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Auctions

Create and run an auction

In the section Sourcing → RFX and Auctions → Own Auctions you can create a new auction by clicking the button New.

Auction information

In the basic data of an auction, a title can be defined in the section Auction → Customer data and an external description can be stored.

If several organizations are active in one company within TradeCore, you can select in the customer data area for which organization in the company the auction will be carried out.

Important auction settings are defined in the Settings section:

  • Bid setting: here you can select how the supplier has to submit his bid
  • Auction start: Start time of the auction
  • Auction end time: Auction end time
  • Surcharge rule: Here you can define how the surcharge is to be paid to the supplier. In this example, the contract is awarded to the lowest bidder.
  • Deadline for award of contract: by what date will the contract be awarded?

Extension settings:

  • Automatic extensionperiod: If another offer is received within the automatic extension period, the auction will be extended by one extension time to give the remaining auction participants another chance to respond to this offer.
  • Maximum number of renewals: Specify how many times the auction can be automatically renewed
  • Renewal time: The renewal time defines the maximum period of renewal in the event that a bid is submitted within the period of automatic renewals.

Bidder’s view:

  • Show own rank: the supplier sees his own rank
  • Show best bid price: the supplier sees the best bid price in the bid overview.

It is also possible to store a purchasing group in the basic auction data.

For this purpose, the checkbox Auction must be set under Visibility in the respective user group in the area Administration → User Administration → User Groups.

As with requests, the coordinator and team members receive a standard email.

Similar to enquiries, TradeCore provides the possibility to include a team in auctions. When a new auction is created, the Team tab appears, in which the user who creates the auction is always automatically the coordinator.

The coordinator is displayed in the basic data as a user (main contact person). He can use the button
Add user…
button to add any user to this team.

The coordinator role can be transferred to another user via the TransferProjectMgmt.svg icon. A user added by mistake can be deleted via the Delete.svg.

Through this new possibility, similar to the request, the control for external documents: auctions must be made in the user management of the team members under Administration → User Management → Users and here in the respective user in the tab Assignments.

The team structure function is not included in the standard version and will only be activated by ONVENTIS after a chargeable order.

In the Positions tab, the products to be auctioned can be specified via structural elements and new positions.

In addition to the usual item details such as quantity, item number, item description and item description, auction-specific details are provided for each item:

  • Starting price
  • Minimum bid step
  • Comparison price
  • Target price
  • Reserved price (only available in Dutch auction)

The reserved price indicates the maximum price the buyer is willing to pay. If the price is reached but no supplier has bid on the auction position so far, this auction position is closed. If all positions are auctioned or the reserved price is reached for the positions, the auction is closed. The reserved price must be higher than the starting price and also respect the defined minimum bid step. The supplier only sees whether a reserved price is specified per position, but not how high it is.

In the Suppliers tab, the suppliers who are to be invited to participate are assigned.

Via the button
Publish
an invitation to participate is sent to the suppliers.

After the auction has started and the suppliers have placed a bid, both a graphical and a tabular overview of the bids placed is available in the Bid Overview tab.

If an auction is running, it can be stopped by clicking the Stop button. Suppliers will be notified by email of the stopped auction.

If an auction has been paused, the Continue Auction button can be used to enable bidding again. Furthermore there is the possibility to cancel or archive the auction.

Analogous to inquiries and orders, the process flow for auctions is displayed in the form of a workflow.

= Release

TB = Confirmation of participation

GA = Bidding

VG = Award

Running auctions are additionally marked with a hammer symbol.

Paused auctions receive the Paused icon.

Auction types

Traffic light auction for English auctions

The traffic light auction allows suppliers to display traffic lights in red, yellow and green. Depending on whether their bid is within or outside a given price range.

The traffic light function is located in the detailed data of an item and must be activated there; it is deactivated in the standard system.

