When you create a new solicitation, your first step is to create your solicitation header. This header contains negotiation level information related to the entire negotiation.
To create your negotiation header: Some of the fields display default data, and you need to enter details in the relevant fields (*indicates a required field):
Document NumberThe number that uniquely identifies the solicitation. You can edit the document number based on your business requirements. You can also change the Instrument Type, Allowed Range, and Serial Number. The combination of all these parameters and the fiscal year separated by delimiters is the final solicitation document number. If the solicitation has a new round, the new round number displays in parenthesis and is suffixed to the solicitation number.
See: Document Numbering for an overview of the concept.
See: Document Numbering for more details.
See: Document Numbering section in the Oracle Contract Lifecycle Management for Public Sector Implementation Guide for information on how to implement document numbering.
Buyer The creator of the solicitation.
Select the Two-Stage Solicitation check box if you plan to evaluate offers submitted by suppliers in two phases - Technical and Commercial. If you select this option, the offer style is automatically set to Sealed.
*Title The name by which this solicitation will be known. You must specify a title for your solicitation and once the solicitation is published, the title cannot be changed.
Negotiation Style
The negotiation style controls the structure of the negotiation document by identifying which sourcing document elements appear. Negotiation styles can streamline and standardize the creation of negotiation documents. For example, if input from a collaboration team is not required for many negotiations, the Sourcing Administrator can define a negotiation style in which fields related to collaboration teams do not appear. Also, if your negotiation is a large or very large negotiation, you must select a style that supports that type of negotiation.
Offer Style Select the offer style applicable. You can choose from Blind and Sealed. Blind implies that only the buyer can see the response content. Sealed implies that neither the buyer nor the suppliers can see the response content until the solicitation closes. The buyer can see the responses once the solicitation is unlocked. Everyone can see the response content once the solicitation is unsealed.
Event Select an event to associate with the solicitation if you defined one.
Security Level You can select a security level to restrict access to the sourcing document.
Sourcing Project
If the current negotiation is being conducted in connection with a project in Oracle Projects, you can link this negotiation to the project by project number.
Operating Unit The operating unit, such as a division or department, to which this negotiation applies. An operating unit typically is an enterprise division. Operating units affect setups, documents, and transactions in CLM. These setups, documents, and transactions are then limited to the operating unit in which they are defined. The organization you select here determines the values for many later attributes (such as the negotiation currency and shipping addresses). If this solicitation document was originally created using Requisition Lines in Document Builder, then the backing requisition information is carried forward and this field cannot be updated. Note that if you have entered information on this page, for example in the Payment Terms field, and you change the Organization, the page refreshes and you will lose the information you entered. Once you proceed to the next step, this value cannot be changed.
Outcome Designate your solicitation outcome. This cannot be changed once you proceed to the next step. The Outcome field enables you to specify the type of outcome document you prefer to have automatically created for you by the system when the solicitation is awarded to one or more suppliers. For example, you may wish to create an award as your outcome document when a solicitation for medical supplies is completed and awarded to two suppliers. Please note that you need to select IDV (IDV with Lines or IDV without Lines) as your outcome document always from the Outcome LOV if you are going to associate your outcome document(s) to an Umbrella Program.
The outcome field also contains values defined in the Purchase Document Styles. Similar to Negotiation Style, Purchasing Styles allow buyer organizations to implement various features in Purchasing. In Sourcing, user interface elements for the negotiation are hidden or displayed based on the Negotiation Style as well as the Outcome. Purchasing Document Styles are used when creating complex services solicitations.
See Oracle Purchasing User Guide for instructions on defining Purchasing Document Styles and details on complex work document styles.
Fair Opportunity Notice This checkbox indicates that the solicitation is of type Fair Opportunity Notice. This box is checked when Fair Opportunity Notice creation is initiated either from the Demand Workbench or from the Sourcing Home page. Notice that the checkbox is selected by the system automatically and is read-only, that is, you cannot unselect the checkbox at any time.
Solicitation Type Select the solicitation type to use. You can choose from RFQ (Request for Quotations), IFB (Invitation for Bids), and RFP (Request for Proposals).
Creation Date Displays the date on which you created the solicitation.
