Benefits and Process of Awarding Bids in the PlanetBids System (Video)

In this video, you will learn the benefits of using the PlanetBids system to record the bid award, how to award the bid in the system, and where to access beneficial reporting.

Using the PlanetBids system to award your bids allows you to show greater transparency on bid awards, ensuring the procurement process is fair while reducing concerns about favoritism or corruption. This increases public trust. It encourages competition; when vendors see who has won contracts, they improve their offerings and pricing for future opportunities. Transparency also may encourage others to bid in the future, leading to more competitive pricing, better services, and an improved vendor pool. It provides key metrics on spending and can help forecast industry trends in pricing, providing a key metric for budgeting. It also allows you more robust access to reporting, which is a significant time saver when requests for information are received.

To award a Bid, navigate to the Bid Results tab. If you have not marked your bidders as Responsive, click Edit Bid and then Update Multiple. Choose which bidders you want to mark as Responsive and choose Yes from the drop-down. You may leave a comment if you prefer. You can designate whether you’d like to make their responsiveness status and any comments public or not by selecting the appropriate option in the Show Status drop-down menu. When you are finished, click Save.

From there, click the Awards tab. Here, you can change the status of the bid. To award the bid, click Edit, click the Bid Status drop-down menu and choose Awarded. Next, you will select the type of award. Lump sum allows you to award the entire project to one or more bidders. Selected sections can be removed from the award by unchecking the box to the left. Split will enable you to award the individual line items to one or more bidders (if there are line items). Note: Public Works templates only allow you to award a Lump Sum. Quick Quote, General, and Professional Services allows you to award lump or split if you have line items. When you complete this, the award total will automatically update. You can also change the awarded date if needed, allowing you to back date.

You will see an area to add internal notes, as well as an area to add public notes if needed. You can also choose whether to Display Awards on Public Site and Display Award Amount on Public Site.

To award the items for Lump Sum, all items are selected by default. Deselect the sections you don’t wish to award and click Award To. Select which vendor(s) you will award and click Done. For split, click Click to Select Vendors to Award from the Awards column, select the vendor(s) you wish to award, and click Done. Repeat this until you are finished awarding. Click Save Bid. If you have chosen to Display to Public, a box will pop up for you to email the bidders to notify them of the Award. If you wish to send this, click Save. If not, click Don’t Send. If you choose that option, you will be prompted to send the email each time you make additional edits to the bid. Click Submit.

There are several ways to access reporting. The Home page shows reporting for Bids Awarded, Awarded Amount. From within Bid Management, you can select the Reports icon from the upper right corner and view several reports, including Bid Awards and Cost Savings. You can also access several reports from the Reports button within the bid. Within Vendor Management, you can access the Reports icon in the upper right corner and see reports like Vendor Activity. You can access vendor-specific reports from the Reports button within the vendor profile. A final area in the system to view reporting is from the Reports icon in the left navigation menu. Here you will see a comprehensive list of reports by module. For more detailed information about awards reporting, visit our Knowledge Base and view the Reports for Awarded Projects article.

Thank you for watching!