Oracle® Sourcing

User Reference Guide of Online Help Files for Sourcing Buyers

Release 11.5.9

August 2003
Oracle® Sourcing Online Help, Release 11.5.9

Copyright © 2002, 2003, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.

Primary Author: Richard Sears

Contributing Authors: Catherine Bauer

Contributors: German Bertot, Erich Stiegler, Michelle Chen, Dawn Abraham,

Mark Peachy, Robert Foushee, Kamran Meer, Kareem Benjamin, Bill Tokheim.

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 Contents
1 Getting Started

New to Sourcing? 1-3

What can I do with Oracle Sourcing? 1-5
What is required of me to participate? 1-7
Getting Started with Oracle Sourcing 1-9
Frequently Asked Questions: Oracle Sourcing 1-11
What is Oracle Sourcing? 1-12
What are the differences between the available negotiation types? 1-15
Are there any shortcuts available when creating a sourcing
1-18
document?
Who can use the spreadsheet functionality? 1-20
Are reusable invitation lists and reusable attribute lists shared
1-21
across all three negotiation types?
What is attribute based bidding and how do I use it? 1-22
I just saved a negotiation as a draft document. How do I continue
1-23
working on it?
How do I stop others from editing a draft negotiation I am working
1-24
on?
What is the minimum information I need to enter before I can save
1-25
a draft negotiation?
If I have saved a draft of a new quoting/bidding round, can I award
1-26
business to quotes/bids from the previous round?
Why do some items in my negotiation have item numbers and
1-27
others do not?
I know I can create RFQs and auctions in both Oracle Sourcing
1-28
and Oracle Purchasing. What are the differences?
What happens if I cancel a negotiation with backing requisitions in
1-29
Oracle Purchasing?
 What is Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring and how does it work? 1-30
What does the Price to Total Score ratio mean? 1-31
What is the difference between a price-only and a multi-attribute
1-32
scoring auctions/RFQ?
Can I accept responses in multiple currencies? 1-33
How do I invite supplier contacts to register with the system? 1-34
How do I invite suppliers to participate in my negotiations? 1-36
What is the purpose of notifications? Who receives them and
1-37
when?
When does an invitee receive a reminder email notification? 1-39
Do suppliers need to acknowledge their intent to participate before
1-40
submitting responses?
Can I respond to a negotiation created by someone else in my
1-41
company?
What is the quickest way to respond on a negotiation that has
1-42
many lines?
Can I invite suppliers to an RFQ or auction I've already created? 1-43
How many characters can be entered into the Item Description and
1-44
Note fields?
Can the system administrator require buyers to use a certain rank
1-45
indicator?
How can I check which purchase orders were created after
1-46
completing my RFQ/auction?
Getting Started with RFQs 1-47
Frequently Asked Questions: RFQs 1-49
What are the Unlock Date and the Unseal Date? 1-50
Can I submit multiple quotes per round? 1-51
Can I cancel or retract my quote? 1-52
What are the Quote Currency and the RFQ Currency? 1-53
What is the most efficient way to quote on many line items in an
1-54
RFQ?
How can I view the quote values for all price elements of an RFQ
1-55
item?
What is the Promise Date, and when should I enter a Promise
1-56
Date?
Is an RFQ always blind or sealed and why? 1-57
How can I invite a group of people from a supplier? 1-58
 Can I invite additional suppliers to subsequent rounds of an RFQ? 1-59
In a sealed RFQ, can I see who is bidding? 1-60
Why can't I see the graphical monitor in a sealed RFQ? 1-61
Can I close my RFQ earlier than the original close time? 1-62
How do I start another round of quoting in an RFQ? 1-63
Can I modify an initial RFQ for the next round? 1-64
Getting Started with Auctions 1-65
Frequently Asked Questions: Auctions 1-67
What are the different auction styles? 1-68
What is the difference between the bid start price and the target
1-69
price?
Why isn't there a target price for every item? 1-70
What is the target price used for? 1-71
Can someone in my company award an auction I create? 1-72
Can two people from the same company bid on the same auction? 1-73
When two respondents from the same company place bids, can
1-74
they view each other's bid details?
If my auction is open to all suppliers, why would I want to invite
1-75
suppliers to participate?
Why is the "Can bidders see other bidders' notes and
1-76
attachments?" bid control not available for blind auctions?
Can a bidder retract a bid? 1-77
Why can't I always view scores and weights set up by the buyer? 1-78
Why are display-only attributes not visible in the Bid Compare
1-79
page?
How can I extend an auction beyond the close date/time? 1-80
How do two bids with the same score get ranked if the price is the
1-81
same?
What is the Single Best Bid? 1-82
What is the difference between Proxy and Power bidding? 1-83
How does Proxy Bidding work in Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring
1-84
auctions?
Can a bidder see the names of other bidders? 1-85
Additional Topics 1-87
What are the benefits of registering and participating in this
1-88
system?
 Can international companies participate? 1-90
What is a WinZip (or zip) file? 1-91
Why can't I access some pages, links, buttons, or task bar options? 1-92
Whom should I contact about technical difficulties? 1-93
What if I have problems uploading files? 1-94

2 Help for Sourcing Buyers

Creating Negotiations 2-3

Creating RFIs, RFQs, and Buyer's Auctions 2-5
How do I create a new negotiation? 2-7
How do I create a new Request for Information (RFI)? 2-8
How do I use Quick Links? 2-10
How does Oracle Sourcing use information in Oracle Purchasing when
2-11
AutoCreating draft sourcing documents?
How do I edit a negotiation document AutoCreated in Oracle Purchasing? 2-14
What information must I provide to describe my negotiation? 2-15
How do I enter business terms and conditions for my RFxs and auctions? 2-17
Can I accept responses in multiple currencies? 2-20
How do I restrict a supplier to a particular currency? 2-22
How do I add items to my auction or RFQ? 2-23
What are response controls? 2-29
How do I invite suppliers to participate in my auction or RFQ? 2-35
Templates, Spreadsheets and Lists 2-39
How do I use sourcing document templates? 2-40
How do I create an attribut list? 2-42
How do I create and edit auction and RFQ templates? 2-44
How do I create and edit a reusable invitation list? 2-47
What happens to the item category when I create a negotiation by applying
2-50
a sourcing document template and using spreadsheet upload?
What happens to the attributes/price elements when I create a negotiation
2-51
by applying a template and using spreadsheet upload?
Item Attributes, Attribute Scoring, and Price Elements 2-53
What are item attributes, and why would I add them to my negotiation
2-54
items?
How do I add item attributes to my auction or RFQ items? 2-55
 Can I base my award decision on attributes other than just price? 2-58
How do I define weighted attributes and scores for my negotiation items? 2-61
How do I use price elements? 2-65
What are Reusable Price Element Lists, and how do I create and use
2-66
them?
What are price breaks, and how do I use them? 2-69
Additional Creation Topics 2-75
What are some negotiation strategies I can use? 2-76
What is a sourcing event? 2-78
Can I create and save sourcing documents without submitting them? 2-80
How do I copy a sourcing document? 2-84
What are amount based line types and how are they used? 2-86
How do collaboration teams work? 2-87
How do security levels work? 2-89
What are global agreements, and how do I use them? 2-90
Monitoring Negotiations for Buyers 2-93
How do I access negotiations? 2-94
How do I monitor the negotiations I have created? 2-95
How do I view responses I have received? 2-96
How do I use the Graphical Monitor to view responses to items in my
2-97
negotiation?
What are Your Negotiations at a Glance? 2-102
How do I compare competing bids or quotes for a particular negotiation item? 2-103
How do I download the responsesI have received? 2-106
As the buyer, how do I communicate with suppliers while my negotiation is in
2-108
process?
Can I invite additional suppliers to an auction or RFQ I've already created? 2-109
How do I extend an auction or RFQ that is in progress? 2-111
How do I change my auction's AutoExtend settings while the auction is in
2-113
progress?
How do I initiate a new round of responding? 2-116
How do I close a negotiation before the scheduled close date and time? 2-120
What information is contained on the Auction Summary/RFQ Summary pages? 2-122
How do I cancel an RFQ/auction? 2-127
Awarding Negotiations 2-129
 How do I unlock and unseal a sealed auction or RFQ? 2-130
How do I award business in an auction or RFQ? 2-132
How do I use a downloaded spreadsheet to award negotiation items? 2-137
How do I allocate backing requisitions among awarded items? 2-139
How do I disqualify responses I receive for an RFI, RFQ, or auction? 2-142
Can I see information on my negotiations once I have completed awarding
2-144
them?

3 Sourcing Buyer Intelligence Reports

Introduction 3-3
What is Sourcing Intelligence? 3-4
What are the Sourcing Intelligance reports I can generate? 3-5
How do I export report data to a spreadsheet? 3-6
How do I run reports? 3-7
Intelligence Reports 3-11
What is the Awards by Supplier report? 3-12
What is the Savings by Category report? 3-13
What is the Awarded Bids Detail report? 3-14
What is the Awarded Quotation Detail report? 3-15

4 Help for Sourcing Suppliers

Responding to Negotiations 4-3

How do I access negotiations 4-4
How do I use Quick Links? 4-7
How do I respond to a negotiation? 4-8
How do I view the details of a negotiation before placing a bid or quote? 4-9
How do I respond to a Request for Information? 4-11
How do I submit a response online? 4-13
How do I use item attributes and price elements when responding to a
4-17
negotiation?
What is proxy bidding, and how does it work? 4-18
How do I turn off proxy bidding? 4-20
What is power bid? 4-23
 How do I download a spreadsheet and quote or bid online? 4-24
How do I rebid on an RFQ or auction? 4-25
Why would a negotiation have special terms and conditions? 4-26
Monitoring Negotiations 4-27
How do I monitor negotiations to which I've responded? 4-28
How do I track the status of my responses? 4-29
What information is contained on the Disqualified Responses page? 4-30
What information is contained on the Rejected Items page? 4-31
What information is contained on the Awarded Items page? 4-32
Can suppliers communicate with each other while a negotiation is in
4-33
procress?
How do I communicate with the buyer while a negotiation is in progress? 4-34

5 Additional Topics

How do I update my Sourcing personal options? 5-2

Glossary 5-3
Documentation Accessibility 5-20
 1

Getting Started

1-1
1-2
 New to Sourcing

1-3
1-4
What can I do with Oracle Sourcing?

If you are a Sourcing Buyer, see Getting Started for Buyers.

If you are a Sourcing Supplier, see Getting Started for Suppliers.

If you are responsible for administering the Sourcing system, see Getting Started for the Sourcing Super User.

Getting Started for Buyers

As a Sourcing Buyer you have access to a wide range functionality with Oracle Sourcing. You
can create a request for information (RFIs), request for quotations (RFQs), and Buyer's Auction.
If your system is integrated with Oracle Purchasing, you can also use requisition information
contained in Oracle Purchasing to create draft RFQs and auctions which you can then complete
and submit using Oracle Sourcing. You can monitor your negotiations in real time and
communicate with participants using online discussions.

● To create an RFI, RFQ, buyer's auction, click the appropriate create link from the Quick
Links section of the Negotiations Home page.

● To create templates and reusable lists to simplify negotiation creation, click the
appropriate link(s) in the Quick Links section of the Negotiations Home page.

● To manage draft negotiations on which you and others may be working, click "Edit"
under the Drafts Quick Links section.

● To monitor the negotiations in which you are participating, check the Negotiations at a
Glance section. Use the Search Negotiations fields at the top of the page to search for a
particular negotiation

● To edit your personal information , click the Preferences link at the top of the page. You
can enter many different personal options such as your language, date format, and
password, among others.

● This system also provides graphical summary and detail reports for many transaction
types. Click the Intelligence tab on the Sourcing Home page.

Getting Started for Suppliers

Oracle Sourcing Suppliers can use the product functionality to quickly locate and respond to
negotiations. Sourcing Buyers (along with the Sourcing Super User), can invite you to register
with the system. Once you receive a registration invitation and have registered and been
approved, you can start participating in negotiations.

● To respond to negotiations to which you have been specifically invited, view the Open
Invitations section of the Negotiations Home page. To respond to a negotiation, click
the negotiation number. Use the Search Negotiations fields to search for a particular
negotiation..

1-5
 ● To monitor the negotiations in which you are participating, check the Your Active and
Draft Responses section.

● To edit your personal information , click the Preferences link at the top of the page. You
can enter many different personal options such as your language, date format, and
password, among others. You can also click "Edit" link in the Profile section of Quick
Links update contact information such as your name and email address.

Getting Started for the Sourcing Super User

If you are the Oracle Sourcing Super User, you are responsible for setting up and maintaining
your company's system. Many setup tasks were probably performed during implementation,
however you may wish to do any of the following:

● Set up terms and conditions for negotiations

● If integrated with a procurement or purchasing system (for example Oracle Purchasing)

register users for your existing suppliers

● Create attribute lists, invitation lists, price elements, and price element lists

See the Oracle Sourcing Administration and Maintenance Guide for details on how to perform
these tasks.

1-6
What is required of me to participate?

● If you are a buyer, you must ensure that your supplier companies are defined to your purchasing
system, and their contacts are registered with Oracle Sourcing.

● You must honor the contracts and commitments you make to other participants.

● You must meet the following hardware and software requirements:

Hardware Requirements
To connect to the system, you need Internet access by a computer with a
modem, or an Internet appliance. The following are suggested minimum
hardware
specifications:

28K modem

8 MB RAM

266 MHz Pentium processor

Software Requirements
To view and use the system, you need a standard Web browser, like Netscape
Navigator (version 4.5+, but not 6.x) or Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 5.x).
Your browser must have cookies enabled, and must support Secure Socket
Layer (SSL) connections.

To download a free copy of Netscape Navigator, go to

http://www.netscape.com/downlod/ and locate Netscape Navigator. To download
a free copy of Internet Explorer, go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/ and
search for Internet Explorer 5.x on the platform of your choice.

What are cookies?

A cookie is a small amount of information that a Web site copies to your
hard disk. A cookie can help a Web site identify you. For instance, if you
shop for books online, the bookstore's Web site might use a cookie to
store information about your favorite subjects, and later use that
information to recommend particular books.

What is Secure Socket Layer (SSL)?

SSL is a high-level security protocol for protecting the confidentiality and
security of data while it is being transmitted through the Internet. SSL is
used by most commerce servers on the World Wide Web. Based on RSA
Data Security's public-key cryptography, SSL is an open protocol that has
been submitted to several industry groups as the industry security

1-7
 standard. SSL is denoted by the letters HTTPS in the URL.

1-8
 Getting Started with Sourcing

1-9
1-10
 Frequently Asked Questions: Oracle
Sourcing

1-11
What is Oracle Sourcing?

Oracle Sourcing offers flexible negotiation capabilities to buyers and sellers, enabling them to
efficiently obtain the best possible prices for goods and services. Prices are established based
on actual supply and demand at the time the negotiation is transacted.

The four different types of sourcing documents available - requests for quotations (RFQs),
requests for information (RFIs), and buyer's auctions. Buyers use real-time interaction to obtain
information on suppliers' products and services, and then use that information to create
negotiations that drive prices based not only on price, but on lead times, quantity, and item-
specific attributes. Buyers and sellers, who might never meet face-to-face, can bypass
intermediaries and establish relationships that might not have been possible using more
traditional methods of buying and selling.

Common Functionality
All sourcing document types have the following common functionality to simplify the negotiation
creation process:

● Reusable Attribute Lists

● Reusable Invitation Lists

● Sourcing Template and Copy features

● Multiple Currency support

● Multiple Language support

● Notes and Attachments

● Terms and Conditions enforcement

RFIs
Oracle Sourcing allows buyers to qualify a wide group of suppliers and their products and
services using RFIs. Buyers can use the information obtained to subsequently conduct an RFQ
or buyer's auction.

RFQs
Negotiations supports the full RFQ business process. RFQs enable buyers to request quotes
from suppliers for complex and hard-to-define items or services such as make-to-order
manufacturing items or construction projects.

1-12
 ● Typically an RFQ consists of multiple rounds with competition focused on which
supplier(s) can meet the specific requirements in addition to price.

● The process can last from days to weeks. Buyers usually review the received quotes,
amend the supplier list and submit a modified RFQ for subsequent rounds of quoting.

● Negotiations supports blind and sealed RFQs. Suppliers are not allowed to see
competitive quotes while the RFQ is in progress.

Learn more about RFQs.

Auctions
Auctions supports the complete auction process from auction creation to final award to purchase
order generation. Auctions enable buyers to solicit bids for goods and services that are clearly
defined, such as office furniture or memory chips.

● Auctions last for a set period of time, typically a matter of a few hours, although the close
time can be changed manually or extended automatically based on last minute bids.

● Auctions are typically focused on creating competition between sellers.

● Auctions supports open, blind, and sealed auction styles.

Learn more about auctions.

Guidelines for choosing a negotiation type

Use the following table to determine which type of negotiation best suits your business needs.
These recommendations should only be used as guidelines. Your specific needs may dictate
that you use a negotiation type that has not been specifically recommended for the scenarios
listed below.

Description of your goods

Buyer's Auction RFQ
or services
Easily definable item with few
Y -
attributes
Commodity and near-
- -
commodity item
Complex item with many
- Y
attributes
High number of responses
Y -
expected in a short time
Other decision criteria - -

1-13
 All participants in the
negotiation should be able to
view competitive responses
but not the responder's
identity Y -

(Open Style)

Only the buyer should be able

to see the responses
Y Y
(Closed Style)

No one can view the

responses until the buyer
unlocks and unseals them
Y Y
(Sealed Style)

using AutoExtend
Closing time should be using Manual Extend/Close using Manual Extend/Close
modifiable Early Early

using Graphical Monitor

using Graphical Monitor
Should be able to monitor and using Bid Compare
using Bid History using Quotation Compare
analyze responses online
using Quotation History

1-14
What are the differences between negotiation types?

The four types of negotiations are Requests for Information (RFIs)', request for quotations (RFQs), and
auctions. See the table below to help you determine which type of negotiation to create.

● Requests for Information (RFIs)

RFI's are used to qualify suppliers and their goods and services for subsequent procurement activities.
RFIs are used more for gathering information on goods and service provided by a supplier than to lock
in particular price information. Therefore, RFIs typically do not make reference to item price or quantity.
RFIs identify important item criteria on which the buyer needs information. The supplier responds by
answering the buyer's questions. The buyer uses supplier responses to identify the group of suppliers
who should be included in the subsequent negotiation. RFIs can be (and typically are) taken to multiple
rounds until the buyer has enough information to identify supplier(s) with which to deal. At the
conclusion of the RFI cycle, the information contained in the RFI can be copied into an RFQ or buyer’s
auction.
● Requests for Quotations (RFQs)
RFQs enable buyers to collect quotes from suppliers for complex and hard-to-define items or services,
such as made-to-order manufacturing or construction projects. The RFQ process is generally the
longest of the negotiation processes. Once suppliers have submitted an initial round of proposals
(quotes), the buyer has the power to fine-tune the RFQ and initiate detailed negotiations, as necessary.
This process may go through multiple rounds of negotiations and quotes. RFQs can be blind (buyer can
see the quotes during the RFQ, but suppliers cannot) or sealed (neither buyer nor suppliers can see the
quotes until the RFQ is closed and the quotes are unsealed), so suppliers can never see each other's
quotes while the negotiation is in progress.

● Auctions
Auctions enable buyers to solicit bids for goods and services that are clearly defined, such as office
furniture and memory chips. Buyers can discover new suppliers or buyers and get competitive pricing or
improved service. Buyers can tailor each auction to control who can see bids during the auction,
whether multiple rounds of bidding are possible, and whether partial bids are allowed. Many different
items can be included in an auction.

If permitted by the buyer, suppliers can view all bids submitted while the auction is open. This
information generates competition and encourages suppliers to submit their best possible price. Once
the auction is completed, suppliers are immediately notified of the auction results via online
notifications.

Comparison of the negotiation types:

Negotiation
RFI RFQ Auction
Type

1-15
 RFQs allow
buyers to collect
quotes from
RFIs allow
suppliers for
buyers to solicit
complex items Auctions allow buyers
information from
and services. to solicit bids for items
suppliers on the
Suppliers submit and services that are
goods and
a single quote clearly defined, for
services the
per round. example, office
suppliers
Buyers review furniture and memory
Characteristics provide. This
the quotes, may chips.
allows buyers to
amend the Auctions are usually
qualify a group of
supplier list, and short in duration and
suppliers and
submit the RFQ require a fast bidding
identify the
for subsequent process leading to a
suppliers to be
rounds of quick award.
included later in
negotiating. The
the negotiation
RFQ process is
typically longer
than an auction.

Response
Response Quote Bid
Document

Open, Blind, or Open, Blind, or

Style(s) Blind or Sealed
Sealed Sealed.

Yes. Yes, if enabled.

Yes
Multiple RFQs, by Through bid controls,
Rounds nature, usually buyers can enable
Supported? lead to multiple multiple rounds of
rounds. bidding.

Can Include
Yes Yes. Yes.
Multiple Items?

1-16
 Multiple
Quotes
Attribute Based The RFQ
Bidding business Multiple Bids
RFIs use item process allows If allowed by buyer,
attributes to suppliers to bidders may submit
solicit item submit a single multiple bids.
information from quote per round.
suppliers. Proxy Bidding
Attribute
Manual Based Bidding Power Bidding
Extend/Early
Close
Price Elements Attribute Based
Buyers can
Bidding
manually extend
an RFI or close Manual
Other an RFI earlier Extend/Early Price Elements
than the Close
scheduled close Buyers can AutoExtend
date. manually extend
an RFQ or close
an RFQ earlier Manual Extend
Convert to
than the
negotiation
scheduled close Early Close
document
date.
Information
obtained during Minimum Bid
the RFI can be Price Breaks Decrement/Increment
used to create a
new negotiation Price Breaks
document.

1-17
Are there any shortcuts available when creating a sourcing document?

There are many ways you can streamline the creation of sourcing documents:

Copying an existing document

You can copy documents that you, or any other users in your organization, have previously
created. The details of the document such as the controls, terms and conditions, item
information, and invitation list are copied into a new document which you can edit if necessary.

Using document templates

If many of the negotiations you create contain the same features, you may want to create a
template that you can use each time you create a sourcing document. This allows you to
standardize business practices and save time. Your template will contain the features that are
similar among the negotiations you commonly create. When you create a document using a
template, you simply open the template and add to or edit details of the template as necessary.

If you are assigned the Manage Sourcing Document Templates job function, you can also create
and manage public templates in addition to your private ones. The public document templates
will be available for every Sourcing buyer at your company.

Using Reusable Attribute Lists

Attribute lists can streamline the document creation process while providing standardization for
negotiation items. If you are assigned the Manage Attribute List job function, you can create
attribute lists for use by all Sourcing buyers at your company. An attribute list is a grouping of
attributes that are commonly used together to describe a good or service.

Using Reusable Invitation Lists

You can create Reusable Invitation Lists containing names of suppliers who you frequently invite
to your negotiations. Invitation lists can be shared across the company. This can help you
standardize your business practice as well as speed up the negotiation creation process.

If you are assigned the Manage Invitation List job function, you can create and manage public
Reusable Attribute Lists, in addition to your private ones. The public lists will be available for
Sourcing buyers at your company.

Using spreadsheets

You can download and use spreadsheets to efficiently create and award RFQs and auctions
having many line items.

1-18
 Using draft RFQs/auctions

You can create and save an auction intending to submit it later. These draft documents also
allow multiple collaborators to work on the same document.

Creating RFQs/auctions using Autocreate

If your company has licensed both Oracle Purchasing and Oracle Sourcing, you can use the
Autocreate feature of Oracle Purchasing to select and group requisitions to create draft RFQs or
auctions.

1-19
Who can use the spreadsheet functionality?

Both buyers and suppliers can utilize the spreadsheet functionality to save time when creating or
Quoting/Bidding on multi-line item negotiations. Buyers can efficiently create and award RFQs and auctions
while suppliers can also use this functionality to assist in bidding in auctions or submitting quotes for RFQs.

1-20
Are reusable invitation lists and reusable attribute lists shared among negotiation types?

Yes, these lists are shared across all document types and can be accessed by the buyer as required.

1-21
What is attribute based negotiation and how can I use it?

Attribute based negotiations enable buyers to define multiple item-specific characteristics, called item attributes,
that allow bidders/suppliers not only to respond to the price, quantity, and delivery, but also to other features
salient to each item. Depending on the setting chosen during the negotiation creation, these attributes can be
either required, optional, or display only.

Item attributes and their responses comprise the heart of the RFI process. When creating an RFI, buyers define
attributes for negotiation items. These attributes represent important aspects of the item for which the buyers
need information from their suppliers. Suppliers reply to the item attribute, in essence "answering" the buyer's
question. The buyer then uses the suppliers' responses to qualify the group of suppliers and to determine the
best set of suppliers with which to later conduct a negotiation.

1-22
I just saved a negotiation as a draft document. How do I continue working on it?

You can continue working on a document saved as a draft by

● After clicking Save Draft, you see the Confirmation page. From this page, you can click "Continue
editing your draft." Alternatively, you can click "Manage Draft Negotiations" to access the Manage Draft
Negotiations page. From this page you can access and edit any of your draft negotiations.

1-23
How do I stop others from editing a draft negotiation I am working on?

Every time you edit a draft negotiation the system automatically locks the document, ensuring that only one
user can work on a draft at any time. You are granted exclusive control until you release it. The document is
released when

● You save it.

● You submit it (the draft becomes a valid negotiation in the system).

● You delete it from the Manage Draft Negotiations page. It is removed from the system.

● The draft creator selects the draft and clicks Unlock on the Manage Draft Negotiations page. (The
original creator can always unlock a draft.)

● Another user removes the lock. (Users with the appropriate function security, such as the Sourcing
Super User, can unlock draft auctions/RFQ which were locked by other users.)

1-24
What is the minimum information I need to enter before I can save a draft negotiation?

Enter the information required for Step 1 of the creation process. You can save an negotiation as a draft as
soon as you get to Step 2.

If you wish to create a draft for a new round, you are not required to enter any information. The information from
the previous round is enough to save a draft.

1-25
If I have saved a draft of a new Quoting/Bidding round, can I award business to quotes/bids from the
previous round?

Once you save a new round of Quoting/Bidding, the system automatically updates the status of the previous
round to Round Completed. Negotiations with Round Completed are not available for awarding.

However, you can delete the draft for the new round from the Manage Draft Negotiations page. The system
automatically updates the status of the previous round to Closed, making it available for award.

1-26
Why do some items in my negotiation have item numbers and others do not?

Item numbers and item revisions appear if the negotiation item is AutoCreated from a requisition line having an
item from the item master. Negotiations lines entered directly in Oracle Sourcing can include item numbers and
item revisions if the item information was retrieved from the Item Master.

1-27
I know I can create RFQs and auctions in both Oracle Purchasing and Oracle Sourcing. What are the
differences?

You can create RFQs and auctions in both Oracle Purchasing and Oracle Sourcing. Each has its own benefits:

RFQs/auctions in Oracle Sourcing RFQs/auctions in Oracle Purchasing

Real time bidding, analysis and monitoring
Online Quoting/Bidding possible
Spreadsheet Quoting/Bidding possible
Buyers and suppliers can negotiate on price
elements.
Integrated with the item master
RFQs can be created by copying from blanket
agreements
Suppliers can quote using EDI
Buyers and suppliers can create price breaks.

1-28
What happens if I cancel a negotiation having backing requisitions in Oracle Purchasing?