Description Enter a brief description of the solicitation.
Standard Form Select a standard form from the list. The values you see in the standard form-specific regions (such as SF1442 or SF1449, or SF33, depend on what you select in this Standard Form LOV).
Select the Document Format from the list. The Document Format along with the Standard Form you select determine the format for the printing of the solicitation document. You can select from:
UCF - A UCF or Uniform Contract Format contract contains sections A-M, with each section containing specific information as follows:
Section A contains the standard form face.
Section B, Supplies and Services, contains the line item numbers, descriptions, and prices, as well as any clauses designated for Section B.
Section C contains the Statement of Work (clauses designated for Section C).
Section D contains Packaging and Marking information as described in 4.15.30 and any clauses designated for Section D.
Section E contains Inspection information as described in 4.15.31 and any clauses designated for Section E.
Section F contains Delivery or Performance information as described in 4.15.37 and any clauses designated for Section F.
Section G contains Contract Administrative Data, including the funding information any clauses designated for Section G.
Section H contains Special Contract Requirements, any clauses designated for Section H.
Section I contains the contract clauses. Many FAR/DFARS clauses will be placed in Section I.
Section J contains the attachments and exhibits (typically information such as the name, date, and number of pages, but not the attachments themselves).
Sections K-M are used for provisions and would not be present on Awards, just on Solicitations.
COM - A commercial format, typically used in conjunction with the SF1449, does not follow a prescribed section format, no sections are indicated.
CSI - A construction format that utilizes 5-digit numerical sections, each containing specific information as follows:
Section 00010 - includes information about Supplies and Services, Inspection and Acceptance Terms, Delivery Information, Packaging and Marking, and List of Documents, Exhibits, and other Attachments.
Section 00100 - includes information about Bidding Schedule/Instruction to Bidders.
Section 00600 - includes information about Representations and Certifications.
Section 00700 - includes information about Contract Clauses.
Section 00800 - includes information about Special Contracts Requirements.
Business Priority and Project Information Use this region to enter details of the following:
DPAS Rating - Defense Priorities and Allocations System Rating. The DPAS rating is assigned to all military systems used in support of national defense, from the largest finished platform to the smallest component. It can be applied to all stages of acquisition research and development, initial design, production testing, delivery, and logistics support.
Customer Project Code - This identifies documents created for special programs, exercises, projects, operations, or other purposes. Sites can establish their own set of codes and use them to identify and group solicitations. Used in reporting especially across entire agencies to know how much was done for a given project.
Priority Code - A numerical rating, 1-15, that describes the priority and is used internally within the Department of Defense. It is from the UNIFORM MATERIAL MOVEMENT AND ISSUE PRIORITY SYSTEM. It is to help the buyer prioritize their workload and for management tracking in reports.
Customer Project Text - Text Description of the selected project code. Used in reporting especially across entire agencies to know how much was done for a given project.
Competitive Information Use this region to enter information about the following:
Set Aside Status - Indication of whether this solicitation is set aside for a specific disadvantaged business. Ultimately, the federal agency would want the vendor on the award to meet the qualifications outlined in the solicitation; however, that decision is ultimately up to the contracting officer and is not system enforced.
Set Aside Type - The specific set aside type defined as one of the options. You can choose from 8(A), Emerging Small Business, HUBZone Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, and Small Business.
Set Aside Percent - Percentage indicating the amount of the anticipated contract value that will be set-aside. If this percentage is less than 100, generally the solicitation will be awarded to multiple vendors (at least one disadvantaged). If the value of the Set Aside Status field is Set Aside, then the Set Aside Percentage field should be entered with an integer value greater than 0. If there is a referenced solicitation, the Set Aside Percentage is defaulted from the solicitation.
NAICS - The commodity group (defined by the NAICS) under which the size standard is applied.
Size Standard - You can select a size standard from the LOV.
SF1442 Information region If you selected SF1442 in the Standard Form list, then you see the SF1442 Information region. The other standard forms associated with solicitation do not have additional information fields, and this region does not display if you select any of the other standard forms. The SF1442 is used for construction purchases, and you can enter the following details:
Bond Required: Designates whether one or more bonds is required throughout the life of the project. Prints in block 12a of SF1442.
