DemandStar Vendor User Guide.PDF
PDF 2 MB Posted
- Attached to
- Learning Management System State and local contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- ITB-2526-03-0-2026/KK
- Issued by
- Grant County, Wisconsin
About this file
The document is a DemandStar Vendor User Guide from February 2021, providing comprehensive instructions for vendors using the DemandStar platform to access and respond to government procurement opportunities. The guide details the process for registering, managing user accounts, adding commodity codes, searching for bids, and submitting electronic proposals across various government agencies. While the guide is a general user manual, it is accompanied by a specific state and local contract opportunity from a college seeking a Learning Management System (LMS) in Wisconsin, which requires a solution that supports current academic operations and meets the criteria outlined in the Request for Proposal (RFP).
The DemandStar platform enables vendors to customize their accounts by adding users, managing certifications, and self-declaring business attributes to improve visibility and matching with government procurement opportunities. The accompanying LMS opportunity emphasizes the college's goal of minimizing cost while finding a comprehensive solution that aligns with their academic needs. The user guide provides detailed instructions on how vendors can effectively use the platform, including searching for bids by commodity codes, filtering opportunities, and submitting electronic proposals, with customer support available from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific time via phone at (206) 940-0305 or email at support@demandstar.com.
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Other files for this state and local contract opportunity
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Cooperative Purchasing Agreement.PDF | ||
| Business Contact Information.PDF | ||
| Evaluation Components Document.DOCX | DOCX document | |
| Designation Confidential and Proprietary Information.PDF | ||
| RFP# 2526-03 Learning Management System.PDF | ||
| Vendor Cost Proposal.XLSX | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| References.PDF | ||
| SWTC Signature Document.PDF |
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Text version
The DemandStar Corporation
February 2021 - All Rights Reserved www.network.demandstar.com
DemandStar 2021 - Users Guide www.network.demandstar.com
Table of Contents
Welcome and Registration Instructions
Account Management
a. Adding Users
b. Upgrading your Subscription
c. Managing Certifications
d. Self Declarations
Using DemandStar
a. Adding Commodity Codes to your DemandStar Account
b. Searching for bids
a. Tips and Tricks
E-Bidding
Getting Help
a. Phone Support: (206) 940-0305
b. Help Desk: Support@demandstar.com www.network.demandstar.com
I. Welcome to DemandStar 2021
We are pleased to welcome you as a valued supplier to the DemandStar network!
To register please go to https://www.demandstar.com/app/registration On the 2nd page of the form be sure to select an agency to subscribe to in order to receive notifications and documents from them at no charge. At any time you can expand your subscription beyond your free agency, but we want to make sure you have what you need to get started!
DemandStar is a direct network where government agency buyers log in, configure and broadcast bid and quote opportunities to you, our suppliers. All notifications that you receive, every detail of a bid or quote and all documents that you review were placed into the system directly by our agency network participants. We are a unique platform, conceived in 1998 and growing more quickly than ever!
This information is provided to help you maximize the value that your company receives by being part of the DemandStar network. If at any time you require assistance please contact us by emailing support@demandstar.com or by calling 206-940-0305.
www.network.demandstar.com
II. Account Management
Account settings appear in a drop-down menu by your name in the upper right-hand corner once you log-in. This section provides simple instructions for options to customize your account.
a. Adding Users
Simply follow these steps:
1. Log in to your account, click the drop-down menu arrow and select “Account”
2. Across the top you will see four tabs, click on “User Accounts”
3. Click the “Add User” button and fill in the requested information
4. Toggle the “Receives Notifications” switch on or off for this user
5. Select the permissions options by checking the boxes that apply to this user
6. Click “Save Changes” and exit the menu by clicking on “Dashboard”
7. The user will receive an email requesting that they click a link to set up a password. The password must be at least 8 characters, contain both letters and numbers, and no special characters www.network.demandstar.com
b. Upgrading your Subscription
Upgrading your DemandStar subscription accomplishes two things: you will receive proactive notifications from all agencies in your counties/states based on your Commodity Codes, and any document downloads will be free, whether on Active bids, or bids that are Under Evaluation or Awarded.
This is a valuable step for your company - both by winning new business through notifications of opportunities, and for researching how agencies write, evaluate and award their bids.
1. Log in and select “Subscriptions” from the drop-down menu by your name
2. Click on Renew/Upgrade and follow the steps to add agencies to your account. Start by selecting the State, then drill down to select specific counties if you are not subscribing to the entire state.
3. Confirm “Upgrade” in the shopping cart to the right, then confirm the credit card information and confirm the purchase. Your subscription will upgrade immediately and clicking on Subscriptions again will confirm the choices that you made.
www.network.demandstar.com
c. Managing Certifications
To manage your certifications across different agencies:
1. Log in and select “Account” from the drop-down menu by your name
2. Select the “Certifications” tab
Here you will see a list of programs by which government agencies use to track suppliers that meet specific certification or qualification criteria. Scroll through the options and when you see the program that you are interested in click on “Apply” www.network.demandstar.com
d. Self-Declarations
You are encouraged to self-declare any of the attributes that apply to your business. This helps suppliers find vendors that help them meet their diversity goals.
