Choices to Use Autoextensions

You can select to have the close time of your auction be automatically extended if a new winning bid is received during the final minutes of your auction. These extensions are called autoextensions and are only available with auctions.

Settings that Affect Autoextensions

The following parameters work together to control how autoextensions are performed by the applications.

Allow autoextend - allows autoextensions to be defined for this negotiation. Checking Allow autoextend displays the following autoextend controls.

Lowest Triggering Response Rank - You can choose to have an autoextension triggered for any number of the top ranked bids. For example, you could choose to have autoextension triggered whenever you receive a better bid for not only the current winning bid, but also for the current second or third best bids as well. If you know you award this line to multiple suppliers, the feature enables you to encourage competition on not just the top bid, but competing bids as well. Enable this feature by specifying the bid rank for which the receipt of a bid ranked in this position or higher triggers autoextend. If this field is left blank, any bid triggers autoextensions.

Lines to Autoextend - Identifies individual lines to autoextend. You can choose to autoextend all lines or only the lines that triggered the autoextend.

Start Time of Autoextensions - You can start autoextensions from the scheduled close time of the auction or the time that a triggering bid is received during the triggering period prior to the close time. For example, if you select "Close date" and you enable an autoextend start time of 30 minutes, if triggering bid is received within the final 30 minutes of the auction, your auction automatically extends for 30 minutes past the scheduled close time. However, if you select "Receipt time of triggering response," your extension begins as soon as a triggering bid is received within the triggering period.

Triggering Period - the period prior to the close date during which responses can trigger autoextend.

Length of Extensions - the duration of each autoextension

Number of Extensions - the number of times a negotiation autoextend. Leaving this field blank allows an unlimited number of autoextensions.

For example, you could specify a triggering period of 30 minutes, an extension length of 20 minutes, and a start time of close date. With these settings, if a triggering bid is received at any time within the last 30 minutes of the auction, the close date is moved to 20 minutes past the original close date and time.