available fields
Options
Select this option to switch between a request for proposal or a request for information event.
Select this option to mark this event as a simulated event, allowing you to test without sending emails to suppliers or impacting usage reports. You can only create a test event from a manually created event in Draft status. Once the test event is open, you can generate randomized supplier responses, and then close, award, or cancel the event as needed. By default, all test events, independent of their status, are archived 3 days after they are created. Suppliers will not see or receive emails about test events.
If the event is multi-round, this field displays the current round and allows you to view previous rounds.
When working on an event in Draft status, you can invite collaborators to help you build and review your event. For your collaborators, you can manage their permissions, controlling if they are able to view or edit everything in the event.
If the approvals process has been triggered for an event, the Pending approvals button will display. Click to displays the Approvals area to approve or review the approval process for the event. See Approvals.
comments
Click to access the Comments pane, which allows you to add and view internal comments and supplier messages for the event. This option is only available after the event is opened.
A list of available actions for the event. The available actions are dependent on the type of event and its current status.
Header
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Event Title
Enter a brief title that describes what is included in the event. The title is included in emails to suppliers and helps them to get a general idea about the event.
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Event Description
Enter a detailed description to explain why you are running an event for this project. This description acts as a cover letter, introducing suppliers to your event. Click Edit Description to open an expanded description window that allows you to enter expanded, formatted text (up to 50,000 characters).
Scheduled publish date
Enter the date to publish the event. At this date and the Scheduled publish time, suppliers are invited to submit responses. For dates scheduled in the future, the event is saved in Draft status and then published on the selected date and time. If the event is ready sooner, you can manually publish the event.
Scheduled publish time
Enter the time to publish the event. At this time and the Scheduled publish date, suppliers are invited to submit responses. For dates scheduled in the future, the event is saved in Draft status and then published on the selected date and time. If the event is ready sooner, you can manually publish the event.
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Close date
Enter the date that the event will close. At this date, suppliers will no longer be able to submit responses to the event. This date is used with the Close Time. Your event must be opened for at least 3 hours.
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Close time
Enter the time that the event will close. At this date, suppliers will no longer be able to submit responses to the event. This time is used with the Close Date. Your event must be opened for at least 3 hours.
Questions due date
Enter the date that suppliers should submit any questions about the event. This date is used with Question due time.
Questions due time
Enter the time that suppliers should submit any questions about the event. This date is used with Question due date.
Planned purchase / project start date
Enter the date you plan to purchase items or services or start the project.
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Currency
Select a currency (3 characters) for the event.
Note: If you update the event currency on an event, verify the Benchmark price for your line items. Depending on the event type and your company settings, the Benchmark value might not automatically convert when changing the currency,
Department
Enter the name of the department or business unit that requested the event.
Project name
Enter the name of the project associated with the event.
Select if you want to seal supplier responses until the event is closed. This is an optional feature that may not be configured for your organization. To turn on this feature, contact [email protected].
Add Location / Facility
Add up to five locations or facilities related to the purchase or the project.
Category
Select one or more category and subcategory (e.g., IT Hardware and Laptops) combinations to help further define your event. Customer categories and subcategories were defined when your organization was set up in Fairmarkit. They’re made to match your business practices and can be used to organize and track your analytics in a way that makes sense to your organization. Categories can be turned on at the event or line item level; to change your preference, contact your Fairmarkit Customer Success Manager.
Internal details
Note: These fields provide insight for your organization and are not shared with suppliers.
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Event Justification
Enter a note describing the justification for the event.
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Value of event
Enter the projected value of the event.
Projected savings
Enter the projected savings.
Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)
Select if suppliers must sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to view this event, and then select one of the following options.
Your Company's NDA: This option uses the NDA language defined for your company in Fairmarkit. Click View NDA to read the text.
Event-specific NDA: This option allows you to add a custom NDA for your event. You can add a custom NDA in the following ways:
PDF file: Select this option, and then click Upload PDF file to add a PDF file with your NDA text. You can upload one PDF file that is up to 100MB.
Plain text: Select this option, and then click Add text to manually enter or paste your NDA text. You can enter up to 50,000 characters.
Questions
Item question
*Required
Supplier recommendation data
Additional information area
Internal Part #
Enter your organization's part number for the item. To turn on this feature, contact your Fairmarkit Customer Success Manager.
Manufacturer
Enter the manufacturer name for the item. This field is optional but recommended to improve supplier recommendations.
MFG part #
Enter the manufacturer's part number for the item. This field is optional but recommended to improve supplier recommendations.
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Enter a brief description of the line item. You can enter up to 4000 characters. This description helps to improve your supplier matches. See Descriptions for more information.
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Quantity
Enter the quantity of the item or service needed. The quantity measure is based on your selected UOM. This value can contain up to 2 decimal places (e.g., 1.25 acres).
Benchmark
Enter a benchmark price, such as the last price you paid, in the event currency (up to two decimal places). Adding a benchmark helps you track costs, compare prices, and identify savings opportunities. See: Benchmark.
If you update the event currency, this value isn't automatically converted, so you must update it manually.
Required
Select if you want to require suppliers to answer the question to submit their response to the event. This option isn't available if you select No response in UOM.
Comments
Enter a comment specific to the line item. Comments can contain up to 5,000 characters.
Date Range
Select the start date and end date for the date range. This is typically used for services and software subscriptions and licenses.
Category
Add one or more categories or category/subcategory combinations (e.g., IT Hardware and Laptops) to define your event. Categories and subcategories are defined when your company was set up in Fairmarkit. They’re made to match your business practices and can be used to organize and track your analytics in a way that makes sense to your organization. Customer categories can be turned on at the event or line item level; to turn on categories at the line item level, contact your Fairmarkit Customer Success Manager.
Attachments
Add attachments that are specific to the line item. For example, you may want to attach a specification or design document to explain a line item further. Multiple attachments can be added. File names cannot be longer than 255 characters. Click the remove button to delete an attachment.
Internal Tags
Add additional information about the line item. Information is added as free text key and value pairs. You can define multiple keys and multiple values for a single key. These are internal values that are not available to suppliers.
Service question
*Required
Supplier recommendation data
Additional information area
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Enter a brief description of the service you want to purchase. You can enter up to 4000 characters. This description helps to improve your supplier matches.
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Quantity
Enter the quantity of the item or service needed. The quantity measure is based on your selected UOM. This value can contain up to 2 decimal places (e.g., 1.25 acres).
Enter a benchmark price, such as the last price you paid, in the event currency (up to two decimal places). Adding a benchmark helps you track costs, compare prices, and identify savings opportunities. See: Benchmark.
If you update the event currency, this value isn't automatically converted, so you must update it manually.
Required
Select if you want to require suppliers to answer the question to submit their response to the event. This option isn't available if you select No response in UOM.
Comments
Enter a comment specific to the line item. Comments can contain up to 5,000 characters.
Date Range
Select the start date and end date for the date range. This is typically used for services and software subscriptions and licenses.
Category
Add one or more categories or category/subcategory combinations (e.g., IT Hardware and Laptops) to define your event. Categories and subcategories are defined when your company was set up in Fairmarkit. They’re made to match your business practices and can be used to organize and track your analytics in a way that makes sense to your organization. Customer categories can be turned on at the event or line item level; to turn on categories at the line item level, contact your Fairmarkit Customer Success Manager.
Attachments
Add attachments that are specific to the line item. For example, you may want to attach a specification or design document to explain a line item further. Multiple attachments can be added. File names cannot be longer than 255 characters. Click the remove button to delete an attachment.
Internal Tags
Add additional information about the line item. Information is added as free text key and value pairs. You can define multiple keys and multiple values for a single key. These are internal values that are not available to suppliers.
Service question component
*Required
Supplier recommendation data
Additional information area
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Enter a brief description of the service you want to purchase. You can enter up to 4000 characters. This description helps to improve your supplier matches.
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Select a unit of measure. For service components, you can only select Date, Date range, Text, or Yes/no.
