Running an eAuction

This article details how Buyers can run an eAuction once it has been set it up.

Anika Gadher avatar
Written by Anika Gadher
Updated over a week ago

In this article you can read about:

Running Live eAuctions

Before reading this, please refer to this article to set up your eAuction.

After you have sent invites to your Suppliers & your auction is live, you have visibility into the current bids by clicking into the Suppliers tab within the request:

As soon as you submit your request with an eAuction, it will create timers for both Suppliers & Buyers until the eAuction starts:

Once the eAuction begins, a new timer will begin estimating the end of the eAuction:

If you have assigned Auto-extension within timing rules, if there are any new lead bids when there is less than 3 minutes to go the timer will reset to 3 minutes:

If your chosen suppliers have submitted their pre bids, you will see them appear on the leaderboard prior to the eAuction starting:

Suppliers cannot submit a bid above the ceiling price if you have specified a ceiling price within the Bid rules section when setting up your eAuction.

The ceiling price is illustrated at the top of the leaderboard graph for Buyers.

The ceiling price is detailed in the Bid rules for Suppliers.

DeepStream does not allow Suppliers submit any bids above the ceiling price, they will see this error notification:

The Leaderboard updates the ranking of each Supplier as they send their bids in:

The Leaderboard graph provides live updates as Supplier submit their bids:

There is a time stamp of when Suppliers have submitted their bid which is also included in the audit trail.

You can see live price savings in green which is the difference between the lowest opening bid and lowest final bid.

In addition to the Leaderboard, Buyers can see a comparison view of all Supplier bids against each item:

You can also click on 'Download CSV' to access this information offline.

Within the Bid feedback tab in setting up the eAuction, Buyers can configure what information is shared with Suppliers:

Suppliers can see their live ranking if Buyers choose the 'Rank and lead bid'.

Suppliers can see activity updates on the same page they submit their bids in:

Once the deadline has passed, Buyers can award a Suppliers by clicking on the drop down arrow under 'Request actions' and into 'Award request':

Buyers can write a personable message to the winning Supplier(s) & add documents with any relevant details with regards to the request

Similarly, Buyers have the option of sending a message & documents to Suppliers they are rejecting.

Please note: you cannot award or close a request until the deadline has passed

Communicating with Suppliers

A unique feature to eAuctions from the rest of the DeepStream platform is the chat feature during a live eAuction

Buyers & Suppliers can utilise this chat feature. Buyers can access the chat as soon as they submit the request & Suppliers can access the chat once they have submitted their intention to bid.

This chat feature allows broadcasting to all suppliers or individually messaging each Supplier.

As this chat sits on the bottom of the auction page, it means Buyers & Suppliers do not need to leave the page to contact each other so they can continue to participate in the auction.

Next to the Chat feature is 'Support' where you can contact us at DeepStream if you have any questions. Support is available for both Buyers & Suppliers.

If at any point during the live auction you need to pause it, please contact: support@deepstreamtech.com immediately

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