Below are the questions and answers from the Customer Readiness Presentation for 10s2 release of Ariba Sourcing.  If you would like to discuss any of them further, please make sure you reference the question number. Thank you!

1. Where will the recording be available?  How will others access it?
   1. The recording and the actual presentation will be available through the Early Access Portal in Connect.  The presentation contains additional information about the features that I didn’t cover such as Limitations and Enablement.
2. Can you do tiered volume bidding only in the alternative bidding or is it only available in the primary bid? Rather, can you only do it in alternative bidding only and NOT in the primary bid to clarify?
   1. Supplier Volume Tiers are only available via the Alternate Bid, but a buyer could use matrix bidding to setup an event with Buyer Tiers. 
3. Did I hear correctly that once alternative bids are submitted, suppliers can not delete the bid even if the event is still open?
   1. Correct, just like they can’t delete their submitted bids now.  Event Administrators can delete the bids, both primary and alternative, after they have been submitted.
4. What is the Line Item Limit?
   1. I am assuming this question is in relation to the Alternative Bidding functionality.  Our standard “line item limits” are not changing in 10s2, basically, 100 line items in competitive events and 1,000 line items in non-competitive events. Please see the Event Management Guide for the detailed description of the Event Limits.  For Alternative bidding, we plan to implement a limit of the number of Alternative Bid they can create and numbers of items that can be included in all their alternate bids.  The limits have not been finalized and are currently being evaluated in performance testing.  We will publish the limits with the 10s2 Release Notes.
5. What do you mean by competitive vs. non-competitive event? (100-line vs. 1,000) line...
   1. We have different limits for Competitive and Non-competitive events. In a competitive event, participants can see market information, such as their own rank, the lead bid, and other competitors’ bids or ranks. An event is non-competitive if participants cannot see any market information. Typically, auction events are competitive, and RFPs are non-competitive.
6. I like tiered bidding in the alternate options.  How would I build and RFx to request tiered pricing at tiers I specify as the primary?
   1. As stated above, Supplier Volume Tiers are not supported in the Primary Bid, but buyers can simulate tiers via the use of Matrix Bidding.  Contact support for assistance if you are interested.
7. Do alternative bids count in the total line items available?  If so, what happens when suppliers flood you with alternatives and exceed that limit?
   1. As stated above, we are determining the limits that we will allow and suppliers will not be able to exceed those limits when creating/submitting their bids.
8. If you choose alternative bidding on the template, is it easy for the suppliers to figure out how to use it?
   1. I am sure it will depend upon the particular suppliers, but I would suggest the buyer running such an event provide some guidance to their suppliers.  Also, we will be releasing a Demo for suppliers addressing bidding in these types of events.
9. Are these demo's viewable on the Ariba website?  If not, will they be at some point in the future?
   1. The feature demo’s that I used in my presentation, and more for the other features, will be made available sometime next month via Connect.
10. Why make the process of selecting lots via Excel at the intention stage?  Seems unnecessarily complex…
    1. The demo did make things look a little more complex than they could be.  This was because I had items that were customized and some that were not.  Also, the items I customized were optional.  These two elements of the event made things more complicated.  If they were all customized, the supplier would just use the excel sheet to select lots.  If they were all required it would make the process easier because they would already be selected in the UI and not changeable.
11. Is it possible to combine Formula Bidding with Alternate Bids?
    1. Yes.
12. Will offline bidding accommodate a large RFP with many questions (300+) and how does it impact conditional questions?
