This article details how Buyers can:
Templates
Templates provide a base of pre-formatted requests which are designed to provide guidance on new requests you create.
You can find templates within the Requests tab:
Templates standardise your processes by allowing you to save:
Stages
Documents
Questions
Line Items
Evaluation
Scoring criteria
Using templates is DeepStream best practice as it saves time& supports your users in following due process, and standardises how your business runs requests!
& removes the monotony of manual tasks!
You cannot save the following in a template:
Deadlines
Request Members
Permissions
Suppliers
Please note: Only super users & full users can create, use & manage templates.
How to build a Blank template
Within the templates tab, click 'New template'
The format of creating a template is almost identical to creating a request, within the Summary tab you can save:
Basic details
Products & services tags
Reference numbers
Spend data
Throughout creating a request or a template, you can make any editions by clicking:
Firstly, you are required to name your template:
The basic details will be saved as part of the template & can be pre-populated when creating a request 'From template' in the future:
The overview is meant for a high-level introduction to explain to your potential suppliers of what the Request will involve. This will be included in the Request invitation email sent to the suppliers
Templates can also save Products and services tags. These tags will be included in your request invitation email to clearly illustrate to your suppliers what you are tendering for.
Once you have completed the Summary tab, please move onto Stages:
Stages help you to structure your requests & can be saved as part of a template. Buyers can have single or multi-stage templates.
You have the option to name your stage which will be visible to suppliers, however you cannot input a deadline as part of the template.
After adding your stages, you can move onto the Details tab where you can add pages.
Pages help to organise Buyer information the Supplier receives. You can standardise pages within a template, i.e if you have repeatable headings, documents etc.
This saves on time & scope for error!
Please click '+Add page' & input a Name
Please note: there is no limit on the number of pages you can save into a template
In-depth details on sections you can add within pages can be found here
Any document section can be saved as part of a template
Any questions section can be saved as part of a template.
Any line item can be saved as part of a template.
Please note: Once you start a request from a template, you can remove or edit any these sections.
After you have added all the pages into your template, please move onto the Evaluation tab
Evaluation is another section you can save as part of your template to standardise your requests. This allows a defined criteria to evaluate against & ensures you are assessing bids based upon what is important.
Please note: the evaluation is not a mandatory section to add
Moving onto the Team tab, you are able to save the Company role details:
However, you cannot add users to a template:
Once completing all the tabs within the template, please review all the details inputted into the template & save:
How to build an existing request template
Within the templates tab, click 'New template'
Clicking into 'Based on existing request' will bring up a window where you can see all your existing requests in a dropdown.
Please select the relevant request, it will pull through the template name however you can make edits to the name
This will directly pull through information, documents, questions & line items from the request. You have the ability to edit & remove any section.
How to manage templates
To make any revisions to any templates or to duplicate, please click the '...' next to any template.
Please note: if you duplicate the template, it will say 'Copy of' in front of the name
For any further queries, please email: support@deepstreamtech.com