1. Log in and select “Account” from the drop-down menu by your name
2. Across the top, click on the tab for “Self-Declarations. Click the attributes that apply and then click “Save Changes” www.network.demandstar.com
III. Using DemandStar
a. Adding Commodity Codes to your DemandStar Account
Commodity codes are standard classification codes for products and services used by procurement officers. DemandStar agency buyers choose appropriate codes to send notices to suppliers when they configure a bid inside of DemandStar. It is a matching system, so having Commodity Codes in your account is essential for receiving notifications for the types of goods and/or services that your company offers.
Here is how you add Commodity Codes to your DemandStar account.
1. Log in and select “Commodity Codes” from the drop-down menu by your name.
IMPORTANT: you must have at least a free, single agency subscription to enable the Commodity Code system, so be sure to set up a subscription.
2. Click “Edit” on the Commodity Code page, and then use single key words, such as “janitorial” or “construction” to review the list of codes.
3. Make selections by checking the boxes, and the selected codes will be listed in the section on the righthand side of your web interface. Once you are satisfied with your selections, click on “Submit Commodity Codes” and then go on to the next single key word search and continue the process until your code list is complete.
4. Commodity Codes are not a perfect system, so best practice is to create a broad net of codes to capture bid notifications from the agency side of the network. Even if you have a National subscription, the bid notifications that you receive will have details and documents which allow you to easily determine whether or not you want to submit a bid for the opportunity.
www.network.demandstar.com
b. Searching for bids
We recommend using the following steps to create a broad search for bids in DemandStar. This will allow you to review a broad selection – which you can then narrow down through using additional filters to be more precise. The primary goal is to not miss any bid opportunities.
There is a simplicity to the DemandStar search that allows for this rapid building of a large set of options to consider, and then to narrow down those options.
1. Log In
2. You are automatically landed onto your Dashboard. Click on Bids at the top of the screen next to Dashboard.
3. Begin with the Commodity Code Matches check box. This search defaults to Active status bids throughout the DemandStar network. To narrow the search you can filter by State using the Location filter.
www.network.demandstar.com
4. This search defaults to Active bids only. To view bids which have closed and are in Evaluation or Awarded stage, close the Active bid status filter by clicking on the X either on the filter on the left, or at the top of the Bids list next to Active Filters. Then click Search again.
c.
Another option is to search for bids from a specific agency. Click Reset Filter at the bottom of the filter set to begin, then either begin typing the name of the agency into the Government Agency box or select it from the drop-down menu. Once it is selected, simply click the teal Search bar. To view bids which are not Active, click the X next to Active to remove that Bid Status and previous bids will show as well.
www.network.demandstar.com
a. Tips and Tricks
Research Previous Awards for Pricing Qualified Suppliers
1. Know your Competition
Build Templates
Only Bid on What You Can Deliver
Start Small www.network.demandstar.com
2. Mix it Up
3. Know the Rules
Build on your Successes
Look for Trigger Events
4. Be Patient www.network.demandstar.com
E-Bidding Responding to an Electronic Bid on the DemandStar network.
Many governments are moving toward requiring bid responses electronically. Here are the steps to find and respond to a bid. First, from your Bids tab being typing the agency into the Government Agency filter and click on it to select when you see it. Then click the Search bar (teal with white letters).
Step 1: Click on the name of the bid.
Step 2: You are now on the Bid Details page. Click Download Bid Package, and then click on Submit e-bid Proposal.
Step 3: Page one of the 3-page form is Contact Information. Check for accuracy and contact support if it is not accurate. Then put a 0 (zero) with no punctuation in the Bid Amount field as a placeholder. Click Next in the lower right to go to the second page of the form, the Document Upload page.
Step 4: Select Online/Electronic from the drop-down menu and you see that the Choose a file button is enabled. Then click Save & Finish Later up by your name.
www.network.demandstar.com
Step 5: Click Responses at the top of the page and you see your e-bid is there.
Now you can Edit and complete the bid by adding your documents, then going to the 3rd page of the form to Review and then Submit the bid.
www.network.demandstar.com
Step 6: Once you have completed the bid click on Responses again at the top of the page to confirm that the Bid Status shows as Complete and that your documents show as being uploaded in green.
You are done! And the government to which you submitted this bid will download your response and documents and see the day and time when you submitted your bid.
www.network.demandstar.com
Getting Help DemandStar has customer support available from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Daily (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Eastern). If you have an issue please give us a call at (206) 940-0305 and we will walk you through the product and help you. You can also email us (support@demandstar.com) and we will respond to your request in the order it is received. Note that almost all DemandStar support tickets are resolved within 4 hours.
b. Phone Support: (206) 940-0305
c. Help Desk: Support@demandstar.com
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .