Buyer FAQ

1. How and when do I use an Addendum?
2. How do I make changes to a Request after it is closed?
3. How can I check to see if my vendors are registered?
4. The vendor was awarded in error or the vendor cannot fulfill the request. How do I award to another vendor when the original vendor already accepted the award?
5. How do I cancel a Request?
6. How long should I leave my request open for?
7. I am receiving phone calls from vendors with questions on the request. How do I discourage phone calls?
8. I am receiving phone calls from vendors about winning bid. How do I discourage these phone calls?
9. Can I split up the request and award certain items to different vendors?
10. I submitted a request with two line items, one for 500 and 1000 business cards. How do I just award the 1000 business cards?
11. How do I do an Email Reminder about my open request?
12. I have preferred vendors who have not registered. How do I notify them of this new opportunity?
13. I am having trouble logging in. What do I do?
14. I'm having trouble printing my new request after I clicked on Submit. What do I do?
15. If I do not have a P-Card Number and my Fiscal Officer does, what should I enter in the P-Card field?
16. How do I handle manual quotes
17. How can I see the complete category listing?
18. What is a IFB/Sealed Bids Request?
19. Special Instruction Examples

To add an addendum, login and click on the targeted Request Number. Then scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on the "Make Addendum" button. Compose in the text box and click on Submit button when finished. The addendum will be added and be displayed when vendors view the request.

When to Use Addendum:


Change Date (Closing Date and Delivery Date
Change Ship To Address
Change Shipping Method
Change Quantity
Change Description (Product name, Part Number, or Clarify items, etc)
Change Category Picks
Change or Add to Special Instructions
Qualify your vendors
Add or Delete Line Items

If you encounter these situations listed below, simply email support@commercepoint.com or call 808-956-5934 and we can make the necessary changes for you.


You would like to reopen the request and get more quotes (use addendum if request is still open)
You would like to reopen so you can add an addendum to clarify or change the spec
You awarded a request by mistake and would like to cancel the award
Change Qty, Items, etc. after Request is Closed
Need Vendor to Adjust Quote after Request is Closed (we can push quote back to vendor's History folder for correction)
Partial Awards - split the request to multiple vendors (e.g. award partial quotes to different vendors only when selected vendors met line items specs)
Re-award - from Awarded status back to Closed
Cancel Award - Cancel an Awarded request
Cancel a Cancel - Change Cancel back to Closed

Login and click on Vendor Directory (lower left frame). Enter the name of the company in the Company field to search individually or list vendors based on categories. If you do not see your vendor and would like to them to join, simply email us at support@commercepoint.com and we can assist them with registration and quote submission.

Contact the vendor who was awarded in error and let them know the award is no longer valid (Click on your History folder link and click on the winning vendor's name). You should next notify the vendor who you wish to award and make sure their quote is still valid. If the quote is still valid, email us at support@commercepoint.com and we will move the award status to your next vendor of choice. 

Login to your account and:
1. Click on the Cancel Request link (lower left frame)
2. Find the Request, scroll to the right
3. Check the box under Cancel Request
4. Screen will changed and display a box under "Please note the reason for cancelling" 
5. State the reason (e.g. Due to lack of funds, project was cancelled. Thank you for your bids) and click on the "Ok, go ahead and cancel this request" button
6. System will cancel the Request and notify all bidders via email

The average/default open time for a request is 7 days. For regular commodity items or service, and/or if you are in a rush, an open time of 2 to 3 days is sufficient. For requests that require on site visits, please allocate enough time for vendors to view the site.  If uncertain, contact your Business Office for more details. 

In the Special Instruction field, put in cap "PLEASE NO PHONE CALLS. EMAIL IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS."

UH consider award information as public info. Some buyers release it on the spot while others might wait until a PO is issued. To cut down on these inquires, you can announce the winning bid info at the time of award so the vendors need not contact you.
EXAMPLE: Winning quote came it at $1000 from Acme Corporation, thank you for your participation.
Or, if a vendor wants the details of the winning quote, you can find the request in the History folder and print out the quotes or take a screen shot of the # of Bids screen and email it to the vendor.

Yes, we can do a "Partial Award" for you. Simply send an email to support@commercepoint.com stating the item number and the preferred vendor (e.g. Line item 1-3 goes to vendor A and line item 4-5 goes to vendor B)

To do this, simply send an email to support@commercepoint.com stating which quantity and the preferred vendor name. We can zero out the quantity for one line item and issue the award for the other.

