There may be times when you are in the middle of a fast-moving negotiation such as an auction, and you need to answer a supplier's question or disseminate information to suppliers. For example, during the last few minutes before a negotiation closes, a supplier may ask for clarification on some aspect of the negotiation. In this case, you can pause the negotiation briefly while you answer the question and then resume the negotiation and allow it to run to completion.
No active responses can be submitted while a negotiation is paused. Only draft responses can be submitted.
Once the negotiation is resumed, the Close time is incremented by the amount of time the negotiation was paused.
To pause a negotiation:
From the negotiation summary page, select Pause Auction/RFQ/RFI from the Actions menu and click Go.
On the Pause: Auction/RFQ/RFI page, you can enter a note explaining the reason the negotiation is being paused.
Click Apply.
The negotiation is successfully paused, and on online message is sent to all participants notifying them of the pause. Also, a pause icon appears beside the negotiation number in any negotiation display list, for example, the Published Negotiations section on the Negotiation Home page
Use the online message feature to communicate with the participating supplier(s) if necessary. To reply to any messages sent by suppliers, return to the negotiation summary page and select View Online Discussions from the Actions menu.
Once you have addresses the issue or question, you should resume the negotiation.
To resume a negotiation:
Return to the negotiation summary page. Select Resume Auction/RFQ/RFI from the Actions menu, and click Go.
The negotiation is resumed. An online message is sent to all participants informing them that the negotiation has been resumed.