As soon as you cancel a negotiation with backing requisitions, the requisitions become available again to
AutoCreate in Oracle Purchasing. New buyers can then manage the requisitions as needed. The old Sourcing
negotiation number remains on the requisition line until a buyer creates a new negotiation using the requisition.

1-29
What is Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring and how does it work?

Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring is the ability for a buyer to use customizable attributes to define a product or
service in a quantifiable manner. This allows the buyer to define the relative importance of each attribute by
assigning weights to these attributes and scores to expected values for each attribute.

Each weight assigned to an item attribute is a number between one and 100 that represents the importance of
that attribute compared to other item attributes. The higher the weight, the more important the attribute to the
item.

Scores are numbers between zero and 100 and are assigned to each possible attribute value or range of
values. The higher the score, the more desirable the attribute value or range of values. Scores represent the
desirability of that attribute value or range of values compared to other values. The goal of scoring is to
motivate a respondent to respond with quotes/bids most closely matching the desired attribute values.

Weights and scores can be assigned to the custom attributes, quantity, or need-by date. Custom attributes
having weights and scores are called weighted attributes and require a response. As responses are received,
the system calculates a weighted score for each attribute response and a Total Score for the item. It then ranks
the scores for the same item from different respondents based on a Price to Total Score ratio.

1-30
What does the Price to Total Score ratio mean?

The Price to Total Score ratio is calculated only for Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring RFQ/Auctions and is used
to rank quotes/bids. It is the ratio of Quote/Bid price of an item to the sum of the weighted scores of all the
Quote/Bid values submitted for that item. The lowest ratio receives the highest rank. To lower the ratio for an
item included in a bid, the bidder/supplier must lower the Quote/Bid price for the item and/or submit responses
to the weighted attributes that increase the total score for the item.

The lowest ratio among competing responses may not offer the lowest price, but it offers the lowest price per
point of score. In other words, it offers the best value for the money. A buyer can view bids plotted on a Price to
Total Score graph to assist in analysis of quotes/bids. The buyer can still award the item regardless of the ratio.

1-31
What is the difference between a price-only and a Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring negotiation?

In a price-only negotiation, suppliers can quote/bid on price, quantity, delivery dates and attributes of an item,
however, the system ranks the supplier only on the basis of price. In a Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring
negotiation, item attributes can be scored and weighted. The winning response is decided based on the buyer's
definitions of the relative importance of item attributes, reflected in the Price to Total Score ratio.

In both price-only and Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring negotiation, the buyer can still award the negotiation to
any supplier regardless of the Price to Total Score ratio values.

1-32
Can I accept responses in multiple currencies?

Yes. When you create a new negotiation, the negotiation currency defaults to the functional currency defined
for your operating unit. However, you can allow bids or quotes in currencies other than the negotiation
currency. Whenever you view the responses you have received, the system will automatically convert the
responses to the negotiation currency.

Though suppliers in a multi-currency negotiation can submit responses in several currencies, they are allowed
to respond in only one currency per response.

1-33
How do I invite supplier contacts to register with the system?

If a supplier company has already been defined to your system (using Oracle Purchasing) and you know of any
non-registered contacts at the supplier company whom you wish to invite to current or future negotiations, you
can invite these users to register with the system. Or if you know the necessary contact information, you can
register them yourself. Either way, once the registration requests are approved, you can begin inviting the new
user to your negotiations.

To invite a non-registered user when creating a negotiation:

If the supplier company you wish to invite to your negotiation has at least one registered user,
you can invite additional non-registered users while creating your negotiation document. These
users receive a notification to register and the URL of the registration site. Once they have
registered, you can approve their registrations to allow them to participate.

1. On the Invite Bidders/Invite Suppliers/Invite Respondents page, you can enter the
email address of the non-registered user in the Additional Contact Email field.

2. Click Next and continue creating your sourcing document.

3. Once you receive a notification that the user has registered, you must approve the
registration. From the Portal page click Approve/Reject Supplier Users.

4. On the Supplier User Registration Summary page, select the user you would like to
approve and click View Details.

5. On the Approve a Supplier User page, review the information supplied by the user. If
the information is correct, click Approve.

To invite a user to register:

If you have the Sourcing Super User authorization, you can directly invite a user to register with
the system

1. From the Portal page, click "Invite a Supplier User."

2. On the Invite a Supplier User page, enter the required information (if the supplier
company information does not exist within the system, a buyer with the appropriate
authorization can add the company to your Supplier Master).

3. Click Invite. The user is sent a registration notification including the registration URL.
Once the user has completed the registration form, you receive a notification requesting
that you approve the registration.

4. Once you receive a notification the user has registered, you must approve the
registration. From the Portal page, click Approve/Reject Supplier Users.

1-34
 5. On the Supplier User Registration Summary page, select the user you would like to
approve and click View Details.

6. On the Approve a Supplier User page, review the information supplied by the user. If
the information is correct, click Approve.

To register a user yourself:

Anyone with the Sourcing Super User authorization, can directly register and approve users.

1. From the Portal page, click "Register a Supplier User."

2. On the Register an External User page, enter the required information.

■ Search for and select the supplier company name by

using the flashlight icon (if the supplier company
information does not exist within the system, a buyer with
the appropriate authorization can add the company to your
Supplier Master).

■ Select the applications to which the user will have access.

3. Click Register. You receive a confirmation that the new user has been registered.

1-35
How can I invite suppliers to participate in my negotiation?

You can invite suppliers to participate in your negotiation by selecting them from the Supplier Master or by
applying predefined invitation lists. Invitations are automatically sent to each supplier.

1-36
What is the purpose of notifications? Who receives them and when?

Notifications are used to communicate specific events to users.

Event Recipient Purpose

To inform them that
Preview or open the negotiation is open
Buyers
date/time for previewing or
bidding
To invite them to
Preview or open acknowledge intent,
All invited suppliers
date/time and participate in the
negotiation
To invite them to
Preview or open
All invited additional contacts register, acknowledge
date/time
intent, and participate
To inform them about
Early close of an RFQ or
All invitees and suppliers the newly updated
auction
close time
To inform about the
Extend close date/time
All invitees and suppliers newly extended close
of an RFQ or auction
date/time
To inform the supplier
Supplier whose response has
Disqualify a bid or quote the bid has been
been disqualified
disqualified
To inform all
All bidders in the open and sealed
bidders/suppliers that
Disqualify a bid or quote auction, or all suppliers in the
a certain Quote/Bid
sealed RFQ.
has been disqualified
To notify them the
Cancel a negotiation All invitees and suppliers negotiation is closed

To notify the suppliers

that the RFQ or
Award an RFQ or auction has been
All suppliers
auction awarded and how
many lines have been
accepted or rejected
To invite them to
Starting a new round in Suppliers who are invited for the participate in an
an RFQ or auction new round additional round of
negotiation

1-37
 To notify them that
All suppliers from the previous
Starting a new round in they are not invited for
round who are not invited in the
an RFQ or auction the additional round of
new round
negotiation
To inform and
Invitee not
encourage invitee to
acknowledging intent Supplier who hasn't responded
acknowledge intent to
within the allowed time
participate

1-38
When does an invitee receive a reminder email notification?

If companies do not acknowledge participation by a certain time, they receive a reminder email notification once
the negotiation has opened for either previewing or responding. When the reminder gets sent depends on the
duration of the negotiation. The negotiation duration is the length of time between either the preview date (if the
buyer specified one) or the open date, and the close date.

Negotiation Duration Reminder Email Sent

Equal to or less than 24 One hour after the

hours Preview/Open Date

More than 24 hours but One day after the

less than one week Preview/Open Date
Equal to or longer than Three days after the
one week Preview/Open Date

Notes:

● If the buyers manually advance the close date to before the original reminder time, then invitees do not
receive a reminder. Otherwise, they receive it at the original reminder time.

● If additional companies are added before the original reminder time, these new invitees receive
reminders at the original time; however, if they are added after the original reminder time, they do not
receive reminders.

● If the buyer starts another round of negotiation before the reminder time, the reminder is not sent. The
new round of negotiation is now treated as a regular new negotiation and invited companies in the new
round should acknowledge their intent to participate again.

● If the negotiation is closed, canceled or deleted before the reminder time, then invitees do not receive
any reminder.

1-39
Do suppliers need to acknowledge their intent to participate before submitting responses?

Suppliers are encouraged to acknowledge their participation intention after they receive the invitation email.
Such acknowledgments are intended to enhance communication between buyers and suppliers and inform
buyers of the potential participation. It is not mandatory to acknowledge your intent before submitting
responses.

1-40
Can I respond to a negotiation created by someone in my company?

No. You cannot respond to any negotiation that your company owns.

1-41
What is the quickest way to respond to a negotiation that has many line items?

If the negotiation you wish to respond to contains many line items, you can download a spreadsheet which you
can complete offline to specify your response information. Once you have completed this spreadsheet, you can
upload it to enter your responses into the system to. Bulk loading is also useful if you respond in similar
negotiations that occur repeatedly.

1-42
Can I invite additional suppliers to an RFQ or auction I've already created?

Yes. Any user assigned the appropriate job function can add suppliers to an RFQ or auction any time before
the close date and time.

1-43
How many characters can be entered into the Item Description and the Note fields?

For an Item Description field, you can enter a maximum of 240 characters.

For a Note field, you can enter a maximum of 2000 characters.

1-44
Can the system administrator require buyers to use a certain rank indicator?

Yes. As the system administrator, you can require a particular indicator be used for all negotiations. Click the
Administration tab, and then click "Negotiations Configuration." Select the indicator and specify whether users
can override your selection.

1-45
How can I check which purchase orders were created after completing my RFQ/auction?

There are various ways to check which purchase orders were created.

● In Oracle Sourcing, access the negotiation whose associated purchase orders you wish to see by
entering the negotiation number into the Search Negotiations fields. On the Negotiations Summary
page, select Award Summary from the Action menu and click Go. On the Award Summary page, click
the response number link to view the information on that response including the corresponding
purchase order created for that response.

● You can check your Notifications for the Purchase Order Creation Notification, which includes the
purchase order numbers along with other information.

● You can search for the purchase orders in Oracle Purchasing by entering the negotiation data, for
example, the negotiation number. This displays all purchase orders for a particular negotiation. You can
also search Oracle Purchasing by entering the original requisition information.

1-46
Getting Started with RFQs

RFQs supports the full business process to solicit quotes from suppliers. The suppliers' responses to the RFQ
allow the buyer to compare quotes and negotiate the best price and specifications for the good or service.
RFQs enable buyers to collect quotes from suppliers for complex and hard-to-define items or services. Once
suppliers have submitted an initial round of quotes, buyers can review quotes and award the RFQ or submit a
modified RFQ for another round of quoting.

● The RFQ process usually lasts days or weeks through multiple rounds of negotiations.

● RFQ is typically used for complex items or services such as made-to-order manufacturing items or
construction projects.

● RFQs typically consist of multiple rounds with competition focused on whether supplier(s) can meet the
specific requirements.

● RFQs supports both blind and sealed RFQs. Suppliers cannot view competing quotes while the
negotiation is in progress.

Steps in the RFQ process include:

1. RFQ creation
Buyers initiate RFQs that may include multiple line items by publishing the RFQ and
inviting suppliers.

2. Quote preparation and submission

Suppliers view the RFQ details and submit their quotes online.

3. RFQ monitoring
Buyers can monitor real-time quote activity and take appropriate action.

4. RFQ modification or awarding

Buyers analyze the quotes and either award the RFQs or modify the RFQs and open
them for another round of quoting. Once the RFQ is completed, suppliers are
immediately notified of the results via online notifications.

RFQ Capabilities

● RFQ templates

● Reusable attribute lists

● Reusable invitation lists

● Price elements

● Price breaks

1-47
 ● Manual extend and early close features

● Multiple RFQ styles: blind or sealed

● Sourcing Events

● Canceling RFQs and Disqualifying quotes

● Monitoring quote activity in realtime

● Graphic RFQ monitor

● Purchase order generation

● Attribute based quoting

● Capture Total Cost

● Terms and Conditions enforcement

● Quoting online and offline (spreadsheet quoting)

● Multi-round quoting

● Quote comparison

● Real-time status updates

● Notes and attachments

● Online or offline awarding capability (spreadsheet awarding)

● Integration with Oracle Purchasing

1-48
 Frequently Asked Questions: RFQs

1-49
What are the Unlock Date and the Unseal Date?

The Unlock Date is the date when the buyer unlocks the closed RFQ to view the received quotes. The Unseal
Date is the date when the buyer unseals the unlocked RFQ allowing the suppliers to view the quotes as well.

1-50
Can I submit multiple quotes per round?

If allowed by the quote controls, you can submit multiple quotes within the same round.

1-51
Can I cancel or retract my quote?

No. You can contact the buyer who created the RFQ and ask to have your quote disqualified, but quote
disqualification is at the discretion of the buyer.

1-52
What are the Quote Currency and the RFQ Currency?

● RFQ Currency
The RFQ currency is the functional currency for the set of books of the organization under which the
RFQ was created. It is the RFQ buyer's reference and review currency.

● Quote Currencies
Additional currencies in which quotes will be accepted.

An RFQ buyer can setup an RFQ to accept quotes in multiple currencies by selecting the RFQ currency and
then identifying any Quote currencies in which quotes will be accepted. Suppliers can choose the Quote
currency in which they will place their quotes. Quotes are converted to the RFQ currency for quote review.

1-53
What is the most efficient way to quote on many line items in an RFQ?

If an RFQ consists of many line items, the most efficient way for a supplier to quote is to use a spreadsheet to
download the contents of the RFQ and prepare the quotes offline. Downloading the RFQ contents allows
suppliers to quickly respond, completing multiple item attributes. Suppliers complete the quoting process by
uploading the spread sheet back to the system. During the upload, spreadsheet items are validated to ensure
the integrity of the submitted quote.

1-54
How can I view the quote values for all the price elements of an RFQ item?

You can view the quote values for an item's price elements from the Negotiations Summary page.

1-55
What is the Promise Date, and why would I enter one?

In an RFQ whose outcome is a standard purchase order, Promise Date is an required field. In an RFQ whose
outcome is a blanket purchase agreement, the Promise Date is required only if the RFQ uses multi-attribute
weighted scoring and Promise Date is one of the scored attributes. In all other cases, the Promise Date is
optional.

When Promise Date is an optional response, you can enter a Promise Date to differentiate your response from
other competing responses.

1-56
Is an RFQ always blind or sealed and why?

An RFQ is always either blind or sealed. This is one of the feature of RFQs and mirrors the general off-line
behavior of this negotiation model.

1-57
How can I invite a group of people from a supplier?

Ask the supplier (or a supplier contact) to create a group email list that includes all the individuals who should
receive the negotiation notifications. Once the supplier has provided you the email address, you can enter the
address in the Additional Contact Email field during negotiation creation.

1-58
Can I invite additional suppliers to subsequent rounds of an RFQ?

Yes. When creating additional rounds for an RFQ, you can invite additional suppliers by using the same
process employed during the initial RFQ creation.

● You can invite suppliers by selecting them from the supplier master list. An automatic invitation will be
sent to each invited supplier.

● See How do I invite suppliers to my RFQ or auction? for details on identifying contacts.

1-59
In a sealed RFQ, can I see who is bidding?

In a sealed RFQ, you can see how many quotes are being placed; however, you cannot see either the name of
the respondent or the details of the bid until you unlock the RFQ.

1-60
Why can't I see the graphical monitor in a sealed RFQ?

While an RFQ is sealed, none of the details are available for viewing by any suppliers. Once the buyer has
unlocked and unsealed the quotes, you can use the Graphical Monitor to view quotes.

1-61
Can I close my RFQ earlier than the original close time?

If you select the Early Close option when specifying quote controls, you can manually close your RFQ earlier
than the original close date/time.

1-62
How do I start another round of quoting in an RFQ?

Once an RFQ has been closed, you can start another round of quoting.

1. Use the negotiation number in the Search Negotiations fields on the Negotiations Home page to
access the negotiation.

2. On the Negotiations Summary page, select Close Early from the Action menu to close the RFQ.
3. Select Start New Round from the Action Menu.

On the Start New Round page, you can modify the following:

● Title

● Style

● Ranking method

● Rank indicator

● Preview Date/Time

● Open Date/Time

● Close Date/Time

● Award Date/Time

● Collaboration team information

● Item information

● Invitation List
● Notes and attachments

1-63
Can I modify an initial RFQ for the next round?

You can modify the following information for each round of an RFQ:

● Preview date/time
● Open date/time
● Close date/time
● Award date/time
● Need by date
● List of invited suppliers
● Attachments

1-64
Getting Started with Auctions

Auctions offers complete, flexible auction capabilities to buyers so they can efficiently obtain the
best possible price for goods and services. Prices are established based on actual supply and
demand at the time the auction is transacted. Auctions allow real-time interaction to drive
dynamic prices based on information that extends beyond price to include lead times, quantity
and item-specific attributes. Because most auctions are open for short periods of time, the
bidding process moves quickly which results in increased competition.

● Auctions last for a set period of time, typically a matter of a few days, although the close
time can be extended manually or automatically based on last minute bids.

● Auctions enable buyers to solicit bids for goods and services that are clearly defined,
such as office furniture or memory chips.

● Auctions are typically focused on creating competition between bidders.

● Negotiations allows buyers to establish either public or private auctions to meet the
specific needs of buyers.

Steps in the auction process include:

1. Creating the auction

The buyer defines the auction and includes all the auction item information, the
business terms and conditions and intended bidders.

2. Responding to the auction

Bidders participate in the auction by viewing the auction items and submitting
bids online. If permitted by the auction rules, bidders can view competitive bids
during the auction.

3. Monitoring the bid responses

The buyer and all other participants can monitor the real-time activity during the
auction and take action as necessary.

4. Evaluating and awarding bids

The buyer analyzes the bids and awards the auction based on the price, bid
quantity, bid attribute value(s). Once the auction is completed, bidders are
immediately notified of the auction results via online notifications.

Auction features include:

● Auction templates

● Reusable attribute lists

● Reusable invitation lists

1-65
 ● Price elements

● Price breaks

● Autoextend feature

● Manual extend and early close features

● Multiple Auction styles: open, blind or sealed

● Minimum Bid Decrement/Increment

● Sourcing Events

● Proxy bidding

● Power bidding

● Attribute based bidding

● Capture Total Cost

● Canceling auctions and Disqualifying bid

● Moniting bid activity

● Purchase order generation

● Real-time status updates

● Bidding online and offline (spreadsheet bidding)

● Bid comparison

● Graphic Auction Monitor

● Notes and attachments

● Integration with Oracle Purchasing

● Online or offline awarding capability (spreadsheet awarding)

1-66
 Frequently Asked Questions: Auctions

1-67
What are the different auction styles?

The buyer can choose from three types of auctions:

● Open: everyone can see the bid content, but only the buyer can see the identity of the bidder.

● Blind: Only the buyer can see the bid content

● Sealed: Neither the buyer nor the suppliers can see the bid content until the auction closes. The buyer
can see the bids once the auction is unlocked. Everyone can see the bid content once the auction is
unsealed.

1-68
What is the difference between Quote/Bid start price and target price?

When creating a new RFQ or auction, you can optionally set a bid start price (quote start price for an RFQ) and
target price for every item in the RFQ or auction. The start price is the maximum price in a RFQ or auction at
which bidding (or quoting) for one unit of the the item will start. The target price is the price you hope to pay for
one unit of an item. You can elect to display the target price to participants.

1-69
Why isn't there a target price for every item?

Target price is an optional value. Buyers are not required to designate a target price for every item.

1-70
What is the target price used for?

The target price is mainly used for internal performance analysis for the buyer. The buyer can also choose to
display the target price to the bidders for reference.

1-71
Can someone in my company award an auction that I create?

If granted the appropriate authorization, someone else at your company can award an auction created by you.

1-72
Can two people from the same company bid on the same auction?

Yes. All registered users in a company can bid on the same auction, provided that:

1. The auction to which they are responding is not owned by their company
2. The bid controls for this auction allow multiple bids per round , and
3. They have the appropriate function security .

Note: Two people from the same cannot quote in the same RFQ.

1-73
When two respondents from the same company place bids, can they view each other's bid details?

Depending on the auction style, the bidders will be able to see different information as shown below:

Auction Style Other Bidder's Viewable Information

Company Name
Time of bid
Bid details
Open Any Notes and Attachments (if notes and
attachments are viewable for auction)

Company Name
Blind Time of bid

Company Name
Sealed/Locked Time of bid

Company Name
Time of bid
Sealed/Unlocked or Bid details
Sealed/Unsealed Any Notes and Attachments (if notes and
attachments are viewable for auction)

1-74
If my RFQ/auction is open to all suppliers, why would I invite suppliers to participate?

For a public RFQ/auction, you are not required to send invitations to any suppliers. However, you might want to
send invitations to increase specific suppliers' awareness of your RFQ/auction and encourage participation.

When you invite a supplier to participate, that supplier receives an e-mail notification about your RFQ/auction,
and your RFQ/auction appears in that supplier's "Open Invitations" list of invitations.

1-75
Why is the "Can bidders see other bidders notes and attachments?" bid control not available for blind
auctions?

Blind auctions by definition do not allow bidders to view other suppliers' bids.

1-76
Can a bidder retract a bid?

If a bidder has submitted, the bidder can contact the buyer and ask to have the bid disqualified. Bid
disqualification, however, is up to the discretion of the buyer.

1-77
Why can't I always view scores and weights set up by the buyer?

The buyer can optionally hide scores and weights from the bidder. When the buyer hides scores/weights, the
bidder can only view the resulting Price to Total Score for a bid.

1-78
Why are display-only attributes not visible in the Bid Compare page?

Display only attributes are used to convey information to bidders. Bidders cannot respond to display only
attributes so there is no value for comparison.

1-79
How can I extend an auction beyond the close date/time?

You have two ways of closing an auction before its originally specified time by selecting either the Manual
Extend and/or AutoExtend bid controls when creating the auction.

● Manual Extend allows you to manually extend your auction close date/time before the auction closes.

● AutoExtend extends the duration automatically if new bids are received in the closing minutes of the
auction.

You can specify whether the auction is extended from the original close time or from the time when the winning
bid has been received. You can also define the total number of auto extensions and the extension period. You
can also specify if the autoextend is for the entire auction or particular line items.

1-80
How do two bids with the same score get ranked if the prices are the same?

The earliest bid gets a higher rank. For example, if Bidder B bids triggering a proxy bid for Bidder A, and the
resulting bid results in the same Price to Total Score ration, Bidder B receives the higher rank because the
proxy bid was created by the system after Bidder B's bid.

1-81
What is a Single Best Bid?

A Single Best Bid is a response to an auction that allows only one bid per company. The response is at the
company level, that is, once one user at a company responds, no other user at the same company can bid.
When the bid control "No - A bidder must submit a single, best bid" is selected for a multi-round auction, a
company can place one bid in each round when being invited to that round.

1-82
What is the difference between Proxy and Power Bidding?

Proxy Bid
You can define price parameters that allow the system to automatically rebid on your behalf. You can setup the
Proxy Bid Decrement for an auction, as well as the limit price, or Proxy Bid Minimum, for each item. When the
bid reaches the Proxy Bid Minimum, the bidding automatically stops. Once you have placed a proxy bid, you
cannot change any bid information (including responses to item attributes) until the Proxy Bid Minimum is
reached unless you cancel the proxy. Therefore if you are bidding in a Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring auction,
you cannot update attribute responses to better your score although proxy bid will rebid to better a price. Once
the limit price is reached, you can set new Proxy bid parameters or bid manually. Proxy bidding is not available
for any auction item that has price elements.

Power Bid
When rebidding, you can revise bids for all items on which you have previously bid by a specified percentage.
This allows you to streamline the rebidding process when you have bid on several items in the same auction.
When you use Power Bid, all of the bids in an auction will be decreased by the percentage specified. This is a
very useful feature when your goal is to win all auction items, or near the end of an auction period when there
may be a time constraint, and the bids must be submitted quickly. Power bid is not available for any auction
items having price elements.

Comment Proxy Bid Power Bid

Feature Use
Automatically updated
Unit of update
Number of updates per setup
Affect of price elements
Repeated automatic bidding. The
Speeds up the bidding process
system rebids until proxy is
by simultaneously updating the
canceled or minimum value is
bid prices for all bid items.
reached
Yes No
Currency value Percentage
Multiple times until canceled or
Once
the minimum price is reached
Not available for items with price Not available in auctions
elements containing price elements

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How does Proxy Bidding work in Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring auctions?

You can define Proxy Bid parameters with Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring auctions similar to price-only
auctions. However, since proxy bids are generated based only on the price of the competing bid, a bid can be
beaten based on the Price to Total Score ratio without triggering a new proxy bid.

For example, Supplier A places a bid of USD 95.00 with a score of 90 for the item, a proxy bid decrement of
USD10.00 and a proxy minimum of USD 75.00.

Supplier B then bids USD 94.00 with a score of 100 for the same item. This bid (94/100) is better than Supplier
A's bid (95/90). Since Supplier B's bid price is less than Supplier A's bid price, Supplier A's proxy is triggered to
place a new bid of USD 84.00. This bid (84/90) is now the winning bid.

Supplier B then places another bid of USD 92.00. Now Supplier B's bid (92/100) is better than Supplier A's bid
(84/90), but since Supplier B's bid price is still higher than Supplier A's bid price, Supplier A's proxy is not
triggered. Therefore, Supplier B's bid is the winning bid even though the bid price is higher. Supplier A's proxy
will only be triggered again if there is a bid with a price lower then USD 84.00. And since Supplier A's proxy
minimum (75.00) has not yet been reached, he cannot modify any attribute responses to try to improve his
score.

To avoid these situations, you may need to closely monitor Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring auctions which
also use proxy bidding. You may need to cancel the proxy bidding process to redefine attribute information to
improve your price to total score ration, not just the bid price.

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Can a bidder see the names of the other bidders?

Bidders cannot see other bidders' identities. Supplier identities are never revealed to other bidders.

1-85
1-86
 Additional Topics

1-87
What are the benefits of registering and participating in this system?

This system offers extensive benefits and numerous advantages specific to buyers and suppliers:

Benefits to All Participants

● Increase sales revenue and profitability.

● Reduce costs and streamline internal processes.

● Squeeze time out of the supply chain by optimizing resource utilization and improving
scheduling and cycle times.

● Squeeze cost out of the supply chain by reducing inventory with better material planning
and purchasing.

● Discuss negotiations to obtain better information and make informed decisions.

● Reduce new product rollout cycles and enhance design for manufacture and
serviceability with real-time collaborative engineering design and concurrent engineering.

● Expand your reach across many currencies and time zones, and the system-supported
languages.

Benefits to Buyers

● Obtain real-time access to a global base of suppliers.

● Save money on goods and services, both direct and indirect, using new Internet-based
business practices.

● Achieve savings using advanced sourcing tools, including RFIs (requests for
information), RFQs (requests for quotations), and auctions:

❍ Obtain the best value by using item attributes.

❍ Retain and enhance best practices in sourcing by using reusable sourcing

document templates.

❍ Manage complex negotiations efficiently using weighted scoring and multiple

negotiation rounds.

● Share product design information in real time, enabling trading partners to collaborate to
reduce new product rollout cycles.

Benefits to Suppliers

1-88
 ● Gain access to new markets with no startup cost.

● Reduce the cost of retaining existing customers and acquiring new ones.

● Compete effectively by using negotiations:

❍ Respond easily to RFQs.

❍ Leverage competitive advantage emphasizing value beyond just price.

