Edit inquiry details - Intergraph Smart Materials - Version 10.1 - Help - Hexagon

Intergraph Smart Materials Web Help (10.1)

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Smart Materials/Smart Reference Data Version
10.1

On the Inquiry Details tab you can edit the inquiry header information, materials related information, inquiry related dates, events and settings, and miscellaneous information regarding the inquiry.

For more information see Inquiry Details.

The fields of the Inquiries Details tab and their descriptions are listed below.

Field

Description

Inquiry Number

Number of the inquiry

Supplement

Inquiry supplement number

Inquiry Header

Purchase

If Purchase is set to Yes, you can create agreements from the quotes associated with this inquiry. If it is set to No, you cannot transform any quote resulting from this inquiry into a Purchase Order or Subcontract agreement; you can only create a blanket order or a master agreement.

Inquiry Type

The inquiry type specifies which agreement type is available for the inquiry later on, it is either Order or Subcontract.

Agreement Type

The available agreement types depend on the Purchase indicator value, the selected inquiry type, and the setting of project default ZP_CONSPCI.

If the inquiry can only be used for inquiries and ZP_CONSPCI is set to Y, only the agreement type Blanket Order is available for inquiry type Order and only the agreement type Master Agreement is available for inquiry type Subcontract.

If the inquiry can be used for purchasing or if the project default ZP_CONSPCI is set to N, more options are available.

If the inquiry type is Order, you can select:

  • Blanket Order

  • Purchase Order

  • Notice of Commitment

  • Notice to Proceed

  • Blanket Order Release

  • Field Order

  • Rental Order

If the inquiry type is Subcontract, you can select:

  • Master Agreement

  • Subcontract

  • Notice of Commitment

  • Notice to Proceed

  • Service Agreement

  • Work Order

If a blanket order is assigned to a requisition, you can create a purchase order (= blanket order release) based on this blanket order. If a master agreement is assigned to a requisition, you can create a work order based on this master agreement. A notice of commitment can be converted into a purchase order.

Payment Type

You can assign a payment type from the select list to the inquiry, the available values are:

  • Measured Qty

  • Milestone Progress

  • Schedule of Values

Pricing Type

You can select a pre-defined pricing type from the select list.

Agreement Budget

Enter a value to define a budget for the agreement resulting from this inquiry. If the budget was already specified on the requisition, it would be copied and displayed here.

Currency

Currency of the inquiry. On creating a new inquiry, the currency defined with project default ZX_CURCY is set, but it can be changed.

Buyer

The buyer is assigned when creating the inquiry and cannot be changed.

Short Description

Type the inquiry short description.

Description

Type the inquiry description.

Reason for Supplement

Only displayed on supplements greater 0 (zero). An inquiry supplement greater 0 can only be approved after entering the Reason for Supplement.

Materials

Material or Service Type

If you select a material or service type, you would restrict the selectable materials or services to this type.

Material or Service

If you select a material or service, you can only assign bidders to the inquiry who can provide this material or service.

If technical and/or commercial questions are defined for the selected material or service, these questions are attached to the inquiry and the line items.

Revision

Displays the revision of the selected material or service.

Class System Code

To assign a CMS (Component Management System) class system to the inquiry, select a value from the select list.

Class Revision

Displays the revision of the selected class system.

Dates/Events

Created On

Displays the date when the inquiry was created. This date is automatically set on inquiry creation but can be updated.

NIB Due Date

Enter the Notice of Intent to Bid due date to define the latest date when the bidders should notify whether they want submit a bid.

Bid Due Date

Enter the bid due date to define the latest date when the bids must be returned from the bidders.

On inquiry creation, the bid due date is set automatically depending on the setting of project default ZP_CALC_BD as follows:

If ZP_CALC_BD is not set, the bid due date is calculated by adding 14 days to the actual date, without consideration of the project calendar.

If ZP_CALC_BD is set to any negative value, the bid due date is not set.

If ZP_CALC_BD is set to a positive value, the bid due date is calculated by adding the number of days given by the project default to the actual date, under consideration of the project calendar.

If ZP_CALC_BD is set to 0 (zero), the bid due date is copied from the previous supplement when a new inquiry supplement is created.

