Publishing a Sourcing Event (Non-IT)
A Sourcing Event is the vendor-facing part of a Sourcing Project. The Sourcing Agent can establish the bidding dates and time, as well as compile all information the vendors will need to respond, as guided by a template established by the state. Once the Sourcing Event is in a Published status, it will be automatically posted to the Public eVP, and interested vendors can click the Intends to Participate button to receive an email with a link to respond electronically through their Ariba accounts.
For more detailed step-by-step information regarding this topic in a printable format, see the following job aid.
The Non-IT Procurement Intake Form is generally completed by an Agency Business user and contains summary information about the Non-IT business need. Sourcing Project Owners will upload the completed Non-IT Procurement Intake Form and complete the first task of Phase 01.
The Sourcing Project Owner should next review and complete the Confirm Sourcing Team Members and Roles task, adjusting the contents of the Team section as necessary.
The Solicitation template, Preliminary Review Procurement Checklist Template, Bid Evaluation Matrix Tool Template, and Non-IT Sourcing Event Template are located in the Solicitation Document and Sourcing Event folder. These items must be replaced or edited before the Populate Solicitation Document and Sourcing Event Folder task can be completed. The Solicitation Document Template, Preliminary Review Procurement Checklist Template, and Bid Evaluation Matrix Tool Template should be downloaded and replaced within the folder.
In the same Solicitation Document and Sourcing Event folder, click on the Sourcing Event Template to initiate the Sourcing Event. The Create guided sourcing project page will display. It is important to populate the Name and Description with pertinent information, keeping in mind that both will be visible to vendors and will also populate on the public eVP record of the solicitation. All other fields should remain in the current default status, and Commodity and Departments will be pre-populated based on selections made when creating the Sourcing Project. Next, select the Create button.
The first of the two sections to edit is the Event duration. This is where the Sourcing Project Owner will establish the Due date outlining when bidding ends.
The Questions, requirements, and attachments, or Content section of the Sourcing Event is where the Sourcing Project Owner can share all information about the products or services they wish to receive bids on, and it serves as the framework for vendors to provide a response. P&C has created a template in this section that complements the default structure of the various RFx Solicitation Document templates.
Navigate to the Tasks section. Click the blue arrow next to Phase 03 and scroll to the right of the Populate Solicitation Document and Sourcing Event Folder task and click Set to Complete in the Action or click on Populate Solicitation Document and Sourcing Event Folder and click Set to Complete at the top right of the task.
When the task is complete in Phase 03, the Sourcing Project Owner can proceed to Phase 04 to submit the Solicitation Document and Sourcing Event for approval by P&C.
After receiving approval from P&C to post the solicitation, the Sourcing Project Owner should finalize their Solicitation Document, return to the Sourcing Event to update any dates that may have changed during the approval process, then go to the Questions, requirements, and attachments (Content) section to attach the final version of the Solicitation Document to Subsection 3.1, and make any other necessary updates.
If the Sourcing Project Owner is conducting a private solicitation with a limited set of vendors, they will directly invite the identified vendor(s). The solicitation will not post to public eVP, and only the directly invited vendor(s) will be able to respond.
When all sections have been finalized, the Sourcing Project Owner can Publish the Sourcing Event to send it to public eVP so that vendors can begin to respond.