Dynamic traffic lights (single sourcing)

Example of a traffic light auction with dynamic traffic lights (single sourcing)

  • All bids > 300,00 Euro = red light
  • All bids <= 300,00 Euro = yellow traffic light
  • All bids <= 280,00 Euro = green light

The setting Dynamic traffic lights (single sourcing) causes that when a bid is < the value of the green traffic light (= 280.00 Euro) is submitted, e.g. 270.00 Euro, this bid is automatically set as the new value for the green traffic light and the difference to the previous value (= 10.00 Euro) is dynamically added for all other traffic lights.

This means in this example, the new value of the green traffic light is <= 270,00 Euro, the value of the yellow traffic light is <= 290,00 Euro and the red traffic light will be displayed from a bid > 290,00 Euro.

In such a constellation, it can happen that a supplier who previously received a yellow traffic light because he bid e.g. 295.00 Euro, suddenly receives a red traffic light because the value of the traffic lights has changed dynamically.

Dynamic traffic lights (multi sourcing)

Example of a traffic light auction withdynamic traffic lights (multi sourcing) and a price range of 5.00 Euro.

  • All bids > 300,00 Euro = red light
  • All bids <= 300,00 Euro = yellow traffic light
  • All bids <= 280,00 Euro = green light

The setting Dynamic traffic lights (Multi Sourcing) and a price range of 5.00 Euro has the effect that if a bid is placed < the value of the green traffic light (= 280.00 Euro), but this bid is not > the price range of 5.00 Euro, e.g. 278.00 Euro, no change of the traffic light values takes place.

If a bid > of the price range, e.g. 5.50 Euro below the value of the green traffic light is submitted, e.g. 274.50 Euro, this bid is automatically set as the new value for the green traffic light and the difference to the previous value (= 5.50 Euro) is dynamically traced for all other traffic lights (similar to dynamic traffic lights (single sourcing)). This means in this example, the new value of the green traffic light is <= 274,50 Euro, the value of the yellow traffic light is <= 294,50 Euro and the red traffic light will be displayed from a bid > 294,50 Euro. The value of the green traffic light (= 274,50 Euro) can again only be changed dynamically by another lower bid > 5,00 Euro, e.g. 269,00 Euro, and so on.

Static traffic lights (multi sourcing)

Example of a traffic light auction with static traffic lights (multi sourcing).

  • All bids > 300,00 Euro = red light
  • All bids <= 300,00 Euro = yellow traffic light
  • All bids <= 280,00 Euro = green light

The traffic light auction typeStatic traffic lights (Multi Sourcing) is the simplest type of traffic light auction, the values of the traffic lights are fixed (static) and are not changed even by bids below the value of the green traffic light (= 280.00 Euro).

In the bid overview, the traffic lights and their progress can also be displayed by checking the Green traffic light and Yellow traffic light boxes.

In the tabular overview, the traffic light progression is displayed with values.

On the supplier side, the traffic lights are displayed as symbols and changed in real time, according to the current bid situation.

Dutch auction

In addition to the usual English auction , the Dutch auction (reverse auction) is also available.

In a typical online auction (English auction), the customer auctions off an item with a starting price. Several suppliers can place bids for the item during the auction period; the lowest bid at the end of the auction wins the auction.

In a Dutch auction the auction process is reversed. Here, the customer also auctions off an item with a starting price. The difference to the English auction, however, is that the starting price increases during the term of the auction. Suppliers can submit their bids at any time. The longer they wait, the higher the price.

In contrast to an English auction, where the highest bids are not expected until the end, in a Dutch auction the item can be sold very quickly because the suppliers are under time pressure. If you bid too late to get a high price, the item may have already been sold to another bidder.

Under Sourcing → RFX and Auctions → New Auction, you can choose between a Dutch and an English auction. Depending on the auction form, the fields below vary.

Entry of the bid quantity by the supplier in Dutch auctions

The supplier can adjust the quantity he offers. The remaining quantity remains in the auction.

