36C78618Q0103-003.doc

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Attached to: Bronze Medallions Nationwide (CONUS & OCONUS).
Solicitation number: 36C78618Q0103
Issued by: Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration

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36C78618Q0103 ATTACHMENT B - Vendor eCMS Portal Guide.doc

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eCMS v4.2 Vendor Portal Publishing User’s Guide April 2011

User’s Guide for Contracting Officers on

How To Publish to the eCMS Vendor Portal eCMS Training System (A version of eCMS used for end-user training and available to users for continuous learning): http://vaww.train.ecms.va.gov/ eCMS Production System (The operational, production version of eCMS containing official data): http://vaww.ecms.va.gov/ Acquisition Resource Center (Various resources for the acquisition professional containing general, VA specific, and eCMS specific information):

http://arc.aac.va.gov/Acquisition/Pages/ARCHome.aspx This document includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed -- in whole or in part -- for any purpose other than its intended purpose. This restriction does not limit the Government’s right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in sheets herein.

As a Contracting Officer, you may be responsible for soliciting against Multiple-Agency Contracts (MAC), Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contracts or other limited competition scenarios. In eCMS, you can solicit for these types of contracts via something called the Vendor Portal. This guide will also provide you with the steps for publishing solicitations to the eCMS Vendor Portal. If you have any questions or need further assistance using the eCMS system, please do one of the following:

· Contact your eCMS Application Coordinator (Not sure who that is? Refer to the FAQs portion of this document.)

· Contact the VA Acquisition Systems Helpdesk via email at VA.Acquisition.Systems@va.gov or via phone at (877) 634-3739

· Contact the Austin Automation Center Helpdesk via email at AustinHelpDesk@va.gov or via phone at (512) 326-6780

· Contact the eCMS Users group at vaecmsdis@va.gov (This should be used for general discussion purposes only. Problems should be reported to your eCMS Application Coordinator or the VA Acquisition Systems Helpdesk).

For information on subjects not included in this guide, we encourage you to access the Acquisition Resource Center for additional user guides, eCMS training material, and reference materials.

Page

Creating a Solicitation

Creating a Solicitation Amendment

Publishing to the Vendor Portal

Adding a Vendor after Publishing

Extending the Solicitation Period

Canceling the Solicitation

Frequently Asked Questions

This process will step you through how to create a solicitation action (RFQ, RFP, IFB, or RFI) in eCMS. Specifically, the steps provided below will guide you through creating the solicitation action. For further instruction on creating your solicitation document, please refer to your eCMS Document Generation and Formatting User’s Guide.

Step 1:

You must first access the Manage Contracts and Solicitations module of eCMS.

Step 2:

· Highlight the PR action that will be used to create the solicitation.

· Click the Process Coach icon ;

NOTE: If you are creating a solicitation without using a PR then you will click on instead.

Step 3:

· From the “What Do I Do Next” menu, select Create a procurement action.

Step 4:

· Click the type of action you wish to create. NOTE: The appropriate use of the procurement action types is as follows: IFB – for an Invitation for Bid, RFP – for a Request for Proposal, RFQ – for a Request for Quote, RFI – for a Request for Information, and FSS-RFQ – for an RFQ against a Federal Supply Schedule contract.

· Click on .

Step 5:

Select the location where you would like this new action to reside.

· Then, click the button

Step 6:

Click the button; and Create a folder by either

checking the box to create a folder using the Solicitation Number

-or-

Use the Select Folders link to move the action to an existing folder, new folder, or new drawer

Note: After selecting a folder, the Folder Path will change.

-or-

If you have specified a folder in the previous screen, you can just leave it as it is.

Note: You can also check the second checkbox to move all actions from the existing folder to the designated folder path listed above.

· Click .

Step 7:

· Select .

· Click .

Note: If the previous action did not have a milestone plan, then select . Then select either or and choose the milestone plan most appropriate for your acquistition.