If the calculated date is not in the range of the project calendar, the current date plus 14 days is entered.

If you update Issued On and the inquiry is not approved, the bid due date is recalculated according to the rules described above, based on the entered issue date instead of the actual date. If the issue date is cleared, the bid due date remains unchanged.

Bid Due Time

You can enter a time in any format to define the latest time when the bids must be returned from the bidders.

Revised Bid Due Date

If the due date must be updated after approval you can enter the revised bid due date.

Post Bid Due Date

If project default ZP_TND_PRD is set to Y, the post bid due date specifies the date from when the buyer can view the bids. This means, the bids would not be available until this date, although the bid due date is already over.

Post Revised Bid Due Date

If project default ZP_TND_PRD is set to Y, the post revised bid due date specifies the date from when the buyer can view the bids. This means, the bids would not be available until this date, although the revised bid due date is already over.

Bid Opening Date

If project default ZP_TND_PRD is set to Y and the bid due date and revised bid due date are in the future, the bid opening date specifies the date when the bidding information of this inquiry will be available. If no bid opening date is entered or the entered date lies after the (revised) bid due date, the bidding information will be available when the tender period ends.

Approved On

Displays the date when the inquiry is approved.

Approved By

Displays the user who has approved the inquiry.

Issued Date

Enter the date on which the inquiry has been issued. Future dates are not allowed. When updating the issue date of the inquiry, the bid due date is recalculated as described above under Bid Due Date. If project default ZP_SET_ID is set to Y, the issue date of the inquiry is copied to the corresponding quotes. If ZB_SET_ID is set to N, the issue date of the quotes is not changed.

Settings

Request Bidder Approval

Selecting this checkbox will initiate the approval procedure for the list of bidders assigned to the inquiry and the software will send an e-mail to the first user on the approval sequence, requesting the approval of the bidder list. The this requires setting up an approval sequence on the Bidders tab beforehand.

  • This checkbox is only enabled if project default ZP_BIDEVAL is set to Y.

  • Before you can set this checkbox, all bidders assigned to the inquiry must be marked as evaluated and accepted on the Bidders tab.

  • After all members of the approval sequence have approved, Bidders Approved is marked automatically.

Bidders Approved

This indicator shows if the list of bidders assigned to the inquiry has been approved. If project default ZP_SUPAPRV is set to Y, the inquiry can only be approved if Bidders Approved is selected.

Inquiry RfA

Select Inquiry RfA to indicate that the inquiry is Ready for Approval. If project default ZP_SUPAPRV is set to Y, Bidders Approved must be checked before you can select Inquiry RfA.

NDA Exemption

Select NDA Exemption to allow the assigned bidders to provide a bid for this inquiry although an NDA is required for this project (project default ZP_NDA is set to Y) and the bidders’ NDA status does not entitle to participate in the bidding process.

Summarize Line Items

Select the Summarize Line Items check box to sum up identical requisition line items on one quote detail on inquiry approval. Material is regarded as being identical if the ident code, tag number, unit of the released quantity, group-by and summary properties of the MTO are the same. If you do not select this check box, material will not be summarized and each requisition line item will result in a quote detail. You should use this option if you need to separate your material because of different prices, delivery designations, delivery dates, and so forth. The default value of this check box is specified by the project default ZP_DEF_SLI.

Allow Split Tag

If you want to disable the Split Tag functionality for this inquiry in Smart Materials Portal, clear Allow Split Tag check box.

Allow Split Quantity

If you want to disable the Create Split functionality for this inquiry in Smart Materials Portal, clear Allow Split Quantity check box.

Non-Public

If project default ZP_ALLOPTD is set to Y and Non-Public is selected, the inquiry is only available in Smart Materials Portal to the bidders who are assigned to the inquiry. If Non-Public is cleared, the inquiry is shown to all bidders.

Portal

If the inquiry should not be available in Smart Materials Portal, clear Portal check box. If the project default ZP_DEF_PTL is set to Y, Portal is selected by default when a new inquiry is created.

Miscellaneous

Section

If a section is assigned to the inquiry, only buyers allowed for this section can edit the inquiry.

Expediting Level

Optionally, assign an expediting level to the inquiry.