    1. There are two parts to this question.  First, yes, the offline custom response sheet functionality can assist with large RFPs that exceed our event limits.  In excel, you could ask any number of questions or request any number of items/lots/terms.  The key is what you map those responses two in Ariba.  You will have to be within our limits. For example, you might want to know the number of employees a company has in 5 different regions and a break out of full-time, part-time, and contract labor.  That would normally be 15 questions(5x3).  That could be one question in Ariba, “How many employees do you have?” The customized sheet would ask for the break down and the total would map to the one question.  Same with Terms, you could want to collect 50 terms for every item, but only need 15 of those in Ariba for Optimization purposes.  So, you create an item with 15 terms in Ariba.  In the custom offline sheet, you map 15 of the 50 you collect to the terms in Ariba., you could want to collect 50 terms for every item, but only need 15 of those in Ariba for Optimization purposes.  So, you create an item with 15 terms in Ariba.  In the custom offline sheet, you map 15 of the 50 you collect to the terms in Ariba.
          Conditional questions can not be customized, but they can be triggered by the values from a customized question.  The supplier would enter their values in the Custom Response Sheet, upload back into Ariba, and then the conditional content would appear or disappear based upon their responses.
13. Has the limit on number of line items in an event increased in 10s2?
    1. No, but this is a very high priority with the 10s3 release.  We still haven’t been through the prioritization process for 10s3, so we don’t know what features will be target for that release as of yet.
14. Can the supplier "Decline to Respond", after accepting the bidder's agreement and viewing the contents of RFP? Is "Decline to Respond" reversible?
    1. Yes, we haven’t changed the functionality in this area.
15. Who controls the supplier collaboration? Is it done at the supplier level by the site administrator, or is it done at the project level and controlled by the project owner?
    1. This is in relation to the Strategic External User Access feature, and the answer is both!  First, the general capabilities are controlled via parameters for your company’s site.  Once enabled, individual project owners can add suppliers to project team groups with the “Limited Team Member” role.
16. Will the new features added by other groups be supported by normal Technical Support Channels?
    1. Seeking clarification of the question from the submitter.
17. The print event information feature before publishing an event is great. Very clean. Is there any capability to have this feature with the responses? Some responses are too long for an Excel sheet. Much cleaner in Word.
    1. Suppliers are able to generate a version of their response like this once the event goes into Pending Selection status.  A buyer could Surrogate Bid as the supplier and generate one, but that is the only way currently.  The ability for a buyer to generate these for all the responding suppliers is under consideration for 10s3.
18. What's the current planned release date for 10s2 and when is 10s3 talked of?
    1. We are currently looking to release 10s2 in July or August.  We don’t have a date for 10s3 at this time.
19. Would there be training materials on the big 10s2 features, such as Customized Bid Sheet?
    1. I have produced demo recordings that will be made available to buyers via Connect and we are updating all the documentation for the new features.
20. Are the template descriptions going to be improved upon to make selecting the appropriate one easier?  For example, with RFP there is a template for pricing information and there is one for pricing breakdown.
    1. The descriptions in the templates are not being updated in the release.  They are fully described in the Event Management Guide and the your template administrator can modify the descriptions if desired, assuming you are using Sourcing Pro.
21. Will the new features added by other groups, Contracts Team or Platform, be supported by normal Technical Support Channels?
    1. Yes.