● Gain access to demand information from buyers to optimize resources and provide the
lowest cost, on-time delivery of high quality products and services.

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Can international companies participate?

Companies from all over the world can participate on this system. This system supports multiple languages,
currencies, and time zones.

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What is a WinZip (or zip) file?

WinZip files are "archives" used for compressing, distributing, and storing files. WinZip files contain one or more
files (for example, text files or spreadsheet files). If you do not have the WinZip application for using WinZip
files, you can download a trial version, or order individual/site licenses, at http://www.winzip.com.

You can open and read any document archived in a WinZip file by double-clicking the document. However, the
best way to make and save changes to "zipped" documents - for example, the spreadsheet templates used in
the system - is to extract the documents from the WinZip file prior to editing. To extract, select the file(s) in the
WinZip window and click Extract.

Note: If you have difficulty downloading WinZip files from the system, or if you cannot see the
files in a WinZip file you have downloaded, you may need to upgrade to a WinZip version
greater than 6.2.

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Why can't I access some pages, links, buttons, or task bar options?

All system features are controlled by function security and your userid. Function security means that features
can be used only by users who are allowed access to the features. Your system administrator controls function
security by creating a Responsibility consisting of different functions. Users who are associated with this
responsibility can access and perform specific features. Your Sourcing responsibility assignments determine
which features you can use.

If you receive a Task Access Restriction message, or if you cannot view or access a specific page, link, button,
task bar option, or other feature, you should contact your system administrator to request additional function
assignments.

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Whom should I contact about technical difficulties?

If you experience technical difficulties with this system you should contact your system administrator.

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What if I have problems uploading files?

Check the online Help about errors or failures. If you still cannot determine the cause of an error or failure, or if
your upload does not complete, note the error text if any, the steps you performed that led to the problem, and
(for bulk load jobs only) the job number. Then contact your system administrator.

If you are using a slow dial-up connection, the connection, particularly for large files, may time out before the
system receives the file. If the feature in which you are uploading allows, try placing the file in a WinZip file to
reduce the file size or using a faster connection to the system.

Note: Depending on how the system is set up, some browsers will not upload files or browse
directories whose names contain language-specific marks such as accents or umlauts, or
multibyte languages (such as Chinese).

1-94
 2

Help for Sourcing Buyers

2-1
2-2
 Creating Negotiations

2-3
2-4
 Creating RFIs, RFQs, and Buyer's
Auctions

2-5
2-6
How do I create a new negotiation?

Sourcing Buyers can create RFIs, RFQs, or buyer's auctions.

Use the instructions on this page to create RFQs and auctions. Use the instructions in How do I create an RFI?
to create requests for information.

There are six main steps to creating a new RFQ or auction (after step 1, steps can be completed in any order):

❍ Step 1: Describe Your RFQ or auction

❍ Step 2: Enter Business Terms and Conditions

❍ Step 3: Add Items

❍ Step 4: Select Quote/Bid Controls

❍ Step 5: Invite Bidders/Suppliers

❍ Step 6: Review and Submit

If you have previously created an RFQ or auction, you can save time by copying an existing RFQ/Auction. You
can also create new RFQs and auctions quickly by applying an RFQ/Auction template. You can create an RFQ
or auction and save it as a draft before submitting it. This allows you to return to the creation process at a later
time. Or you can have multiple people working on the same RFQ or auction.

2-7
How do I create a new Request for Information (RFI)?

RFI's are used to qualify suppliers and their goods and services for subsequent procurement activities. RFIs
are used more for gathering information on goods and service provided by a supplier than to lock in particular
price information. Therefore, one unique feature of an RFI is that buyers can choose to define negotiation line
items without price and quantity and specify lists of criteria to which suppliers must respond. RFIs can be taken
to multiple rounds until the buyer has enough information to identify supplier(s) with which to deal. At the
conclusion of the RFI cycle, the information contained in the RFI can be copied into an RFQ or buyer’s auction.

Creating an RFI

In general, you use the same six step process to create an RFI that you use to create a buyer's auction or RFQ.

Step 1: Describe the RFI.

Step 2: Define the Terms and Conditions

Step 3: Add Item information to the RFI

Step 4: Specify response controls.

Step 5: You invite suppliers

Step 6: Publish the RFI

Specifying Criteria for Negotiation

You use item attributes to identify the criteria on which you wish to obtain information from the suppliers who
respond to your RFI. For example, assume you're intending to acquire a purchasing application for use within
your buying organization. A couple of the product criteria you might be interested in are:

● the level of product support a supplier can provide.

● the specific platforms the product can run on.

When you are defining your negotiation line item (purchasing application software), you could add two required
item attributes called Support and Platforms. Suppliers would then have to repsond to these item attributes by
describing the level of support they can offer and identifying on which platforms their product runs. Note that at
this point, you are not concerned yet with negotiating the price, only identifying the most appropriate suppliers.
Since you use the attribute fields to specify detailed item information you are interested in, be aware of the
following size limits:

● Attribute name: 240 characters

● Target value: 4000 characters

2-8
 ● Response: 4000 characters

Taking an RFI to a subsequent round of responding.

If you defined the response control to allow multiple rounds of responding, you may wish to perform several
rounds responding before you feel you have gathered enough information to complete the RFI.

1. To take an RFI to a new round, you must first close it. Once closed, you can return to the Negotiations
Summary page.

2. On the Negotiations Summary page, select Start New Round from the Actions menu.
3. On the Start New Round page, you can modify many of the attributes of the RFI:
❍ RFI Description information - you can change the RFI Title and/or style.

❍ RFI Timing information - you can change the open, preview or close dates

❍ Collaboration team members.

❍ RFI Item information - you can edit or delete existing items, and add new items.

❍Invitee Information - you can invite new suppliers to participate or delete previous invitees.
4. When you have completed entering any new RFI information, click Continue.
5. On the Review and Submit page, check the information, and if correct, click Publish (if the document
has approvers defined to the collaboration team, click Submit for Approval).

6. The confirmation page displays information on the new RFI version.

Converting an RFI to an RFQ/Buyer's Auction

Once you have identified the suppliers with whom you wish to negotiate, you can close the RFI and use the
information you've gathered to create an RFQ or buyer's auction document. There is no limit to the number of
negotiations you can create from a single RFI.

To convert the RFI into an RFQ/Buyer's Auction:

1. Close the RFI

2. Return to the Negotiations Summary page.
3. From the Actions menu, select Copy to RFQ or Copy to buyer's auction and click Go. You are returned
to Step 1: Describe your RFQ/Auction page in the creation process. All item and supplier information
are copied into the new draft RFQ/auction: the RFI number appears at the negotiation header level, and
the RFI number/RFI line appear at the line level. You can modify these values if you choose.

4. You can continue through the creation process and publish the document for negotiation.

2-9
How do I use Quick Links?

The Quick Links section of the Negotiations Home page provides easy, one-step access to your most
commonly performed Oracle Sourcing tasks. The links are organized by task and negotiation type so you can
find the link for the task you wish to perform. Simply clicking the link takes you to the page where you initiate
the operation.

The table below shows some of the operations available to Sourcing Suppliers by using Quick Links.

Supplier Operations
Creating responses to negotiations
Monitoring active responses
Managing draft responses
Viewing award decisions
Updating profile information

2-10
How does Oracle Sourcing use information in Oracle Purchasing when AutoCreating draft sourcing
documents?

If your Oracle Sourcing system is integrated with Oracle Purchasing, you can use requisition
information in Oracle Purchasing to create a draft sourcing document that you can then access
and edit. The backing requisition information is carried over from Oracle Purchasing and used
throughout the creation process. Requisition information in Oracle Purchasing can come from
any of several locations such as:

● Oracle iProcurement
● Oracle Purchasing

Using AutoCreate

AutoCreate allows you to select requisitions stored in Oracle Purchasing to create a Buyer's
Auction or Sourcing RFQ. When using AutoCreate, you can search for requisitions according to
different attributes such as item or category and include them in a single document. Once you
have identified the requisitions in which you are interested, AutoCreate uses the requisition
information to create a Buyer's Auction or Sourcing RFQ. The AutoCreated document is
assigned a document number. You can use this number to access the document in Oracle
Sourcing and to view the document from Oracle Purchasing or iProcurement. Once the new
document is created, the requisitions are no longer available for use by AutoCreate.

Grouping lines

When creating your document in AutoCreate you can choose to consolidate multiple requisition
lines if they refer to similar items. This grouping information is used when creating negotiation
lines for the sourcing document. There are two possible grouping types: Default and Requisition
lines.

● Default: Multiple requisition lines are grouped together if they have the same attributes
such as
❍ Item category

❍ Item number

❍ Item revision

❍ Item description

❍ UOM

❍ Ship-To address

❍ Line type

● Requisition lines: No grouping is performed. A negotiation line is created for each

requisition line.

Backing information

AutoCreate carries over the following backing requisition information when creating the sourcing

2-11
 document. Depending on the line type, you can modify some of this information.

Backing
If amount based line
requisition If quantity based line type
type
information
Operating unit Display only Display only
Functional
Display only Display only
currency
Line type Display only Display only
Item number Display only Display only
Item revision Display only Display only
Item
Display only Display only
description
Category
Display only Display only
name
Unit of
Display only Display only
measure
Modifiable. If multiple
requisitions have been
Quantity Always has a value of 1 grouped, the quantity is the
sum of the individual
requisition quantities.
Ship-to
Display only Display only
address
Line level
Modifiable Modifiable
attachments
Modifiable. If there is a
Modifiable. If there is a
single date, it becomes
single date, it becomes the
the Need-By date. If
Need-By date. If there is a
there is a range of
range of dates, the earliest
Need-By Date dates, the earliest
becomes the Need-By
becomes the Need-By
From date and the latest
From date and the latest
becomes the Need-By To
becomes the Need-By
date.
To date.
Modifiable. If multiple
Modifiable. If multiple
requisitions have been
requisitions have been
Bid Start Price grouped, the lowest
grouped, the lowest price
price becomes the Bid
becomes the Bid Start Price
Start Price.

Accessing the draft RFQ/Auction

2-12
 The draft document is owned by the user who first accesses it. If you have the Sourcing Super
User responsibility, you can always access and edit draft sourcing documents. Otherwise, there
are two ways you can access the draft document, and the authorizations you need differ
depending on which access you use.

● Your system administrator can set up the system so once you have completed the
document in AutoCreate, you are automatically transferred to Oracle Sourcing. To
access a draft directly from Oracle Purchasing, you must have the Edit Draft Sourcing
Document function to access a draft.

● Otherwise, if you know the number Autocreate assigned to the draft document, you can
access it directly from Oracle Sourcing. You must have the Manage Draft Sourcing
Documents function to access and edit the draft.

Editing the draft

The first time you access the draft, you must complete Step 1: Describe Your RFQ/Auction.

In general, you can edit your draft as you would any other draft except for the non-modifiable
information taken from the backing requisitions (see table above). You can apply a template to
the draft RFQ/Auction (backing requisition information takes precedence over any template
attributes).

You can add additional item lines if necessary. If you delete any of the lines originating from
AutoCreate or delete the RFQ/Auction, the backing requisitions are returned to the requisition
pool and become available for use.

Using the AutoCreated RFQ/Auction

In general you use an AutoCreated RFQ/Auction the same way as other RFQs/auctions. Note,
however, the following points:

● If you take the RFQ/Auction to multiple rounds of bidding/responding, the backing

requisition information is updated to point to the new RFQ/Auction.

● If you cancel an RFQ/Auction with line items originating from AutoCreate, the backing
requisitions are returned to the requisition pool. Also, if you only partially award a line
item quantity, the backing requisition(s) is returned to the requisition pool.

● Once you have completed awarding the RFQ/Auction, Oracle Sourcing creates either a
standard purchase order or a blanket purchase agreement and sends them back to
Oracle Purchasing along with references to the originating requisition.

2-13
How do I edit a negotiation document Autocreated in Oracle Purchasing?

You can use the AutoCreate feature in Oracle Purchasing to search for and group existing requisitions to create
a negotiation document (RFQ or auction) which can then be edited and processed through Oracle Sourcing.
Once the negotiation document has been created by AutoCreate, it exists as a draft negotiation within Oracle
Sourcing.

Accessing the draft document

If your Oracle Purchasing application is set up to allow it, you can be transferred directly from AutoCreate to
Step 1 in the negotiation creation process in Oracle Sourcing. Otherwise, you can use the "Manage" link under
the Drafts area of Quick Links on the Negotiations Home page to access the draft negotiation. Once you have
accessed the draft negotiation, continue editing it using the instructions in How do I create a new negotiation?
beginning with Step 2: Enter Item Terms.

Note the following about negotiations created by AutoCreate:

● Any backing requisition information is not updateable in Oracle Sourcing.

● The backing requisition information is viewable during the creation/editing process.

2-14
What information must I provide to describe my negotiation?

When you create a new negotiation, your first step is to enter descriptive details. Note that these details cannot be edited once
you proceed to the next step.

To describe your negotiation:

Complete the following fields (*indicates a required field):

● *Organization
The operating unit, such as a division or department, to which this negotiation applies. The organization
you select here determines the values for many later attributes (such as the negotiation currency and
shipping addresses). If this negotiation document was originally created in Oracle Purchasing, the
backing requisition information is carried forward and this field cannot be updated.

● *Title
The name by which this RFI, RFQ, or auction will be known.

● Event

● *Security Level
You can select a security level to restrict access to the sourcing document.

● * Style

● * Outcome (auction, RFQ only)

Designate your RFQ or auction outcome as either a standard purchase order (a one-time purchase, after
which the buyer is not committed to any future purchases) or a blanket purchase agreement (which
indicates that the buyer will commit to a contract for future purchases).

2-15
 ● Bid Ranking (auction, RFQ only)
Which attribute(s) you want to use when ranking competing bids. The default is to rank by price only, but
you can choose to have the system use additional attributes when determining the rank of responses.

● Rank Indicator (auction, RFQ only)

The method you wish to use to display the rank of competing responses when compared.

● Collaboration Team
You can identify a group of users from within your same company who will collaborate on this negotiation.
Some team members can be assigned view-only status. These members can view the document but
cannot update any information. For each member, you can optionally define a particular task for that
member to perform, and a target date by which the task should be completed. You can also identify team
member(s) who must approve the final document before it is published. See "How do security levels
work?" for information on the interaction between security levels and a collaboration team.

When you have finished describing your negotiation, click the "Enter Business Terms and Conditions" link or the Next button to
proceed to the next step.

2-16
How do I enter business terms and conditions for my RFxs and auctions?

Whether you create a new RFI/RFQ or auction or edit a draft, you must enter the business terms and conditions that will govern
the negotiation.

After you have entered your description, click the "Enter Business Terms and Conditions" link to access the Enter Business
Terms and Conditions page. Enter the following details (*indicates a required field):

● RFx/Auction Currency
The currency in which you will enter and view all monetary values. The currency is always defaults to the functional
currency for your organization and is display only.

If you select the "Allow responses in other currencies" option, click the "Define currency list" link to select the currencies
you will accept and enter exchange rates and price precisions for those currencies.

When you view the responses you have received, the system will automatically convert them to your default functional
currency.

● * Price Precision
The number of decimal places allowed for per-unit prices entered in the RFx/Auction currency. The precision you set
doesn't apply to per-unit prices entered in a currency other than the RFx/Auction currency, nor does it apply to currency
amounts such as Bid Total or the bid value of Fixed-Amount price elements. While you can set the precision for unit-
prices entered in a non-RFx/Auction currency when you define your currency list, the precision for amounts is
automatically governed by the standards defined by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization). The ISO
standards are used automatically by Sourcing.
● Agreement Terms

If you select blanket purchase agreement as the negotiation outcome, use can use the following fields for additional
information:

❍ Global Agreement

2-17
 ❍ Effective Start/Effective End
Use the pop-up calendar to identify the start and end dates of the agreement.

❍ Total Agreement Amount

The amount the buyer agrees to spend with the supplier over the course of the agreement.

❍ Minimum Release Amount

● *Billing Address
Address to which your RFQ/Auction bills should be sent. Click the flashlight icon to browser for other addresses. You can
select any of the addresses defined for your operating unit in Oracle Human Resources. The default address is defined in
Oracle Purchasing.

● Payment Terms
The payment terms for your suppliers. The possible values are defined in Oracle Payables. The default is set in Oracle
Purchasing.

● *Ship-To Address
Address to which the RFQ/Auction items will be shipped. Click the flashlight icon to browse for other addresses. The
possible values for your operating unit are defined in Oracle Human Resources. The default address is set in Oracle
Purchasing.

● Carrier
The freight carrier your supplier should use. The possible values for your operating unit are defined in Oracle Inventory.
The default is set in Oracle Purchasing.
● FOB
The FOB terms for your supplier. The possible values and the default are defined in Oracle Purchasing.

● Freight Terms
The freight terms for your supplier. The possible values and the default are defined in Oracle Purchasing.

2-18
 ● Note to Bidders

● Add Attachment

When you have finished entering your business terms and conditions, click the "Add Items" link to proceed to the next step, or
you can save the negotiation as a draft by clicking Save Draft. The draft document is available from the Negotiations Home
page.

2-19
Can I accept responses in multiple currencies?

When you create a new negotiation, the negotiation currency defaults to the functional currency defined for your operating unit.
However, you can accept responses in currencies other than the negotiation currency. Whenever you view the responses you have
received, the system will automatically convert the responses to the negotiation currency.

Though suppliers in a multi-currency negotiation can submit responses in several currencies, they are allowed to respond in only one
currency per response.

To define your currency list and currency exchange rates:

1. In Step 2 of creating your new negotiation, select the checkbox to allow responses in other currencies then click
the "Define currency list" link.

2-20
 2. On the valid currencies page, select the exchange rate type. The system may contain several different
exchange rate types. Select the appropriate type for your negotiation. You can use predefined exchange rates
or specify your own exchange rates.

■ To use predefined exchange rates:

■ Enter the date for which you wish to use this set of exchange rates.
■ Select the response currency you will accept.

■ To define your own exchange rates

■ Select the User Specified Rate type.

■ Select the response currency.
■ Define the exchange rate by entering the number of response currency units that equal
one unit of the negotiation currency. For example, if the negotiation currency is United
States dollars (USD) and the response currency you're defining is Swedish Kroner (SEK)
the exchange rate might be .09 meaning .09 kroner to one dollar.

3. Specify the price precision for the currency. If the precision for the response currency is greater than the
precision for the negotiation currency, the system will round when converting responses into the negotiation
currency.

4. Select the checkbox to publish the exchange rates if you want want to allow respondents to see your response
currency exchange rates.

5. If you are finished defining alternate currencies, click Done. Otherwise click Add Another and continue defining
currencies and exchange rates.

6. When you have finished defining currency information, continue creating your negotiation.

2-21
How do I restrict a supplier to a particular currency?

If you allow multiple response currencies for your negotiation, you can choose to restrict specific suppliers to
particular response currencies. You assign currencies to specific suppliers when you invite the suppliers to your
negotiation.

To restrict a supplier to a particular currency:

1. After you have selected your suppliers in Step 5, select a response currency for each supplier.
❍ If you accept the default, Any, the supplier can respond in any currency you have allowed for
this negotiation: the negotiation currency or any other response currency on your currency list.

❍ If you select a specific response currency for a supplier, the supplier can only submit a response
in either that currency or the negotiation currency.

❍ If the response currency you select for a supplier is not on your currency list, that response
currency is available to that supplier alone. No other suppliers may respond in that currency
unless you also associate that response currency with them.

❍ Multiple users in a supplier's organization can submit several initial bids, each in a different
currency, to a multi-currency negotiation. However, if a user submits a a rebid, the follow-up bid
must be in the same currency as the initial response.

2. If you selected User Specified Rate in "Step 2: Defining Business Terms and Conditions," enter an
exchange rate for the response currency you selected in the previous step.

3. Select a price precision for the response currency. The new price precision applies only to the suppliers
to whom you assign it.

4. Continue creating your negotiation.

2-22
When you create a new RFQ, auction, or RFI; or edit a draft negotiation, you must identify the item(s) you want to purchase or the items for which you
want quotes. You can enter items online or bulk load items from a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is useful if you are adding a large number of items.

After you have entered your negotiation description and the business terms and conditions, click the "Add Items" link to access the Add Items page.

To add items online:

1. Click the "Enter Item Information" link.

2. On the Enter Item Information page, provide the following information. *Indicates a required field:
■ *Line Type
The possible line types are defined in Oracle Purchasing. The line type determines whether this is a quantity-
based item such as 50 laser printers, or an amount-based item such as consulting services. If the line type is
amount-based, the unit of measure and quantity default and are display only.

2-23
 If a negotiation was created AutoCreated from Oracle Purchasing, the line type value is carried from the backing
requisition and is display only.

■ Item, Rev
The number and revision for this item. If this document was AutoCreated from Oracle Purchasing, these values
are carried from the backing requisition line item and are display only.

If you are entering an item in Sourcing, you can enter item information directly or search for items from the Item
Master by clicking the flashlight icon. On the Search and Select: Inventory Item, enter search values for either the
item number or item description and click Go (note that the search values are case sensitive). From the Results
display, slick the link for the item you wish to add to your negotiation. You are returned to the Enter Item
Information page with the item number and description values displayed. If there are revision values, you can
select the appropriate value from the Rev menu.

■ *Item Description
A text description of the line item. If the negotiation was created from a backing requisition, the description is
carried from the backing requisition line item and is display only. If the item was added from Inventory directly from
Sourcing, the description from Inventory will default.

■ *Category
Group in which the item belongs. The default category value is based on line type. Click the flashlight icon to
search for a category. If the negotiation was created from a backing requisition, the category value is carried from
the backing requisition line item and is display only. If you searched from Sourcing for an item from the Item
Master, the category value defaults to the category for the item and cannot be updated.

■ *Unit of Measure (Required for standard purchase orders only)

Unit of measure in which you plan to purchase your item. The system recognizes the UN standardized unit of
measure codes. If you selected an amount based line type above, the default for this field is set by the Sourcing
Super User.

If the negotiation was AutoCreated from a backing requisition, the unit of measure value is carried from the
backing requisition line item and is display only.If you selected the item from the Item Master directly in Sourcing,
the UOM values available to you are only those appropriate to the item.

■ *Quantity (standard purchase order only)

Number of units of the item you want to purchase. If you selected an amount-based line type above, this field is
display only, defaults to 1, and cannot be scored in a Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring RFQ/Auction.

If the negotiation was created from multiple backing requisitions, this is the total of the backing requisition line item
quantities.

■ Estimated Quantity (blanket purchase agreements only)

The organization's best estimate of demand for the item over the life of the blanket agreement. Note that this field
is optional for blanket purchase agreements and cannot be scored. .

■ Item Attributes
To add item attributes to your item, click the "Enter New Item Attributes" link or the "Apply Predefined Attribute
Lists" link. In a Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring RFQ/Auction, you can assign weights to attributes.

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 ■ Need-By From/Need-By To (standard purchase order only)
Use the pop-up calendar to select the dates as necessary to specify when you need to receive the item. If you
supply values for both fields, you specify a time window (inclusive of the end date). If you leave both fields blank,
there is no time constraint on receiving the item. A value in Need-By From with no value in Need-By To indicates
the date on or after which you need to receive the item. A value in Need-By To with no value in Need-By From
indicates the date on or before which you need to receive the item.

If the negotiation was created from a single backing requisition, the Need-By From and the Need-By To fields are
set to the requisition need-by date. If the negotiation was created from multiple backing requisitions, the Need-By
From field defaults to the earliest requisition line's need-by date. The Need-By To field defaults to the latest
requisitions need-by date.

■ *Ship-To Address (standard purchase order only)

The default address is the address you selected in Step 2. Accept the default address or click the flashlight icon to
browse for a different address. If this negotiation was created from backing requisitions, the ship-to address is
display only.

■ RFQ/Auction Currency and Price Precision

This is the default functional currency for your operating unit and the price precision you selected in Step 2. You
cannot change these values.

■ Minimum Release amount (blanket purchase agreement only)

The minimum amount for a release against a blanket agreement. The amount of a release must be equal to or
greater than the minimum.

■ Quote/Bid Start Price

The price at which Quoting/Bidding for one unit of an item must begin. A start price is not required, but if the buyer
specifies one, all quotes/bids in an RFQ or auction must be equal to or below the Start Price.

If the negotiation was created from backing requisitions, the start price defaults to the lowest requisition price of all
requisitions for that item. However, if the line type is amount-based, the start price defaults to the requisition
quantity.

■ Target Price
Price you hope to pay for one unit of your item. Select "Display to Suppliers" if you want the RFQ or auction
participants to see your target price.

■ Current Price
Price you are currently paying for the item. The current price can be used to negotiation auction performance.

Note: Suppliers are never able to view the current price.

3. Price Break (blanket purchase agreements on goods-bases items only)

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 Enter price breaks to negotiation a pricing structure with your supplier based on quantity, location or promise date.

● Add Price Elements

Price elements allow you to capture additional item costs such as freight or special charges. Click "Add Price Elements" to select
price elements and apply them to this item.

● Select Reusable Price Element List and Enter Target Values

Click the link to browse and select active that have been created. You can still enter the target value and select a pricing basis for
each price element in the list and then apply the list.

● Note to Suppliers
Text note about this item (for example, details about item specifications or color preferences).

● Add Attachments
You can attach a text file containing additional information or a URL where a file is located. You must add a description of the
attachment. You can also query the Document Catalog for existing documents to attach. To control access to the attachment,
you can declare which category to which it belongs. Attachments can be assigned the the following catalog definitions:

Viewable by the supplier:

● To Supplier (default)
Can be viewed by users in the buying organization and suppliers responding to the negotiation.

● From Supplier (supplier-created attachments)

Can be viewed by buyers and suppliers.

Viewable by users within Oracle Sourcing

● To Receiver
Oracle Purchasing displays these attachments to the receiver in receiving windows

● To Approver
Can be viewed by any approver of the sourcing document.

● To Buyer
Purchasing displays these attachments to buyers when creating purchase orders from requisitions.

● Miscellaneous
Can be viewed by internal users who can access the sourcing document.

● Payables
Purchasing displays these attachments during invoice matching.

● Internal to Sourcing
Information is viewable only within Oracle Sourcing. Any attachment information is not carried over into Oracle
Purchasing.

● When you have finished entering your auction item information, click Done at the bottom of the Enter Item page. To enter another
auction item, click the "Enter Item Information" link again and repeat the preceding step. You can also add items from a spreadsheet
created offline.

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 ● When you have finished entering all items clink the "Select Quote/Bid Controls" link to proceed to the next step.

To bulk load items from a spreadsheet:

1. Click "Load Item(s) from Spreadsheet."

2. On the Load Items from Spreadsheet page, click the link to download a spreadsheet template.

3. On the Download Spreadsheet Template page, you have the choice to download a zip file or individual files in either
Excel or text format, and an Instructions file. Choose the appropriate file(s) and click Download Now.

4. Open the Instructions file and follow the directions to complete the template.
5. When you have completed the template, return to the Load Item(s) from Spreadsheet page and click Start Load Now.
Follow the directions on the page to upload your items.

6. When the upload has completed, the items that you have uploaded are listed on the Add Items page.
■ You can edit or delete existing items by selecting an item and clicking the appropriate button.

■ You can still enter additional items online.

■ If you created the negotiation using a spreadsheet, any spreadsheet item category values take precedence over
item category values defined for the negotiation template.

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 ■ If you used a negotiation template, any item attributes defined to the template are added to any item attributes
defined in the spreadsheet. If the same item attribute is defined in both places, the spreadsheet value takes
precedence.

