This article is intended for buyers. If you're a supplier, check out our supplier help articles here.
This article covers:
What is the Comparison Tab
The Comparison tab becomes available when a Request with an Evaluation module, Questions Section, or Line Items Section is pushed live. This tab allows buyers to view supplier submissions for line items or questions and assess their scoring for supplier evaluation in a side-by-side comparison. Request Owners can also download .CSV files of these comparison tables.
How to Use the Comparison Tab
Prepare Your Request: In a draft or revision state Request, add an Evaluation module, Questions Section, or Line Items Section.
Access the Comparison Tab: Once the Request is live, and suppliers have responded or scoring has commenced, open the relevant Request and select the Comparison tab.
Switch Between Sections: On the left side, choose between the Evaluation module, Questions, and Line Items Sections, depending on your Request's content.
Adjust View: On the right side, use row height and expand view options.
Row height: Change the height of each row (short, medium, tall, extra tall) in the comparison table for the best view to compare all submitted answers.
Expand view: Use this view to only see the comparison table on your screen for a comprehensive overview. Select shrink view in the top right corner of the page to exit this view.
Bid status: Filter out suppliers whose bids have been unsuccessful so you can focus on Active bids only.
Detailed View: Click on a box to view individual answers in more detail. Use the arrows in the top right corner to open the exchange and respond directly to suppliers or team comments on the Evaluation module.
Download CSV File: To download the .CSV file, click the download CSV button. Import the file into Excel or Google Sheets.
✏️ Please Note: Only Request Owners can download CSV reports for each comparison view.
Evaluation module
Once you have selected Evaluation from the view drop down you will see:
Visual indicators on the top bar showing the progress of the evaluation process
A number of outstanding actions you need to take
A number of outstanding actions your team needs to take (if Individual Scores was selected when enabling evaluation in your Request build).
You will also see this information broken down under each Supplier.
In the evaluation table you can see the linked response from your suppliers next to your/your team's score for each line item and question.
Line items view
If you have assigned additional fields in Line items, you can choose to include them in the comparison table or hide them by clicking on the drop-down Hide fields.
In the filtered view you have the option to change the currency by clicking Source currency to reveal a dropdown of currencies to choose from.
✏️ Please Note: The currency conversion is updated daily at 00:10 (UTC) using the latest rates.
Multi-stage line item responses
If as a buyer you have activated multi-stage line item responses and the supplier has progressed to the next stage, the system will flag the line items requiring new offers with red indicators.
When submitting their latest offer in the pop-up window, the supplier will see their previous offer, and upon entering their new submission (for price fields only), the supplier will observe a percentage difference.
To learn how to use multi-stage line item responses, check out the how-to-article here.
Communication with Suppliers After the Deadline
If you need to communicate with a Supplier after the deadline:
Go into the request and click into the Suppliers tab.
Find the appropriate Supplier you want to contact and click onto their name.
Click into any of the Supplier's responses. Then, click the Reenable responses button to allow the Supplier comment functionality and the ability to update their response.
Select Confirm.
For any further queries, please use our live chat function or email: support@deepstreamtech.com