Step 8:

· To copy the items from the action, click radio button.

· Click .

Step 9:

· Click .

( Congratulations! You have successfully created your solicitation. You can now post your solicitation to the eCMS Vendor Portal, following the steps in the “Publishing to the Vendor Portal” section of this guide.

Once you have created a solicitation in eCMS, typically any changes to the solicitation will be made via an amendment. This process will step you through how to create a solicitation amendment (RFQ-Amend, RFP-Amend, or IFB-Amend) in eCMS.

Step 1:

You must first access the Manage Contracts and Solicitations module of eCMS.

Step 2:

· Highlight the solicitation action.

· Click the Process Coach icon .

Step 3:

· From the “What Do I Do Next” menu, select Create an amendment action.

Step 4:

· From the Action Wizard, select the appropriate amendment action type; NOTE: The amendment action types are as follows: an IFB-AMEND – amends an IFB, an RFP-AMEND –amends an RFP, or an RFQ-AMEND – amends an RFQ.

· Click .

Step 5:

Select the location where you would like this new action to reside.

· Then, click the button

Step 6:

Click to obtain the Amendment number.

Create a folder by either checking the box to create a folder using the Solicitation Number

-or-

Use the Select Folders link to move the action to an existing folder, new folder, or new drawer

Note: After selecting a folder, the Folder Path will change.

-or-

If you have specified a folder in the previous screen, you can just leave it as it is.

Note: You can also check the second checkbox to move all actions from the existing folder to the designated folder path listed above.

· Click .

Step 7:

· Select .

Note: If the previous action did not have a milestone plan, then select . Then select either or and choose the milestone plan most appropriate for your acquistition.

Step 8:

· To copy the items from the action, click the radio button.

Step 9:

· Click .

( Congratulations! You have successfully created your solicitation amendment. If your solicitation was posted to the Vendor Portal, you will want to post your amendment to Vendor Portal as well.

In eCMS, you have the ability to solicit against Multi-Agency Contracts (MAC), Indefinite Delivery Contracts (IDC) and under other limited competition situations to a selected group of vendors via a Vendor Portal. This process will step you through how to post your solicitation to eCMS Vendor Portal. This process assumes that you have already created your solicitation action and document and need to publish it for vendor viewing.

Step 1:

You must first access the Manage Contracts and Solicitations module of eCMS.

Step 2:

· Double-click on the solicitation action that has not been published and navigate to the tab.

Step 3:

· Select the solicitation document.

· Click the Process Coach icon .

· Select Publish Document from the “What Do I Do Next” window that appears.

Step 4:

· Select Publish to Vendor Portal from the Publish Options Window; and

· Click

Step 5:

· Confirm that the document and all attached files (if there are attachments) have a check mark in the respective box.

Step 6:

Click on .

Step 7:

On the page, under Competition Type, confirm that is selected.

Step 8:

Under Solicitation Period, you have the option to either Open the Solicitation Immediately or Specify an Opening Time.

To open the solicitation immediately:

· Select the radio button to Open Solicitation Immediately;

· Enter a Closing Date; and

· Enter a Closing Time.

To specify an opening time:

· Select the radio button to Specify Opening Time;

· Enter a Start Date;

· Enter a Start Time;

· Enter an End Date ; and

· Enter an End Time

NOTE: Be sure to indicate AM or PM.

Step 9:

· Under Response Method, select or

NOTE: A reverse auction allows invited vendors to see the amount of the winning response during the solicitation period. Also the Iterative Solicitation and Open-Ended Solicitation Response Methods are for use by the NAC. For further instruction on how to post an Iterative of Open-Ended Solicitation, refer to the Solicitations User Guide (for the NAC);

· Click .

Step 10:

· On the page, under the Solicitation section, confirm that is selected; and

· Click .