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Quantity
Enter the quantity of the item or service needed. The quantity measure is based on your selected UOM. This value can contain up to 2 decimal places (e.g., 1.25 acres).
Enter a benchmark price, such as the last price you paid, in the event currency (up to two decimal places). Adding a benchmark helps you track costs, compare prices, and identify savings opportunities. See: Benchmark.
If you update the event currency, this value isn't automatically converted, so you must update it manually.
Required
Select if you want to require suppliers to answer the question to submit their response to the event. This option isn't available if you select No response in UOM.
Comments
Enter a comment specific to the line item. Comments can contain up to 5,000 characters.
Date Range
Select the start date and end date for the date range. This is typically used for services and software subscriptions and licenses.
Category
Add one or more categories or category/subcategory combinations (e.g., IT Hardware and Laptops) to define your event. Categories and subcategories are defined when your company was set up in Fairmarkit. They’re made to match your business practices and can be used to organize and track your analytics in a way that makes sense to your organization. Customer categories can be turned on at the event or line item level; to turn on categories at the line item level, contact your Fairmarkit Customer Success Manager.
Attachments
Add attachments that are specific to the line item. For example, you may want to attach a specification or design document to explain a line item further. Multiple attachments can be added. File names cannot be longer than 255 characters. Click the remove button to delete an attachment.
Internal Tags
Add additional information about the line item. Information is added as free text key and value pairs. You can define multiple keys and multiple values for a single key. These are internal values that are not available to suppliers.
Appendix docs
Notes to supplier
Add additional information and communication (up to 4,000 characters) about the event with all invited suppliers. For example, you might enter a shipping account number or detailed steps to explain the process further.
Files
Attach files, such as a scope of work, to share with suppliers. Files can be up to 100mb, and the File name cannot be longer than 255 characters. See Attachments for more information.
Supplier list
From Suppliers List, you can invite trusted suppliers from the Fairmarkit database to your event. Based on the information you entered, Fairmarkit will recommend a list of suppliers to invite. You can adjust the list by manually selecting or removing suppliers from the list. For more information, see Manage supplier invitations.
Evaluation criteria
On the Evaluation criteria page, you can set up the criteria to use when scoring and evaluating your event. For your event, you'll want to set an evaluation timeline and then set an evaluation weight for each section, skipping any unnecessary sections. In addition, you'll need to use the Share button to add any evaluators to the event. You can edit evaluation criteria while the event is in draft, open, or closed status. For more information, see Evaluation and scoring.
Set Evaluation Timeline
Click Set Evaluation Timeline to suggest an evaluation period. By default, the start date is set to the event's Close Date and Close Time and the end date is 7 days after the Close Date.
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Evaluation start date
Enter the date the evaluation period begins. On this date, evaluators can enter their scoring on the event responses. The date is used with the Evaluation start time and must be after the event's Close Date.
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Evaluation start time
Enter the time the evaluation period begins. At this time, evaluators can enter their scoring on the event responses. The time is used with the Evaluation start date and must be after the event's Close Time.
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Evaluation end date
Enter the date the evaluation period ends. On this date, the event closes for scoring. The date is used with the Evaluation end time.
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Evaluation end time
Enter the time the evaluation period ends. At this time, the event closes for scoring. The time is used with the Evaluation end date.
Sections
For each section of your event that you want scored and evaluated, enter the weighted percent to use when scoring the event. For example, the scores in some sections may be more important than others, so you assign a higher weighted percentage to the more important sections. You can skip any unnecessary sections; however, the Total Sections Weight must equal 100%. To quickly distribute the weights across the event, click Apply Weights Evenly. You cannot change section weights once the evaluation period begins.
Review
From Review, you can review, download, schedule, and publish your event.
Details
The Details screen is only available after you publish your event, and you can use it to review proposals. The Details screen contains two areas, which provide a summary of responses received and a list of invitations sent to the suppliers. For more information, see Review and award a request for proposal event and Event summary.
Scoring
The Scoring screen is only available after you publish your event and you, and any invited evaluators can use it to review and score supplier responses. For more information, see Evaluation and scoring.
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