and services; currently your selection choice is limited to Selling Goods/Services.


Step 2 of 8: User Account Setup

Company Name (Business only): enter your complete business name as it appears on your Federal W-9.

URL: enter your web address.


First Name/Last Name: complete in the manner you would like to be addressed. Title (Business only): enter your title within the company. Email ID: enter the email address where you would like to receive notifications. Telephone/Ext: enter your contact number with area code and extension, if you have

one. Fax: enter the fax number with area code User ID: this will be used to login to the Supplier Portal. This field is case sensitive and

will not allow spaces. We recommend the following when creating your User ID: use ALL CAPS, use part of your company name, no email address, no special characters. Keep a record of your User ID in case you need to call concerning your account or need to reset your password.

Other Contact Info (Optional) is not required and Instant Messaging will not be utilized. To allow another user access to your company’s registration account, click on Save and

Add Another User, and complete the fields. Each user will have their own login User ID and receive notifications via the email address provided. Individual accounts can only have one contact.


Step 3 of 8: Primary Address

Address: enter your company address using the three available fields. City: enter the city for the address provided. County (optional): enter your county where the office is located. State: enter two-letter state code or search for it using the magnifying glass. Postal: enter the full postal code for the address.


Step 4 of 8: Other Account Addresses If your primary address is used for invoicing as well, continue to the next step by

selecting the “Next” button. Invoice Address: At this time the County is not keeping invoice addresses in our

supplier portal database. Please continue to the next step by selecting the “Next” button. If you are awarded a contract your invoice address will be added to the County’s vendor file.


Step 5 of 8: Address Contacts The Invoice (for Selling) address box will only appear for completion when the Invoice Address check box is selected on Step 4. If it doesn’t appear, simply assign an address to each user by selecting an address in the Designate as Contact for dropdown.


Step 6 of 8: Additional Classification Information

NAICS Codes-Standard Industry Code Tax: Choose the NACIS Code(s) that best

indentify the type of goods or services offered by the bidder.

Profile Questions: answer the questions by typing in the boxes, selecting the dropdown, or clicking on the additional information tag to the right. Question 1: This field is required. Question 2: This field is required.

More About Your Organization (Optional): The fields listed immediately below this caption are optional.


Step 7 of 8: Categorization Information No action required. Select the Next button to advance to the next fields.


Step 8 of 8: Terms and Conditions Agreement to the Terms and Conditions is required to complete the registration. Please read them thoroughly. These terms will apply to all sourcing events. Should your company be awarded a sourcing event, additional contract Terms and Conditions will be negotiated between the County of Alameda and the awarded vendor. Check the box to agree to the Terms and Conditions Select the Finish button.


All the users listed for this account will receive a confirmation email with their User ID and password. If you did not receive a confirmation email with your password – take the first 6 characters of your User ID and add an 2X to make your password. Passwords are case sensitive. Example: User ID is EXAMPLE. Password will be EXAMPL2X. Do not register again for your company! Another user can be added or removed in the Bidder Profile.

Common Issues Forgotten Passwords

If you forget your password, a new password can be emailed to you. Navigate to the Supplier Portal login page and click on “Forgot My Password”. Password resets require your User ID, so remember to write it down.

Did not receive Confirmation Email Please work with your IT department to ensure emails are not blocked by spam filters, etc. If you do not receive this email there is a high probability that you will not receive bid notifications in the future.

Duplication Error At the end of your registration, you may be notified that a duplicate was found in our system and be redirected to a list of possible duplicates in Supplier Portal.

Incorrect User ID Make sure that your User ID does not contain any special characters or spaces. The specified User ID may already be in use, so change the User ID to make it more unique.

Bidder Guide to Sourcing Events Place Bid

2.0 Bidding on a Sourcing Event

The County of Alameda Strategic Sourcing Supplier Portal only accepts electronic bids submitted through the aforementioned portal, unless otherwise noted on the sourcing event. Written, hard copy bid proposals will not be accepted. Alameda County reserves the right to disqualify hard copy bids. Public events will be open for participation to every registered bidder. However, only bidders registered with the County’s e-Subscription Service http://acgov.org/gsa/purchasing/esubscribe.htm will receive a notification email. An invitation-only event will only allow those invited to participate and will not be viewable by every registered bidder. A company does not need to be registered in the supplier portal to be invited to participate in an event; they will, however, need to register before they can bid. Event notification emails will include a detailed sourcing event PDF, event summary, and any related documents attached to the sourcing event.

