This article is intended for buyers. If you’re a supplier, check out our supplier help articles here.
This article will cover:
What types of Requests can I build?
You can build a Request in two ways:
From a Blank Request - build your Request from scratch.
From a Template - build and save standardised processes you follow. To find out more about Templates and their benefits, click here.
When you build and issue a Blank Request, you will need to enter information for each of the tab headings: Summary, Stages, Details, Evaluation, Team, Suppliers, Review & Send. You don’t need to fill these in, in the order they appear in the app, but all compulsory fields need to be completed before you can send the Request out to your potential suppliers.
To start building a new Request from scratch, click + New request button, and then choose the Blank request button. It will look like this:
What is the Summary Tab?
The Summary tab is where you will outline the overview of a new Request. Information shown on this page (except for the ‘Approximate total spend’) is included in the email notification sent to suppliers when they are added to a Request.
To edit each section click on the Edit button.
Once you have completed all the required fields on the section, click Save to ensure any changes you make are not lost.
There are five parts that need to be completed in the Summary tab to get your Request up and running:
Request name (compulsory)
The name of your Request will be shown to suppliers and will be recorded in your Requests Summary page and the Audit Trail. You can change the name of your Request before it has been awarded or closed by issuing a revision.
Overview (compulsory)
Enter a short overview of what your Request is for. Keep this overview brief, it’s meant to be a high-level introduction to explain to your potential suppliers of what the Request will involve (e.g products & services requested, required timelines, asking for their response in the DeepStream platform). This introduction will be included in the Request invitation email sent to the suppliers.
Products & Services Tags (optional)
Click the edit button to tag the products & services you are requesting from your suppliers. These tags will be included in your request invitation email to clearly illustrate to your suppliers what you are tendering for.
Reference numbers
Automated reference (generated automatically): This number is generated automatically to organise your Requests in the Request Summary tab; these will be arranged in chronological order.Additional reference number (optional): Click the edit button to enter any additional referencing that you will use internally to reference your Requests.
Spend data (compulsory)
Choose the currency and enter an approximate spend value for this Request. This will never be shared with suppliers and is only for your internal referencing system. If your Request has no monetary value enter "0".
If you want to move to the next tab, click on the Continue button in the bottom right corner OR you can navigate to other tabs by clicking on them at the top of the Request.
What are Stages?
Stages help you structure your Requests and set deadlines for your suppliers. In multi-stage Requests, suppliers cannot complete the information in a subsequent stage until you move them to it.
To create your first Stage, click the Edit button next to Stage 1.
Enter a name for your Stage (e.g., NDA, RFP, RFI, RFQ). This will be visible to the supplier.
Click the Calendar icon to set a date and time for your deadline.
To add additional Stages, click Add Stage under Stage 1 and select Exchange Stage. For more information on building an Auction Stage click here.
Enter a name and deadline as per the above steps and choose whether or not you would like this Stage to be hidden. If you select Yes, suppliers will be unaware of any additional Stages and what their requirements are until you move them into that next stage. All Stages added after this will be hidden by default once you choose this option.
Example - If you have 5 Stages in your Request and you choose to hide the third Stage, suppliers will only be able to see that Stages 1 and 2 exist until you move them beyond this point. Even if all Stages are visible suppliers will not be able to see the requirements of further stages until they have been moved.
✏️ Please Note: The timezone is set based on your computer settings. If you have suppliers in other timezones this will appear relative to their computer settings.
✏️ Please Note: You can change this deadline after the Request has been issued if you need to extend it by issuing a revision.
What is the Details Tab?
This is where you add the information you want to share with and request from your suppliers. The details tab is structured into Pages. Pages help you organise the information that the supplier receives. They have no influence or link to deadlines you set in Stages. There is no limit on the number of Pages you can have in a request.
Find out more about the various Section types that you can add into your Pages:
What is the Evaluation Tab?
The Evaluation tab allows you - and any additional team members you work with - to rank and compare suppliers’ proposals side by side. You can define what criteria is used, which ensures that you are assessing bids based upon what’s important to you and your stakeholders.
To learn more about how to set this up click here.
✏️ Please Note: You can create an Evaluation structure at any time before a Request is awarded or closed.
How do I invite Team Members?
The Team tab is where you decide who you need to work with on your Request. You can invite both internal team members and third-party companies. For more details on adding third-party companies click here. For every Team Member added, set their permissions, which can vary by Pages. If you’re the Request Owner, you can add or remove team members from the Request at any point.
Find out more about the different roles and responsibilities click here.
How do I invite Suppliers to the Request?
The Suppliers tab is where you add the suppliers you would like to send your Request to. You can add additional suppliers to a Request at any point before it’s been closed or awarded.
You can add suppliers to a request in 4 ways:
Search and select by company name: Type the company name into the search bar and select from the dropdown menu.
Search and select by contact email address: Type the user contact's email address into the search bar and select from the dropdown menu.
Select from my lists: Choose from one of your supplier lists to add all suppliers from 1 or more lists to your request quickly.
Send a new invite: If the company or user does not already exist on the platform you can send an invite with the relevant company name and user email address.
Within the Suppliers tab you can also set the 'Visibility' of your Request. This will be set to Private as default. To learn more about making your Request publicly visible click here.
How do I Review & Send the Request?
The Review & Send tab allows you to review the information included in your Request. If any information is outstanding, a red box will appear and highlight what needs to be inputted before you can submit it.
Once the information is confirmed, click Send request.
A confirmation pop-up window will appear to confirm you want to send it.
Once a Request is sent, you can still make changes to the information included, the suppliers added, and deadlines set at any point by issuing a revision. To find out more about how to revise your Request click here.
If you regularly send Requests structured like the Request you have created, you can create a Template from it. Find out more about Templates here.
For further queries, use the live chat feature or email support@deepstreamtech.com