| Oracle® Health Sciences ClearTrial Cloud Service Plan and Source User Guide Release 5.5.1 E80536-01 |
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Home > Plan and Source User Guide > Creating Requests for Propo...
| Oracle® Health Sciences ClearTrial Cloud Service Plan and Source User Guide Release 5.5.1 E80536-01 |
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Home > Plan and Source User Guide > Creating Requests for Propo...
If you have purchased the Plan Enterprise feature of the ClearTrial application, you have the ability to create a request for proposal (RFP) from a plan, generate a bid spreadsheet for vendors, known as the Bid Grid, to use to respond to your RFP, import the bid into the ClearTrial application, and use a set of powerful features to analyze, evaluate, and compare bids.
If you have licensed the ClearTrial Plan and Source Enterprise edition, you are granted the required permissions to work with requests for proposal and bids as outlined in this chapter. If you are not a licensed user, you will see these features on menus; however, they are disabled.
The RFPs screen shows the requests for proposal that have been generated from plans. You can send each RFP to any number of vendors by downloading the bid grid and providing the file to the vendor(s). You can import the populated bid grids you receive into the ClearTrial application and compare them to each other or to the associated RFP.
From the Edit menu, select RFPs.
The RFPs screen appears.
For more information about a field, click the field name.
For more information about the screen, see RFPs Screen.
Filter the RFPs as necessary. For more information, see Filtering Allows You to Show or Hide Items Based on Criteria.
RFPs that match your filtering criteria appear.
Perform any of the following activities with RFPs:
Create a new RFP.
Edit a selected RFP.
Delete one or more RFPs.
Restore a deleted RFP.
Import a populated bid grid from a vendor.
Compare bids associated with a selected RFP.
Download the blank bid grid associated with an RFP.
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Note: If you want to see the full set of assumptions that are the basis for the RFP, run the Assumptions report for the plan associated with the RFP. |
You can create one or more RFPs per plan. However, the RFP is for one provider only.
On the Plans screen, select a plan checkbox, click Other Actions..., and choose Create RFP.
The Create RFP dialog box appears.
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On the RFPs list, click New.
The Choose Plan for RFP Dialog Box appears.
Select the radio button of the plan.
Click Ok.
The Create RFP Dialog Box appears.
In the Scope of Work/Assigned to Provider section, select the provider representing the scope of work on which the RFP is based.
The provider does not have to correlate in any way with the vendors to which you plan to send the RFP.
The selected provider is used to model the trial and scope the tasks and costs that vendors bid on.
When you import the bids at a later time, each bid is associated with an actual vendor.
In the RFP Info section, enter a short description of the RFP, a title for the bid grid the application will generate for the RFP, and any comments.
The short description does not appear on the bid grid. Use it to recognize the RFP in the RFP list.
The application includes the bid grid title in the header on the bid grid. You can customize this value for each vendor by editing the RFP and regenerating the bid grid.
The Comments field is a space in which to record any notes relevant to the RFP. For example, you might record who you send the bid grid to and on what date.
Click Ok.
The application generates the RFP, downloads the Bid Grid, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for responding to the RFP, and displays a lock icon next to the plan name to indicate that the plan is now locked and cannot be changed.
The application-generated fees and costs for the plan can be used as a benchmark for your vendor bids.
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Note: You cannot change a plan after you have generated an RFP for it. You can, however, copy it and make changes if you do not want to start from scratch. |
View the bid grid.
If you created the RFP from the Plans screen, download the bid grid spreadsheet from your browser and save it locally on your computer.
On the RFPs screen, select the RFP and click Download Bid Grid. Open or save the bid grid from your browser.
The bid grid is populated with the number of expected units per task, based on the assumptions in the plan. The specific assumptions that led to those numbers of units are in the Plan Assumptions report.
Use the edit function to view the RFP or to edit its details. Editing an RFP allows you to change basic header information for your RFP (for example, Bid Grid Title, Comments, RFP Description) and to work with bids associated with the RFP.
From the Edit menu, select RFPs.
The RFPs screen appears.
Select the checkbox of the RFP you want to edit, and click Edit.
The Edit RFP screen appears. You now have access to four tabs: Details, Labor, Costs, and Bids.
For more information about a field, click the field name.
For more information about the screen, see Edit RFP Screen (Details Tab).