When questions concerning a specific sourcing event are submitted via email to the appropriate Buyer, an Addendum will be issued with the responses. The addendum is generally added to the Sourcing Event as an attachment.

http://acgov.org/gsa/purchasing/esubscribe.htm�


2.1 Login to ALCOLINK Supplier Portal To respond to a bid you will need to login to the supplier portal. If you have not done so already you will need to register as a sourcing bidder. See 1.0 Registration for details on how to Register as a sourcing bidder.

2.2 Viewing Events

Navigate to View Events and Place Bids


Be sure to check the box next to Sell Event under the “Results Should Include:” column. Select the Search button to return search results. To narrow the search results add additional search criteria. Clicking on the Event ID hyperlink will take you to the Event Details where you can bid on the event.

Sourcing events which have reached their deadline (End Date/Time) will no longer be visible or open for participation. The End Date will turn into a red timer during the last 24 hours of the event. You will have up until the last second to submit your bid, but please give yourself enough time to review your submission because all bids are final after the sourcing event closes. Also, allow a few seconds for the system to process your bid submission. After the sourcing event has closed, you cannot submit a response.


2.3 Reviewing Event Detail

The Event Details page allows you to review the information on the sourcing event. The contact information in the middle of the Event Details is your main contact for any questions you may have regarding this sourcing event.

Accept Invitation to indicate your interest in the Event. If selected you will be returned to

the prior page (View Events and Place Bid). Bid on Event will take you to the online bid submittal section of the sourcing event.

Bidding Shortcuts: View Event Activity—select to view your bidding activity on the Supplier Portal by

selecting this link. View Event Package—select to view a PDF version of event. You may also have the option

to view a XML version of the Event too if authorized by the buyer. Upload XML Bid Response—You also have the option to upload you bid response using an

XML file if authorized by the buyer. Next to the contact information are the permissions for the sourcing event. My Bids will list the number of bids you have submitted for the sourcing event. Edits to Submitted Bids—indicates whether edits to bid are allowed. Multiple Bids are allowed if authorized by the buyer.


2.4 Entering Response The online form used to submit your bid proposal looks exactly like the Event Details page, except that now you will have the ability to view the additional sourcing event attachments, enter your bid amounts and quantities, enter responses for information requests, and upload attachments into the system to support your bid.

View/Add General Comments and Attachments link contains a list of documents attached to the sourcing event for your review.


Use the View button to see the attachments. A copy of the electronic sourcing event is available as a PDF attachment. As part of your bid response you may be required to upload documents to the event. Click Add New Attachments and then select Upload to upload a document from your computer. To delete an attachment select the Delete link.

Step 1: Answer General Event Questions section has all the sourcing event questions and requests for additional information that will be necessary in analyzing the bids. These will be completed either by typing in a response, selecting the dropdown, choosing a check box, or attaching a document using the Add Comments or Attachments link to the right of the question.


A indicates the question or bid as being required and the bid cannot be submitted until it is completed. If your response is an attachment, you must include a comment. Indicate “See Attached” or equivalent. The system will give you an error if a comment is not included even though a document has been attached. A signals that there is an ideal response for the sourcing event. The ideal response will be listed below the Event Question. If the ideal response is not selected, the bidder/vendor is not authorized to submit a bid.

Step 2: Enter Line Bid Responses section will list all the goods or services requested through the sourcing event. Enter your Bid Quantity and Unit Bid Price; bidder may click on the comment bubble to add an attachment or comment, if necessary. A marks the bid as being required and the bid cannot be submitted until it is completed. If it is required, bidder must submit a bid line item. If a bid is not required on all lines, then the blue Bid link to the right of the Bid Price will submit your bid on only that item. The following three buttons found at the top of the Event Details page can be utilized to complete your bid. Validate Entries will check your bid for any errors or missing information. Any errors

that it finds will be listed in red at the top of the page. Save for Later will save the information, including attachments that have been uploaded.

The saved bid can be found in My Event Activity. A saved bid is NOT submitted for Evaluation until the submit bid button is selected.

Submit Bid submits your bid to the system for sourcing event analysis. Until participation ends, submitted bids can be viewed and edited under My Event Activity.


Some Line Bid Responses require more than bid quantity & price there may be a question or a request for documentation that needs a response. Select the Bid link located on the line to view the Line Details page.

The bid quantity, bid price, responses to line questions can all be entered on the Line Details page. If requested you can also upload attachments, i.e. products specifications to the Line Details page if required by the buyer.

Select Next Line to advance to the next line item.


In order to submit a completed bid you must return to the Event Details page by clicking the

button.

The three buttons at the top of the Event Details page can be utilized to complete your bid. Validate Entries will check your bid for any errors or missing information. Any errors that it

finds will be listed in red at the top of the page. Save for Later will save the information, including attachments that have been uploaded. The

saved bid can be found in My Event Activity. Submit Bid submits your bid to the system for sourcing event analysis. Until participation ends,

submitted bids can be viewed and edited under My Event Activity.


