How To - Locate and Respond to Solicitations.pdf

SUPPLIER GUIDE

LOCATING AND RESPONDING TO

A SOLICITATION

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Department of General Services

Bureau of Procurement www.dgs.pa.gov

LOCATING AND RESPONDING TO

A SOLICITATION

This guide is intended to provide you with instructions on locating current bidding opportunities and responding to solicitations.

There are two different ways to Locate a Solicitation. The most common is through E-Marketplace; navigation instructions are included below. The second is through the PA Supplier Portal; navigation instructions are included in the section following “Locating a Solicitation at E-Marketplace”.

Also included later in this guide are detailed instructions on how to Respond to, Change or Delete a Solicitation Response.

All bidding opportunities (with an estimated cost in excess of $25,000) for materials and services for Commonwealth agencies are published at the Department of General Services’ E-Marketplace website. However, to view the entire solicitation, you may need to login to the PA Supplier Portal. Your login and password are provided when supplier registration is completed.

LOCATING A SOLICITATION at E-MARKETPLACE

The Commonwealth of PA

Department of General Services

Bureau of Procurement http://www.emarketplace.state.pa.us/ http://www.pasupplierportal.state.pa.us/ http://www.emarketplace.state.pa.us/ http://www.pasupplierportal.state.pa.us/

To locate current bidding opportunities, go to E-Marketplace, your one-stop shop for all bidding and contract information. The main page includes the fol-lowing menu options:

Solicitations – Search and view current solicitations.

Solicitation Tabulations – An summary of the suppliers and responses to previous solicitations. These tabulations are for information only and do not constitute an official award.

Awards – A list of all recent awards in response to Solicitations.

Search Contracts – Search the Commonwealth database for state contracts awarded by DGS and other agency-selected contracts.

Sole Source Procurements – Includes all agency requests for sole source purchases of supplies and services.

All current advertised solicitations can be found on E-Marketplace under the

Solicitations tab. To locate a solicitation, follow these steps:

A. Select the Solicitations tab.

B. Start bidding search by entering or selecting specific search criteria in one or more of the available fields, then click on “Search”.

D. After locating the solicitation, click on the underlined Solicitation Number to open the Advertisement Information page.

C. Below are search results that provide a listing of current solicitations, based on the criteria selected. From here, specific solicitations can be viewed.

The Advertisement Information page (seen above) provides a general overview of the bid, which will specify if responses will only be accepted electronically. You must go to PA Supplier Portal to complete.

LOCATING A SOLICITATION at PA SUPPLIER PORTAL

A. Open your web browser and go to PA Supplier Portal. Browser compatibility is provided on the home page.

B. Select the Logon button.

- Enter the Logon ID and Password created during registration.

- When the data entry is complete, select the Log In button.

- The PA Supplier Portal Welcome Screen will display (pictured above).

C. If you have been assigned both the Administrator and Bidder roles, the Vendor Administrator tab will be selected by default. Select the

Bidder tab to proceed.

- A box will appear asking if you want to view secure content. Select “No”.

D. To begin your search for bidding opportunities, select the Search/

Submit a Bid link in the left navigation panel.

E. The Process Bid screen will display, and contains search fields to assist you in location solicitations.

- When the Bid Document number is known, enter it into the Number of

Document field and select the Start button to initiate the search.

- When the Bid Document number is not known, select the drop-down list in the Status field and choose one of the available options. Then select the Start button to initiate the search.

F. A list of search results will display by using any search method.

- The Display icon (a magnifying glass) displays basic data and detailed information of the selected bid solicitation, as well as the Bidder’s bid response after it is created.

- The Bid Document number is a link and, when selected, will open the bid solicitation for viewing.

- The Change or Edit icon (pencils) will allow information on a previously held or submitted bid to be changed by the bidder.

- The Create icon allows the bidder to create a bid response on behalf of their company on any open solicitation.

- The Trash or Delete icon is used by the bidder to delete a bid response.

G. Select one of the icons for a particular bid.

H. The Display Invitation for Bid screen opens for viewing.

- To exit this screen, select the Back to Initial Screen link. You will be returned to the search results list where you may continue to look for additional bidding opportunities.

If you require assistance with the bidding process, please contact the Customer

Service Center at (877) 435-7363 and select Option 2.

To respond to a Solicitation, click to view the Bidding Guide.

http://www.dgs.pa.gov/Documents/Procurement%20Forms/Supplier%20Service%20Center/BiddingGuide.pdf

For more information about Supplier Response to a Solicitation, please contact:

Customer Support Center

(877) 435-7363, Option #2

Department of General Services

Bureau of Procurement

555 Walnut Street, 6th Floor

Harrisburg, PA 17101 www.dgs.pa.gov

Ken Hess Deputy Secretary, Procurement

Curt Topper Secretary, Department of General Services

Tom Wolf Governor

REVISED NOVEMBER 2016

Jenny Doherty Chief Procurement Officer