■ You can use a spreadsheet to upload item attributes and price elements.

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What are response controls?

When you create a new RFI, RFQ, Buyer's Auction, you set response controls to determine the negotiation
length, participants, responding frequency, open and closing times and many other variables.

After you have entered the negotiation description, the business terms and conditions, and added item(s), click
the "Select ... Controls" link to access the Controls page for that negotiation type. Complete the following fields
as appropriate for the negotiation type:

● *When does the RFI/RFQ/auction open?

Use the pop-up calendar to select the date and use the drop down menu to select the time when all
eligible suppliers are allowed to participate in the negotiation, or select to open the negotiation
immediately.

For negotiations that are set to open at a future date, you can set a date and time (prior to the open
date and time) when the negotiation will be available for previewing.
● *When does the RFI/RFQ/auction close?
Use the pop-up calendar to select the date and use the drop down menu to select the time when the
negotiation will be closed. Once closed, no further responses may be accepted.

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 If you allow the control manual close/close early, the negotiation can be closed prior to the defined close
date.
If you allow the control manual extend, the time limit for the negotiation can be extended past the
original close date. When you extend a negotiation you specify the new close date. If the sourcing
document you are working on was AutoCreated using requisitions in Oracle Purchasing, the Close Date
cannot be later than the Need-By Date on the backing requisition.

● AutoExtend (auctions only)

You can have your auction automatically extended if a new winning bid is received during the final
minutes of your auction. For example, if you enable an AutoExtend of 30 minutes, with AutoExtend set
to start at the current scheduled auction close time, and a new winning bid is received in the final 30
minutes of the auction (the AutoExtend period), your auction will be automatically extended for 30
minutes past the current scheduled close time.

If you enable AutoExtend, you can change the following AutoExtend settings by clicking the "Change
AutoExtend Settings" link On the Change AutoExtend Settings page, enter the following information
(*indicates a required field):

❍ Which items do you want to AutoExtend?

You can extend bidding for all auction items, or only for those items that receive winning bids
during the AutoExtend period. The AutoExtend period is determined by the length of each
AutoExtension (see below).

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 ❍ *How many AutoExtensions will you allow?
You can set the maximum number of times the auction can be extended, or you can allow
AutoExtend to occur indefinitely (until bidding has ended).

❍ *How long is each AutoExtension?

You must specify the duration (in minutes) of each AutoExtend. This setting also determines the
end-of-auction window (the AutoExtend period) during which a winning bid triggers an
AutoExtension.

For example, if you specify that each AutoExtension is 20 minutes:

■ Each AutoExtension will last for 20 minutes after the start time you specify (below), and

■ The period from 20 minutes prior to the scheduled close of the auction to the scheduled
close of the auction is the AutoExtend period during which a winning bid will trigger
AutoExtend.

❍ What is the start time of each AutoExtension?

You can start AutoExtensions at the scheduled close time of the auction, or at the time that a
winning bid is received during the AutoExtend period. For example, if you enable an AutoExtend
of 30 minutes, and a winning bid is received in the final 30 minutes of the auction, your auction
will automatically extend for 30 minutes past the scheduled close time of the auction if you
select "Current scheduled auction close time." However, your auction will be automatically
extended for 30 minutes past the time that the winning bid is received if you select "Receipt time
of the triggering winning bid."

Click Done on the Change AutoExtend Settings page.

Note that two other bid controls can affect the "winning bid" that triggers an AutoExtension:

❍ Can a bidder select items on which to bid?

You can specify that a bidder may bid on any individual item(s) the bidder chooses. In this case,
a winning bid is determined by the unit bid price for an item. Your auction AutoExtends only if
the new unit bid price for an item is better than the current best unit bid price for that item.

Alternatively, you can specify that a bidder must bid on all items in an auction. In this case, a
winning bid is determined by the total bid value (the sum of all of a bidder's bids on the items in
the auction). Your auction AutoExtends only if the new total bid value is better than the total bid
value of all current active bids.

Note: If a bid is on an item with weighted attributes, its bid value is its price to score ratio, not
just the bid price. In this case, the price to score ratio is used to determine the winning bid.
❍ What is the minimum bid price decrement?
If you selected the Price Only bidding option for your auction, you can specify that bidders must
submit rebids that are better than their current bid price by a specific minimum amount (the
decrement amount). In this case, a winning bid must fit both of the following criteria:

■ The bid must be the best bid price submitted in the auction, and

■ If a rebid, the rebid must be better than the bidder's own current bid price by the
minimum bid decrement amount.

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 Note: If you selected the option "Auction can be manually extended," you can revise your
AutoExtend settings while the auction is in progress.

● When will you award business (RFQs and Auctions only)?

Use the pop-up calendar to select the date and use the drop down menu to select the time when you
anticipate announcing the winner of the RFQ or auction . This is displayed to the respondents.

● Rank Indicator
You can choose the method by which the winning and losing responses are displayed.

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 ● Who can respond/quote/bid?
You can allow all suppliers to respond to the negotiation, or you can specify that participation is by
invitation only.

Note: If you specify that participation is by invitation only, you must invite at least one
supplier to participate.

● Can suppliers see other suppliers' notes and attachments? (not for blind negotiations)
You can specify that suppliers in the negotiation will be allowed to see any notes and attachments
included with other suppliers' quotes or bids, or you can restrict suppliers from seeing other suppliers'
notes and attachments.

● Can this RFI/RFQ/auction go into multiple rounds of bidding?

You can specify that the negotiation can continue into additional rounds after the close date, or you can
specify that the negotiation will not be allowed to continue into additional rounds after the close date.
● Can a supplier/bidder select items on which to respond/quote/bid?
You can allow participants to respond to individual item(s) in the negotiation, or specify that they must
respond to all lines in the negotiation.

● Are full quantity responses/quotes/bids required?

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 You can specify that participants must submit responses for the full quantity of items in the negotiation.
Alternatively, participants can submit responses for partial quantities of items. If you have weighted and
scored the quantity attribute, you must set this to No.

● Are multiple responses/quotes/bids allowed?

You can specify that responders must submit a single, best response in the negotiation, or may submit
multiple responses during the negotiation open period.

● Must bid prices always decrease? (Auctions not using weighted attribute scoring only)
If you have allowed bidders to submit multiple bids, you can specify that bidders must submit rebids that
are better than their current bid price by a specific minimum amount. That is, rebids must decrease by a
minimum amount. You can enter either a straight amount or a percentage by which bids must improve.
Use numbers, for example, "10."

Note: A bid decrement amount will always be applied to a bidder's current bid price. If
you specify your bid decrement amount as a percentage, the decrement percentage will
be calculated based on a bidder's original bid price, but will be applied to the bidder's
current bid price. For example:

Auction #1234; bid decrement = $100

Bidder A's original bid = $1,000
Bidder A's second bid = $900
Bidder A's third bid = $800
Bidder A would not be allowed to submit a fourth bid of $750 (this is less than the
minimum bid decrement of $100)

Auction #2234; bid decrement = 20%

Bidder B's original bid = $1,000
Bidder B's second bid = $800
Bidder B's third bid = $600
Bidder B would not be allowed to submit a fourth bid of $480 (this is less than the
minimum bid decrement of 20%)

When you have finished setting the negotiation controls, click the "Step 5: Invite ..." link to proceed to the next
step in creating your negotiation.

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How do I invite suppliers to participate in my negotiation?

Participation in RFQs

Unless you specified differently on the Select Quote Controls page, participation in RFQs is by invitation
by default.

For an RFQ, you must invite at least one supplier. To invite specific suppliers see Inviting Suppliers below.

You can choose to open your RFQ to all suppliers. If you do, you do not have to explicitly invite any
suppliers although you may have the system send notifications if you choose.

Participation in Auctions

Unless you specified differently on the Select Bid Controls page, auctions are open to all suppliers by
default. Bidders will see your auction when they search using the View Open Auctions page. Even
though the auction is already open to them, you can choose to also send certain bidders notifications of a
particular auction to encourage their participation. You can select the bidders you wish to notify from a list
of suppliers, or if you frequently invite a certain group of bidders, you can apply a predefined invitation list
that identifies these bidders.

You can restrict your auction to bidders you specifically invite by selecting the appropriate control on the
Select Bid Controls page. To invite specific suppliers see Inviting Suppliers below.

Inviting suppliers
After entering your negotiations description, business terms and conditions, item(s), and any response controls, you can
create a participants list on the Invite Bidders page (Invite Suppliers page for RFQs).

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 1. Select how you wish to search for suppliers:
❍ Click "Invite Suppliers" to search for and add suppliers to your invitation list.

❍ Click the "Apply Predefined Invitation Lists" link to apply a predefined list of suppliers. Search for and
select the Invitation List you want to apply. You can use the same list for all negotiations.

2. From the search results, select the suppliers you wish to invite and click Invite. You return to the previous page.

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 3. If there are multiple company contacts, select which contact you wish to notify about this negotiation from the
Contact menu. Additionally, if you know the e-mail addresses of any other contacts at the company (including
possibly a distribution list), you can enter it in the Additional Contact Email field. If the contact is unregistered, a
notification is sent to invite the contact to register and participate in the negotiation. The user will receive an email
notification with the negotiation invitation and a link to access the user registration page. Once the registration
request has been approved, the user can participate in negotiations.
4. The system sends notifications to the invited suppliers providing them details of the negotiation.

Note: You can also invite additional suppliers while the negotiation is in progress. Your invitees will receive e-mail
notifications inviting them to participate once the negotiation is successfully submitted.

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2-38
 Templates, Spreadsheets, and Lists

2-39
How do I use sourcing document templates?

You can use a document template of a specific type (RFI, RFQ, or auction) to create a new document of the same type.

To use a sourcing document template:

1. Click the appropriate link under the Create area of Quick Links on the Negotiations Home page.

2. On the Step 1: Describe page, click the "Apply a template" link.

3. Search for and select the template you want to apply. Click Apply Template to create a new negotiation with this
template.

4. You can add to, edit, or delete any of your new negotiation information by proceeding through the steps of creating

2-40
 a negotiation.

2-41
How do I create an attribute list?

You can create attribute lists to include in your sourcing document templates or to use when creating new negotiations.
Attribute lists are named groups of item attributes (item characteristics) that apply to items in a negotiation. If you include
an attribute list in a negotiation template, the attributes on the list will apply to all items added to a negotiation created with
that template (though the buyer who is using the template can edit and remove attributes as appropriate).

To create an attribute list:

1. Click "Attribute" under the Reusable Lists area of Quick Links on the Negotiations Home page.

2. On the Reusable Attribute Lists page, click "Create New List."

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 3. On the Create Attribute List page, enter a name and description of your list.
4. Select a status. An Active list can be used immediately; an Inactive list will be stored on the system,
but will not be available for use unless you edit the list and change its status to Active.

5. Complete the required attribute fields. Click "Add Another Row" and continuing defining attributes
until you have finished entering attributes. Click Submit.

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How do I create and edit RFQ and auction templates?

If many of the RFQs or auctions you create contain the same features, you may want to create a sourcing
document template that you can use each time you create a similar RFQ or auction. Using sourcing document
templates allows you to streamline the creation of sourcing documents and to standardize business practices.
When you create a new RFQ or auction using a template, you simply open the template, add to and edit details
of your new RFQ/Auction (as necessary), and then publish the RFQ/Auction.

To create a template:

1. Click the Negotiations tab, then click RFQs or auctions in the task bar directly below the
tabs.

2. Click "Buyer's Auction Templates" or "RFQ templates."

3. On the resulting page, click "Create New Template."
4. On the Step 1: Describe Your Template page, complete the following fields (*indicates
a required field):

❍ *Template Name

❍ Description

❍ *Access
Templates can be private or public. All buyers in your company can view and use
public templates. Only you can edit and use your private templates.

Note: In order to create public templates, you must be assigned

the Manage Sourcing Document Templates job function by your
system administrator. The Sourcing Super User has this function.

5. *RFQ/Auction Style

6. Quote/Bid Ranking
Which attribute(s) you want to use when ranking competing bids. The default is to rank
by price only, but you can use other attributes when determining the rank of responses.

7. Rank Indicator
The method you wish to use to display the rank of competing responses when
compared.

8. Status
Sourcing document templates are initially created with a status of active. Active
templates can be used immediately. Inactive templates are stored in the system but
cannot be used. You access and edit an active template to inactivate it. Users with the
Manage Sourcing Document Templates function can update the status for public

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 templates.

Click Next.

9. On the Step 2: Enter Business Terms and Conditions page, enter the business terms
and conditions you want to appear.

Enter values as necessary for the following fields. None of the entries on this page are
required.

❍ Auction Outcome

❍ Payment Terms

❍ FOB Terms

❍ Freight Terms

❍ Additional information to Bidders

10. Click Next.

11. On the Step 3: Enter Item Information page, you can select the category and/or item
attributes or price elements that will apply to all items added to an RFQ or auction that is
created using this template. The category and item attributes can be changed by the
person creating a new auction.

Note:If you upload item information using a spreadsheet, any item

attributes specified in the spreadsheet are added to the item attributes
defined for the template. If the same attribute is defined for both the
template and the spreadsheet, the attribute value from the spreadsheet
takes precedence.

Click Next.

12. On the Step 4: Select Quote/Bid Controls page, you can set bid or quote controls for
your template.

Click Next.

13. On the Step 5: Invite Bidders/Invite Suppliers page, you can select suppliers to add to
this template's invitation list. Anyone using this template can edit this list adding or
deleting attendees as needed.

Note: If, during the previous step, you specified that Quoting/Bidding is

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 by invitation only, then at least one supplier must be either included on
the list for this template, or invited by anyone who uses this template.

Click Next.

14. On the Step 6: Review and Submit page, verify your template details. If you need to
make changes to any step, click the appropriate step on the left side of the page. Click
Submit.

To edit a template you have created,

1. Click RFQs or auctions in the task bar directly below the tabs. Click the "Buyer's Auction
Templates," or "RFQ Templates" link.

2. Search for and select a template, then click Edit Template.

3. Edit your template by working through each step of editing a template, or by selecting
(on the left side of the page) the step you want to edit.

4. Click the "Review and Submit" link. Verify your template details. Click Submit.

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How do I create and edit a reusable invitation list?

If you typically invite the same core group of suppliers to many of your negotiations, you can add these participants to a reusable
invitation list. An invitation list can help standardize your business practices by ensuring that all appropriate participants are invited to
targeted negotiations. You can add an invitation list(s) when creating a new Sourcing document; you can also attach an invitation list(s) to
a Sourcing document template.

To create a new invitation list:

1. Click "Invitation" under the Reusable Lists area of Quick Lists on the Negotiations Home page.

2. On the Reusable Invitation Lists page, click "Create New Invitation List."

3. On the Create Invitation List page, complete the following fields (*indicates a required field):

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 ❍ *List Name

❍ *Description

❍ *Access
Invitation lists can be public or private. All users in your company with the correct authorizations can view
and use public lists; only you can use your private lists.

Sourcing Super Users or users with with the Manage Invitation Lists authorization can create, edit and
manage public invitation lists as well as their own private lists. Only you can create, edit and use your
private lists.

The same list can be used for all types of sourcing documents.

4. Status
Invitation lists are initially created as active. An active list can be used immediately. To inactivate a list, edit the list
and change the status to inactive. An inactive list will be stored on the system, but will not be available for use until
it is reactivated.

Users with the Manage Invitation Lists job function can change the status of public invitation lists (the Sourcing
Super User has this function).

5. Click "Add Suppliers," then search for suppliers to add to your invitation list. Select the supplier(s) and click Add to
Invitation List.

6. When you have finished adding suppliers, click Submit.

To edit an invitation list you have created:

1. Click "Invitation" under the Reusable Lists area of Quick Lists on the Negotiations Home page.
2. Search for the list you wish to update.
3. On the Search: Reusable Invitation Lists page, select a list, then click Edit. If you have the Manage Invitation
Lists job function, you can edit public lists.

4. On the Edit Invitation List page, update your list description, status, and access as appropriate. You can also add

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 or delete suppliers.

5. Click Apply Changes.

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What happens to the item category when I create a negotiation by applying a template and using
spreadsheet upload?

A buyer can apply a predefined template to the RFQ or auction in creation Step 1 and then use the item
creation by spreadsheet capability to upload details on multiple items in Step 3. If the template and spreadsheet
have conflicting category values, the system uses the following hierarchy to determine which category value to
use:

1. The value specified in the spreadsheet, or

2. The value defined for the RFQ/Auction template.

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What happens to the attributes/price elements when I create a negotiation by applying a template and
using spreadsheet upload?

When you create an RFQ or auction by applying a template and then use the spreadsheet upload feature to
add your items, any attributes/price elements defined for the template are added to any attributes/price
elements you define via the spreadsheet.

For example, if there are three attributes/price elements for your template, and your spreadsheet upload
includes two items, item A with four attributes/price elements, and item B with two attributes/price elements, the
result of applying the template and then uploading by spreadsheet is that item A now has seven attributes/price
elements and item B has five attributes/price elements.

If there are duplicate attribute/price elements between the template and the spreadsheet, the precedence is:

1. the attribute/price element specified on the spreadsheet

2. the attribute/price element specified by the template.

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2-52
 Item Attributes, Attribute Scoring, and
Price Elements

2-53
What are item attributes, and why would I add them to my negotiation items?

When you add an item to a new negotiation (RFI, RFQ, auction), you may choose to add one or more item
attributes to that item. Item attributes define 1) unique specifications that you set for a negotiation item, and 2)
the details that a participant should provide when responding to that negotiation item. Item attributes make your
negotiation item more descriptive and can also be used to ensure that all responses submitted for the item
include specific details not included elsewhere in the item information.

For example, a buyer can create an auction to buy a fleet of 12 vehicles for a delivery service. When the buyer
adds the item (vehicle) to the auction, the buyer can add an item attribute called "mileage" to specify that the
bid item must have fewer than 12,000 miles on the odometer. While the buyer could enter this information in
the auction item description, using an item attribute to define this specification calls attention to the
specification. In addition, if the buyer marks this item attribute as required, then bidders must enter the mileage
of any bid item.

Item attributes can call attention to industry-specific characteristics. For example, retail industry negotiation
items can include such item attributes as "color," "style," and "SKU number." Metal industry negotiation items
can include "grade of metal" as an item attribute. Adding these as required item attributes that are displayed to
bidders can customize your negotiation items to your specific industry.

For additional examples of how to use item attributes in negotiations, click the "Show Example" links on the
Add Item Attributes page.

For more information about how to add item attributes to your negotiation items, see "How do I add item
attributes to my negotiation items?"

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How do I add item attributes to my negotiation?

You can add multiple item attributes to any item or items in your negotiation. The attribute(s) are added to that item only, and do not apply to all
items in the negotiation.

You can add item attributes when you add items to your negotiation online, or when you upload your negotiation items from a spreadsheet
created offline. You can also add item attributes from a predefined attribute list or template.

To add item attributes online:

1. Create a new negotiation. After you enter your negotiation item information, click the "Enter New Item Attributes" link.

2. On the Add Item Attributes page, enter your item attribute information. *Indicates a required field:
❍ *Attribute (up to 240 characters)
Name your item attribute (for example: Mileage; PPM Defect Rate; Grade).

❍ Quote/Bid Response
Your attribute can be required (all suppliers must enter a value for this attribute when responding), optional
(suppliers are not required to enter a value for this attribute when responding), or display only (displayed without
allowing any response).

❍ Value Type
Select the type of characters suppliers can enter for this attribute when responding: Text (letters/words, digits),
Number (digits with decimals allowed), Date (numbers in date format), or URL (using the format
http://www.oracle.com). The value type also governs the characters you can enter in the RFQ/Auction Value
field.

Note: Text is the most flexible value type. If you select Text, suppliers can enter letters as well as
digits. If you select Numbers, participants can only enter digits; if you select Dates, suppliers can
only enter digits in date format.

❍ RFQ/Auction Value (up to 4000 characters)

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 Enter your target value for the item attribute (for example: Fewer than twelve thousand miles per vehicle; Fewer
than eight defects per million parts manufactured).

❍ Display Value to Bidders/Suppliers

Indicate whether you want participants to see your RFQ/Auction value.

3. Click Add Another to add additional attributes to this item. Click OK when you are finished.
4. Continue through the steps of creating your negotiation.

To add item attributes in a spreadsheet:

1. Create a new negotiation. When you are ready to upload items to your negotiation, click the "Load Items from
Spreadsheet" link.

2. To add item attributes to your spreadsheet prior to bulk load:

❍ Add your item attribute information into the Attribute, Quote/Bid Response, Attribute Value Type, RFQ/Auction
Value, and RFQ/Auction Value Displayed columns of your spreadsheet (see Step 2 above for more information
on each of these columns). When you enter an item attribute on your spreadsheet, all item attribute fields except
RFQ/Auction Value and RFQ/Auction Display are required.

❍ If you want to add another item attribute(s), copy the following set of columns on the spreadsheet: Attribute,
Quote/Bid Response, Attribute Value Type, RFQ/Auction Value, and RFQ/Auction Value Displayed. Paste the
set of five columns to the right of the existing set of item attribute columns (be sure to paste the set of columns
into the spreadsheet before the End of line delimiter column).

❍ You are not required to enter item attribute information for every item on the spreadsheet.

3. Continue bulk loading your negotiation items.

To add item attributes from a predefined attribute list:

1. Create a new negotiation. After you enter your negotiation item information, click the "Apply Predefined Attribute Lists"
link.

2. Search for the appropriate attribute list.

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 3. Select the attribute list you want to apply. Click Apply to Item.

4. To edit or delete any attribute that appears on the list, select the attribute and click Edit or Delete. Edit your item attribute
information as appropriate, then click OK. Your edits or deletions apply only to the attribute added to your negotiation
item, not to the attribute list.

5. When you have finished adding item attributes from the attribute list, you can enter additional item attributes online,
apply another predefined attribute list, or continue through the steps of creating your negotiation.

To add attributes from a template:

1. Create a new negotiation.

2. Click "Apply a template."
3. Search for and select the template you want to apply. Click Apply Template to create a new Sourcing document using
the template. Any attributes defined to the template are applied to the new document, but you can edit them as needed.

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Can I base my award decision on attributes other than just price?

Generally you award business to the supplier who responds with the best price. But sometimes other
negotiation attributes may be more important. For example, the date by which a supplier can supply a
negotiation item may be more important than simply the price being offered. Or the best response may be from
the supplier who can supply the largest amount of the item quantity you need even though the price is not as
good as that offered by a different supplier.

When creating your RFQ or auction, you can select from two different types of response ranking: Price Only or
Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring. Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring allows you to enter scores and weights to
item attributes, Quantity and/or Need-By Date. Based on how a supplier responds, the system calculates a total
score for the response. Responses are then ranked based on a ratio of price to total score. The lower the ratio,
the more desirable the response. Note that you can still award the negotiation to any response or multiple
responses regardless of the rank determined by the system.

The rank indicator is displayed to the buyer and suppliers and is selected by the buyer.

Planning weights and scores:

1. Identify the important attributes of your negotiation.

2. You can only score attributes which are defined as Required. For each attribute you wish to score,
identify all the possible responses you will accept and group them into acceptable Quote/Bid responses.
You can enter as many acceptable values as you need to indicate the importance of the different
responses adequately. For number and date attributes, you may enter acceptable ranges. For text
attributes you enter text values. These values are displayed to the trading partner in a list of values.

3. Assign each acceptable Quote/Bid response a score, with 100 indicating the most desirable and 0
indicating the least desirable response. Different Quote/Bid responses can have the same score.
Scores cannot have decimals.

4. After scoring each acceptable Quote/Bid response value, rank the relative importance of the attributes
by assigning each attribute a weight. Unlike scores, the sum of the attribute weights cannot total more
than 100. Weights will be used as a percentage when the system calculates a response's value as
explained below.

See "How do I define weighted attributes and scores for my negotiation items?" for actual details on
defining scores and weights.

How weights and scores are used to calculate a response's rank

Once you have identified the important attributes of your negotiation and assigned them weights and scores,
the system uses them to determine the total score for the responses to your negotiation. Since all weighted
attributes are required attributes, each respondent must specify a value for that attribute. The system calculates

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the value of a response as follows:

1. For each response to a weighted attribute, the system determines the score based on the attribute
value scores you defined. For date and number attributes, the system determines which accepted range
the value falls in. If the response does not fall in an acceptable range, the response receives a score of
0 for the attribute.

2. The score determined is then multiplied by the weight assigned to the attribute.
3. The adjusted scores are added to determine the total score for the response. The total score is then
divided by 100 to convert it to a percentage. The price is then divided by the total score to determine the
price to total score ratio. The response with the lowest ratio is considered the more desirable response.

Example:

Assume a buyer has defined a negotiation and selected the following attributes to be weighted:

Attribute Weight
Quantity 50
Need-by Date 30
Color (user defined
20
attribute)

For each of these attributes, the buyer has also defined and scored all acceptable values:

Attribute Acceptable Values Score

Quantity < 1000 60
Quantity > 1001 100
Need-by Date < 31/10/2002 100
Need-by Date 01/11/2002 - 31/12/2002 80
Need-by Date > 01/01/2003 50
Color Red 100
Color Blue 75

Given these definitions, the price to total score ratios for the following two possible responses are calculated as
shown, and Response 2 would be designated as the best response even though the bid price for Response 2 is
higher.

Response 1:

Attribute Response Value

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Quantity 980
Need-by Date 15/11/2001
Color Blue
Price $250

Total Score: (60 * 50) + (80 * 30) + (75 * 20) / 100 = 69

Price to Total Score Ratio: 250 / 69 = 3.62

Response 2:

Attribute Response Value

Quantity 1200
Need-by Date 05/01/2002
Color Red
Price $300

Total Score: : (100 * 50) + (50 * 30) + (100 * 20)/100 = 85

Price to Total Score Ratio = 300 / 85 = 3.53

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How do I define weighted attributes and scores for my negotiation items?

Generally the winner of a negotiation is the supplier who offers the lowest price. However you may want to use other attributes when
determining the best response. You can have the system take these into account by defining the important attributes and specifying
weighting and scoring values. See What are item attributes, and why would I add them to my negotiation items? for information about
defining item attributes. See Can I base my award decision on attributes other than just price? for an explanation of how weights and
scores are used to determine the best response.

To use weighting and scoring when defining a negotiation:

1. See "What information must I provide to describe my RFQ or auction"? and "How do I enter business terms and
conditions for my RFQs and auctions"? to begin creating your negotiation.

2. Use the initial instructions in "How do I add items to an RFQ or auction"? to enter the item description and item
category information.

3. To add attributes for scoring, click "Enter New Item Attributes."

4. On the Add Item Attributes page, enter your item attribute information. *Indicates a required field:
❍ *Attribute (up to 240 characters)
Name your item attribute (for example: Mileage; PPM Defect Rate; Grade).

❍ Response
Weighted attributes must be required. Respondents must select or enter a value for the attribute.

❍ Value Type
Select the type of characters participants can enter for this attribute when responding: Text (letters or
words, digits), Number (digits only, decimals allowed), or Date (numbers in date format). The value type
also governs the characters you can enter in the Negotiation Value field.

❍ Negotiation Value (up to 4000 characters)

Enter a target value for the item (for example: Fewer than twelve thousand miles per vehicle; Fewer than
eight defects per million parts manufactured).

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 ❍ Display Value to Participants
Indicate whether you want participants to see your negotiation value.