After selecting the Submit Bid the system will general an acknowledgement that is has been

successfully submitted. Click .

An email will be sent, to the contact that you specified when registering as a bidder, confirming that your bid has been received into ALCOLINK Strategic Sourcing Portal. The email will contain a PDF with your detailed bid submittal. Keep this for your records should you need to refer back to it. If an email is not received, contact the contact indicated on the Event Details page immediately.


2.5 Entering Multiple Bids for a Sourcing Event Navigation: Menu > Manage Events and Place Bids > View Events and Place Bids To enter another bid for the same sourcing event, navigate to the sourcing event’s details, click on Bid on Event, and complete the Complete the Bid Submittal Form section again. You are allowed an infinite number of bids should the sourcing event allow multiple bid proposals.

2.6 Viewing Bidder Activity My Event Activity Bid information for a sourcing event, whether it’s been saved or submitted, can be found by

navigating to Menu > Manage Events and Place Bids > My Event Activity.

In the Event Activity Summary section there are three links which act as bid filters and and are described in more detail below:

Events Invited To: Events where bidder has received an invitation to participate. Events Bid On: Events where bidder has submitted a bid. Events Awarded: Events where the bidder has received an award. To view the sourcing event detail, click on the Event ID hyperlink.


2.7 Viewing Bidder Activity

Find the Event ID for the sourcing event and click on the chevron to the left. Summaries for all your bids on that sourcing event, both saved and submitted, will be viewable. Bid ID is the number assigned to the bid for your company. If you submit multiple bids that

Bid’s ID will be “2” and so on. Round and Event Version represent the times the sourcing event has been re-opened for rebid

by the bidders (round) or has been edited by Alameda County (version). Status will show whether a bid was submitted for the sourcing event or if it was saved for later

editing. Posted status is a submitted bid. Saved status is saved bid. Saved bids are not valid bids and will be available to Alameda County for analysis.

Date Time Posted is your record of when the bid was submitted. This Date Time stamp will remain even if you remove the bid from the event, but will updated if the bid is submitted again later. This Date Time stamp will also be visible on the Event Details when reviewing the particular bid.

Total Bid Amount is the total amount bid on all of the lines of the sourcing event.

Bidder Guide to Sourcing Events Bidder Maintenance

3.0 Bidder Maintenance This section is an overview of the pages used to maintain your Bidder account in the Supplier Portal. During registration, sourcing bidders can either register as a Business or an Individual. Navigation of an Individual’s account is the same as a Business unless otherwise noted. If multiple people within your company have registered independently of each other, please choose one registration account to login and notify Alameda County with the other account’s User IDs. The duplicate accounts will need to be inactivated to remove the possibility of workflow errors and lost information that comes from having multiple bidder accounts.

3.1 Maintain My User Contact Navigation: Menu > Manage Events and Place Bids > Maintain My User Contact This page is used to designate the sourcing event contact. This person will receive the notifications concerning sourcing events that are open for participation.

Select the magnifying glass by the Contact Sequence Number field to view all the contacts available to assign as the sourcing event contact. Save when you are finished.


3.2 maintain My Bidder Profile

Navigation: Menu > Manage Events and Place Bids > My Bidder Profile The Bidder Profile contains all the information about your company that was entered during registration. You’ll be able to maintain your company information, as well as the users who have access to the account.

Main tab will allow you to change general information about your company. Additional Information is additional reporting elements. If any of the details of your company have changed, check these dropdowns to see if they will now match your company profile. Save when you are done.


Addresses tab will show you the addresses entered for your company and their designated function. Use the Add a New Address button and Delete button to update this information. Save when done.

Contacts tab is where you edit the contacts for your company and user access for the supplier portal account. Keep in mind, you are not able to control what the users may or may not do within the account. The Address field will assign the contact to the addresses where they are located. Use the Add Contact button to add another contact with their unique login User ID to the account. The new contact will receive an email with their login password. Use the Delete button to remove a contact and their login access from the account. Save when you are done.

Accounts registered as an Individual will only have the ability to update their user information. No additional contacts can be added and no additional users will be able to be given access.


Identifications tab will only have one field which can be updated. Standard Industry Codes—US – NAICS Codes.

3.3 Change passwords Navigation: Menu > Change My Password It is recommended that you change your password every so often to prevent your account from being compromised. Just type in your current password, then enter your new password, and confirm the new password. Click Change Password to finish. The delivered password should be changed to a unique password to protect the integrity of your record.

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bidder’s guide to strategic sourcing events€¦ · bidder guide to sourcing events registration...

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