eProcurement Portal Basics: Groups
Introduction to Groups
The Discus eProcurement Portal operates on Groups. Each group includes one or more of the below.
- Material Groups (also referred to as items/products)
- Buyers
- Workflows
- Templates (for RFQs)
- Buyer Groups
- Vendors
Item groups
User can find material groups in this section. Products are mapped to respective material groups.
On clicking item group id, this Material Group’s profile will open in a new tab.
Item Groups
User will be able to edit or inactive a group from this screen.
Mapping section
User will be able to map multiple buyers(1) or vendors(2) from this section. User will also be able to view associated products(3).
RFQ’s(4) associated with the group are visible from the last tab. User will also be able to search RFQ’s from date range.
Templates
Templates in the eProcurement Portal are dynamic & smart forms that are created by uploading Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. These uploads are converted into smart web forms to be used by Vendors when bidding for RFQs.
Read more on Templates here: e-Procurement Software How to create an RFQ Template
User can upload templates in this section. User can browse for & upload template files from their local machine.
Rule Matrix
The Discus e-Procurement solution allows Buyers to choose a different Workflow for RFQs in each Group based on the RFQ bid values.
User will be able to add rules to select appropriate approval workflow according to the amount of RFQ’s.
These rules will be used to choose a Workflow for the final selection of Vendors.
Options available on the Groups List screen
Show Filter
User will get predefined filter options which can be accessed by clicking on the Show Filter button. Groups will be filtered on the basis of their status.
Action
Users will be able to see a list of products mapped with the group. Also, the user will be redirected to groups profile page by clicking on View Profile.
Create Item Group
User will be able to create a new item group.
1. Group Code: Enter the group code.
2. Group Name: Enter a name for the group.
3. Vendor Approval Workflow: User will need to select approval workflow from drop-down options.
4. RFQ creation workflow: select the approval workflow to trigger while creating an RFQ.
5. No. of Minimum Vendor Selection: Minimum number of vendors which needs to be mapped with the group.
6. No. of Maximum Vendor Selection: Maximum vendors to be selected which creating an RFQ for this group.
7. Auto RFQ Creation: RFQ will be automatically created if the product belongs to the selected group.
8. RFQ’s ending days: Default number of days after which RFQ will end.
9. RFQ Auto Receive on all vendor submit: Change the status of RFQ to received after all vendors have submitted quotes before the ending time of RFQ.
10. Auto Vendor Selection: Select the vendor based on the minimum bid.
11. RFQ ReCall Workflow: User will need to select RFQ recall workflow which will trigger when you recall an approved RFQ.
12. Product Form: User can attach additional form while creating a PR.
13. Product Creation Workflow: User will need to select the product creation workflow from drop-down options.
14. Product Inactivation Workflow: User will need to select workflow whenever a product needs to be inactivated from drop-down options.
15. RFQ inactivation workflow: The workflow to be selected when the buyer wants to inactivate an RFQ.
16. RFQ New Version Workflow: The workflow to be selected when the buyer wants to create a new version of RFQ.
17. Notify after submitting quote by Vendor: User will receive mail after a vendor has submitted a quotation (also called a bid).
18. Notify vendor after selected: Vendor will receive mail after a vendor is selected post bidding.
19. Save/Cancel: User can save or cancel filled details.