In order for the supplier to be able to use this function, the option: “Input of bid quantity by supplier” must be activated in the tab Basic data of a Dutch auction.

As soon as this option is activated, the column Bid quantity is displayed in the tab Bid overview.

There the supplier has the possibility to choose between a quantity 0 and the maximum quantity.

The price at the time of bidding is binding. The price of the remaining quantity increases according to the preset time interval.

If all partial quantities of an article are assigned, this is displayed as follows:

This item is no longer available for bidding. All other positions are still up for auction.

In the message history of the auction, a message appears to all participants as soon as the quantity of a position outstanding at the auction has changed.

The remaining quantity to be auctioned is displayed directly under the item description.

Show selected items of a Dutch auction on customer side

In Dutch auctions, the customer has the option of displaying selected items of the supplier in the auction.

In order for the supplier to be able to select individual items in the auction, the following setting should be activated for the customer:

Administration → Organization Settings → General tab, option: “Supplier can select items in the auction”.

In the customer view, a new Selected Items column appears in the Vendors tab. The items offered per vendor are displayed there.

By clicking on the blue text, the bid overview appears automatically, showing in detail which positions the supplier would like to offer.

The customer also receives an extended confirmation of participation from the supplier.

Supplier View:

Before the supplier can confirm participation, he is asked to indicate which positions he would like to offer.

To do this, he switches to the bid overview tab and selects the desired items. After that he can confirm the participation in the auction.

After that, the supplier only sees the articles he wants to offer in the bid overview tab. The Select position fields can no longer be changed. The numbering of the articles is maintained.

The supplier then has the option of offering both items immediately together or individually one after the other. It is up to the supplier to decide when he offers which position.

The customer sees in the Supplier tab that the supplier intends to offer both items. In the tab Bids the customer can see the actual status of the bids.

If the supplier wishes to offer further items in the course of the auction, he has the following options:

  • The customer can make this possible by means of a bid correction.
  • In the Bids tab, the customer selects the supplier who wants to offer additional items.

There he selects the tab Bid Overview and clicks on the button Correction.

The supplier can select again which positions he wants to offer, then he has to confirm the participation again.

If the Vendor Can Select Line Items in Auction function is active in the auction’s basic data, the supplier can cancel participation in the auction. He can then reselect the positions he wishes to offer and reconfirm his participation.

Other settings

Show and hide best bid total and best bid at item level

In the Auctions section, on the Basic Data tab, under Bidder View, you can enable the Show best bid total (partial award / cherry picking), and Show best bid (item level) options.

If the checkbox Show best bid total (partial award / cherry picking) is set, the bid total in the bid overview will only be created from the best bids (cherry picking).

Supplier selection according to material group

In auctions, it is possible to select suppliers by material group in the same way as in RFQs.

In the auction, you can use the Assign Supplier button on the Suppliers tab to select an already registered supplier from the supplier management whose status is released for auctions.

In the following window, a supplier list with two checkboxes is displayed.

The checkbox Show only suppliers matching the material group only appears if a material group has been specified in the basic auction data. The checkbox Only show suppliers that match the material group of at least one item is always displayed.

The material group of the suppliers is located in Supplier ManagementSuppliersMaterial Group tab and is checked there by the system.

Depending on the selection of the checkboxes, only suppliers that match the specified material group in the basic data or in the item of the auction are displayed.

If both checkboxes are set, the filter is combined from both criteria.

Via the button Use… the supplier can be added to the auction.

Versioning

Analogous to requests, auctions can also be versioned .

An auction can only be versioned with the status Published, Auction Paused, and Finished.

A new version is created via Action, New version.

The new version is created and the status of the auction is set to In process.

The Reason for New Version field is displayed as a required field and must be filled in to indicate to suppliers why the auction has been versioned. Meanwhile, the supplier is informed that a versioning process is currently in progress and that the auction is not editable.