NOTE: The Line Item Evaluation option allows for each line item to be broken into separate solicitations and thus evaluated independently. Line Item Evaluations are typically used by the NAC. For additional instructions on using Line Item Evaluations or Importing Line Items, refer to the Solicitations User Guide (for the NAC)

Step 11:

· On the page, verify that the correct documents and any attachments are uploaded; and

· Click .

Step 12:

On the page, to filter on the vendor list:

· Enter a criteria into one or more of the fields or a for one or more Socioeconomic Factors; and

· Click on .

Step 13:

· Select Vendors for the solicitation by checking the box for each desired vendor; and

· Click on before navigating to the next page of vendors.

Step 14:

· If necessary, you can remove any selected vendors by checking the box of the added vendor and clicking on .

· Once you are satisfied with your vendor selection, click.

Step 15:

· If you choose, you may edit the vendor notification that vendors will receive by entering text into the Subject and/or Body fields;

· When done, click.

Step 16:

· At this point, on the page you can review all of your solicitation information. NOTE: The "Validation" field will note whether there is an issue with the solicitation that needs to be corrected prior to publishing (for example the start time is in the past or vendors were not selected).

· If you need to modify any details, click on ; otherwise

· Once satisfied with the solicitation, click .

Step 17:

· Click on .

· Click on again to close the Solicitation Publishing Manager window.

(Congratulations! You have successfully posted your solicitation to the eCMS Vendor Portal. To make changes to the solicitation posting (e.g. cancel the solicitation, change the set of solicited vendors) please refer to subsequent sections of this guide.

After posting a solicitation to the Vendor Portal, you have the ability to add vendors to your solicitation list. This process will step you through how to invite additional vendors to your solicitation after you have published your solicitation to the Vendor Portal. You must first create an amendment. This process assumes that you have created your amendment action and document.

Step 1:

You must first access the Manage Contracts and Solicitations module of eCMS.

Step 2:

Double click on the solicitation amendment action that has not been published. Navigate to and select the tab.

Step 3:

· Select the solicitation amendment document.

· Click the Process Coach icon ;

· Select Publish Document from the ‘What Do I Do Next” window that appears.

Step 4:

· Select Publish to Vendor Portal from the Publish Options Window; and

Step 5:

· Click ;

Step 6:

· On the page, click.

Step 7:

· On the page, click.

Step 8:

· On the page click.

Step 9:

· On the page, place a in the box for vendor(s) that you would like to add; and

· Click.

NOTE: The additional vendor(s) will be notified that they have been invited to respond to the solicitation. The vendors that you select for the solicitation will receive an email alerting them to the solicitation posting.

· Click ;

Step 10:

· On the page, click .

(Congratulations! You have successfully added a vendor(s) to your published solicitation.

In eCMS, once a solicitation has been posted to the Vendor Portal, you have the ability to extend the solicitation period prior to the solicitation close. To do so, you must first create a solicitation amendment. This process assumes that you have created an amendment action and document and steps you through how to extend your solicitation period prior to the solicitation period ending.

Step 1:

You must first access the Manage Contracts and Solicitations module of eCMS.

Step 2:

· Double-click on the solicitation amendment action that has not been published and navigate to the tab.

Step 3:

· Select the solicitation amendment document.

· Select Publish Document from the “What Do I Do Next” window that appears;

Step 4:

· Select Publish to Vendor Portal from the Publish Option Window; and

Step 5:

· On the page, select the radio button to Change End Date and Time;

· Modify the Closing Date; and

· Modify the Closing Time.

NOTE: If the solicitation has not yet started or if you are re-posting a closed solicitation, the Opening Date and Time may also be modified.

· Click .

Step 6:

· On the page, click .

Step 7:

· Review the documents on the page; and

· Click .

Step 8:

· Review the selected vendors on the page; and

· Click .

Step 9:

· On the page, click .

Step 10:

· Click on ;

(Congratulations! You have successfully extended your solicitation period.

In eCMS, after a solicitation has been posted to the Vendor Portal, prior to the solicitation close you have the ability to cancel the posting. To do so, you must first create an amendment. This process assumes that you have created a solicitation amendment action and document and steps you through canceling a solicitation that has been posted to the Vendor Portal.