Click on the Request number and scroll down, click on the Email Reminder button and a pop up message screen will appear, you can edit the message by clicking in the Message box and click on the Send button when finished. The system will send this message to the vendors under the selected category reminding them that it is still available.
Note that we monitor all the requests and will do reminders for you in the background.  However, if there are specific vendor(s) that you want to do a reminder to, email us the contact info and we will follow up for you. 

The Email New Vendors button will send an email to outside vendors informing them about this new opportunity. By default, the email contains instructions on how to sign up. Click on the Request number, scroll down, click on the Email New Vendors button and a pop up message screen will appear, you can edit the message by clicking in the Message box. Add the vendor's email address in the "To" field and click on the Send button when finished.

The option that most buyers uses is to email us the contact info, e.g. if you have 3 vendors who are interested in your request, forward over the info and we will assist them with registration and quote submission.  We will also keep you posted on their status so if 2 vendors signed up and 1 refused, we will email you with their status.  

13) I am having trouble logging in. What do I do?

Please note that both username/password fields are space-sensitive, and the password field is also CaSe-sensitive. If you ever forget your password, go to www.commercepoint.com and click on "Forgot Your Password?" link. If you answer the question correctly, your password will be emailed to you. 

This is most likely due to your Internet browser's pop-up blocking feature. When you click on the Submit button, you will be asked if you want to print the request. If you click on Yes, a new window will appear, and the print function will automatically activate. If the new window does not appear, you may have a pop-up blocker set. To fix this problem, simply configure your pop-up blocker to allow pop-ups for www.commercepoint.com.

Reset Browser Pop-up:
Internet Explorer - click on Tools and select Pop-up Blocker and change the setting
Firefox - click on Firefox, select Options, select Options again, select Content, select exceptions on pop-up to change
Chrome - setting, select Advance setting, select Privacy, select Content Settings, Privacy, locate Pop-up and select Mange Exception to change.

Link to "How to disable popup blockers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory":
http://www2.lbl.gov/ehs/training/webcourses/globalAssets/CourseRequirements/disablePopups/disablepopups.html

 

In the P-Card field, simply enter something like this: 'Please call Jane Doe at 808 956-0000 for PCard #'.  So when vendor print out the Award form, they will contact your supervisor for their P-Card number.

 

If you received a quote via fax or email and you would like to include the quote as part of your bid process, simply forward the quote to us and we can enter it on the vendor's behalf.  

Login to your account and then go to "Help". Here will find the "Complete Category Listing". You can print out the list for your own reference. 

IFB (Invitation for Bid/Sealed Bid) is usually for contractors or large dollar amount purchases.  Here are the differences than regular RFQ/RFP:
1.  When you receive quotes, the bid amount is Not displayed, so you will see who quoted but not the amount (this emulates the manual process where vendors will drop off their unopened bids)
2.  After Request is closed, all bid results are posted online (this emulates the manual process where bidders gathers at the buyer's office and all bids are openend and announced)
3.  After Request is awarded, winning bid is posted online  

Examples of wording you can use in the Special Instructions field.
(NOTE: Always check with your supervisor first!)

• Subject to prior approval if making substitutes.  We reserved the right to determine equivalency. 
• Please no phone calls. Email if you have any questions.
• Delivery date is firm.  Don't bid if you cannot meet the requirement.
• Hawaii vendors only please. Local service and support is required.
• Vendors may bid on any one or all items, as award may be split to
  multiple vendors as needed.
• Quantity subject to change depending on funding availability.
• For non-responsive vendors:
  In the "Special Instructions" field, state that delivery date and support is of utmost importance and state something like "Must be delivered by [insert date]".
  Also state that after the Request is closed, you will be contacting the winning vendor via email to confirm stock and delivery date, and instruct the vendor to respond within 2-3 working days. If you do not receive response from the selected vendor, you will consider their quote as void and will proceed to the next lowest quote
  
  After you received the quotes, review and email the winning vendor and see if they can respond within your timeline.  If not, move on to the next one.  Award the Request when one meets your spec.  Keep a record of your emails so if your Fiscal Officer asked why you did not select the lower quote, you will have documentation justifying your choice. 
  Some vendors will ask how fast you can get a Purchase Oder out since they cannot hold the stock without having a PO on hand. You may want to let the vendors know in the "Special Instructions" field that you will get the PO out immediately after award acceptance.
• Supply chain isues: we noticed a spike in late or non-delivery even after an award is accepted, so best is to confirm with the low bidder that their bid meets spec, item(s) are in stock and can meet delivery date, Freight charges included, etc. 
  Also state a timeline in the email (e.g. if no response to this email within 3 working days, quote will be void). If no response, you can ask the bidder to rescind their quote (or we can rescind on their behalf), and move on to the next qualified vendor.