Hello!

Do you run alternative bids/pricing discounts through Ariba Sourcing?  If so, how?  Currently we add an alternative bid as a line item, which then unfortunately rolls into the total price, which in turn skews our reporting numbers.  Do you have a better way to handle this?

We have completed a few RFx and auctions for legal services and would like to learn from any best practices.  We would also be interested in a live best practice discussion on this topic if interested.

Hello!  We are on 9r1 and running a matrix auction.  We have all items and terms built into 2 lots, and there are approx. 130 price points across the two lots.  For some reason, the system is not letting us launch the auction as a parallel event ("the number of lots/ line items exceeds the maximum allowed" error), but if we change the format to series or staggered, we are able to launch.  We have looked at the event management guide and cannot figure out how we are reaching any maximum parameters.

So, here we are with a staggered, matrix auction.  The problem is that depending on the VIEW (either view as participant, or when you surrogate as a supplier) and on the PHASE, the terms at times display correctly and at other items display incorrectly.  Sadly, everything looks great when the auction is in "Preview" but once it's "Open for Bidding," the view rearranges as one long list of price points and the matrix format we want no longer displays.

We have tried playing with having price and the terms on columns versus rows... we have tried every iteration in fact.  The frustrating piece is that we will get things to look the way we want it, and then when the phase changes, the view changes.  When you monitor the event and just look at the "Content" tab, without fail everything looks great.  The most important screen- where the supplier submits their bids, when the auction is open - is where we are running into problems.

Has anyone run into this?  Has anyone successfully been able to run a matrix auction as series or staggered?

Thanks in advance!

Hello Ariba Exchangers!

I am reaching out in hopes that others may have experience in sourcing Third Party Distribution.  We are getting ready to review our current Third Party Distribution program for supplies.  Tips & Tricks?  What methods have you used to source this category?  What worked?  What didn't work?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

We are looking for an AVP of IT Sourcing & Procurement who will be responsible for the procurement of  IT- related goods and services. As part of this position the individual will be tasked with reducing and controlling costs and risks inherent to the contractual process of procuring goods and services.

Additional responsibilities to include:

- Direct negotiation of all terms and conditions for IT-related goods and services

- Primary responsibility for conduct and completion of contract negotiations (in coordination with Legal Department and end users)

- Assume responsibility for the enterprise-wide, global sourcing and procurement of IT-related goods and services as an integral part of Moody's Corporate Services Group

- Coordinate the requirements and efforts of internal individuals and groups (Primarily IT Business Lines, Risk Management, IT Security, and Legal) in connection with the sourcing and procurement of IT goods and services.

- Develop supplier RFPs, RFQs and RFXs and evaluate vendor proposals.

- Research and analyze market/financial data from internal and external resources to effectively manage assigned commodity area.

- Coordinate and participate in Global/Regional/Local contract negotiations

- Ensure that objectives of key company stakeholders/customers are met.

- Assist in global implementation of sourcing policies and procedures.

- Review and draft business related  terms and conditions to optimize contractual arrangements and implement best practices.

Qualifications:

- BA/BS degree or equivalent experience

- 5+ years IT procurement/ sourcing experience (IT Hardware and/or Telecom/Networking preferred)

- Strong negotiation skills

- Proficiency in contract negotiations (including reviewing and drafting business requirements) and effectively working with legal and other stakeholders to ensure contracts are drafted in an efficient manner

- Strong Project Management, communication, and presentation skills

- Exceptional problem solving skills, ability to analyze multiple and complex situations to determine most effective way of resolving issues and pushing strategy forward

- Strong Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint skills

- Ability to work under tight deadlines

If you or someone you know is interested, please send me an email and a copy of your resume: irene.kalishman@moodys.com

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has successfully implemented cost break down quotations directly in the Ariba tool? What we are looking after is possibility to quote a list of part numbers and each part number broken down into e.g. material cost, labor cost, overhead, profit, etc.. This should be somehow possible in an easy to fill matrix structure for the supplier (like one would do in a traditional excel sheet).

Thanks for any hints and tips in this reagard.

Heiko

How are people currently managing this?      Will we be given the opportunity to perform this within the event in the future release?

Does anyone have any real life examples or articles or even your opinions on whether a closed bid is considered an e-Auction? We are having to justify this to my managers and would like your opinions on the matter. Thank you.

Hi,

My company is just beginning with Ariba Sourcing.  I'm wondering how other companies handle Q&A time during RFP?  Do you factor this time into the total event time and make reference in the RFP?  We're initially documenting this in the timeline content of the RFP and would like feedback on what others do.

Thanks much for the assistance.

Chris

Friends.. I need help on 2 scenarios:

Scenario 1:  I am conducting an RFP event and have 5 bidders. Based on the responses to the questionaire and or the grading system, is it possible to enable Optimization Scenario in Ariba 9r1 (On Demand)? If yes, can someone please guide me with the process steps?