Step 1:

You must first access the Manage Contracts and Solicitations module of eCMS.

Step 2:

Double click on the solicitation amendment action that has not been published and navigate to the tab.

Step 3:

· Select the solicitation amendment document.

· Select Publish Document from the “What Do I Do Next” window that appears.

Step 4:

· Select Publish to Vendor Portal from the Publish Option Window; and

Step 5:

· On the page, select the radio button that indicates “This amendment cancels the solicitation”.

NOTE: This option will not be available if the solicitation period has ended.

· Click.

Step 6:

· On the page click .

Step 7:

· On the page click .

Step 8:

· On the page click .

Step 9:

· On the page click.

NOTE: The vendors invited to respond to the solicitation will be notified that the solicitation has been cancelled.

Step 10:

· Click on.

(Congratulations! You have successfully canceled your solicitation posted to the eCMS Vendor Portal.

We have provided responses to some of the questions frequently asked by users with respect to creating and managing solicitations in eCMS.

What is the difference between a Standard Solicitation and Reverse Auction response method when posting to the Vendor Portal?

With a Reverse Auction, the number of offers and lowest offer received is displayed on the Vendor Portal for vendor viewing. With a Standard Solicitation, the number of offers and lowest offer are not visible to vendors on the Vendor Portal.

What if I want to solicit to additional vendors after I publish to the Vendor Portal?

After you publish to the Vendor Portal, you can add vendors to the solicitation by following the steps in the “Adding a Vendor after Publishing” section of this guide.

What if I don’t see a vendor that I want to solicit in the list of vendors?

Contact your Application Coordinator or the VA Acquisition Systems Helpdesk if you do not see a vendor listed that you would like to include in your solicitation.

What if I want to extend my solicitation time?

Before your solicitation period has ended, if you want to extend the solicitation period, you can do so through an amendment. Follow the steps in the “Extending the Solicitation Period” section of this guide to publish your amendment to the Vendor Portal, specifying a new end date and or end time.

Can I re-open a solicitation if I don’t receive an adequate number of quotes?

No. Once a standard solicitation closes, you cannot reopen it. You must create a new solicitation. If you notice that you have received an insufficient number of quotes before the solicitation period ends, then prior to it ending you can extend the solicitation period by following the steps in the “Extending the Solicitation Period” section of this guide.

What vendors can I solicit via the Vendor Portal?

The current set of vendors available for soliciting via the eCMS Vendor Portal is copied from CCR. If there is a particular vendor that you do not see on the Vendor Portal that you would like to be added, please contact your Application Coordinator or the VA Acquisition Systems Helpdesk.

When can I cancel a solicitation posted to the Vendor Portal?

You can cancel a solicitation posted to the Vendor Portal anytime prior to the solicitation period ending.

When would I post my solicitation to the Vendor Portal versus posting to FedBizOpps?

The Vendor Portal is for publishing solicitations in limited cometition situations, for example when soliciting against an established multi-vendor MAC or IDIQ contract. Therefore, it is appropriate to post solicitations to the Vendor Portal where the competition is limited to only those vendors who are holders of a pre-competed contract. Solicitations for Full and Open Competition should be posted to FedBizOpps.

Can I post RFPs, IFBs and RFIs to the Vendor Portal?

Yes. You can post RFQs, RFQs, IFBs and RFIs to the eCMS Vendor Portal.

Who is my eCMS Application Coordinator?

For a current list of eCMS Application Coordinators, please refer to the eCMS Acquisition Resource Center (ARC). Under Tools for Contracting Officers click on the Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS) link.

VA eCMS Vendor Portal Publishing User’s Guide prepared by:

Department of Veterans Affairs

Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction Enterprise Acquisition Systems Service (001Al-E)

Please send comments to VA.Acquisition.Systems@va.gov

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