Bond Days: Number of days that the contractor has to furnish bonds. Prints in block 12b of the SF1442.
Days to Start: Number of days the contractor has to start the construction project. Prints in block 11 of the SF1442.
Days to Complete: Number of days the contractor has to complete the overall construction project. Individual lines may have their own delivery dates and / or period of performance, but the overall total number of days anticipated is captured here. Prints in block 11 of the SF1442.
Period Status: Indicated whether the number of days to start/complete is mandatory or negotiable. Prints in block 11 of the SF1442. The available values are: Mandatory, Negotiable.
Period Reference: If the period above is negotiable, text in this field refers to the location in the solicitation / or IDV document that describes the flexibility. Prints in block 11 of the SF1442.
Work Description: Text area where the buyer can provide summary information about the work and reference attachments that more fully describe the work. Purely informational from the buyer to the contractor. Prints in block 10 of the SF1442.
Umbrella Program When you create a Fair Opportunity Notice type of solicitation, you have the option to associate the Fair Opportunity Notice to an Umbrella Program. The Fair Opportunity checkbox in the solicitation header should be checked in order for the Umbrella Program region to be visible. The Umbrella Program search LOV enables you to look for an existing umbrella program that you can associate the Fair Opportunity Notice with.
For more information on creating Umbrella Programs, please refer to the chapter Multiple Awards and Umbrella Programs in the Oracle Contract Lifecycle Management for Public Sector Purchasing User Guide.
Small Business Coordination Record This region has two fields: Control Number (number of the DD-2579 document) and Status (for example, Draft, Pending Approval, Signed, etc). When you create a Small Business Coordination Record, you need to associate it to a CLM document (award modification, IDV with Lines modification, IDV without Lines modification, solicitation). This CLM document shows the Small Business Coordination Record it is associated to. If no Small Business Coordination Record exists, this region will display with no values.
This region is shown in the header of the solicitation, solicitation amendment, solicitation rounds (of bidding), solicitation View page and solicitation Review page.
If the total value of the solicitation exceeds the Threshold Amount (specified in the Purchasing Options page > CLM Controls region), a warning message is displayed to the user while publishing the solicitation, or while submitting the solicitation for approval prior to publishing. If the status of the Small Business Coordination Record is not Signed while publishing the solicitation, or while submitting the solicitation for approval prior to publishing, a warning message is displayed.
The Small Business Coordination Record is associated with the base solicitation and not with specific amendments or rounds.
If you want to delete a draft solicitation with an associated DD-2579 (with a status Draft and Type of Coordination as Initial Contact), then the system displays a warning message. If you wish to proceed, the base solicitation and the DD-2579 are deleted.
If you want to delete a draft solicitation with an associated DD-2579 (with a status Signed and Type of Coordination as Withdrawal), you can go ahead with the deletion, no warning messages will be displayed.
Deleting a draft solicitation with an associated DD-2579 (with any other status and Type of Coordination value) is not allowed by the system.
Deleting a draft solicitation amendment/round where there is an associated DD-2579 (with any other status and Type of Coordination value) is allowed by the system. This is because the DD-2579 is attached to the base solicitation document, and it will stay attached to the base document no matter how many amendments / new rounds are created.
Collaboration Team You can identify a group of users from within your company who will collaborate on this negotiation. For each member, you can choose to:
Make the member an approver of the sourcing document.
Give the member the ability to score supplier responses to negotiation Requirements (if scoring is allowed by the solicitation style sheet).
Give the member view-only access to the document. View-only members can view the document but cannot update any information.
Define a particular task for that member to perform, and a target date by which the task should be completed. The team member marks the task as complete once it is finished.
Notify the members.
Terms Use this region to define the terms for the solicitation.
Bill-To Address Address to which your solicitation bills should be sent. Click the flashlight icon to browse for other addresses. You can select any of the addresses defined in Oracle Purchasing.
Ship-To Address Address to which the solicitation items will be shipped. Click the flashlight icon to browse for other addresses.
Payment Terms The payment terms for your suppliers. The possible values are defined in Oracle Payables. The default 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
Freight Terms The freight terms for your supplier. The possible values and the default are defined in Oracle Purchasing.
