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Request for Bid (RFB)

The Request for Bid (RFB) is a type of line item BP. RFBs are unique in that the business process requires participation from personnel outside your company. For an RFB, you need to create two sets of forms—one for the requestor (the user who creates the RFB and invites bids) and another for the bidders (the vendors) to fill out with bid information.

An RFB must include a reference process to a vendor list business process, which contains the pool of vendors to whom the RFB will be sent. This vendor reference process will populate the upper fields of the RFB at runtime. The system automatically launches this reference process when the RFB is activated.

The RFB can also include a BP Data Picker that references a line item type BP that will be used to filter the available bidders in the Option tab. After the additional bidder/vendor filtering ability option is set correctly, then the query conditions for the data picker can also be used to filter the list of vendors.

Tip: When you create the bidder's view of RFB forms, keep in mind that the bidders may or may not be Unifier users. You might want to keep some fields hidden or non-editable. You might also want to allow bidders to modify line items, but prevent them from adding or removing them.

The RFB type BP Requestor and Bidder form do not have access to pickers.

Note: Ensure that you include both the first name and the last name data elements (for the vendor) in the RFB form.

The following is a workflow for a bid process:

1. Create Bid
2. Review or Approve Bid
3. Send Bid invite to Vendors
4. Compare or View Received Bids
5. Negotiate with preferred Bidders
6. Select Winning Bid
7. Create Contract with Winning Bid

Bid Comparison

The RFB business process includes a bid tabulation feature that users can use to compare all or selected bids that have been received from vendors. This feature is available after the bidding process is closed. The bid tabulation is displayed on a sheet that you can design in uDesigner. (If you do not design a bid comparison sheet, Unifier automatically provides a default sheet.)

How a Request for Bid Works

After the RFB type Business Process is active in Unifier, the bid procedure runs as follows:

The Unifier user	To start the procedure, the user: Opens the RFB, fills in the form, and sends it for internal review. During this process, the scope of the project might be verified, as well as other things, such as terms and conditions, architectural drawings, and structural materials. When the internal review workflow is complete, the user: Assembles the bid package and prepares the bid invitation for distribution. Sends out the bid invitations, along with a user name and password so that the vendors can log on to Unifier "Lite" and submit their bids. After the bid invitations have been sent, the user must wait for the bid due date to pass.
The vendor	Logs into Unifier and opens the bid request. (Optionally) Requests clarification of any questions or issues before submitting the bid. Submits the bid.
The Unifier User	When the due date is reached, the user: Tabulates the bids for comparison. (Optional) Opens discussions about the bids, if necessary, with company employees. (Classic View only) Selects a winning bid Awards the bid to a vendor and creates a contract by copying details from the bid record into the awarded contract.

Design Requirements

For these business processes to work effectively, you will need to create the following components in uDesigner:

• A vendor master Business Process (BP) to contain vendor or supplier information. Your company is allowed only one vendor master list business process. Create this vendor master using the information under the Simple Type.

  Note: You can create an "approved vendors" list for a specific project that includes a subset of the company's master list of vendors. This makes the bidding process easier because the requestor does not have to select vendors from the entire list of company suppliers. To create this list, use a Line Item BP with a sub-type of "Line Items to Filter BP Records" (see Line Item Type).

In order for the vendor master BP (Master Vendor BP) to work properly with the RFB, the upper form of the master list (RFB master vendor list) must include the following data elements:

• Date picker (uuu_due_date)
• Contact Company (uuu_contact_company)
• Contact Last Name (uuu_contact_last_name)
• Contact First Name (uuu_contact_first_name)
• Contact Language (uuu_contact_lang)
• Date Format (uuu_dateformat)
• Time Zone (uuu_user_timezone_pref)
• User ID (uuu_user_id)
• Status
• A Requestor form, which should include:
  • Upper form
  • Detail form
  • Line Item List
  • Workflow
  • Log
  • Reference process (to reference the vendor list business process)
• A Bidder form, which should include:
  • Upper form
  • Detail form
  • Line Item List
  • Log
• (Optional) A bid comparison sheet, which should include:
  • Upper form
  • Detail form

Design Flow

The following table outlines the design steps necessary to create the RFB business process.

1. Create a data structure, if necessary.

   See the instructions beginning with Creating a Data Structure.

2. Launch the design.

   This step initializes the design process for the BP. See Starting a New Design (Edit Studio).