The status of the auction on the supplier side is also adjusted.

When the versioned auction is published, the supplier receives an email regarding the versioning and the reason is displayed on the supplier side in the auction.

The supplier must confirm or cancel the participation again for the new version , in case of acceptance the auction is editable with version 2.

Auction result transferred to order

As soon as an auction is finished, it receives a corresponding status.

It is now possible to transfer the item from the auction to an order. To do this, the desired auction must be opened. In the Bids tab, open the desired supplier from whom the item from the auction is to be ordered.

In the tab Bid overview, the desired positions can be selected and transferred to an order via the button Use…. button to transfer them to an order.

Participation of non-registered suppliers in an auction

As with enquiries, it is possible to invite a non-registered supplier to an auction via a registration link.

In the Suppliers tab, using the button
New supplier…
you have the possibility to add a new, not registered supplier.

A window appears in which the data of the non-registered supplier can be entered.

After saving and closing, the new, unregistered supplier appears in the supplier overview with the note that it is not yet registered.

An already registered supplier does not receive this notice.

When the auction is published or sent to the suppliers, the suppliers receive an e-mail inviting them to the auction. Registered suppliers can immediately participate in the auction or confirm their participation. Nitcht registered suppliers will be asked by e-mail to register so that they can participate in the auction.

Participation in the auction is not possible before registration. For registration via auction to work, the settings for registration via auction must be defined in the supplier registration under Supplier Management, Settings, Registration Settings.

Freely definable e-mails

Analogous to inquiries, freely definable e-mails can be sent to the suppliers of an auction. For this purpose there is a button in the supplier tab of the auctions.

To send an e-mail, first activate the checkbox for the desired suppliers and click on the Send e-mail… button. button. In the new window you can enter the necessary data.

The button Templates displays all email templates for auctions. New templates can also be created.

Only e-mail templates from the Auction category are displayed.

Transfer of catalog items to an auction

A new auction can be created via Sourcing → Own Auctions using the New button. In the Items tab, you can select items from catalogs.

By clicking on the button Catalog… you will get to the catalogue overview where you can search for the desired article. You can use the Use item icon to add the item to the auction. Click on the use item icon to return to the auction. The catalog item is now in the auction in the Items tab.

Chat function

Within a published, still running auction you have the possibility to communicate with the participants via chat. To use the chat function, switch to the bidding overview tab in the desired auction. In the Messages section, you can see a message history.

Under Recipient you can select who is to be addressed. Here’s what you can do:

  • All: All participants in the auction are addressed and can see the messages.
  • Internal users: Only internal users are addressed and can see the messages, e.g. internal arrangements or information.
  • Suppliers: The suppliers participating in the auction can be addressed individually. A new message is entered in the New message field. The Send button can be used to send the message to the selected recipient. The message is displayed in the message history immediately after it is sent.

The same functionality is available on the supplier side, with the customer as the recipient of the messages.

The auction message history (chat) also displays the following system messages for all auction participants in real time:

  • Auction started
  • Auction was stopped
  • Auction continued
  • Auction end was changed by the customer
  • Auction is finished

Customer can correct bids

If a supplier has inadvertently placed an incorrect bid in an auction, it may be possible to have this deleted by the customer.

In the auction, in the tab Bid overview, the number of bids can be found in the lower window area.

By clicking on the number in the column Number of bids you will get to the bid overview.

In the bid overview all bids of the suppliers can be seen with date, time, bid, rank and supplier. In addition, an Action column is displayed.

If a supplier places an incorrect bid and asks the customer to delete it, you can delete the bid using the delete_red.svg icon.

If a bid is deleted, it will be crossed out. The rank order is immediately recalculated and displayed to all participants. In the message history (chat function) the deletion of a bid (anonymous) is also displayed to inform all auction participants.

For the function Auction: Customer can correct bids a right is needed which has to be activated in the user role of the user who is allowed to conduct auctions.