5. Click Score.

6. On the Enter Scoring Criteria page, specify the acceptable values for this attribute and the score each value
receives, with 100 indicating the most desirable value and 0 the least. Note that there is a limit of 30 characters
for the values.

❍ For text value types, enter and score every acceptable value. Respondents can select these values from
a list of Values.

❍ For number value types, assign a score to a single number or a range of numbers.

■ To specify a single number, enter that number in both the From and To fields.

■ To specify a delimited range, enter the beginning number in the From field and the ending
number in the To field. Range values are inclusive.

■ To specify an open-ended range, enter the limiting number in either the From or To field. For
example, to include all numbers less than 1000, enter nothing ( or 0) in the From field and 1000 in
the To field. To include all numbers greater than 5000, enter 5000 in the From field and nothing in
the To field.

■ Do not overlap values. Any numbers you don't score are assumed to have a score of 0.

❍ For date value types, enter a valid date. Date values obey the same rules as number values. You can
score a specific date, a delimited range of dates, or an open-ended range of dates.

7. If you need to add and score more values than fit on the page, click Add 5 Rows. When you have entered the
criteria for an item attribute, click OK to return to the Add Item Attributes page.

8. Repeat the preceding steps to add and score any additional attributes. When finished, click OK.

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 9. Continue defining your item information according to the instructions in "How do I add items to an RFQ or
auction?"

10. If the item quantity is important to your auction, click Score after specifying the negotiation quantity. Use the
instructions above on scoring number value types to specify scores for any partial quantity levels you may
receive. By default, the full negotiation quantity is scored as 100. You must score for all quantities less that the
maximum using either one or more values or ranges. For example, if your quantity is 1000, you must create one
or more additional scores to account for responses of between one and 999. When you have scored your partial
quantity levels, click OK.

Note: Make sure to allow partial Quote/Bid values when you define your Negotiation Controls in
the subsequent step otherwise you will receive an error message.

11. If a Need-by Date is important, enter a date or date range. To score the possible dates you may receive, click
Score and use the instructions above on scoring date value types to score all dates values you may receive.
After scoring Need-by Date, click OK.

12. Continue defining the remaining item attributes as described in "How do I add items to an RFQ or auction?"
13. After defining any remaining item attributes, click Assign Weights.

14. On the Enter Weights and Scores page, you must specify how much weight each attribute should be given
when evaluating responses. All required attributes and any scoring information are displayed for review. If you
choose to add or modify scoring information for an item, click Score. Even though the attributes are required for
the item, you select which attributes you wish to include in the weight calculation.

❍ Enter a number from 1 to 100 to indicate the relative weight of each attribute.

❍ The sum of all weights cannot be more than 100.

❍ Each number should indicate the relative importance of that attribute within the total negotiation. For
example, if you have a negotiation in which the overriding consideration when choosing between
responses will be which supplier can supply the bulk of that item, you might want to assign Quantity a
weight of 50, and then apportion the remaining 50 "points" among the other attributes.

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 ❍ To set all attributes equally, click Equal Weights. If there are an odd number of attributes, the system will
assign weights as equally as possible.

15. When you have finished weighting your attributes, click OK and continue defining your negotiation.

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How do I use price elements?

Price elements allow a buyer to identify additional costs associated with a particular negotiation item. Such
costs could include services such as training or consulting, or discrete costs such as shipping fees. Buyers can
specify when they create the RFQ or auction how much they are willing to pay for these additional costs. These
costs can then be negotiated between a buyer and supplier just like the item price. Price elements allow you to:

● Identify suppliers with the lowest total cost per item not just the lowest item price.

● Take into account any additional costs or charges when considering outsourcing a project.

● Identify hidden activities or "cost drivers" to facilitate improved analysis and decision-making.

● Support supply chain operations more efficiently by recognizing and analyzing how one organization's
performance and costs affect another organization.

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What are Reusable Price Element Lists, and how do I create and use them?

Reusable Price Element Lists allow you to group several price elements which are related or are typically used together. For
example, you might create a price element list identifying normally expected transportation costs, for example, freight charges or
import duty fees. Or you might create a list that identifies additional services such as consulting or training that will be required by
a particular negotiation item. Once you have created a price element list, you can apply that price element list to any negotiations
(RFQs or auctions) containing items to which those price elements are applicable. You can create new price element lists or edit
existing lists.

You must be assigned the Create Reusable Price Element Lists job function to create these lists.

To create a new price element list:

1. Click the Price Element link under Reusable Lists on the Quick Links section of the Negotiations Home page.

2. On the Reusable Price Element Lists page, click "Create New List."

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 3. On the Create Reusable Price Element List page, enter the following information:
❍ List Name - You can enter up to 80 characters for the price list name, but it must be unique.

❍ Description - You can enter up to 240 characters for the price list description.

❍ Status - The default status is Active. If you select Inactive, this list cannot be applied to any negotiation.

4. From Price Element Name, select the price elements you wish to add to your list. After you select the first price element,
click Add Another to add any additional price elements to your list.

If you wish to delete any price elements from the list, select the price element and click Delete. Clicking Cancel returns
you to the Reusable Price Element Lists page.

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 5. When you are finished adding price elements to your list, click Done. If any of the price elements you added to your list is
inactive, you receive an error message. You must remove the element from your list, activate it, and then add it to the list
again. A price element list is also validated when it is applied to a negotiation.

To edit a price list:

1. Click the Price Element link under Reusable Lists on the Quick Links section of the Negotiations Home page.
2. On the Reusable Price Element Lists page, you can search for a particular price list by:
❍ the list name.

❍ the first few words of the list description.

❍ the list status (Any, Active or Inactive).

❍ the name of any price element defined to the list. (This returns all price element lists using that price element.)

3. When you have entered the search data, click Go.

4. The Results: Reusable Price Element List display shows any price element lists matching your search criteria.
5. To edit the list, you can either click the price element list name link, or select the price element list and click Edit.
6. On the Edit Reusable Price Element List page, you can
❍ update the description for the price element list.

❍ change the price element list status.

❍ add or delete price elements from the list.

7. When you have finished making your changes, click Done. The new list is validated. If any price elements are inactive,
you receive an error message.

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What are price breaks, and how do I use them?

Price breaks allow you to negotiate item prices with your supplier based on characteristics of your order. For example, you may
expect to receive a discount from your supplier if you buy a large quantity of units, and you may specify several quantity levels
and the prices you are willing to pay at each. Or you may be willing to pay more per unit if your supplier can ship the order to a
special location, or by a certain deadline.

For each (non-amount-based) item in your negotiation, you can define as many price breaks as are appropriate. Your suppliers
respond to your negotiation specifying their responses to your price breaks. You can then enter different assumptions into the
system and have it calculate which response is the best.

Example: Assume you are purchasing PC keyboards. You specify 20$ as your start or base price. You then set up two quantity-
based price breaks. The first offers a price of 19$ per unit if buying more than 100. The second offers a price of $18 a unit if
purchasing over 500. For these price breaks, you receive the responses shown in the table below.

Your price break level Your offered price Supplier 1's Response Supplier 2's Response

1 $20 $19 $19

100 $19 $18 $17
500 $18 $15 $16

Once you have entered your price break values and your suppliers have responded to them, you can enter assumptions into the
system and it will calculate which response is the best. For example, given the price break structure defined in the table above, if
you buy 120 PC keyboards, the system will identify Supplier 2 as the best response. However, if you buy 550 PC keyboards,
Supplier 1 is the best response.

Setting Up Price Breaks

You can only define price breaks for documents with an outcome of blanket purchase agreement. Additionally, you can only
define price breaks on goods-based line items. For each line item, you can set break prices for:

● A quantity range

● A Ship-To Address

● An effective time period

● Any combination of the above

All price breaks for a single line are either cumulative or non-cumulative. If the price breaks are cumulative, the break
accumulates as the quantity increases. If a line item's price breaks are cumulative, the effective date values are not available for
price break usage.

You can control the ability of your supplier to respond to your price breaks. You can allow suppliers to respond with new price
breaks of their own as well as edit any price breaks that you suggest, or your can restrict them to only offering price responses to
the price breaks you define.

To enter price breaks:

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 1. In Step 3: Add Items, on the Enter Item Information page, define your negotiation item as normal. Be sure it is not an
amount-based line type.

2. Select either Cumulate or Non-Cumulative from the Price Break drop down menu. Then click Enter or Edit Price Break
Targets.

3. You can allow your suppliers to respond with new price breaks of their own as well as editing any price breaks that you
suggest, or you can restrict them to only offering price responses to the price breaks you define. To restrict suppliers to
responding only, click Allow suppliers to negotiate price only.

If you select Allow suppliers to negotiate price only, then you must define at least one price break line. If you select "Allow
suppliers to negotiate price, Ship-To, Quantity, and effective dates," then it is optional for you to define price breaks.

4. Define your price breaks. You can set breaks by unit quantity, Ship-To address, and effective date (available for non-
cumulative price breaks only). For each price break criterion, you can offer a particular target price. Click Add Another to
define additional price breaks. You can define as many price breaks as are needed to fully define your pricing structure.
For example, you could define multiple price breaks based only on order quantity.

5. Once you have defined all your price breaks, click Done. You return to the Enter Item Information page.

Analyzing Price Breaks

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Once you have defined your price break expectations and your supplier(s) have responded with quotes, you can have the
system evaluate the supplier responses based on scenario information you enter. For example, you could enter different order
quantities and see which supplier response is the best for a certain quantity.

To analyze price break information:

1. Search for the negotiation you're interested in.

2. On the Results: Negotiations page, click the response number link.

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 3. Select the Item Summary View to see item level information.

4. Click Analyze Price Breaks.

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 5. On the Analyze Price Breaks by Item page, you can enter different values in the fields under Enter Assumptions and
have the system calculate the best response based on the values you enter. You can enter values for all price breaks
you defined and the system will calculate which of the responses is best for the values you entered.

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2-74
 Additional Creation topics

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What are some negotiations strategies I can use?

When creating a negotiation, you can use a number of techniques to facilitate the results you want:

● Using item attribute requirements

You can add item attributes to any of your items. Item attributes define 1) unique specifications that you
set for an item, and 2) the details that a participant should provide when responding to that item.

If you want to ensure that specific details accompany every response to an auction item, add
those details as item attributes, and mark the item attributes as required. All participants will be
required to submit the requested attribute information with their responses.

● Using AutoExtend and Bid Decrement processing (auctions only)

❍ AutoExtend
If you set AutoExtend to "yes," your auction is automatically extended if a new best bid is
received during the AutoExtend window.

The most competitive bids are often received in the closing minutes of an auction. By enabling
AutoExtend, you allow all bidders the extra time to match and surpass the most competitive
bids. Enabling several AutoExtensions can spark several rounds of competitive participation.

❍ Bid Decrement
If you enable bid decrement, you specify that bids must improve by the minimum amount you
choose.

Bid decrement enables you to eliminate fractional improvements in bid prices. Bid decrement
accelerates improvements in bid prices and can help you quickly reach - and surpass - your
target price. Bid improvement controls only apply to the current round of bidding. They are not
carried over from one round of bidding to and subsequent round.

● Setting a Quote/Bid Start Price and a Target Price

You can set a Quote/Bid start price and/or a target price for each item.

❍ Quote/Bid Start Price

Starting price for one unit of your negotiation item.

By setting a start price, you communicate to participants the threshold beyond which you will not
award the auction item. Setting a start price enables you to ensure that no bids above the start
price will be accepted.

❍ Target Price
Price you hope to pay for one unit of your negotiation item.

By displaying a target price, you set an "ideal" threshold toward which the most competitive
responders can strive. You can also quickly spark a round of competitive participation around
your target price, potentially leading to a best response that improves upon your target price.

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 ● Controlling the visibility of competing quotes/bids
You can create an open, blind, or sealed negotiation:

❍ Open (auctions only)

All buyers can see the responses in the negotiation, though the supplier identity is concealed.

❍ Blind
Only the buyer can see the negotiation responses.

❍ Sealed
Neither the buyer nor the suppliers can see the responses until they are unlocked and unsealed
by the buyer.

In an open negotiation suppliers see the current best price for the negotiation, and immediately
know whether they can respond competitively. An open negotiation enables you to eliminate
responses that do not improve on the current best prices, and increases the likelihood that you
will receive competitive responses that drive prices in your favor.

Alternatively, if you have an urgent supply need, you might consider creating a blind or sealed
auction so that bidders cannot see other bidders' bid prices . In some cases, "blind" bidding may
lead to better bid prices, because bidders are required to anticipate what other bidders will bid,
and will therefore submit their best possible bid price more quickly.

● Allowing or disallowing partial quotes/bids

You can specify that suppliers must respond to all items in the negotiation.

If you require suppliers to respond to all negotiation items, suppliers may improve response
prices on certain items (to remain competitive in the negotiation) while making their margins on
other items. When you award the negotiation, you can award business by line item, which allows
you to "pick and choose" among the best responses from several suppliers for each item. You
can award the negotiation to multiple suppliers, each of whom has submitted the best price for a
particular item or items.

● Allowing multiple rounds of Quoting/Bidding

After your RFQ or auction has closed, you can initiate a new round of bidding on the same auction if
you set the Quote/Bid controls to allow multiple rounds of responses (RFQs always permit multiple
rounds or quoting). You might decide to initiate a new round of quoting or bidding if you were unsatisfied
with the responses from the first round or if you want to add to or change certain details of the RFQ or
auction.

● Using price elements

Price elements identify additional item costs beyond just price. Such costs could include service related
costs such as training or consulting services.
● Using price breaks
You can define price breaks on which you can then negotiate with your suppliers to develop a pricing
structure based on item quantity, delivery location, or promise date

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What is a sourcing event?

A sourcing event is group of related negotiations. You may want to create a sourcing event if you need to monitor several related
negotiations as a group rather than individually. You may also want to create an event if you want to encourage respondents to
participate in multiple, similar negotiations. All negotiations included in a sourcing event will open on or after the scheduled open
date/time.

When you create a new RFQ or auction, you can create a new sourcing event containing the negotiation or associate the negotiation with
an existing event. You can also monitor your sourcing events from the Negotiations Home page.

To create a sourcing event:

1. Click "Create" under the Events area of Quick Links on the Negotiations Home page.

2. On the Create Event page, enter a title, description, and start date and time (which must be later than the current
date and time). All negotiations associated with this sourcing event must open on or after the event start date and
time. After the event start date and time has passed, you will not be able to associate new auctions with this event.

3. Click OK.

To monitor a sourcing event:

1. Click "Manage" under the Events area of Quick Links on the Negotiations Home page.

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 2. Select the sourcing event you want to view , then click "View Negotiations" to see event details.
3. All negotiations associated with this sourcing event are listed. Select any negotiation in the event, then click the
appropriate button to see details.

Note: While you can monitor, as a group, all negotiations in a sourcing event, you must individually award each
negotiation included in any event.

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Can I create and save sourcing documents without submitting them?

There may be times when you cannot finish creating your RFI, RFQ, or auction in a single session, or the creation process
involves collaboration between several people. Or you need to create a negotiation but not actually submit it until
sometime in the future. In each of these cases, you can create a draft of the RFI/RFQ/auction and save it for later editing
or submission.

Initially creating a draft

Once you have completed the Step 1 Describe page, you can save your draft from any of the subsequent pages by
clicking Save Draft.

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 A confirmation message informs you that your draft has been successfully saved.

At this point you can

● click "Continue editing your draft" to access your draft for editing

● click "Manage Draft Negotiations" to access the Manage Draft Negotiations page. From this page, you can
access drafts for editing or submission.

Using draft negotiations created by AutoCreate in Oracle Purchasing

When you AutoCreate requisitions into a Sourcing RFQ or buyer's auction, Oracle Sourcing creates a draft negotiation
which includes all the requisition links you selected.

After creating a draft negotiation using requisition information from Oracle Purchasing, you can immediately access and
edit the draft to continue creating your negotiation. Or you can use the Manage Draft Negotiations page in Oracle
Sourcing to access and submit the draft at a later time.

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 The items in your draft negotiation carry information from the backing requisitions. Some of this information, such as item
quantity and need-by date are updateable, but other information, such as operating unit and functional currency are not.

When you first access the draft document AutoCreated from Oracle Purchasing, you must complete Step 1 of the creation
process.

You can add additional items to the draft, and you can update all the normal attributes for these items.

Accessing and editing draft RFQs/auctions

Once you have saved your draft, you can subsequently access it for editing or submission.

1. Click the Manage Quick Link under Draft to display the Manage Draft Negotiations page. You can search this
page to list the drafts created by users at your company. You can always access drafts you own, and depending
on your authorizations, you may be able to access others' drafts as well.

2. To access a draft, select the draft and click Edit, Delete, or Review and Submit.
❍ If you click Delete, you are prompted to confirm your deletion. The draft is deleted from the system.

❍ If you click Edit, you are placed into the draft and can update information as needed. While editing your
draft, you can click Clear Changes to undo any updates since the last time you saved your draft.

❍ If you click Review and Submit, you can check the draft information and then submit the negotiation for
processing. Once you submit a draft, it is removed from the list of drafts on the Manage Draft
Negotiations page.

Using drafts with multi-round negotiations

If you have chosen to take a negotiation to an additional round, you have the option of saving the new round's information
as a draft. When you save a draft, the status of the previous round is changed to Round Completed and is therefore no
longer available for awarding. Note however that once you save the draft, if you subsequently delete it, the status of the
prior negotiation is changed back to Not Awarded, and it available for awarding.

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Security on draft negotiations

Users with the Create Buyer's Negotiation function can save and subsequently edit their draft negotiations. When you
access the Manage Draft Negotiations page, you always see the drafts which you own or on which you are a
collaboration team member. If you are the draft creator, you can edit, review and submit, unlock, or delete any of these
drafts.

For public negotiations:

Anyone with the Edit Draft Sourcing Documents function can access and edit draft negotiations
AutoCreated from Oracle Purchasing.

Anyone with the Manage Draft Sourcing Documents function can access and edit drafts created by others
at the same company. If you have this function and access the Manage Draft Negotiations page, you can
edit any drafts that are not locked.

Additionally, anyone with the Unlock Draft Sourcing Documents function can break a lock on a draft but not
access it for editing or submission. This is a useful authorization for an administrator to have in case a draft
needs to be edited, but the buyer has locked it and is subsequently unavailable, for example, on vacation.
If you have both the Manage Draft Sourcing Documents and the Unlock Draft Sourcing Documents, you
can unlock and edit other's drafts from the Manage Draft Negotiations page.

For private negotiations:

You must be the negotiation owner or a collaboration team member working on the negotiation to access the draft. If you
are a collaboration member with view-only access, you can view the draft but not edit it. If you are a collaboration member
not restricted to view-only access, you can perform whatever tasks are allowed by your function security.

Note: The Sourcing Super User, by default, is authorized to manage and unlock drafts.

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How do I copy a sourcing document?

You can copy sourcing documents that you or any other users in your organization have created. You can copy an existing document to
create a new document of the same type (RFI, RFQ, or buyer's auction).

To copy an existing negotiation:

1. Click the appropriate Create Quick link on the Negotiations Home page.

2. On the Step 1: Describe page, click the "Copy" link in the Timesaving Tip box.

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 3. Search for the negotiation you want to copy.

4. Select the negotiation and click Copy to create the new negotiation.
5. You can edit any of your new negotiation details by continuing through the creation steps.
6. When you have finished creating your new negotiation, click the "Review and Submit" link on the left side of the
page. Verify your negotiation information, then click Submit.

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What are amount based line types, and how are they used?

Sometimes the item you need to negotiate is not a number of discrete units, but more of a service or activity.
For example, you might need to negotiate training or consulting services. Such activities can be negotiated by
using amount based line types.

When you create a negotiation, you can specify that an item is amount based by selecting an amount based
Line Type value. The possible values are defined in Oracle Purchasing. If you select a line type that is amount
based, the quantity and unit of measure defaults to the values defined by your administrator and is display only.
A category value may also appear if your administrator has defined a default category for that line type.

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How do collaboration teams work?

When creating a negotiation, buyers can now nominate collaboration team members to participate in the
creation and administration of the sourcing document. Buyers can optionally grant full access to some team
members while restricting others to read-only access. Each member can be assigned specific tasks, and some
team members may be required to approve the final document before delivery to potential suppliers. Such
tasks could include defining the item attributes, inviting additional suppliers, awarding business to supplier, and
creating document outcomes.

Who can participate as team members?

The negotiation creator and anyone with Manage Collaboration Team job function can add/delete team
members. You can define a collaboration team when creating the document, or you can use document
templates to define collaboration teams. By default, all members have full access to the sourcing document, but
members can be restricted to read-only access where appropriate. The buyer and his manager always default
to the team and cannot be removed. Any other user from the buying organization can be added. Team
members can be optionally assigned tasks with target dates. Team members with required tasks should
indicate when those tasks are completed.

Buyers can add any employee with an application user to the collaboration team. Members have to belong to
the business group of the negotiation, which will be determined from the owning operating unit. If the buyer
changes the operating unit after defining the negotiation team, the system will validate that the team members
belong to the new business group of the operation unit.

Note: This rule is only in effect if the profile option HR:Cross Business Group is not set to Yes. If
the profile option is set to Yes, the buyer can add employees from different business groups.

Document Approval Process

Some team members can be designated as document approvers. Any user who is on the Collaboration Team
can be designated as an approver for that document. Approvers can be added or removed as necessary at any
time before the sourcing document is submitted for approval. Any user who has access to modify a draft
document and have the functional security of "Manage Collaboration Team" can change the list of approvers.

After the document is submitted for approval, users with modification access and the functional security of
"Manage Collaboration Team" cannot add approvers, but only remove the existing approvers. Once the
document has been submitted for approval, no changes can be made to it (other than having approvers
unchecked) unless the document is rejected.

Once the document has been approved, a Publish button appears on Step 6, Review and Submit, to anyone
who has the Publish Negotiations job function. Anyone with this job function can publish the approved
negotiation to suppliers.

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Note that throughout the approval process, notifications are sent between the buyer and the document
approvers. Not until the document is approved and published are notifications sent to suppliers about the
document.

Adding Collaboration Members

On the Step 1 page, there is a new area where a buyer can identify collaboration members. For each member,
the buyer identifies:

● If the member is an approver.

● Iif the member has read-only access.

● If that member has been assigned a task, and if so, when the target date is.

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How do security levels work?

Buyers creating sourcing documents can control visibility to the document by specifying a security level during
the describe negotiation step. There are three possible security levels a buyer can select:

● Public
Tthe document can be viewed by any other buyers in the buying organization.

● Private
Tthe document can be viewed only by the creator, the creator's manager, and members of the
document collaboration team (if any).

● Hierarchy
The document can be viewed only by the creator, the creator's manager, members of the document
collaboration team (if any), and the Security Hierarchy members defined in Oracle Purchasing for that
document type.

Security Levels and Collaboration Teams

The use of collaboration teams allows document creators to select a number of collaborators for the document
creation and administration and define flexible security rules that can apply to each collaborator. For example,
some collaborators can be defined as having read-only access, meaning they can view but not update the
document throughout its lifecycle. Other members can be selected as approvers of the document. All members
identified as approvers must approve the final version before the document can be published. Also, selected
members can be assigned specific tasks which they must complete.

See "How do collaboration teams work?" for more information on collaboration teams.

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What are global agreements, and how do I use them?

Global agreements allow buying organizations to negotiate pricing and define agreements on behalf of a
shared central environment. This is in contrast to a regular blanket purchase agreement which can exist only
within the realm of a single operating unit. Execution against global agreements can be performed by multiple
local operating units. Global agreements:

● leverage buying power of all organizations within a company by negotiating and managing global
discounts on pricing.
● provide a standardized set of goods and services across a company.
● achieve timely and accurate reporting information on agreement usage, supplier performance, and item
utilization.
● standardization on global terms and conditions with each supplier with optional flexibility to override at
the local level.

Defining Agreement Scope

Sourcing professionals can negotiate prices on behalf of multiple organizations within an enterprise and then
enable the resulting agreement ( prices + terms and conditions) to be shared by those organizations for
procuring products and services. Although the agreement is meant for usage in multiple organizations, the
agreement unambiguously identifies the parties between whom the agreement was originally crafted. This
includes the negotiating organization in the deploying enterprise and the supplier/supplier site combination
which represents the selling party

Managing the agreement

Although the agreement can be used by multiple organizations, all control and maintenance responsibilities
remain within the organization that originally negotiated the agreement, this includes:

● canceling lines
● freezing the agreement
● putting the agreement on hold
● closing the agreement.

The negotiating organization of the agreement should own sole responsibility for approval of the agreement,
and the agreement follows the approval policy for this organization. All approval submission checks applicable
for the blanket purchase agreement are in effect for the global agreement as well.

Agreement Usage

Like blanket purchase agreements, global agreements have effective start and end dates, total release amount,
and agreement currency. There are certain terms and conditions which apply globally regardless of where a

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release is being performed. These include such terms as FOB terms, freight terms, and attachments. But there
are also terms which will depend on the organization performing a release against the agreement such as bill-to
address.

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 Monitoring Negotiations for Buyers

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How do I access negotiations?

The Negotiations Home page is the central point of access for all your negotiations. From here, you can can
create and submit new negotiations and continue working on any draft negotiations you have in progress. You
can also monitor the progress of your open negotiations.

To create a new negotiation:

Click the appropriate link under the Create section of Quick Links. Follow the instructions in How
do I create a new negotiation? to create a new negotiation.

To access a draft negotiation:

You can use draft negotiations to spread out the creation process over several sessions. You
can also use drafts to allow a team of collaborators to all work on the same negotiation. To
access a draft negotiation:

1. Click the "Manage" link under Draft in the Quick Links section of the Negotiations Home
page.

2. On the Manage Draft Negotiations page, search for the negotiation you wish to access.
3. From the Results display, select a negotiation and click the appropriate button (Edit,
Unlock, Review and Submit).

To search for your negotiations in progress:

At any one time, you may have several ongoing negotiations. You can monitor the progress of
these negotiations by clicking the Number link for that negotiation's entry in the Your
Negotiations at a Glance section of the Negotiations Home page. This takes you to the
Negotiation Summary page for that negotiation.

Note that the Your Negotiations at a Glance section shows a limited number of entries based on
time remaining. To see the complete list of negotiations you created, click Full List.

You also search for all open negotiations to which you have access.

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How do I monitor the negotiations I have created?

Access the negotiation you wish to monitor. Click the negotiation number to access the Negotiation
Summary page where you can see information on the negotiation. From the Negotiations Summary
page, you can either

● Select View Response History from the Action menu and click Go.

● Click the Responses number to access the Details page for the negotiation, and then click View
Response History to see information on responses to this negotiation.

You can also use the Graphical Monitor to view and compare responses to your negotiation.

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How do I view the responses I have received?

1. From the Your Negotiations at a Glance section of the Negotiations Home page, click the negotiation number link of the
negotiation you wish to see.

2. On the Negotiations Summary page, select View Quote/Bid History from the Action menu and click Go.
3. On the History page, there are two possible views: Quote/Bid Summary and Item Summary. Each view focuses on different
information. You can toggle between the two views by selecting the view from the View menu and clicking Go.

Response/Quote/Bid Summary View

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 The Quote/Bid summary view shows response level information. This information
includes:

■ the supplier/bidder
■ the response number
■ the response status
■ the time the response was placed and for how long it is valid
■ the response total

A response can be in one of three statuses:

■ Active: responses valid for the current round

■ Archived: previous responses by the same respondent within the same round. If
a supplier responds multiple times during the same round, all responses prior to
the most current are archived.

■ Disqualified: responses which have been rejected by the buyer.