For the Requestor:

1. Create an Upper form. See the instructions beginning with Designing an Upper Form. The mandatory fields for the upper form is: Date picker (uuu_rfb_due_date) to specify a due date. This is the date on which the bid will expire. Bidders will not be able to bid after this date, and requestors will not be able to see bids before this date.
2. Create a Detail form. See the instructions beginning with Designing Detail Form. The mandatory field for the Detail form is: Short description (short_desc).
3. Create a Line Item list. See Adding an Item Log to a Detail Form.
4. (Optional) Create a workflow. See the instructions beginning with Designing an Upper Form.
5. Create a log. See Designing a Business Process Log (Standard or Picker).
6. Create a reference process. See Adding a Reference Process to Auto-Populate Data.

For the Bidder:

1. Create an Upper form. See the instructions beginning with Designing an Upper Form.
2. Create a Detail form. See the instructions beginning with Designing Detail Form. The mandatory field for the Detail form is: Short description (short_desc).
3. Create a Line Item list. See Adding an Item Log to a Detail Form.
4. Create a log. See Designing a Business Process Log (Standard or Picker).
5. Create a reference process. See Adding a Reference Process to Auto-Populate Data.

For the Bid Comparison Sheet:

1. (Optional) Create an Upper form. See the instructions beginning with Designing an Upper Form. The Upper form must contain the same elements that are on the bidder upper form.
2. Create a Detail form. See Designing a Bid Comparison Sheet for an RFB. The detail form must contain the same elements that are on the bidder detail form.

Additional information about RFB

Upper Forms

You can place the Bid Picker DE (uuu_rfb_winning_bid) on any Requestor Upper form of any RFB Business Process.

The Bid Picker DE:

• Can be placed in hidden block
• Can be designated as "Required" or "Read Only."
• Must be available in the list of "Custom" DEs, when user attempts to add the DE to a form.
• Can be added to Dynamic Dataset (behavior set).

  Note: The Dynamic Dataset (DDS) must not be added to any Business Process form, other than the Requestor Upper form on an RFB type Business Process.

• Can be used as source for auto-populate.

  Note: During the auto-population, the "Source Element" picker lists all "Bidder" Upper form DEs.

• Cannot be used as a destination for Reverse Auto-Populate.
• Cannot be set to: Formula.
• Cannot be set as: Reset.

Detail Form

You can define an additional Detail tab for the Requestor section of all RFB type Business Process forms. This second Detail tab (non-standard tab) can be used to record the lines of the winning bid, as the user copies the data from the Bid Comparison Sheet.

Note: This applies to all RFB Business Process sub-types (Generic, Line Items with CBS Code, and Line Items with Generic Cost Manager).

The second Detail tab is similar to that of any other non-standard Detail tab on any other Cost type BP which allows multiple tabs.

When the RFB type Business Process has Line Item with CBS Code, the new Detail form allows you to include both the "Custom" DE "bitemID" and the "Standard" DE "bi_item" on the form.

Note: If you place the DE "bitemID" on the form, you must designate the DE as "Required." This DE cannot be designated as "Editable."

The second Detail Form log contains the following options:

• New

  Allows you to create the second Detail tab for the "Winning Bid." When you click New, the Properties window opens which allows you to enter a name and description for the second Detail tab. The Name field is pre-populated as "Winning Bid."

  Also, you can:

  - Select Winning Bid option from New to open the properties window and create the new form. The Name field is pre-populated as "Winning Bid."

  - Select the Standard tab and select Copy to create the new form. The Name field is pre-populated as "Copy of <form name>." You cannot create more than two Detail tabs for an RFB type Business Process.

  Note: For data integrity reasons, the Winning Bid tab cannot be deleted after the RFB BP has been deployed. You can only add or remove the Winning Bid tab before you deploy the RFB BP.

• Copy

  Allows you to create the second Detail tab (Winning Bid) by copying a "standard" tab. This option is available only if the Business Process has a "standard" tab. You cannot create more than two Detail forms for an RFB type Business Process.

  Note: The second Detail tab will have special behavior, if a winning bid picker is placed on BP upper form. If no bid picker is placed on the Upper form, the tab behaves like any other non-standard tab.

• Open

  Allows you to open an existing Detail form.

• Properties

  Allows you to change the properties of the second Detail tab. You can use the Properties option to edit the "Name" and the "Description" fields of your form.

• Delete

  Allows you to delete the second Detail tab (non-standard tab). The Delete option, here, does not allow you to delete a "standard" Detail tab.

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Last Published Monday, June 3, 2024