Currency Shows the default currency for the negotiation. This is the primary ledger currency of the outcome operating unit selected in the header. Click Manage Response Currencies to allow responses in more than one currency.
Price Precision The number of decimal places allowed for per-unit prices entered in the RFx currency. The precision you set doesn't apply to per-unit prices entered in a currency other than the RFx 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 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.
Requirements You can request information on suppliers at the negotiation level by defining solicitation Requirements. Requirements can be external, in which case responses are provided by the supplier. Examples of external requirement information might be a supplier's years in business, ownership, or personnel qualification. Requirements can also be used internally, in which case the response is provided by some kind of internal evaluator. Internal requirement responses might include level of customer service provided, or prior on-time history. Either way, responses to requirement requests can be evaluated and used by personnel when awarding the negotiation.
Responses to Requirements can be scored according to the desirability of the response. You can define the Requirement such that the system automatically scores the response (in which case you must specify the allowable values (or ranges of values) for that requirement and each one's score. Or evaluators can view the response and enter a score manually.
Additionally, if you have multiple Requirements for the negotiation, you can assign weights to them to reflect the each requirement's importance relative to the other requirements.
Abstracts and Forms
Abstracts and forms are used to publish information on upcoming sourcing events. This information is available publicly without the supplier needing to sign into the system. Each entry created in the forms region is a combination of the federal standard form, and the document format in which that form can be printed. An XML template is associated with each row for printing.
An abstract is a summary or synopsis of a negotiation. It usually contains information such as the goods or services being purchased, whom to contact for more information, and the open and close date. An abstract may even contain a PDF version of the solicitation for the supplier to download. Abstracts are presented to suppliers on the buying organization's external website. Suppliers can view the details about solicitations and determine if they are interested in participating without having to log in to the sourcing application.
A form captures information from the buyer in a similar fashion as an abstract but rather than publishing data to the buying organization's website, this information is captured in an XML file that can be transferred to FedBizOps. The forms that are created with Oracle Sourcing are modeled so that the data collected matches their requirements. The buyer can then generate the appropriately formatted XML file and send it for publishing to FedBizOps.
These abstracts and forms are used for posting to FedBizOps.
In the Abstracts and Forms region, add a new row by clicking the Add Another Row icon. Then select a Name from the list of values. The Status column shows No Data Entered. Click the Enter Data icon to open another page that enables you to enter detailed information for that notice type. The fields may vary depending on the Name (notice type) you selected. The Description field is a text area, and allows you to enter 64,000 characters. Field values such as Solicitation Number and Posting Date are defaulted for you.
Click Post to submit the form. You can now verify the details posted with the entered description in FedBizOps.
For more information on Abstracts and Forms, see: Abstract and Forms
Notes and Attachments
You can use notes and attachments to supply suppliers and internal users additional information on this negotiation. The Attachments region enables you to attach various types of files to the solicitation header - including the ability to annotate the solicitation with a note. Click Add Attachment to open the Add Attachment page and specify the type of attachment you would like to use: Desktop File/Text/URL or From Document Catalog.
Select a Category from the list of values. The Category defines the purpose of an attachment to aid your department in identifying or grouping the attachments, and controls which users can access it. You can choose from:
Internal to Sourcing - these types of documents are internal and not accessible by suppliers.
Miscellaneous - these types of documents are internal and not accessible by suppliers.
To Approver - these types of documents are internal and not accessible by suppliers.
To Buyer - these types of documents are internal and not accessible by suppliers.
To Payables - these types of documents are internal and not accessible by suppliers.
To Receiver - these types of documents are internal and not accessible by suppliers.
To Supplier - these types of documents are accessible by suppliers.
Select the attachment Type. You can choose from:
File - specify a file name to upload. Enter the file location, or use the Browse button to locate the file.
URL - enter the URL for a Web page.
Text - Enter text that is less than 2000 characters. If the text you want to attach is more than 2000 characters, upload it in a file.
From the Document Catalog:
Use the Search regions to query existing documents.
Select the Document Name link to view a document before attaching it.
Select the document(s) to attach.
Click Apply.