If multiple responses from the same company have been received and exist in different
statuses, the buyer can choose to see all responses by clicking the View link. If only the
current response is of interest, the buyer can click the Hide link.

You have several operations you can perform from the Response History/Quote
History/Bid History page:

■ For open and blind negotiations, you can select a response and see detail
information by clicking the response number or View Response/Quote/Bid
Details.

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 If the negotiation is still open, you can

■ disqualify a bid.
■ close the negotiation early.
■ extend the negotiation.
■ export bid information for offline analysis.

If the negotiation is closed you can specify your award decisions by clicking Award By
Item.

Item Summary View

The Item Summary view shows information about the items in the negotiation, including the number of
responses on the item and the details of the best response. In the Item Summary view you can display
the current responses for a particular item by clicking the response number or View All
Responses/Quotes/Bids.

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How do I use the Graphical Monitor to view responses to items in my negotiation?

You can use the Graphical Monitor to easily view all the responses given to any item on a negotiation you have created or to
which you have responded as long as the negotiation is still open and is not a blind or sealed negotiation. This means that
respondents can only use the Graphical Monitor to view bids in an open auction although the buyer can view open or blind
auctions, as well as blind RFQs. Any time you are on a page on which the graphical monitor icon appears and is enabled, you
can use the monitor to graph the progress of the negotiation items and the responses they've received over time.

To use the Graphical Monitor:

1. Click on the monitor icon.

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 2. Select the item whose performance you wish to see and click View Monitor. .

3. A new window opens showing the current responses on the item you selected.
On this window you see:

❍ the negotiation name

❍ the remaining time

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 ❍ the last Quote/Bid (displayed in the negotiation currency)

❍ the last Quote/Bid quantity

On the Graphic Monitor, all quotes/bids are displayed as dots. The current winning Quote/Bid is enclosed in a circle.
Additionally, if you are a respondent, your bid is enclosed in a rectangle. Holding the cursor over a bid displays its
current price. If the bid belongs to you, you will see your name and price; if the bid does not belong to you, you see only
the price. If you are the buyer, you see both for all bids.

By default, the display begins at the time the negotiation was opened. You can condense or expand the display by
controlling its time display increments. The display can be shown in minutes, hours, or days. Select the increment you
want from the drop down menu, and the display is automatically refreshed using the new increments. The time values
shown across the bottom of the display can help you determine the relative timing of different responses. You can also
move directly to either the beginning or the end of the negotiation by clicking the appropriate small arrow icon

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What are Your Negotiations at a Glance?

The Your Negotiations at a Glance feature allows you quick access to all of the open negotiations in which you are
currently participating.

To use Your Negotiations at a Glance:

● Under the Your Negotiations at a Glance area of the Negotiations Home page, identify the negotiation you wish
to view. Note that the table displays only a limited number of entries. To view a complete list of your
negotiations, click Full List.

❍ To view the information about the negotiation such as item information, response controls or invitation
list, click the negotiation number link.
❍ To view information on responses, click the number link in the Responses column.
❍ To view messages sent to you from suppliers (if any) click the number link under the Unread Messages
column.
❍ To view the graphical monitor of a negotiation, click the graph icon to the right of the negotiation. Select a
negotiation item, then click View Monitor.

Note: The graphical monitor is not available for sealed style negotiations until they
are unlocked. Only buyers can view the graphical monitor in blind style
negotiations. All participants can view the graphical monitor in open style
negotiations.

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How do I compare competing quotes or bids for a particular negotiation item?

For any item on your negotiation you may receive responses from multiple suppliers. You can easily compare the negotiation attribute
values for these competing responses.

To compare negotiation attribute values for competing responses:

1. Follow instructions in How do I view bids or quotes I have received? to navigate to the Quote History/Bid
History page.

2. Navigate to the Item Summary display by selecting the Item Summary view and clicking Go.

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 3. Click the number link under the Bids/Quotes column.

4. On the All Quotes by Item/All Bids by Item page, select the quotes/bids you wish to compare and click
Compare.

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 5. The Compare Quotes/Compare Bidspage displays a side-by-side comparison of the response details. If there
are any attachments, view them by clicking the icon in the Notes/Attachment row.

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How do I download the responses I have received?

You can download all the bids and quotes you receive for a negotiation into a spreadsheet for offline viewing. This is useful if you have
received a large number of responses and want to compare them offline. You can also update the spreadsheet with your award
decisions and then upload it to identify winning responses.

You can download bids whether the negotiation is open or closed.

To download responses:

1. From the Your Negotiations at a Glance section, click the negotiation number for the negotiation to access the
Negotiation Summary page.

2. On the Negotiation Summary page, select Export Quotes/Bids from the Action menu.

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 3. On the Export Quotes/Bids to Spreadsheet page, select the type of spreadsheet you wish to down load. You
can use an Excel spreadsheet file or a text spreadsheet file. If you have never used spreadsheet files before, you
should also download the Instructions file.

4. Save the file to a convenient location.

5. Open the file and complete it according to the directions in the Instruction file. Save the file.
6. After you have completed your award decisions, upload your awards into the system.

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As the buyer, how do I communicate with suppliers while my negotiation is in process?

Throughout the negotiation process, email notifications are sent to potential respondents informing them of any
changes to the status of the negotiation. However, once you have published your negotiation, it is also possible
to communicate directly to the invitees and respondents by beginning an ongoing conversation called an online
discussion.

Using an online discussion

Once you have published your negotiation, you can initiate an online discussion from any of several pages
including:

● the Negotiations Home page under Negotiations at a Glance.

● the RFQs, or Auctions home page under RFQs at a Glance or Auctions at a Glance.

● the All RFQs or All Auctions pages.

The Unread Messages column on these pages contains the Online Discussion icon, and displays the number
of any messages you have not yet read.

● To initiate a new discussion or to access an ongoing discussion, click the icon or the number link. The
"discussion room" page appears listing any messages and replies existing for this discussion. You can
easily identify any unread messages as well as the messages to which you've replied by referring to the
check marks in the Read and Replied columns. The Read and Replied columns are per user not per
company. The subject text for the originating message is shown in bold. All replies to the message are
listed underneath. If you wish to check any supplier information, click the name link.

● To create a new topic (thread), click New Message. The New Message window opens. In this window
you
❍ select the recipient(s) of the message.

❍ specify the subject heading for the message.

❍ enter the full text of the message.

When you have finished entering your message, click Send.

● To see the entire text of a respondent's message, select it and click View Details. The Message Details
window displays the text of the message and other information such as the time, date, and recipients of
the message.
❍ To reply to the message, click Reply. The Reply to Message window opens.

❍ Enter the text of your response and click Send.

● To reply directly to a respondent's message, select the response and click Reply. Enter your reply text
and click Send.

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Can I invite additional suppliers to an RFQ or auction I've already created?

Any user assigned the appropriate job function can add suppliers to an RFQ or auction any time before the close date and time.

To add suppliers to a negotiation:

1. Under the Your Negotiations at a Glance section of the Negotiations Home page, click the negotiation number
link for the negotiation to which you wish to add additional suppliers.

2. Select Add Invitees from the Action menu and click Go.

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 3. On the Add Additional Invitees page, follow the instructions to add new suppliers.

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How do I extend a negotiation that is in progress?

You can extend an negotiation beyond its scheduled close date and time only if you set your response controls to allow manual
extension. You cannot manually extend your negotiation after it has closed. Additionally, you cannot extend an auction after its first
AutoExtension has been triggered.

To manually extend your negotiation:

1. Under the Your Negotiations at a Glance section on the Negotiations Home page, click the negotiation number
for the negotiation you wish to extend. If your negotiation is not displayed, click Full List.

2. On the Negotiation Summary page, select the Extend option from the Action menu and click Go.

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 3. On the Extend page, specify a new close date and time. You can also enable AutoExtend if you wish.
4. Click Submit.
5. A notification will be sent to all participants.

If, when creating this negotiation, you entered an award date, need-by date, and/or long-term agreement dates, these dates will also
be extended the by the same number of days that you extend your negotiation if the dates are scheduled to occur before your
extended close date. For example, if your negotiation includes a January 15 close date and a January 20 award date, and you extend
that auction for 7 days, your new close date is January 22, and your new award date is January 27. However, if you extend that
auction for only 3 days, your new close date is January 18, and your award date remains January 20.

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How do I change my auction's AutoExtend settings while the auction is in progress?

You can initially set your auction's AutoExtend settings while defining bid controls. However, you can still enable AutoExtend (if not
enabled initially) or modify your initial AutoExtend settings after the auction opens for bidding if you selected "Auction can be manually
extended while open for bidding" while setting the bid controls.

If your auction enters AutoExtend mode, you can change the number of times that the auction can AutoExtend, but you cannot change
any of the auction's other AutoExtend settings.

You cannot enable or modify AutoExtend settings for an auction that is in a preview period or has closed for bidding.

To change your auction's AutoExtend settings:

1. Under Your Negotiations at a Glance on the Negotiations Home page, click the negotiation number for the
negotiation whose AutoExtend values you wish to change.

2. On the Negotiation Summary page, select the Extend option from the Action menu and click Go.

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 3. On the Extend page, review your current AutoExtend settings (if any). You can also review and extend your
auction's scheduled close date and time.

4. Click the "Change AutoExtend Settings" link. Revise any or all of the following AutoExtend settings:

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 ❍ Items you want to AutoExtend (AutoExtend all items, or only those that receive bids during the
AutoExtend period)

❍ Number of AutoExtensions allowed (can be increased, but not decreased)

❍ Length of each AutoExtension

❍ Start time of each AutoExtension (at the scheduled auction close time, or upon receipt of a new winning
bid)

5. Click OK.

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How do I initiate a new round of responding?

After your RFI, RFQ, or auction has closed, you can initiate a new round of responding if you set the controls to allow multiple rounds of
responses (RFQs always permit multiple rounds of quoting).

After you initiate a new round of responding, none of the previous responses submitted are available for awarding.

To initiate a new round of responding:

You can only initiate a new round of responding after the current round has closed. You must either wait until the
negotiation reaches its close date and time, or you must manually close it early.

After the RFI, RFQ, or auction has closed, you can initiate a new round of responding from the Negotiations Summary
page:

1. On the Negotiations Home page, select a negotiation by clicking its Number link under the Your Negotiations at
a Glance section. If the negotiation you're looking for is not displayed under Your Negotiations at a Glance, click
the Full List button to see a display of all your published negotiations.

You can also enter search values in the Search Negotiations fields to search for a negotiation. From the
Results: Negotiations display, click the Number link for the negotiation you wish to see.

2. Select Start New Round from the Actions menu and click Go.

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 3. On the Start New Round page, update your negotiation's details as appropriate (*indicates a field that must be
entered prior to the new responding round).

■ Possible Description Modifications

■ Title/Style

You can give your negotiation a new name and change the negotiation style.

■ Possible Date Modifications

■ *Open Date
Date and time you want the new round of responding to begin. You can also choose to
open the negotiation immediately.

■ Preview Date
For RFIs, RFQs or auctions opening in the future, you can enter the date and time (prior
to the open date and time) the negotiation is available for previewing by all eligible
participants. You can also choose to open the negotiation for preview immediately.

■ *Close Date
The new date and time the RFI, RFQ, or auction closes. Note that you have to specify a
new closing date.

■ Award Date (RFQs and auctions only)

You can choose to enter a new award date/time if this differs from the timing in the
previous round of negotiation.

■ Possible Negotiation Currency Changes

■ If this is a multi-currency negotiation, and you originally chose to base exchange rates on
a set of company exchange rates for a particular date, you can change the date to reflect
more current rates.

■ Possible Agreement Terms Changes

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 ■ If this negotiation is a long-term agreement you can modify the Start Date, the End Date
and the Total Agreement Amount.

■ Possible Ranking Changes

■ Response Ranking
You can choose to have the response evaluation based solely on price, or you can also
identify other important attributes for your negotiation items and define weighting values to
indicate their relative importance. The system can then include that information when
calculating the quote/bid value.

■ Rank Indicator
You can change the type of display used to show response rankings. For example, you
might have turned the ranking off during your first round because you only wanted to
gather information about potential trading partners but did not wish to rank them yet.
Beginning with subsequent rounds, however, you might wish to start the actual ranking
process.

■ Possible Collaboration Team Changes

■ You can change the makeup of the collaboration team working on this negotiation. You
can add new members and/or delete existing members. You can update members'
approval status, view only status, and task assignments.

■ Possible Negotiation Item Changes

■ You can modify the list of items included in the negotiation. You can delete old items,
modify attributes of existing items, or add new items (note that suppliers will have to enter
responses to any new or updated items). Note, however, that if this is a multi-currency
negotiation, you cannot add amount-based items. You can also use the spreadsheet
upload functionality to update negotiation items.

■ If you are implementing Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring for this round of negotiation, you
will need to define scoring and weighting information for the appropriate item attributes. If
you used Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring in previous rounds, the scoring and weighting
information from the last round is carried over to the new round. But if you add any new
items to the new round, you may need to define new scoring and weighting values for that
item's attributes.

■ If you defined price breaks for the initial round of this negotiation, you can modify the price
break definitions.

■ Possible Invitation List Changes

■ If you invited suppliers in the previous round, they are automatically added to the
invitation list for the new round. Additionally, any suppliers who responded in the previous
round are also automatically added to the invitation list for the new round. You can
remove any supplier from the invitation list for the new round.

■ You can also add new suppliers.

■ Possible Additional Changes

■ You can also add any new Notes or Attachments or remove any existing ones.

4. Click Continue. Review your updated negotiation information. If there are approvers defined for this document,
click Submit for Approval. If there are no approvers defined for this document, click Publish.

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How do I close a negotiation before its scheduled close date and time?

You can close a negotiation early only if you set your response controls to allow a manual close. Note that you cannot manually close
an auction after its first AutoExtension has been triggered.

To close your negotiation early:

1. Under the Your Negotiations at a Glance section of the Negotiations Home page, click the negotiation number
for the negotiation you wish to close.

2. On the Negotiation Summary page, select the Close Early option from the Action menu and click Go.

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 3. On the Close Early page, enter the new date and time you want to close the negotiation or choose to close it
immediately.

4. If desired, enter a note to your suppliers. This note is included in the notification that will be sent.
5. Click Submit.

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What information is contained on the RFQ Summary/Auction Summary pages?

The RFQ Summary/Auction Summary pages are designed to provide valuable information about the status of items and quotes/bids
in a selected negotiation. You can use the information on the RFQ Summary and Auction Summary pages to monitor the negotiation
and make an award decision.

To access the summary pages:

1. Under the Your Negotiations at a Glance section of the Negotiations Home page, click the negotiation number
for the negotiation whose summary you wish to view.

2. On the Negotiation Summary page, select the Summary option from the Action menu and click Go.

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 The RFQ/Auction Summary pages can be divided into the following three areas:

● General information area

The general information area provides details on remaining negotiation time, the RFQ/Auction Value, Potential
Savings, Savings Percent, and No Bid Value for the auction.

● Item Status Table

This table displays the counts of No Quote/Bid, Fully Quote/Bid, and Partially Quote/Bid items in the auction,
based on whether they are open for bidding (bidders can still submit bids for these items) or closed for bidding
(no additional bids will be accepted for these items).

● Supplier/Bidder Status Table

The Supplier/Bidder Status table lists all of the suppliers or bidders were explicitly invited to participate in the
negotiation (whether or not they have actually responded). If the negotiation is open, the table also includes any
suppliers who were not invited but still responded. For each supplier, the table shows the Current Value and the
Best Value for their quote/bid.

Note: Calculating any of the negotiation values discussed below requires a either Start Price (per item) or Current Price
(per item). If the buyer set a Start Price or Current Price for some, but not all items, this value will reflect only those
items for which either Bid Start Prices or Current Prices were provided.

These areas contain the following information:

● Quoting Time Left/Bidding Time Left

The amount of time remaining in the negotiation.

Bidding Time Left and AutoExtend (auctions only)

If the auction has been AutoExtended, the Bidding Time Left is the amount of time left in the current
AutoExtend. The Bidding Time Left can increase if another AutoExtend is activated (by receipt of a bid during
the AutoExtend period). AutoExtend will not be activated if the buyer did not enable AutoExtend when creating

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 the auction

● RFQ/Auction Value

The total value of all negotiation items that include either a Current Price or a Start Price. If both prices
are included for any item, the Current Price is the price used to calculate the value of the negotiation
value.

For example: an auction, #4321, contains the following items:

Current
Item Number Quantity Start Price
Price
12345A 10 $20.00 $25.00
22345B 20 $45.00
32345C 30 $55
42345D 40

The Auction Value is: ($25 * 10) + ($45 *20) + ($55 * 30) = $2800

● Best Value

A bid or quote's Best Value is the amount of the RFQ or auction that the buyer will award this Quote/Bid if based
on price alone (award decisions can be based on other attributes as well). A Quote/Bid's best value equals the
item price being offered times the number of units that will be awarded to that Quote/Bid.

Based on the prices and quantities being offered by the Quote/Bid, the system ranks the quotes/bids and uses
the ranking to allocate the units being requested in the negotiation among the competing suppliers. The
Quote/Bid offering the lowest best price is given all the number of units for which it bids (up to the total number
of units in the negotiation). The Quote/Bid offering the next lowest best price is given as many of the remaining
unallocated units as are left up to the number of units for which it bids. Remaining units are allocated in a similar
fashion until the total number of units in the negotiation has been fully allocated.

In the example below, assume for simplicity an auction requesting 100 widgets and receiving the bids shown.

Bid Price Offered Quantity Offered Best Value Comments

1 $10 55 $550 Awarded all units bid

2 $25 35 $0 Awarded no units

Awarded only the

3 $20 45 $400 remaining 20 units

4 $15 25 $375 Awarded all units bid

The two lowest prices being offered get awarded their full bid quantities. Bid number three receives only
the remaining 20 units even though the bid quantity is higher. Bid number two receives no units since it's
the highest bid and all requested units have been awarded. Note that this is a simple example of an
RFQ/Auction with only one item.

● Current Value

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 The Current Value of a Quote/Bid is the item prices the buyer is currently paying ( the Current Price) times the
number of units that will be awarded to that Quote/Bid. A buyer can enter the Current Price value when the
negotiation is defined.

In the example below, the current value of Bid 4 is ($25 *25) = $625. The current value of bid 1 is
($25 * 55) = $1375. Note that these are simple examples involving an auction having only one
item.

Price Quantity Current Current

Bid Best Value Comments
Offered Offered Price Value
Receives all units
1 $10 55 $550 $25 $1375
bid for

2 $25 35 $875 $25 $0 Receives no units

Receives the
3 $20 45 $900 $25 $500 remaining 20
units
Receives all units
4 $15 25 $375 $25 $625
bid for

● Potential Savings/Potential Gain field

The Potential Savings/Gain for a negotiation is the difference between the sum of all of that negotiation's
Best Values and all of that negotiation's Current Values.

In the example:

Item Current
Quantity Start Price
Number Price
12345A 10 $20.00 $25.00
22345B 20 $45.00
32345C 30 $55
42345D 40

The following bids were submitted:

Price Quantity Price Quantity

bid for bid for bid for bid for
Bid Number
item item item item
12345A 12345A 22345B 22345B
Bid 1 $20 2 $35 10
Bid 2 $15 3 $40 10

Potential savings = (($25 - $20)* 2) + (($25 - $15)*3) + (($45 - $35)*10) + (($45-$40)*10)

= $190

Savings/gains are "potential" as long as the negotiation is open because the potential savings could change as

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 bids are revised and/or new bids are received for items that have not yet been bid.

● Savings Percent

The Savings Percent is equal to the Potential Savings/Gain value divided by the total Current Value for the
negotiation.

In the example above, the Savings Percent is $190 / (($25 * (2 + 3)) + ($45 * (10 + 10)) = 18.54%

● No Quote/Bid Value

In any negotiation, some items may either not be Quote/Bidd on or they may be only partially Quote/Bidd on.
The value of these items which have not been bid or quoted on is the No Quote/Bid Value.

In the example:

Item Current Total Bid

Quantity Start Price
Number Price Quantity
12345A 10 $20.00 $25.00 5
22345B 20 $45.00 20
32345C 30 $55
42345D 40

In the above example, the No Bid value is : ($25 * (10 - 5)) + ($55 * 30) = $1775
Item 42345D is not included in the calculation since it has neither a Start Price or Current
Price.

● No Quote/Bid

The number of items in the negotiation for which no bids or quotes have been received.

● Fully Quote/Bid

The number of items for which the total Quote/Bid quantity is equal to or greater than the negotiation quantity.

● Partially Quote/Bid

The number of items for which the total Quote/Bid quantity is less than the negotiation quantity.

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How do I cancel an RFQ/auction?

Sometimes, the responses to an RFQ or auction do not meet the needs of the negotiation. For example, there may have been
too few responses, or the terms of the responses are not acceptable. Perhaps the item requirements have changed or the
items are no longer needed. In any of these cases, you may wish to simply cancel the RFQ/auction.

1. Under the Your Negotiations at a Glance section of the Negotiations Home page, click the negotiation number for the
RFQ or auction you wish to cancel.

2. On the Negotiation Summary page, select the Cancel option from the Action menu and click Go.

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 3. On the Cancel page, you can enter a text note to participants explaining why you are canceling the negotiation.
4. Click Done. The system notifies all the invitees and participants of the closure.

You cannot cancel a negotiation that is already closed.

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 Awarding Negotiations

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How do I unlock and unseal a sealed RFQ or auction?

In a sealed RFQ or auction the buyer cannot see the bids until the RFQ/auction is unlocked. In addition, respondents in the RFQ or
auction cannot see other quotes/bids until the buyer also unseals the RFQ/auction (though supplier identity will never be revealed to the
suppliers in an auction). An RFQ/auction can only be unlocked and unsealed after it is closed. Additionally, an RFQ/auction cannot be
awarded until it is unlocked.

Note: You will always be able to unlock and unseal an RFQ/auction you have created. In addition, other users from your
company who have the appropriate function security can also unlock and unseal your RFQ/auction.

To unlock and unseal an RFQ/auction:

1. Click the negotiation number link under Your Negotiations at a Glance to access the Negotiation Summary page.

2. On the Negotiation Summary page, select Unlock from the Action menu.

3. On the Confirmation page, click "Return to negotiation" to return to the Negotiation Summary page.

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 4. Select Unseal from the Action menu and click Go.

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How do I award business in an RFQ or auction?

The business rules that control awarding a negotiation require you to have the Award My Negotiations job function to award a
negotiation you created. Additionally, you need the Award Other's Negotiations job function to award negotiations that were
created by other buyers.

You award by item not bid or quote, therefore an RFQ or auction composed of many items might have several winning bidders or
suppliers.

Note: The RFQ or auction must be closed for responses before you can award business. You cannot initiate a new round of
Quoting/Bidding on this RFQ or auction once you have submitted an award decision.

To award an RFQ or auction:

1. Access the negotiation you wish to award.

2. On the Negotiations Summary page, you see the information on the negotiation and any responses it has received. If
you need to continue negotiating with your suppliers, and you have not awarded any items yet, you can begin an
additional round of quoting/bidding by closing the negotiation and selecting Start New Round. Before you can start
awarding the negotiation, it must reach its close date/time or you can close it early.

If you wish to download the responses for a negotiation, select Export Bids from the Action menu. You can
then save the bids as a spreadsheet file and view it offline to make your award decision. Return to the this
page and click Import Awards to enter your award information into the system.

At any point during the award process, you can click Award Summary to access the Award Summary
page. The Award Summary page provides information on:

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 ❍ Awarded Item
The number of items in the negotiation that have been awarded.
❍ Rejected Items
The number of items in the negotiation whose responses have been rejected.
❍ Items with No Bids/Quotes
Number of items in the negotiation that have received no responses.

If you wish to award your RFQ or auction online, select Award from the Action menu.

3. The Award page displays information about the items in your negotiation. This includes the type of item, for example,
goods or services, the item description and possibly also its item number and revision. If this negotiation was autocreated
using requisitions in Oracle Purchasing, you can view the requisition line(s) related to this item by clicking the link in the
Requisitions column.

The number of bids or quotes received for each RFQ/Auction item appears in the Active Bids/Active Quotes column of the
Items to Award table.

To review and compare item's responses, click the response number link for that item. On the Compare page, select two
or more responses and click Compare to view a side by side comparison the the response details.

4. To award an item, click Pick Winning Bids/Quotes.

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 5. On the Pick Winning Bids/Quotes page, you see the information on the line item you are awarding and its response(s).
Enter the number of units you are awarding each supplier and click Award. Note you can split your award among multiple
suppliers. Also note that you do not have to award all units in the negotiation. You can also choose to award none of the
items by clicking No Award. If the negotiation was AutoCreated and you partially award an item, the unawarded
requisitions are placed back in the requisition pool.

Note: If the item that you are awarding contains price elements with a pricing basis of Fixed Amount, and you enter an
award quantity that is not equal to the bid quantity, it is possible that the supplier's bid price may no longer be valid.
However in such cases, the system will not recalculate the bid price nor will it give you a warning or error message. In
other words, you will be able to under-award or over-award at the bid price that is valid for the full bid quantity.

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 You can enter messages to be sent to the winning and rejected suppliers.

6. On the Review and Submit page, check the award information you have entered, and if correct, click Submit.

7. You are returned to the Award page where you see any items remaining to be awarded. Use the preceding instruction to
make award decisions for the remaining items in the negotiation. When you have submitted all your award decisions, click
Complete Award.

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 8. On the Complete Award page, you can initiate the purchase order creation process. You can also choose to notify your
winning suppliers of your award decision immediately. Otherwise, if your award decision is subject to an approval process,
you may wish to delay notifying suppliers until the approval is complete. To begin generation of the purchase order, click
Continue.

9. On the Review and Submit page, click Submit. The Award Confirmation page appears. Click the link to continue
creating the purchase order.

10. The Enter Standard Purchase Order Details page displays the information that will be used when generating the
purchase order. You can choose a supplier site and a buyer to associate with this purchase order. Click Submit.

11. The Purchase Order Confirmation page appears.

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How do I use a downloaded spreadsheet to award negotiation items?

See How do I download the responses I have received? for instructions on downloading a spreadsheet containing details
on your negotiation responses and instructions on using the spreadsheet.

To indicate your award decisions, update the Award Quantity column for each negotiation line item receiving responses.
You can divide the items between multiple responses or award the entire quantity to a single response. You can also
choose to not award any items if the responses were unacceptable.

Once you have completed entering your award information, save the file and continue with the upload process.

1. From the Your Negotiations at a Glance, click the negotiation number link to access the Negotiation Summary
page for the negotiation you wish to award.

2. If the negotiation's close date is not yet past, select Close Early from the Action menu and click Go.
3. Enter a new close date or choose to close the negotiation immediately. Enter a note to suppliers if desired. Click
Submit.

4. Once the negotiation is closed, return to the Negotiation Summary page and select Award from the Action
menu.

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 5. Click Import Awards.

6. On the Load Awarded Item(s) From Spreadsheet page, navigate to the location of the spreadsheet file.
7. Click Start Load Now.
8. The system will validate the information and prompt you to correct any wrong entries.

Since you used a spreadsheet to award your negotiation items, you probably have no additional items left to award using
the Award by Item page. However, if you have remaining items to award, you can still modify information in your
spreadsheet to upload additional award decisions. Or you can use the instructions in How do I award business in an RFQ
or auction? to award the remaining items.

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How do I allocate backing requisitions among awarded items?