Edit and save the information on each tab. Click Next to save your changes and advance to the next tab.
On the Details tab, edit basic information about the RFP including the description, title of the bid grid, and comments. You can also download the bid grid.
To view the bid grid, click the Download Bid Grid link.
On the Labor tab, you can view the hours and number of units assigned for major tasks.
To include the impact of inflation in the values displayed, select the Include Inflation checkbox.
On the Costs tab, you can view expected pass-through costs.
On the Bids tab, you can view a single bid or compare bids to one another and to the RFP.
To view the plan on which the RFP is based, click the plan name link at the top of the Edit RFP screen.
On the RFPs screen, select the checkbox of the RFP to delete.
Click Delete.
To confirm the deletion, and any bids for the selected RFP, click Ok.
The application marks the RFP and associated bids for deletion and draws a line through the plan name on the RFPs list.
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Note: The application does not permanently delete the RFP. You can restore the deleted RFP. |
Working with bids involves uploading bids submitted by vendors and using the ClearTrial Compare feature to analyze hours and costs of a vendor bid against another vendor bid or against the RFP.
The bid grid is designed to be associated with only one RFP. If you try to import a bid grid into an RFP other than the RFP from which it was generated, you will receive an error message and the import process will fail. You can also import one bid associated with a provider at a time. If a bid already exists for the provider, you have the option of overwriting the existing bid.
From the Edit menu, select RFPs.
The RFPs screen appears.
Select the checkbox of the RFP plan name.
Click Import Bid.
The Import Bid dialog box appears.
For more information about a field, click the field name.
For more information about the screen, see Import Bid Dialog Box.
In the Vendor Name section, select the radio button of the vendor whose bid you want to import.
In the Bid Information section, choose the bid grid file to upload by clicking Choose File and browsing the files on your computer. The application assumes that you have saved the submitted bid grid to your computer.
Add a short description to identify the bid, the bid number supplied by the vendor, and any comments about the bid.
Click Ok.
If a bid for this RFP for this provider already exists, the application asks you whether to overwrite the existing bid or create a new version of the bid.
The application displays the issues encountered on the Import Bid dialog box.
To see or save the list of issues encountered, click the Download Issues link.
Save the issues list to your computer and share it with the vendor.
You or the vendor must correct the bid grid prior to import if you encounter fatal errors. All non-fatal errors are listed for your review. You can decide if they require a correction from the vendor.
Click Continue.
The application completes the import action.
Click Close.
The imported bid is added to the Bids screen.
Although warnings appear on the issues list, the application will import the bid even if warnings are present. Vendors must, however, correct fatal exceptions. These include, but are not limited to:
The uploaded bid file is greater than the allowed size of 25MB.
The uploaded bid file is not of supported Excel type (.xls).
The uploaded bid file is empty or bid file was not uploaded.
The uploaded bid file appears to have removed or added rows.
The uploaded bid file appears to be missing one of the sheets.
The uploaded bid file appears to have encountered an unknown error.
The uploaded bid file appears to be of a different RFP.
The RFP Bid was not found in cache.
The uploaded bid file appears to have a duplicate labor entry.
The uploaded bid file appears to have a duplicate cost entry.
Bid file name contain illegal characters.
Line-Item Discount has to be a negative number or 0.
From the Edit menu, click Bids.
The Bids screen appears.
Filter the bids as necessary. For more information, see Filtering Allows You to Show or Hide Items Based on Criteria.
For each bid, the application shows the plan name, scope, vendor, version of the bid, short description, status, and date created.
There can be multiple bids in response to the RFP.
To create a new bid, import a completed bid grid from a vendor. Make sure you provide a descriptive name so that you can tell the bids apart. To import the new bid:
From the Edit menu, select RFPs.
The RFPs screen appears.
Select the checkbox of the RFP plan name.
Click Import Bid.
The Import Bid dialog box appears.
For more information about a field, click the field name.
For more information about the screen, see Import Bid Dialog Box.
In the Vendor Name section, select the radio button of the vendor whose bid you want to import.
If a bid already has been imported for this vendor, an Existing Bids section appears and the application prompts you to choose whether to replace that bid or create a new version of the bid.
To replace an existing bid, select Replace Existing Bid, then select the bid to replace from the list displayed.
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To create a new bid, select Create a New Version.
