Overview

Users (buyer) who are provided access to Reverse Auction (RA) app and are authorized to initiate a reverse auction can schedule the auction. The auction opens to the registered vendors when the scheduled date and time is arrived. The buyer (org admin) can postpone a reverse auction any time once it is published  and before the auction closure time is reached. Once the RA is published, the listed vendors for the reverse auction gets notification and response for the auction can be submitted.

The buyer who has the org admin role can view the response for the auction once the vendors start submitting their bids for the auction. The buyer will be able to view the lead bid value (bid with the lowest price) and the corresponding bidder in real time based on the competitive bids being submitted during the auction. The vendors will also be able to see the ranking of their bid based on the response of other vendors and accordingly can submit fresh bid. The initiator of the reverse auction has the ability to mask the name of the vendors during auction and in such case the vendor’s name is revealed only after the winner of the auction is selected.

To initiate a reverse auction:

1. Log in to the IENT application.

   

2. On the homepage, click the Reverse Auction app.
   The Reverse Auction app list view screen is displayed along with all the existing auctions, if any.

   

3. Click + on the top right corner.
   The Create Reverse Auction screen is displayed.

   

4. Enter details of the reverse auction as following (mandatory fields are marked with * on the screen):

   • Title of the Reverse Auction: Enter a title for the reverse auction being created.

   • Next Status: From the dropdown list, select:

     • Save as Draft: If you wish to revisit and work later on.

     • Publish to Vendors: Auction will be scheduled and vendors will be notified.

   • Reverse Auction Description: Enter a description for the reverse auction.

   • Select supplier(s) by name: Select the vendors (suppliers) that can participate in the auction.

   • Attach Document(s): Attach document(s) applicable for the reverse auction.

   • Reverse Auction Start Date & Time: Select the date and time when the auction will be open to the vendors.

   • Reverse Auction Start date & time: Select the date and time when the auction will be available to the vendors for bidding.

   • Show lead lid value: Select this checkbox, if the lead bid value (bid with the lowest price) is to be displayed when the bids are submitted during the auction.

   • Show Individual bid rank: Select this checkbox, if the vendors can view their individual rank based on their bid value. Buyer user can view the rank of all the bidders whereas the vendor will see only their rank with respect to other vendors. Bids with lower price will appear higher in the rank. For example, a vendor with bid rank 2 indicates that the price quoted in its bid is the second lowest.

   • Hide Vendor name from the Buyer: Select this checkbox, if the vendor name is to be masked during the auction process. Only after auction winner is selected, the vendor name is revealed.

   • Select Currency: From the dropdown list, select the applicable currency.

   • Starting Bid Value (Optional): Enter the amount less than or equal to which the vendor can quote for a bid.

   • Minimum Bid Decrement Value (Optional): Enter the amount by which the vendor must decrease the bid value to submit the next bid. This field is available when Show lead bid value checkbox is selected.

   • Auction Time Extension Policy: Select this checkbox, if auction closing time is to be extended. When this checkbox is selected, the conditions required to increase the auction close time are displayed. Select the values as required.

     • Auction time will be extended by: From the dropdown, select the time interval by which the auction close time will increase. For example, if 10 minutes is selected here and auction close time is set at 4.55 PM then new auction close time will be 5.05 PM.

     • if the Vendor responds: Select the time duration before the closure of an auction, during which if a vendor submits new bid, the auction closure time gets extended as set in the Auction time will be extended by field. For example, 04 Minutes is selected in the if the Vendor responds field and 10 Minutes in the Auction time will be extended by field and suppose auction closure time is set at July 30, 2024 5.30 PM. In such a case, if a vendor submits bid at July 30, 2024 5.27 PM, then the Auction Time Extension Policy kicks in and the new auction closure time gets set at July 30, 2024 5.40 PM.

     • Set Repeat action: From the dropdown list, select the number of times the auction time can be extended due to this policy.

   • Reverse Auction Line Item(s): Click + Add New Line Item and then add details of the items/service applicable for the auction.

5. Click Save (it is enabled when all the mandatory fields are selected/entered).
   The Reverse Auction app list view screen is displayed with the status of the auction as Scheduled.

   

   When the auction has the Scheduled status, the vendors only get notified but cannot view the auction in the system.
   When the auction start date and time is reached, the status changes to Published and the vendors selected for the auction gets notified and can access the auction for bidding.