If you used AutoCreate to generate a sourcing negotiation, there are backing requisition(s) associated with items you finally awarding. When
you create the resulting purchase order dealing with the awarded items, you can specify how the items on these backing requisitions are
consumed by the awarded items. Any unconsumed requisition demand is returned to the requisition pool.

For example, assume you have two requisitions for PC keyboards for a total of 75 keyboards. You AutoCreate these into a buyer's auction.

Requisition Number Item Quantity

12345 50 keyboards
98762 25 keyboards

You receive two bids as follows on the auction item:

Bidder Bid Quantity

Office Supplies 30
Your PCs 30

You have received bids for 60 of the requested 75 keyboards. You want to allocate the awarded items in such a way that one of the
requisitions is fully consumed and the other is partially consumed (any remaining unconsumed demand is returned to the requisition pool
available to AutoCreate.

Default Allocation

The system generates a default allocation to consume requisitions as efficiently as possible. The bid with the earliest promise date will
consume as many of the requisition quantity as possible. Once the awarded bid with the lowest price has finished consuming requisitions
items, any other awarded bid quantities are allocated across the requisition quantities until all awarded bids have consumed as much of the
requisition demand as possible.

Bidder Bid Quantity Consumed Quantity On Requisition Number

Office Supplies 30 30 12345
Your PCs 30 20 12345
10 98762

Notes: Bidder Office Supplies is awarded all 30 units and the award is applied against requisition 12345. The remaining bidder, Your PCs, is
awarded 30 units as well: 20 units are applied against the remaining units for requisition 12345, and 10 units are applied against requisition
97862. Note that this leaves requisition 98762 with 15 units of unsatisfied demand. The 15 unconsumed units are returned to the requisition
pool and are available for participation in any future AutoCreated negotiations.

To enter allocations

1. After you have made your award decisions and picked your winning bids, click Complete Award.

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 2. On the Complete Award page, click Continue to begin purchase order creation.

3. On the Review and Submit page, click Submit.

4. On the Complete Award Confirmation page, click "Continue Purchase Order creation process."

5. The Allocate page shows you the awarded items with backing requisitions that have been allocated.

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 6. For each awarded line item, you can select the item and enter allocation values by clicking Enter Allocations.

7. On the Enter Allocations page, you will see the system default allocations as described above.
8. Modify the allocation values as needed and click Save.
Note: You cannot allocate more units than you have awarded. You can allocate fewer units than you awarded a particular bidder, but
you cannot allocate more units than you awarded that bidder. You cannot allocate more than the requisition quantity of each
requisition.

9. Once you are returned to the Allocate page, continue allocating any remaining awarded items.
10. After you have allocated all the items you awarded, click "Create Purchase Order" and continue with the purchase creation order
process.

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How do I disqualify responses I receive for an RFI, RFQ, or auction?

You may receive responses on your RFIs, RFQs or auctions that you wish to disqualify, perhaps because the responses do not meet
your target prices, dates, locations, or other criteria.

When you disqualify a response, you are disqualifying an entire response not an individual line in the response.

To disqualify a response:

1. Click the negotiation number under Your Negotiations at a Glance section to access the Negotiation Summary
page. Alternatively, use use the Search Negotiations fields to list all negotiations. On the Results: Negotiations
page, click the negotiation number to access the Negotiation Summary page.

2. On the Negotiation Summary page, select View Bid History from the Action menu and click Go.

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 3. On the Quote/Bid History page ensure you are viewing the Bid Summary view.

4. Select the response you want to disqualify. Click Disqualify Bid or Disqualify Quote.

5. On the Disqualify page, enter a text note to the participant to explain why you are disqualifying the response.
Click Done.

6. The participant will be notified that the response has been disqualified and will have the opportunity to submit
another response if the negotiation is still open. All other participants are also notified of the disqualification.

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Can I see information on my negotiations once I have completed awarding them?

In many situations, it can be helpful to review award decisions you have made in the past. This information is
stored and can be viewed even after you have closed, awarded and completed the negotiation. To see prior
award information:

1. Use the Search Negotiations fields at the top of the Negotiations Home page to perform an Advanced
Search.

2. On the Negotiations Search page, select one of the following Status values and click Go.
❍ Closed
Negotiations which have been closed. These negotiations could be taken to a subsequent round
of responding or could have their award process initiated.

❍ Award
Negotiations for which the award process is either still in progress (there are still outstanding
items to be awarded) of completed (there are no outstanding items to be awarded).

❍ Completed
The award process is completed and a purchase order has been requested or a purchase order
has not been requested.

❍ Create Order
Negotiations for which the allocation process is in progress or for which the purchase order
creation process has been initiated.

3. From the list of search results, click the number link for the negotiation to see the details.

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 3

Sourcing Buyer Intelligence Reports

3-1
3-2
 Introduction

3-3
What is Sourcing Intelligence?

Sourcing Intelligence provides all the analytic and transactional reporting for your Sourcing application. As
buyers and suppliers collaborate on procurement-related activities both price savings and efficiencies occur as
a result of the increased amount of information flowing through the system. Sourcing Intelligence promotes the
increased efficiency by enabling visibility and analysis of system transactions. You can use Sourcing
Intelligence to:

● Track trends of purchases over time.

● Identify potential savings opportunities.

● Identify negotiation opportunities.

● View summary reports that allow additional details.

You can view the reports online, or export and open the reports in a third-party software application (such as
spreadsheet software) where you can analyze and format the numbers at your discretion. See "How do I export
report data to a spreadsheet?"

3-4
What are the Sourcing Intelligence reports I can generate?

You can generate any of the following Sourcing Intelligence reports:

● Awards by Supplier report

● Savings by Category report

● Awarded Bids Detail report

● Awarded Quotations Detail report

Perspective for Java licensed from Three D Graphics, Inc. Copyright 2000 Three D Graphics, Inc.

3-5
How do I export data to a spreadsheet?

You can conveniently view report data online, but at times, you may want to export the data to a spreadsheet application where you
can analyze and format the numbers at your discretion. There are two main steps in this process:

1. Exporting the spreadsheet file

2. Opening the spreadsheet file in a spreadsheet application

On the system, you can easily export the report data to a tab-delimited file that can be opened in most spreadsheet applications. In a
tab-delimited file, the fields are separated by a tab character, but the text has no special formatting characters. These files are very
flexible and can be opened by many software applications including spreadsheet software.

The column headings and data you see in the report are exported to a file that includes such information as the System Name,
Company, Report Name, Time Frame, and User Name.

The Export to File feature exports all records for the report even if only a subset of the records are displayed online. For example, a
report may consist of 180 records of which only 25 or 50 are shown online. However, when the results are exported, all 180 records
are exported to the spreadsheet file.

To view transactions in all currencies:

When you view transactions for a selected currency in a report, only transactions for that selected currency are
displayed. However, if you want to view all transactions completed in all currencies, you can export the report data to a
spreadsheet.

In the spreadsheet, transactions for all currencies, including the selected currency and the currency code, are
displayed.

To export report data to a spreadsheet:

1. Generate the intelligence report of your choice. See "What are the Sourcing Intelligence reports I can generate?"

3-6
 2. After you have generated your report, click Export to Spreadsheet at the bottom of the report page.
3. You are prompted to save the file. (If you see an Unknown File Type window, click Save File...) Save the file to the
drive/location of your choice. The report data is saved with the default file name of the report.

To open the spreadsheet file in a spreadsheet application:

1. After the file is saved, you can open the file in most spreadsheet applications, such as Microsoft Excel:
❍ To quickly open the file in Excel, double-click the spreadsheet file. This launches the application and displays the
selected spreadsheet file.

❍ Alternately, start your spreadsheet software and open the spreadsheet file in the application:

■ When you open the file, the spreadsheet software may use a Wizard that displays the steps to open the file. For
example, in Excel, the Text Import Wizard asks you to choose the file type that describes your data (Delimited or
Fixed Width).

■ Select Delimited. You will then be asked to set delimiters for your data.

■ Choose Tab. Do not change the tab appearance in the file.

Note: If you cannot find the spreadsheet file when you use the Open dialog box of the spreadsheet application, make
sure that you are pointing to the correct directory, and set the File Type in the dialog box to All files.

3-7
 2. Each row in the spreadsheet provides detailed information about transactions that your company has performed on the system.

3-8
How do I run reports?

1. On the Negotiations Home page, click the Intelligence tab.

2. Click the link for the report you want to run.

3. Enter any search criteria into the appropriate fields, and click Go. (Not all reports have all of the following search criteria.)
An asterisk (*) indicates a required field:

❍ *From and Through Date

Enter a date range for extracting and summarizing transactions.

❍ Currency
Select the currency of interest. If left blank, the report defaults to your functional currency.

❍ Category (if available)

3-9
 Select the category of interest using the search icon next to the field.

❍ Suppliers (if available)

Select the suppliers of interest using the search icon next to the field.

4. Once the report displays, click Show Chart (if available) for a graphical representation of the report.

5. Click Export to Spreadsheet to download the report, if desired. See "How do I export report data to a spreadsheet?"

3-10
 Intelligence Reports

3-11
What is the Awards by Supplier report?

The Awards by Supplier report displays the quantity and volume of purchase transactions by supplier and
transaction type. This report provides a summary view of all purchases completed on the system.

To run the Awards by Supplier report, see "How do I run the reports?"

Note: When entering a category search parameter, the report reflects only the
system-hosted catalog item categories.

3-12
What is the Savings by Category report?

The Savings by Category report displays your savings by category for purchases transacted from buyer
auctions.

To run the Savings by Category report, see "How do I run the reports?"

3-13
What is the Awarded Bids Detail report?

The Awarded Bids Detail report displays the detailed information about auctions for which purchase orders
have been generated. You can view the supporting awarded bid by clicking the Auction number or Bid number.

To run the Awarded Bids Detail report, see "How do I run the reports?"

Note: For the Auction Outcome report parameter, select Standard Purchase
Order, Blanket Purchase Agreement, or All Outcomes.

3-14
What is the Awarded Quotation Detail report?

The Awarded Quotation Detail report displays information about specific RFQs that contributed to RFQ
purchases for the system. You can view individual quote details by clicking the quote number.

To run the Awarded Quotation Detail report, see "How do I run the reports?"

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3-16
 4

Help for Sourcing Suppliers

4-1
4-2
 Responding to Negotiations

4-3
How do I access negotiations?

The Negotiations Home page is the central point of access for all your negotiations. From here, you can can respond to all
public negotiations as well as those negotiations to which you have been specifically invited. You can also monitor negotiations
in which you are participating and manage any draft responses you have.

To search for negotiations to which you have been invited:

Check the Open Invitations section for negotiations to which you have been invited. To access a negotiation,
click the Number link. This will take you to the Negotiation Summary page from which you can perform
additional tasks such as placing a response or viewing response history. Note that the Open Negotiations
display only shows a limited number of your invitations according to the time remaining. To see the complete
list, click Full List.

To search for negotiations in which you are already participating or for which you are preparing a draft response:

4-4
 Check the Your Active and Draft Responses section to see any negotiations in which you are currently
participating or for which you are preparing draft responses.

● The Response Status column shows whether you have an active response against this negotiation or
whether you are in the process of drafting a response.
● To see information on the negotiation, click the Negotiation Number link. This takes you to the
Negotiation Summary page.
● To see your current response or draft information, click the Response Number link. This takes you to the
Details page.

Note that the Your Active and Draft Negotiations section display only shows a limited number of your responses
according to the time remaining. To see the complete list, click Full List.

To search for open negotiations in which to participate:

You can access any open negotiation even if you were not specifically invited. To find open negotiations, use
the Search Negotiations fields at the top of the page.

You can search by:

● negotiation title
● negotiation number
● negotiation creator (contact)
● item (negotiations for this item)
● category (negotiations for items in this category)
● event (negotiations associated with a sourcing event.

Select a search parameter, enter a value for the parameter, and click Go.

On the Results: Active Negotiations page, you can

● Select the negotiation and click Respond to create a response.

4-5
 ● Click the negotiation number link to view details of the negotiation.

● Click the Your Company's Responses link to see details of any current responses from suppliers at your
company.

● Click Unread Messages link to view any online discussion messages.

4-6
How do I use Quick Links?

The Quick Links section of the Negotiations Home page provides easy, one-step access to your most
commonly performed Oracle Sourcing tasks. The links are organized by task and negotiation type so you can
find the link for the task you wish to perform. Simply clicking the link takes you to the page where you initiate
the operation.

The table below shows some of the operations available to Sourcing Suppliers by using Quick Links.

Supplier Operations
Creating responses to negotiations
Monitoring active responses
Managing draft responses
Viewing award decisions
Updating profile information

4-7
How do I respond to a negotiation?

Suppliers can respond to public negotiations and private negotiations to which they have been invited. To
respond to a negotiation you must:

1. Find a negotiation in which to participate.

2. Submit your response (bid, or quote).
3. Monitor the action in the negotiation in which you are participating.

4-8
How do I view the details of a negotiation before placing a response?

1. Under Open Invitations, click the negotiation number to access the Negotiation Summary page for the negotiation in
which you are interested.

Alternatively, use the Search Negotiations fields to access the Active Negotiations page. Click the negotiation number
to access the Negotiation Summary page.

4-9
 2. The Negotiation Summary page displays all the current information for this negotiation. This includes such information
as the time the negotiation, detailed item information, the response controls, pricing, shipping and billing information.

You can easily navigate to a particular section of the page (such as the item information section) by clicking the small
down arrowhead icons or the links at the top right of the page.

If the item has attributes, price elements, or price breaks associated with it, you can view information on the item
attributes by clicking the "View" link under the Details column.

The Notes and Attachments section displays any text messages from the buyer and any attached files. Attachments can
be viewed by clicking the paperclip icon.

If the negotiation is open, you can review any current responses by clicking the number link under the
Responses/Quotes/Bids column. If the negotiation is closed, you can only see the response history if you are the buyer.
If the negotiation is sealed, no one can see the responses until the negotiation is over and unsealed.

4-10
How do I respond to a Request for Information (RFI)?

A Request for Information (RFI) sourcing document is different from other sourcing documents such as RFQ or buyer's
auction. The purpose of RFQs, buyer's auctions, and offers to buy is to negotiate item price and costs prior to generating a
purchasing document.

The purpose of an RFI is to gather information on goods and services a supplier company provides. RFIs may or may not be
concerned with item price or costs. Buyers use responses to an RFI to qualify suppliers early in the procurement process.
RFIs typically run to several rounds as buyers continually refine the groups of suppliers who can most closely supply the
products and services the buyer is looking for. Once the appropriate group of suppliers has been identified, the RFI can be
converted to an RFQ or buyer's auction, and the buyer can initiate a regular price/cost negotiation with the targeted suppliers.

To respond to an RFI:

1. From the Negotiations Home page, search for any open RFIs or RFIs to which you've been specifically invited. RFIs
to which you've been invited will appear under Open Invitations. You can find open RFIs by entering search values in
the Search Open Negotiations fields and clicking Go, or by clicking the Create link under Responses and searching for
a negotiation.

2. From the Results: Active Negotiations, select the RFI to which you wish to respond and click Respond.

3. On the Create Response page, enter response values as you normally would when bidding or quoting online. If the

4-11
 buyer chose to include the Price and Quantity fields, you are required to provide values for these fields are required.

4. Since the purpose of an RFI is to obtain product and service related information for a negotiation item, most negotiation
items in an RFI have item attributes defined. These item attributes identify the questions the buyer has about a
particular item. Any required item attributes appear on the Create Response page, and you can enter your responses
in the fields. When entering responses, be aware of the following size limits:

❍ Attribute: 240 characters

❍ Target: 4000 characters

❍ Response: 4000 characters

To see all attributes defined for an item, both required and optional, click the link under Item Description.

5. Any optional attributes appear on the Item page, and you can enter your response in the response fields. Enter
response values to the item attributes as appropriate. When you have responded to all required and optional item
attributes, click Done.

6. When you are returned to the Create Response page, review the item information and, if correct, click Continue.
7. On the Review Response page, verify your response values. If correct, click Submit.

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How do I submit a response online?

Note: As you prepare to respond to a negotiation, you may want to view the details of the responses that have already been submitted
(not accessible in blind and sealed style negotiation).

Locate the negotiation to which you wish to respond by clicking the negotiation number link under the Open Invitations section of the
Negotiations Home page or using the Search Negotiations fields to list all negotiations on the Search: Negotiations page and
clicking the negotiation number link there. You can see details of the negotiation on the Negotiation Summary page. If you want to
view the responses that have been submitted, click View Quote/Bid History.

To submit response online:

1. On the Negotiation Summary page, click "Create Quote/Bid " to create a response to the negotiation.
2. If you are the first supplier from your company to respond to this negotiation, you will be asked to read and
accept the negotiation terms and conditions. After reading the terms and conditions, click Accept.

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 3. On the Create Quote/Bid page, you can enter the following information. *Indicates a required field:
❍ *Quote Currency (Bid Currency)
The buyer might allow quotes/bids in currencies other than the RFQ/auction currency (the currency used
to create the RFQ or auction). If so, you can select the currency in which you will place your quote/bid.

■ Note: Before you select a currency, all response prices (such as start price and target price) will
be listed in the RFQ/bid currency. After you select a currency, you will see all prices listed in your
chosen currency.

■ If the buyer has allowed it, you can see the exchange rate for currencies other than the response
currency.

❍ Quote Valid Until (Bid Valid Until)

Use the pop-up date display to enter the date your bid or quote expires.

❍ Your Quote Number (Your Bid Number)

A number you can assign for your own internal tracking. This is different from the quote/bid number which
is generated by the system and assigned automatically and cannot be edited.

❍ Power Bid (when rebidding only)

If you are rebidding and wish to use the Power Bid functionality, enter a number representing the
percentage by which all your bid prices should be updated. Click Recalculate to display your new prices.
Note that the buyer may have defined a minimum value by which prices must change, and if your new
bids are not acceptable, you receive an error message. Power Bid is disabled if any of the negotiation
items contain price elements.

❍ Proxy Bid Decrement (auctions only)

If the buyer allowed proxy bidding, enter the value by which you wish your bid to be reduced. This can
represent either a percentage or monetary rate depending on the settings defined by the buyer. If the
buyer wants the bid to decrease by a monetary amount, the currency sign will appear after the Proxy Bid
Decrement field. If the buyer wants the bid to decrease by a percentage, a percent sign will appear after
the Proxy Bid Decrement field. Proxy bids are not applied to any item having a price element. If all items
in the auction have price elements, proxy bidding is disabled and this box does not appear.

❍ Note to Auctioneers/Buyers

4-14
 ❍ Attach Quote Documents (Attach Bid Documents)

❍ View menu
To sort the RFQ/auction items by category, select the category of items you want to view, then click Go.
The system will display only those items that are included in the category you selected.

❍ *Quote/Bid Price
Your price for one unit of the item or service. If an item contains price elements, this field is display only.

❍ Bid Proxy Minimum(auctions only)

If the auction allows proxy bidding, enter your minimum bid. If the bidding drops below this amount,
automatic bidding on your behalf is discontinued. You can rebid specifying new proxy bid values.

❍ *Quote Quantity/Bid Quantity

Number of units on which you are Quoting/Bidding. If the buyer set bid controls to allow only full quantity
bids, this field is display only and shows the quantity entered by the buyer.

❍ Promise Date
Use the pop-up display to enter the date by which you will deliver the item or service . If the negotiation
outcome is Standard Purchase Order or this attribute is weighted, Promise Date is required.

❍ Price Elements
Price elements are displayed if they have been added to an item by the buyer.

■ Bid Value
Enter your value for this price element. When you click Continue, the item price, the bid value and
the pricing basis are used to calculate the bid price.

■ Pricing Basis
The method by which this price element is used to calculate the bid price:

■ Per-Unit
The value is multiplied by the quantity of units bid and added to the item price.

■ Fixed Amount
The value is divided by the quantity of units bid and added to the item price.

■ % of Item Price
The value is divided by 100, then multiplied by the item price, and the result added to the
item price.

❍ Price Breaks
If there are price breaks defined for this item, click the "Click here.." to enter your price break responses. .

❍ Item Attributes
If there are required item attributes for this item, they will be listed under the item information.

Enter your response to the required attribute in the Value field. If the attribute is a text attribute, you can
select from the entries included in the List of Values. If the attribute is a number or date field, you must
enter the value yourself.

❍ Add Attachments
You can attach additional item information to your bid. You might wish to do this to respond to any
attachments from the buyer or simply to include detailed information. If you have added attachments, you
see the paperclip attached to a page of paper.

4. Click "Additional Attributes" or Item Description to access the Item page where you can view and respond to
required and optional attributes as well as price elements for the individual item. You can also view the scoring
and weighting information for item attributes.

5. After entering values as needed, click Done. This returns you to the Create Quote/Bid page.

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 6. When you have entered all of your Quote/Bid information, click Continue. To clear all of your information, click
Clear Changes.

7. Verify the details of your bid on the Review Quote/Review Bid page. If you need to make changes, use the
Back button. When you are satisfied with your bid, click Submit.

Note: If for some reason you do not wish to submit your response immediately, click Save Draft to save
your response information for a later session. You draft will be assigned a number which you can use
later when accessing the draft for editing or completion. You can access your draft responses by clicking
the Manage Draft quick link from the Negotiations Home page. You can access the draft for editing or for
submission.

Drafts can be used to spread the response definition over several sessions. Note that this is common in
situations where the response is complex and requires the input of several collaborators. In this case, the
draft can be accessed and edited as needed until the final version is ready for submission.

If multiple responses are allowed, a single supplier organization can have multiple draft responses
against the same negotiation, however, a single supplier user can only have one draft response
outstanding against a single negotiation. If a single best bid situation is in effect, a supplier organization
can have only one draft response against a particular negotiation.

4-16
How do I use item attributes and price elements when responding to a negotiation?

When creating a new negotiation, a buyer can add item attributes and/or price elements to any item(s) in the
negotiation. Price elements identify additional costs associated with an item which need to be negotiated in
addition to the item price. When you respond to a negotiation that includes item attributes and/or price
elements, you can view these specific item details (if allowed by the buyer) and enter additional values to target
your response.

Item attributes provide extra information about a negotiation item. They define 1) unique specifications that are
set for a negotiation item, and 2) the details that a negotiation participant should provide when entering a
response for that item. Item attributes make a negotiation item more descriptive and can be used to ensure that
all responses submitted for the item include details not included elsewhere in the item information.

Item attributes also allow you to provide more information and details when entering responses. By providing
item details and specifications in item attribute fields, you can set your responses apart from your competitors'
responses and enable buyers to make better-informed award decisions. In Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring
negotiations, your responses to an item's attributes are scored and weighted to allow the buyer to make more
informed decisions.

Using price elements allows you to target additional costs related to a particular negotiation item. Such costs
can include discrete charges such as import duties or activities such consulting or training costs.

4-17
What is proxy bidding and how does it work?

By activating proxy bidding, you allow the system to automatically rebid on your behalf whenever a competing bid
price beats your bid price.

In an auction that includes more than one item, you can proxy bid on some items and bid manually on others. You
cannot proxy bid on any items that have price elements.

To activate proxy bidding:

When you place a bid on an auction, you can enter your proxy bid information in the appropriate
fields on the Create Bid page. Use numbers, for example, 10.75. To submit a proxy bid for any
auction item, you must provide the following information.

Note: If at any time you wish to change your proxy bid information, you can cancel your proxy bid
and submit a new bid with the updated proxy information.

Proxy Bid Decrement

You must enter the exact amount by which you want each of your proxy bids to
decrease. The Proxy Bid Decrement field will indicate whether you can enter the
amount as a percentage or monetary amount (this is determined by the buyer).

Your proxy bid decrement amount will be applied to the current winning bid in the
auction, not your own current bid. For example, if you have submitted a $3,500 bid in

4-18
 an auction with a proxy bid decrement amount of $100, and a $3,400 bid is
subsequently submitted, the system will automatically submit a proxy bid of $3,300
on your behalf.

● Proxy Minimum Bid

You must enter the lowest price you are willing to proxy bid for any auction item. Whenever
your bid price is exceeded by a competing bid price, the system will continue to
automatically rebid (by the proxy bid decrement amount you specify) until your proxy
minimum bid price is met.

Note: After you have submitted your proxy minimum bid amount, you cannot
change this amount unless the minimum amount is met in the auction bidding
or you cancel the proxy bidding on the item.

When bidding on an auction that contains more than one item, you can proxy bid on all or selected
items. Enter your proxy bid decrement amount, then enter a proxy minimum bid only for those items
on which you want to proxy bid. You cannot enter different proxy bid decrement amounts for each
item.

If the bidding on an auction item in which your proxy bidding drops below your proxy bid minimum
amount, automatic proxy bidding is discontinued. You can then do any of the following:

● Enable another round of proxy bidding for the item

Enter new proxy bid information. You can change your proxy bid decrement if all items on
the bid do not have proxy enabled. You can also change the proxy bid minimum amounts.
Then submit the bid as normal.

● Bid manually on the item

Continue bidding on the item by submitting bids manually.

● Discontinue bidding on the item

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How do I turn off proxy bidding?

Proxy bidding allows a bidder to have the system automatically rebid whenever a competing bid is received. The bidder specifies
the amount of the price decrement (expressed as a percentage or a flat price reduction) and the minimum price to offer. Once
enabled, the system will continue to rebid at lower prices until the bidder's minimum bid price is reached. At this point, proxy
bidding in suspended.

Canceling proxy bidding

In most cases, once proxy bidding has been initiated, it can be allowed to run to conclusion. However, there may be certain
instances in which the bidder needs to end proxy bidding early. Usually, this happens when the bidder needs to update bid
information. For example, the promise date offered by the bidder may need to be updated due to unforeseen situations at the time
the proxy was begun. Or in a multi-attribute weighted negotiation, the bidder may wish to update the non-price related information
to improve the price to total score ratio. In both these cases, the bidder may wish to halt the proxy bidding to update bid
information.

To cancel proxy bidding.

Once you have placed a bid using proxy bidding, you can monitor its progress by locating the negotiation number under Your
Active and Draft Responses section of the Negotiations Home page. To view the details of your current bid, click the Response
number link.

1. Click Create Bid to create a new bid.

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 2. On the Rebid page, click Cancel Proxy at the bottom of the page.

4-21
 3. The Cancel Proxy Bidding page shows all line items for which you have proxy bidding enabled. Select the items for which
you wish to disable proxy bidding, and click Cancel All Proxies. The Cancel Proxy Bidding page redisplays without the
line item(s) for which you just disabled proxy bidding (you can choose to retain proxy bidding on some line items but not
others)
.
4. To continue placing a new bid, click Create Bid. When the Rebid page appears, continue entering your new bid information
(including new proxy specifications if desired).

4-22
What is power bid?

Power bid allows you to expedite your rebidding when you have bid on several items in the same auction. When you use
power bid, all of your bids (losing and winning) in an auction are improved by the percentage you enter in the Power Bid
field. Power bidding cannot be used if any of the auction items contain price elements.

To use power bid:

1. Access the auction on which you want to rebid.

2. On the Rebid page, enter the power bid percentage by which you want to decrease each of your
bids in the auction. Enter numbers, for example, 7.25.

3. Click Recalculate to preview your power bid prices. The recalculated price appears in the Price field.
Because you are only previewing your power bids, your bid status does not change yet, even if your
new bid price exceeds the current best bid for any auction item. Your bid prices so not take effect
until you click Submit Bid.

4. If you want to return to your original bid prices, click Clear Changes. You can then enter a new
power bid percentage and click Go to revise your power bid.