In the Bid Information section, choose the bid grid file to upload by clicking Choose File and browsing the files on your computer. The application assumes that you have saved the submitted bid grid to your computer.
Add a short description to identify the bid, the bid number supplied by the vendor, and any comments about the bid.
Click Ok.
Click Continue.
The application completes the import action.
Click Close.
The imported bid is added to the Bids screen.
Select the checkbox of the bid, and click Edit.
The Edit Bid screen appears. You now have access to four tabs: Details, Labor, Costs, and Issues.
On the Details tab, edit basic information about the bid including the short description, CRO bid number, status, and comments. You can also view the history of the bid and download the bid grid. For more information, see Edit Bid Screen (Details Tab).
On the Labor tab, you can view the hours and number of units assigned for major tasks.
To include the impact of inflation on the values, select the Include Inflation checkbox.
On the Costs tab, you can view pass-through and miscellaneous costs supplied by this vendor.
On the Issues tab, you can review the warnings and issues the application found when importing the bid. These issues have not been corrected.
To view the bid grid, click the Download link.
To view the plan on which the bid is based, click the plan name link at the top of the Edit RFP screen.
Click Save.
Click Close.
On the Bids screen, select the checkbox of the bid to delete.
Click Delete.
To confirm the deletion, a click Ok.
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Note: The application does not permanently delete the bid. You can restore the deleted bid. For more information, see Purge Deleted... Screen. |
On the Bids screen, in the Filter section, select All Bids.
Deleted bids appear with a line through them. Purged bids do not appear.
Select the checkbox of the deleted bid to restore.
Click Restore.
The application adds the bid to the application.
You can manually update the status of a bid.
On the Bids screen, select the checkbox of the bid, and click Update Status.
The Change Bid Status dialog box appears.
From the Status drop-down list, select the status to assign to the selected bid.
To add this action to the bid history, select the Update Bid History checkbox.
Click Save & Close.
The status of the bid on the Bids screen changes.
You can compare bids for a single RFP or bids across RFPs. The information in the comparison report generated depends on the comparison scenario:
When comparing a bid to the RFP, the report shows the variance between the bid and the RFP.
When comparing two or more bids, the application generates the variances between one chosen baseline bid and the remaining bids.
When comparing two or more bids and the RFP, the application generates the variances between one chosen baseline and the remaining bids or the RFP.
Rules governing the comparisons include:
The baseline plan appears first.
All variances greater than the options specified are shaded yellow.
Hours, dollars, and variances with negative values appear in parentheses; for example, (4.5).
Variance percentages with negative values are denoted by a minus (-) sign.
From the Edit menu, select RFPs.
The RFPs screen appears.
Select the checkbox of the RFP plan name.
Click Compare Bids.
The Vendor Bid Comparison Options dialog box appears. The application assumes that you want to compare all bids for this RFP. If you want to limit your comparison to specific bids for this RFP, access the comparison from the Bids screen.
or
From the Edit menu, select Bids.
The Bids screen appears.
Select the checkboxes of the bids to compare.
Click Compare Bids.
The Vendor Bid Comparison Options dialog box appears.
For more information about a field, click the field name.
For more information about the screen, see Vendor Bid Comparison Options Dialog Box
In the Available Comparisons section, select the level of detail for the comparison:
Major Task and Cost Summary—Compare values aggregated by major task and cost.
Detailed Fees and Costs by Location, Task, Resource—Compare values by resource per task per location. This report is only available when comparing bids for a single RFP.
In the Compare Options section, specify whether or not to include the RFP itself in the comparison and whether to show the variances to the RFP or to a selected bid.
In the Variance Analysis section, specify whether or not to include variance analysis and the percentage of total costs and total hours above which to highlight variances.
In the Reporting Currency section, select the currency to use to render the report to ensure that all monetary values displayed are in the same currency.
Click Ok.
The application generates the Bid Comparison report reflecting the options specified.
Line-item discounts are also compared across providers.
You can print the report, view it as a PDF file, export it to an Excel worksheet, or export it to a comma-separated file.
Click Close.
The bid grid is a Microsoft Excel workbook based on RFP data. Bidders use the bid grid to respond to the associated RFP. Instructions for completing the bid grid appear as the first page of the workbook. After filling in the bid grid, the bidder submits it to the provider, who then imports it into the ClearTrial application and uses features and tools in the ClearTrial application to evaluate and compare bids.