Scenario 2: Based on the response for the questionnairte, imagining i have selected 2 suppliers with whom i want to set up an auction, instead of doing this manually, can ariba (Ariba 9r1 On Demand)  help in selecting top 2 suppliers and trigger and auction event automatically? If yes, please provide me the steps.

Kindly post responses as fast as possible.

Thanks

We are looking to run our first Dutch Reverse Auction.  Would anyone be willing to share best practice information for setting up and running a Dutch Reverse Auction?

I am looking for best practices or strategies surrounding the following:

-          What do you recommend setting the starting price at, i.e. 40% off current lowest quote?

-          How often should the we increase the price, i.e. every 30 seconds?

-          By how much should we increase the price?

       What is the maximum length of time the overall auction should last?  Should we seek to cap the auction at historical lowest quote after a specific time period, e.g. 10 minutes?

If anyone is willing to share best practice information, I would greatly appreciate a five minute discussion in which I can provide a few more details about the auction we are hoping to run.  I would like to solicit your input and advice for our specific effort based upon your past experiences.

Thank you,

Nick Matuszewski

nmatuszewski@ulta.com

I have multiple tasks in my sourcing projects which start in a sequence or sometimes in parallel. For eg. Some of the tasks could be bidder list approval, RFP publication, Bid Receipt, Techno - Commercial Evaluation, Negotiations, Award.

Now I am interested in looking at the time spent on different segments of the project. For eg. RFP Publication to Award, Techno-Commercial Evaluation to award. etc.

In order to calculate such durations, I basically need to find the difference between the task end dates or process end dates of the tasks/processes. However, I have not figured out how to find difference between 2 date fields in order to calculate the duration between them.

Appreciate your help

Anoop

Hello,

Someone googled my name looking for my email address,  and the person came across a discussion I had on Ariba Exchange regarding Reverse Auction and dollar and percentage.

My question to Ariba:

How is it that a discussion in Exchange in which I need a username and password to access ends up on the internet for all to access?

Is this standard practice?

Here it is as presented on google:

•  
   

  Question on Reverse auctions: | Ariba Exchange

  exchange.ariba.com/thread/2287Cached

  You +1'd this publicly. Undo

  Mar 20, 2012 – I will test this morning. Thank you very much. Dominic.Cianfarra. Tel: 514-786- 6050. email-courriel: dominic.cianfarra@bell.ca · Report Abuse ...
  

•  
   

  Is it possible to have dollar and percentage it... | Ariba Exchange

  exchange.ariba.com/thread/2542Cached

  You +1'd this publicly. Undo

  Sep 18, 2012 – I tested and works exactly how I wanted. Thanks. Dominic.Cianfarra. Tel: 514-786 -6050. email-courriel: dominic.cianfarra@bell.ca ...
  

  When you click on either, the discussion thread is visible.

Regards,

Dominic

I am looking for a RFP Template on Procurement Outsourcing concerning delegation of spend (from sourcing to contracting)

Hi,

First post here. Our company is just starting to use Ariba Sourcing, and has yet to utilize the project workflow piece of the tool. I would like to create a sample project with standard project management process, so that different comodity managers can use or reference. I'm just curious how everyone is utilizing this functionality, and what are some of the tasks and policies are typically included?

Thanks,

David

Hi

Does anyone have a supplier naming convention that they're willing / able to share?

We're running into duplication problems and looking at how to tackle that

best

andrew

-

Andrew Gill | Global eSourcing Manager | Reed Elsevier

andrew.gill@reedelsevier.com

I am creating an RFP where the supplier will be able to enter the breakdown of their Product cost (e.g. Material price, Freight, Tax, Admin fee, etc.). I find that the options of "RFP with Price Breakdown" and "RFP with Total Cost" could be used, but I am confused as to how they are different? When do we use one, and when do we use the other?

Does anyone have any examples of individual or team eSourcing objectives that they would like to share? It's that time of the year, and as program director, I am going to write "suggested" objectives for different positions within our organization so they can include them in their performance evaluations.