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. Notification of this Event can then be posted in IPS and interested vendors can follow a URL to respond electronically.
For more detailed step-by-step information regarding this topic in a printable format, see the following job aid.
The Sourcing Event template is found within the 'Documents' tab. Users will navigate to that tab, click on the event template, and edit it to begin the process of managing their Sourcing Event.
The first of four sections to edit and set in a Sourcing Event are the Event ‘Rules.’ Most importantly, the rules section allows the buyer to establish the ‘Timing Rules’ outlining when the bidding starts and stops. Users should always set a 'Fixed time' for their 'Due date.' Many of the fields within the six sub-sections on this page are pre-populated, and it is advised that users leave them as is.
The ‘Content’ section of the Event is where the user 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. The State has created an extensive template in this section, that complements the default 'Solicitation Document' generated on the Sourcing Project, and it is advised that users follow the suggested outline.
If the solicitation is over agency delegation, it needs to be approved by P&C before publishing. Users will do that via the built-in 'Gain P&C Approval of Sourcing Event' task in 'Phase 04' of the 'Tasks' tab.
After receiving approval from P&C, users should finalize and PDF their 'Solicitation Document' then return to Section 1 (Rules) of the 'Sourcing Event' to update any dates that may have changed during the approval process, and Section 3 (Content) to attach the final version of the 'Solicitation Document' to subsection 3.1 and make any other necessary updates.
Once the Rules and Content are finalized, users will be ready to go back to the section they previously skipped, Section 2 (Suppliers). In this section, the user will ‘Create a Supplier Research Posting.’ When all required information has been added to this section, the user will click the yellow ‘Publish on Ariba Discovery’ button at the bottom of the page. Once the Sourcing Event is later published, a URL will be available, and the user can copy and paste that URL in the ‘NCEP URL’ field within the IPS posting. Vendors wishing to respond to the solicitation will then follow that URL and respond within this Sourcing Event.
Additionally, this information, when published on ‘Ariba Discovery,’ will reach an audience of prospective bidders who may not currently be registered in IPS, thus expanding the pool of potential bidders.
When section 2 is completed, the user can return to the fourth and final ‘Summary’ section. This contains the summary of the first three sections and allows the user to review and edit before clicking ‘Publish’ to finalize the Event.