The steps that vendors follow to complete the bid grid are, as follows:
Opens the downloaded bid grid in Microsoft Excel.
Reads and understands the rules governing use of the bid grid.
The bidder must not alter the workbook structure or format.
The workbook is password protected.
Completes each sheet of the workbook.
Only cells that are shaded light blue can be edited.
The currency that must be used for the bid appears on each worksheet.
The bid grid format and metadata are preserved even if bid grid changes occur in the next ClearTrial release. This allows you to continue to produce bid grids for negotiations that span multiple releases with the same format and metadata.
A summary worksheet exists that provides subtotals by location and an overall total of fees and costs. You enter the vendor name on this worksheet and it is automatically populated on all other worksheets of the bid grid. You can also enter any applicable line-item discount to be applied against the total fees on this worksheet.
There is a separate worksheet for every location (country or region) included in the clinical trial. Activities that occur in locations where sites and patients are not involved, such as biostatistics, appear in the worksheet named BidGrid_Centralized.
Each worksheet contains a header section, comprised of:
Bid Grid Title
RFP Name
Phase
Indication
Location corresponding to the worksheet: Centralized or a specific location.
These password-protected headers describe the data in each column.
Cost Type—Either Labor or Cost, depending on the row. This column is populated based on the RFP and is not editable.
Location—Centralized or the plan's location. This column indicates the location of the sites/patients related to this task. This column is populated based on the RFP and is not editable.
Major Task/Cost—Name. This column is populated based on the RFP and is not editable.
Task—Name. This column is populated based on the RFP and is not editable.
Resource—Resource Name. This column is populated based on the RFP and is not editable.
Mapping Key—Prepopulated with a ClearTrial-defined key for mapping tasks and costs between the RFP, bids, and plans.
Unit of Measure—Definition of the unit of activity for this task. This column is populated based on the RFP and is not editable.
# Units—Number of units of activity. This column is populated based on the RFP and is not editable.
Resource Location—Defaults to a blank, blue input field. The bidder can select from a defined location.
Base Billing Rate— The base billing rate is the non-inflated billing rate based on the agreed-upon rate card or, if no agreed-upon rate card exists, the vendor's standard or discounted rates. Defaults to a blank, blue input field. Entered in the RFP currency format with two-decimal point precision.
Inflated Billing Rate—Inflated billing rate for the applicable resource. If no inflation is included, the base billing rate and inflated billing rate are the same value. Defaults to a blank, blue input field. Entered in the RFP currency format with two-decimal point precision.
Unit Hours—Unit hours for the applicable task and resource. Unit hours reflect the effort for the resource to complete one unit of activity for the task. Defaults to a blank, blue input field. Three-decimal point precision.
Total Hours—Three-decimal point precision. This column is calculated based on the vendor's input and the number of units.
Unit Cost—In the RFP currency format with two-decimal point precision. This column is calculated based on the vendor's input.
Total Cost—In the RFP currency format with two-decimal point precision. This column is calculated based on the vendor's input and the number of units.
Comments—Column for vendors to add an explanation or clarification for each activity in the bid grid. Comments are only available to be viewed in exported bid grids. Comments are not available for viewing within the application.
By using mapping keys, you can ensure that you are comparing apples to apples when evaluating bids.
A mapping key is a value assigned by the ClearTrial application to uniquely identify an activity by location, task, and resource. The mapping keys are in the format [location code]-[task code]-[resource code]. The three elements for the mapping key are determined as follows:
Location Codes—Location codes represent either a country or a ClearTrial-defined region. The values that reflect the ClearTrial-defined regions are:
USA, Canada, Australia/New Zealand NA01
Western Europe & Japan WE02
Eastern Europe EE03
Nordic Countries NC04
Latin America LA05
Asia AP06
Other ZZ07
Middle East ME08
The values assigned for countries are based on the standard two-digit ISO codes.
Task Codes—Task codes are uniquely assigned by the ClearTrial application and can be found on the Task Details screen in the Task Manager.
Resource Codes—Resource codes are uniquely defined by the user when a resource is added using the Add Resource feature, which is accessed by choosing Resources from the Maintain menu. The values for the resource codes can be seen on the Resources list screen or as a prefix to a resource name in the Task Details screen in the Task Manager.
