Managing a Sourcing Event

Available for	Roles	Organizational Administrator; Project Lead, Sourcing Administrator
	Permissions	Sourcing; Project
	Object Permissions	Create, Edit, Delete (Sourcing); View, Edit, Create, Delete (Project)

Purpose: This article gives a step-by-step of how to manage sourcing events after they have been published in Levelpath.

What is a Sourcing Event?

The Sourcing Project is Levelpath’s first iteration of “Quick Sourcing” or a sourcing event by requesting information from proposed suppliers. This new module gives procurement and sourcing teams a fast and easy way to gather information from multiple suppliers. You will have access to view all supplier submissions and award the sourcing event all within Levelpath!

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What happens after a Sourcing Event is published and sent?

After a user chooses to Publish event to suppliers, users will automatically be directed back to the Sourcing overview page. 

From here, users will have access to several pages:

• Invited Suppliers: View up to five suppliers, or click View All to see the full list of suppliers sent the sourcing event with each supplier’s status, last submission date, terms and conditions acceptance if applicable, and more. 
• Compare Suppliers: See a high level overview of Suppliers that have responded. Click View to easily compare supplier responses side by side.
• Evaluations: See a high level overview of evaluations that have been completed by your team. Click Create Evaluation to invite stakeholders, upload a template, set an evaluation due date, and view teammates responses if a user has the appropriate permission. 
• Event Configuration: Click Manage Event to make revisions to the bid and add or manage suppliers.

Step 1: Invited Suppliers

When a user selects View All on the Invited Suppliers hub, they will see all suppliers sent the bid along with a high-level view of their response status.

From each supplier’s row, click the three-dot menu to take additional action. Available options  include waiving click-through terms if applicable, resending an invite to a contact through Contact Actions, adding contacts, or awarding the bid.

To be taken back to the Sourcing Event overview page, simply click the X in the upper right hand corner of the hub.

Key actions available in this step:

• Click the three-dot menu on a supplier row to: resend an invite, add contacts, remove a supplier or award the bid.

Users can also add additional suppliers they might have forgotten by clicking on the top right hand corner “Invite more suppliers”.

Step 2: Compare Suppliers

When suppliers respond, users will be able to view each response in detail through the Compare Supplier hub. Within Compare, users can also utilize the Focus View button to hone in on certain questions and answers.

Users can also export all of the Supplier responses by utilizing the Export button. 

Key actions available in this step:

• Focus View — hone in on specific questions and answers.
• Export — export all supplier responses.
• Submit on behalf of — if a supplier sends their response outside of Levelpath, select the three dots next to the supplier's name, then "Submit on behalf of." A "Uploaded by:" note will appear below the supplier's name.

Step 3: Event Configuration

Event Configuration is where users can go back to your sourcing event details and make edits.

If a sourcing owner or project lead wants to make revisions to a sourcing event, they can click on the Version dropdown in the top right hand corner and click on “Create New Version”.

Note: Version dropdown will always indicate if the sourcing event is in “Current”, “Draft”, “Ended” or “Completed” status.

What if a supplier sends me their responses outside of Levelpath?

If a supplier sends their response outside of Levelpath, users can upload it on their behalf. Within Compare, select the three dots next to the supplier’s name, then “Submit on behalf of”. 

If you have submitted a response on behalf of a supplier, below that supplier’s name you will see a “Uploaded by:” note with your name.

How do I message suppliers within a Sourcing Event?

Users can message suppliers within a sourcing event by clicking on the specific sourcing event. From there, users should click on the "Supplier Messaging" button on the right hand side.

 

Next, click on the supplier that you would like to message.

Note: The message will only go directly to the single supplier selected. To update the entire list of suppliers, use the "Bulletin Board" tab on the right-hand toolbar.

When suppliers have a message, they will see a red dot next to the messaging tool. Suppliers will also receive an email notification when they have unread messages. 

When suppliers respond, the owner of the Bid will be notified on the Levelpath side as well. Similar to Suppliers, users within Levelpath will also see a red dot on the Supplier Messaging tool once a Supplier has sent a response or sent a new message to the sourcing team. 

You have now mastered Managing a Sourcing Event within Levelpath! 🎉

If you have any more questions, please reach out to [e-mail].