5. When you are satisfied with your power bid prices, click Submit Bid and review the details of your
bid.

4-23
How do I download a spreadsheet and respond offline?

Importing your responses using a spreadsheet is helpful if there are many items in a large negotiation. Bulk
loading is also useful if you respond to similar negotiations that occur repeatedly. You can create the
spreadsheet once and then make only the modifications necessary for a particular negotiation.

As you prepare to respond, you may want to look at responses that have already been submitted (not viewable
in blind or sealed auctions or in RFQs). After you have located a negotiation on which to bid, click the
negotiation number and review the negotiation's details and items, then click History to review responses.

To download a spreadsheet and prepare your bid or quote offline:

1. Access the open negotiation to which you wish to respond.

❍ From the Negotiation Summary page, click Create Quote/Bid. On the Create
Quote/Bid page, click Bid by Spreadsheet.

❍ From the Search:Negotiations page, select the negotiation and click Respond.
On the Create Quote/Bid page, click Bid by Spreadsheet.

2. On the Quote/Bid by Spreadsheet page, select the type of file(s) you wish to download.
You can download an Excel spreadsheet or a text spreadsheet. If you have never used a
spreadsheet to prepare responses, you should download the instruction file as well.
3. Save the spreadsheet file to a convenient location.
4. Open the spreadsheet file and complete according to the instructions in the Read Me
file. Save the file.

5. Navigate back to the Quote/Bid by Spreadsheet page.

6. Browse to the location where you saved your spreadsheet file. Click Start Load Now.
The system will validate the response information you entered in your spreadsheet.

7. Verify the details of your bid or quote. If you need to make changes, use your Back
button. Click Submit.

8. The Bid Confirmation/Quote Confirmation page displays your bid number.

4-24
How do I rebid on an RFQ or auction?

1. Access the negotiation on which you wish to rebid. Click the response link to access the Details page.
2. On the negotiation Details page, click Create Quote/Bid.

3. On the Rebid/Requote page, enter your new bid information and click Continue.
4. On the Review Quote/Bid page, check your response information. If correct, click Submit.

4-25
Why would a negotiation have special terms and conditions?

Your buying company can include customized terms and conditions that govern its negotiations.

When you respond to such a negotiation, these terms and conditions are presented before you enter the details
of your response. Review the negotiation's terms and conditions, click Accept, then continue entering your
response.

If you do not accept the negotiation's terms and conditions, click Cancel. You will not be allowed to enter a
response in the negotiation.

4-26
 Monitoring Negotiations

4-27
How do I monitor negotiations to which I've responded?

From the Negotiations Home page, you can easily monitor the status of negotiations to which you have
responded. The Your Active and Draft Responses section lists all negotiations to which your have either
submitted an active response or to which you are still creating a draft response.

1. Click the Negotiation Number link to see details of the negotiation such as negotiation items, terms and
conditions, and response controls.

2. Click the Response Number link to see details of your current responses.

Also on the Negotiations Home page, you can use the Response Quick Links to see the status of your
awarded, disqualified, and rejected responses.

4-28
How do I track the status of my responses?

When a negotiation in which you have participated is awarded, the system sends you an e-mail notification
listing the number of negotiation items you won (if any) and lost (if any).

To view the status of your responses:

From the Responses Quick Links section of the Negotiations Home page click:

● "Awarded" to access the Awarded page showing information on all your

awarded business.

● "Rejected" to access the Rejected page showing information on all your

rejected responses.

● "Disqualified" to access the Disqualified page showing information on all

your disqualified responses.

4-29
What information is contained on the Disqualified Responses page?

The Disqualified Responses page shows you all responses you have placed in any negotiation that have
been disqualified by the buyer. The Disqualified Responses page allows you to drill down into detailed
information about the negotiation and your response to it. The Disqualified Responses page shows:

● Response Number
The number assigned to your response by the system.

● Your Response Number

The number you assigned your response, if any.

● Negotiation Number
The number assigned the negotiation by the system.

● Type
The negotiation type: RFI, RFQ, or buyer's auction

● Title
The title of the negotiation.

● Event Title
The name of the event, if the negotiation is associated with one.

● Time Left
Time remaining until the negotiation closes.

● Reason
Any explanation provided by the buyer explaining why the response was disqualified.

If the negotiation is still open, you can select your response and click Revise to update your information and
submit a new response.

4-30
What information is contained on the Rejected Items page?

The Rejected Items page shows you all items to which you responded but were not awarded by the buyer. The
Rejected Items page allows you to drill down into detailed information about the negotiation and your response
to it. The Rejected Items page shows:

● Response Number
The number assigned to your response by the system.

● Your Response Number

The number you assigned your response, if any.

● Negotiation Number
The number assigned the negotiation by the system.|

● Type
The type of negotiation: RFQ, or Buyer's Auction

● Item Description
Description of the negotiation item.

● Promise Date
The date by which you promised to deliver the item.

● Response Quantity
The number of item units you offered to sell the buyer.

● Response Price
The price at which you offered to sell the item.

● Reason
Any message provided by the buyer explaining why the item was not awarded.

4-31
What information is contained on the Awarded Items page?

The Awarded Items page shows you all negotiation items for which you have been awarded business. The
Awarded Items page allows you to drill down into detailed information about the negotiation items and your
responses to them. The Awarded Items page shows:

● Response Number
The number assigned to your response by the system.

● Your Response Number

The number you assigned your response, if any.

● Negotiation Number
The number assigned the negotiation by the system.

● Type
The negotiation type: RFI, RFQ, or buyer's auction

● Item Description
The description of the item entered by the buyer.

● Promise Date
The date by which you said you can supply the item.

● Award Quantity
The number of negotiation item units the buyer is contracting to buy from you.

● Response Price
The price at which you offered to sell the item.

● Order
The purchase order generated from this negotiation.

● Reason
Any optional message from the buyer.

4-32
Can buyers and suppliers communicate with each other while a negotiation is in process?

Throughout the negotiation process, email notifications are sent to potential suppliers informing them of any
changes to the status of the negotiation. However, even after a negotiation is published, it is possible for the
suppliers to communicate to the buyer and possibly other suppliers by beginning an ongoing conversation
called an online discussion. Online discussions allow to the buyer to talk to all suppliers in real time.
Additionally, suppliers can reply to the buyer and, depending on the type of negotiation, all other suppliers as
well. Such communication can be used to quickly answer questions or supply any clarifications needed about
the negotiation or its items, resulting in a faster and more successful outcome for all involved.

How an online discussion is structured?

Each discussion is tied to a particular negotiation and can consist of several ongoing topics. You can reply to a
message within a topic, or you can create a new topic by creating a new message. Suppliers can easily view
the original questions (topics) and any responses they have generated (depending on the type of negotiation,
this could include responses from other suppliers). A full text version of the discussion can also be printed for
offline viewing or documentation.

Who sees responses in online discussions?

The buyer can broadcast a message or reply to all suppliers or to a single supplier, and can see responses
from all suppliers. Suppliers in open or blind negotiations reply only to the buyer and can only see their
responses and the buyer's response. Suppliers in sealed negotiations, by definition, must reply to all other
suppliers and can therefore see all responses (although the supplier's identity is not displayed).

4-33
How do I communicate with the buyer while a negotiation is in process?

There may be times when you need to contact the buyer directly for additional information or clarification. Once
a negotiation has been published, you can communicate with the buyer (and possibly other suppliers) by
entering into an ongoing conversation called a online discussion.

Using an online discussion

Once a negotiation is published, you can participate in a online discussion by clicking the message icon on the
Negotiation Summary page, or clicking the View and Send Messages link from the following pages:

● the Response/Quote/Bid Details page.

● the Compare All Response/Quote/Bid page.

The Online Discussions page displays all discussions associated with this negotiation (there can be multiple
discussions for a single negotiation). The Subject: label identifies each discussion. For each discussion, there is
an entry for the original message initiating that discussion as well as all replies to that message. If you have
read and/or replied to a message, there are checks under the Read and Replied columns.

● To create a new discussion, click New Message. The New Message window opens. In this window you

❍ select the recipient(s) of the message.

❍ specify the subject heading for the message.
❍ enter the full text of the message.

When you have finished entering your message, click Send. A new discussion thread is created by the
system.

● To see the text of a message, select it and click View Details. The Message Details window displays
the text of the message and other information such as the time, date, and recipients of the message.

❍ To reply to the message, click Reply. The Reply to Message window opens.
❍ Enter the text of your response and click Send.

● To reply directly to a message, select the response and click Reply. Enter your reply text and click
Send.

● After you have created a new message or reply, click your browser's Reload button to display the new
entries.

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 5

Additional Topics

5-1
How do I update my Sourcing personal options?

1. From the Negotiations Home page, click the Edit link under the Profile section of Quick Links. .
2. On the Preferences page, enter information in the following fields:
■ If you are a Sourcing Supplier, enter or change the following personal information:

■ Contact title
■ First Name
■ Middle Name
■ Last Name
■ Job Title
■ Fax
■ Phone
■ Extension
■ Email address

■ Both Sourcing Suppliers and Sourcing Buyers can also modify the following:

■ Timezone

Change your time zone preferences, by selecting a continent/city

combination in your time zone.

■ Spreadsheet download language

Select Unicode if you are using Microsoft Office 2000 to modify

downloaded spreadsheets when you suspect there may be data (for
example item descriptions) in multiple languages. If you specify Native,
the downloaded spreadsheet will include only data in the language
specified on the General Preferences page.

3. When you have finished editing your personal information, click Apply. To cancel all changes, click
Cancel.

5-2
Glossary

Agreement Terms (Blanket Purchase Agreement only)

Agreement terms are optional, and apply only when you have selected "blanket purchase
agreement" as the auction outcome.

● Agreement Start Date/Agreement End Date

The period during which the blanket purchase agreement is effective.

● Total Agreement Amount

Specifies the currency amount over the course of a blanket purchase agreement. It is the
maximum amount that can be issued against a blanket purchase agreement as long as
the Amount Limit on the blanket purchase agreement is not increased beyond the Total
Agreement Amount.

Total Agreement Amount applies only to RFQs or auctions with blanket purchase
agreement outcomes.

Amount (with AutoIncrease)

See Minimum Bid Decrement.

Approved Supplier List (ASL)

All procurement organizations maintain lists that associate the items and services they buy with
the companies who supply them, either
formally or informally. Data stored in a controlled, global repository containing relevant details
about each ship-from/ship-to/item
relationship, is known as an Approved Supplier List (ASL). This repository includes information
about all suppliers with business
statuses including Approved, Debarred, or New.

5-3
Attachments (Attachment URL)

Attachments contain additional descriptive information about items, such as technical

specifications or engineering drawings.

Attachments can be an attached file, a URL address of a file, a short or long text message, or an
existing document from the system document catalog. For each attachment negotiation creators
select, they identify the class of accessor by assigning the attachment a category value.
Depending on the category value assigned, only the appropriate users can view the attachment.
.

The file size limit for attachments is 10 MB. For attachment files larger than 10 MB, use an
attachment URL. Post the attachment file to an Internet site, and enter the full URL (for example:
http://www.mysite.com/filename.doc) at which the attachment can be accessed.

Best Price (Best Quote/Bid Price)

The best price quote/bid is the quote/bid that includes the lowest price for an RFQ/Auction item.

Bid Ranking

See Quote/Bid Ranking

Bid Start Price

See Quote/Bid Start Price

Billing Address (Bill-To Address)

The address to which bills for purchased items is sent. You can enter multiple billing addresses.

5-4
Blanket Purchase Agreement

See RFQ/Auction Outcome.

Blind (Negotiation Style)

See Negotiation Style.

Buyer's Auction

An auction to purchase items or services that are clearly defined such as office furniture or
memory chips. Buyers can tailor each auction to control who can see bids during the auction,
whether multiple rounds of bidding are possible, and whether partial bids are allowed. Also
called a reverse auction.

Carrier

The shipping company that delivers items to a buyer.

Category

The broad family or group to which an item or service belongs.

Collaboration Team

A group of buyers from the same purchasing organization who can collaborate on the creation and
management of a sourcing document. Collaboration team members can be any user within the same
organization to which the creator belongs. Members can be restricted to read only access meaning they can
view but not update any information. Other members can be assigned specific tasks and given deadlines by
which these tasks must be completed. Finally, some members can be designated approvers. Approvers must
OK the document content before it can be published.

5-5
Current Price

The current price represents the assessed value, relative value, or regular "list" price of a
negotiation item. The current price can be used to analyze negotiation performance. Suppliers
cannot view the current price.

Date Format

The format (for example, 12/31/1999; 31/12/1999) in which you enter and view dates on the
system. Click the Preferences icon to set your preferred date format.

Estimated Quantity (blanket purchase agreements only)

The organization's best estimate of demand for the item over the life of the blanket agreement. Note that this
field is optional for blanket purchase agreements and cannot be scored. .

Exchange Rate

The rate used to convert values between currencies.

Exchange Rate Date

The date on which the currency exchange rate is taken from the operating unit's currency
exchange rate table. .

Exchange Rate Type

5-6
 When creating a multi-currency negotiation the buyer selects the exchange rate type:

● System exchange rates

Exchange rates that have been bulk loaded into the system's exchange rate table for a
particular date. There can be many different system exchange rates defined.

● User-Defined Rates
Exchange rates the buyer enters when defining response currencies for a negotiation.

FOB

FOB (Free on Board) determines the point at which a buyer takes title of goods purchased. The
following FOB options may be available:

● Origin
Supplier's responsibility for goods ceases upon transfer to carrier.

● Destination
Supplier's responsibility for goods ceases upon acceptance by buyer.

● CIF - Cost, Insurance and Freight

Supplier must pay the costs, insurance and freight necessary to bring the goods to the
specified port of destination.

● EXW - Ex Works
Supplier's responsibility ceases when the goods become available to the buyer at the
supplier's premises.

● FCA - Free Carrier

Supplier's responsibility ceases when he has handed over the goods, cleared for export,
to the buyer's designated carrier at the named place or point.

● FAS - Free Alongside Ship

Supplier responsibility ceases when the goods have been placed alongside the vessel
on the quay or in lighters at the named port of shipment.

● FOB - Free on Board

Supplier's obligation to deliver ceases when the goods have passed over the ship's rail
at the named port of shipment.

● CFR - Cost and Freight

Supplier pay the cost and freight to bring the goods to the named port of destination, but
the risk of loss/damage to the goods transfers from supplier to buyer once the goods

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 pass the ship's rail in the port of shipment.

● CPT - Carriage Paid To

Supplier pays the freight for the carriage of the goods to the named destination.

● CIP - Carriage and Insurance Paid To

Supplier pays the freight and cargo insurance for the carriage of the goods to the named
destination.

● DAF - Delivered at Frontier

Supplier's obligation ceases when the goods have been made available, or cleared for
export, at the named point and place at the frontier, but before the customs border of the
adjoining country.

● DES - Delivered Ex Ship

Supplier's obligation ceases when the goods have been made available to the buyer on
board the ship uncleared for import at the named port of destination.

● DEQ - Delivered Ex Quay

Supplier's obligation ceases when the goods have been made available to the buyer on
the quay at the named port of destination, cleared of importation.

● DDU - Delivered Duty Unpaid

Supplier's obligation ceases when the goods have been made available at the named
place in the country of importation.

● DDP - Delivered Duty Paid

Supplier's obligation when the goods have been made available at the named place in
the country of importation.

Freight Terms

Freight terms specify the provisions for payment of freight. The following freight terms may be
available:

● Allowed
Supplier reimburses buyer for freight.

● Due
Buyer pays freight.

● Paid
Supplier pays freight.

● Prepaid
Supplier pays freight and invoices buyer.

Functional Currency (Negotiation Currency)

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 The currency in which an operating unit conducts business on the system. For example, if an
operating unit's currency is USD, then USD is the default currency that appears whenever a
user from that operating unit creates a new sourcing document.

Global Agreements

Global agreements are a type of blanket purchase agreement. Global agreements can be used by multiple
organizations within a
company. The agreement is owned and maintained by the creator's organization, but the agreement can be
accessed by any of the
authorized organizations. When an organization processes a release against the global agreement, the terms
and conditions (for
example, the ship-to address and billing information) that are applicable to that organization are used even
though they may be different
from the terms and conditions of the owning organization. Releases against a global agreement are processed
as standard purchase
orders.

Lead Time

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 The number of days between the order date and the shipment date (not between order date and
receipt date).

Line Types

A negotiation line item's line type determines whether the line item refers to goods or services
(other line types can also be defined).

Minimum Bid Decrement

The minimum amount by which bids must decrease This is set in the auction's bid controls. You
can enter either a straight amount or a percentage by which bids must improve.

Note: A bid decrement amount will always be applied to a bidder's current bid
price. If you specify your bid decrement amount as a percentage, the decrement
percentage will be calculated based on a bidder's original bid price, but will be
applied to the bidder's current bid price. For example:

Auction #1234; bid decrement = $100

Bidder A's original bid = $1,000
Bidder A's second bid = $900
Bidder A's third bid = $800

Auction #2234; bid decrement = 20%

Bidder B's original bid = $1,000
Bidder B's second bid = $800
Bidder B's third bid = $600

Minimum Release Amount

Specifies the smallest currency amount for any single release of goods during the timeframe of
a blanket purchase agreement. It is the minimum amount that can be issued against a blanket
purchase agreement header or blanket purchase agreement line or both.

Minimum release amount applies only to RFQs or auctions with blanket purchase agreement

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 outcomes.

Negotiation Dates

Depending on the type of negotiation, buyers set four dates for each negotiation (*indicates a
required field):

● Preview Date (RFXs, auctions)

During the preview period, all eligible suppliers may view the RFx/auction but not submit
responses.

● *Open Date
The date and time the negotiation opens.

● *Close Date
The date and time the negotiation closes. Once closed, no further responses may be
accepted.

● Award Date (RFQs and auctions)

The date and time by which RFQ/auction will be awarded. While buyers are encouraged
to honor their award dates, the system does not enforce these dates.

Negotiation Style

The style determines who will be able to see the quotes/bids and when. The three styles are:

● Open (RFIs and auctions only)

All suppliers can see the quotes/bids, though the responding supplier's identity is
concealed.

● Blind
Only the buyer can see the quotes/bids.

● Sealed
The buyer can see the responses when the negotiation is unlocked. Both the buyer and
suppliers can see the responses when they are unsealed.

Open (Negotiation Style)

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 See Negotiation Style.

Payment Terms

Specify the provisions of payment for goods or services purchased.

Percentage (with AutoIncrease)

See Minimum Bid Decrement.

Power Quote/Bid

Power Quote/Bid allows you to expedite your rebidding when you have bid on several items in the same
auction. When you use power bid, all of your bids (losing and winning) in an auction are improved by the
percentage you enter in the Power Bid field. Power bidding cannot be used if any of the auction items contain
price elements.

Price Breaks (blanket purchase agreements on goods-based items only)

Price breaks allow buyers and suppliers to negotiate multiple prices for the same item. Price breaks can be
based on Quantity, Ship-To address, and Effective Date. To add price breaks to an item, click Enter or Edit
Price Break Targets.

Price Element

Price elements allow a buyer to identify additional costs associated with a particular negotiation
item. Such costs could include services such as training or consulting, or discrete costs such as
shipping fees. Buyers can specify when they create the RFQ or auction how much they are
willing to pay for these additional costs. These costs can then be negotiated between a buyer
and supplier just like the item price.

Price Element List

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 See Reusable Price Element Lists

Price Precision

The number of decimal places allowed for per-unit prices entered in the RFx/Auction currency.
The precision you set doesn't apply to per-unit prices entered in a currency other than the
RFx/Auction currency no does it apply to currency amounts such as Bid Total or the bid value of
Fixed-Amount price elements. While you can set the precision for unit-prices entered in a non-
RFx/Auction currency when you define your currency list, the precision for amounts is
automatically governed by the standards defined by the ISO (International Organization for
Standardization). The ISO standards are used automatically by Sourcing.

Price to Total Score Ratio

In an RFQ or auction using Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring, the price to total score ratio is
determined by dividing the Quote/Bid price for an item by the total score for that item. The price
to total score ratio is then used to rank competing quotes/bids. For more information see, "Can I
rank bids on attributes other than price?"

Pricing Basis

The method used when using a price element to calculate the Quote/Bid price:

● Per-Unit
The value is added to the item price.

● Fixed Amount
The value is divided by the quantity of units Quote/Bidd and added to the item price.

● % of Item Price
The value is divided by 100, then multiplied by the item price, and the result added to the
item price.

Proxy Bid

By activating proxy bid in an auction, you allow the system to automatically rebid on your behalf
whenever a competing bid price beats your bid price. See "What is proxy bidding?"

Proxy Bid Decrement

The exact amount by which you want each of your proxy rebids to decrease . The proxy bid
decrement amount applies to all items on which you submit proxy bids in a single auction.

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 You cannot change your decrement amount after you submit it.

Proxy Bid Minimum Bid

The lowest price you are willing to proxy bid for any auction item. Whenever your bid price is
higher than a competing bid price, the system will continue to automatically rebid (by the proxy
bid increment/decrement amount you specify) until your proxy minimum bid price is met.

After you have submitted your proxy minimum bid amount, you cannot change this amount
unless the minimum amount is met in the auction bidding.

Quote/Bid Ranking

Quote/Bid Ranking method determines how bids and quotes are ranked. When creating a
sourcing document, the buyer can choose between two methods, Price Only or Multi-Attribute
Weighted Scoring. In a Price Only negotiation the lowest price Quote/Bid receives the best rank.

In a Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring negotiation, the buyer can select attributes other than price
to be included in the best rank calculation. The bids and quotes are ranked with the lowest price
to total score ratio receiving the best rank. The buyer can choose to display the scoring criteria
to the suppliers.

Quote/Bid Start Price

The price at which Quoting/Bidding for an item must begin. A Start Price is not required, but if
the buyer specifies one, all quotes/bids in an RFQ or auction must be equal to or below the Start
Price.

Rank Indicator

The rank indicator specifies how response rankings are displayed. If allowed by the system
administrator, you can choose from three different indicators. Win/Lose displays "Win" for the
best ranked Quote/Bid and "Lose" for all others. "1,2,3..." displays "1" for the best Quote/Bid and

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 sequentially numbers the remaining bids in order of rank. "None" displays no ranking indicator.

Response Currency

If a buyer allows responses in currencies other than the negotiation currency, the buyer must
define the currencies in which responses are accepted.

Reusable Price Element Lists

Reusable Price Element Lists allow you to group several price elements which are related or are
typically used together. Once you have created a price element list, you can apply that price
element list to any negotiations (RFQs or auctions) containing items to which those price
elements are applicable.

RFI (Request for Information)

RFI's are used to qualify suppliers and their goods and services for subsequent procurement
activities. RFIs are used more for gathering information on goods and service provided by a
supplier than to lock in particular price information. Therefore, one unique feature of an RFI is
that buyers can choose to define negotiation line items without price and quantity and specify
lists of criteria to which suppliers must respond. RFIs can be taken to multiple rounds until the
buyer has enough information to identify supplier(s) with which to deal. At the conclusion of the
RFI cycle, the information contained in the RFI can be copied into an RFQ or buyer’s auction.

RFQ (Request for Quotations)

RFQs enable buyers to collect quotes from suppliers for complex and hard-to-define items or
services such as made-to-order manufacturing or construction projects. Once suppliers have
submitted an initial round of quotes, the buyer has the power to fine-tune the RFQ and initiate
detailed negotiations as necessary. The process may go through multiple rounds of negotiations
and quote before completion.

RFQ/Auction Outcome

The outcome of an auction or an RFQ can be:

● Standard Purchase Order

A one-time purchase, after which the buyer is not committed to any future purchases.

● Blanket Purchase Agreement

The buyer commits to a contract for future purchases and can enter agreement terms.

RFx Currency

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 See Negotiation Currency.

Score

(In Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring only). A number between 0 and 100 assigned to each
acceptable Quote/Bid response. The score is multiplied by the weight assigned to the attribute
to calculate the weighted score for the attribute. The sum of all weighted scores is the bid or
quote's total score which is used to determine the rank of the response.

Sealed (Negotiation Style)

See Negotiation Style.

Security Level

You can create a sourcing document having a security level of Public, Private, or Hierarchy. Each level of
security restricts access to the document.

● Public

Any user in the company has access to public sourcing documents. The actions users can perform is
determined by their functional security.

Buyers can define an additional collaboration team for a public document, but access is not restricted
only to members of the team. Actions collaboration team members can perform is determined on their
functional security and whether they are identified as view-only.

● Private

Only the document owner and the members of the collaboration team can access the document. The
actions the collaboration team members can perform is determined by their functional security and their
view-only status values.

● Hierarchy

Only the document owner, the members of the collaboration team (if any), and individuals included in
the security hierarchy can access the document. Any subsequent approvers can also access the
document.

Shipping Address (Ship-To Address)

The address to which items are delivered. .

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Shipping Terms

Refer to who will pay for shipping of goods to the buyer. The following shipping term options
may appear:

● Paid by Buyer
Buyer of the goods pays for shipping.

● Paid by Seller
Seller of the goods pays for shipping.

● Other
If "Other" is selected, enter a text note explaining shipping terms in the Notes field.

Standard Purchase Order

See Auction Outcome.

Supplier Master

A repository of information about suppliers from whom you purchase goods and services. Set up
in Oracle Purchasing using the Suppliers window. For each supplier there may be multiple
supplier sites.

Tab-Delimited Text File

In tab-delimited text (.txt) files, fields are separated by the tab character, but without any special
formatting characters. Spreadsheet applications are recommended to open tab-delimited text
files.

Target Price

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 The price a buyer hopes to pay for one unit of an auction item

Time Zone

You can select the time zone in which you will conduct your system transactions. Click "Edit
Personal Information" from the Sourcing Welcome page to set your time zone preference.

To Be Determined (TBD) Pricing

A buyer can specify that the pricing will be determined at a later date. This is helpful if pricing is
based on a published standard and/or tariff. Pricing may not be available or published at the
time the offer is created or during the open period.

Total Score

(Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring) The score calculated for a bid or quote based on a supplier's
responses to an item's weighted attributes. For more information, see "Can I rank bids on
attributes other than just price?"

Unit

The unit of measure (UOM) in which items are listed. The system recognizes the UN
standardized UOM codes.

Value Type

The type of value that suppliers should enter for item attributes:

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 ● Characters (letters/words)

● Numbers (digits)

● Dates (numbers in date format)

● URL (using the format http://www.oracle.com)

Text is the most flexible value type. If you select Text, buyers can enter letters as well as digits.
If you select Numbers, buyers can only enter digits; if you select Dates, buyers can only enter
digits in date format.

Weight

(Multi-Attribute Weighted Scoring only) On a scale on 1 to 100, the weight of a scored attribute
as compared to other attributes. Weights for scored attributes must total 100 and each scored
attribute must have a weight of at least 1.

Winning Quote/Bid

The winning quote/bid is the response which most correctly meets the requirements of the
negotiation. A response's acceptability is generally based on price, however, the quantity
available, availability date, may also be important. The winning response is selected by the
buyer.

Your Response/Quote/Bid/ Number

You can associate a number with any bid or quote you submit. You can use this number for your
own internal tracking.

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 Documentation Accessibility

Oracle's goal is to make our products, services, and supporting documentation accessible to the disabled
community with good usability. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information
available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains
markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle
is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our
documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For additional information, visit the Oracle
Accessibility Program web site at http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/.

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

JAWS, a Windows screen reader, may not always correctly read the code examples in our documentation. The
conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however,
JAWS may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

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