Inspection Level

Optionally, assign an inspection level to the inquiry.

Criticality Level

Optionally, assign a criticality level to the inquiry.

Approval Template for Quotes

Here you can assign an approval template to the inquiry. All templates of type Quote Summary are available. The content of this approval template will be copied to the quote summaries that are created when approving the inquiry.

The approval template will be ignored on approval of an inquiry supplement > 0 (zero), in this case, the approval sequence as defined for the quotes on the previous inquiry supplement is kept.

Property Set

Optionally, assign a pre-defined Property Set to the inquiry, to display the properties of the set on the Quotation Details - Miscellaneous tab in Smart Materials Portal. Subcontractors can use these properties to provide appropriate values on the quote detail level.

Justification

The entry in the Justification box can be used to determine whether the inquiry approval can be done or not. For example, if the Justification contains any text, the inquiry can be approved. The check is performed using the M_PCK_QUOTE_CUSTOM.CHECK_BEFORE_INQ_APPR CIP,

Reason for Update of Tender Reference Amount

If the tender reference amount was changed during the approval, the reason for updating is displayed here.

  1. Click Prepare RFQ > Inquiry Details.

  2. To view or attach documents, click Attachments.

    For more information see Attach documents.

    1. Click Attach > New Document.

    2. In the Attach Document window, do the following:

      1. Type the Document Code, Revision and Seq.

      2. Optionally, type the document Short Description and Description.

      3. Proceed as follows:

        1. To attach a physical copy, select Physical and type the Source Path. Optionally, add No. of Pages, Creation Date, Changed Date and Author. Click Attach.

        2. To attach a link, select Link, then click Select Destination in the Source Path box and select the destination code from the list. Click Browse in the File Name box, paste the source path address into the folder address bar, and select the file. Optionally, add No. of Pages, Creation Date, Changed Date and Author. Click Attach.

        3. To attach a document to be stored in the database, select DB Storage, click Browse in the File Name box, and select a file. Optionally, add No. of Pages, Creation Date, Changed Date and Author. Click Attach.

        4. To attach a hyperlink, select Hyperlink, paste the hyperlink in the File Name box, and click Attach. Optionally, add No. of Pages, Creation Date, Changed Date and Author. Click Attach.

    3. To open an attached document, do the following:

      • For a Hyperlink path type, click the File Name to open the document.

      • For a DB Storage path type, click the File Name to download the file.

      • For a Link path type, click the File Name to open the Copy Link Path dialog. Click Copy to Clipboard and paste the link into a new browser tab to open.

      • For a Physical document type, click the File Name to open it in a new browser window.

    • Combination of Document Code and Revision must be unique.

    • If DBA setting VALIDATE_ATTACHMENT_URLS is set to Y, filenames of attached documents with type Physical, Link or Hyperlink are validated against the whitelist specified with DBA Settings ATTACHMENT_ALLOWED_URLS. This means, only URLs or UNC paths are allowed which are white listed.

    SHARED Tip To display the highest revision for a document, select the document and click Set Highest Revision.

    Create a document revision

    1. To create a revision for an existing document, select the document and click Revision.

    2. In the New Document Revision dialog, type the New Revision and click Create Revision.

    Attach a document list

    1. Click Attach > Document List.

      SHARED Tip To view only the highest revision of the documents in the Documents dialog, select Display Only Highest Revision.

    2. Select the check boxes for the documents you want to attach and click Add.

    Attach a document set

    1. Click Attach > Document Set.

    2. In the Document Sets dialog, select the Document Set.

      The documents belonging to the set are displayed under Document Set Details.

    3. If you don't want attach all documents displayed under Document Set Details, select the documents you want to add.

    4. Click Add.

  3. To view or edit properties of the inquiry, click Manage Properties.

    For more information see Manage properties.

    1. To add a new property, do the following:

      • Select Add Row.

      • Select a property Group.

      • Select a Property.

      • Enter a property value in the Value cell.

      • SHARED Tip If a select list was defined for the property, you can select a valid value from the list.

      • Select Save.

    2. To add a pre-defined set of properties, do the following:

      • Select Add Property Set.

      • Select the Property Set.

      • Select Copy.

    3. To remove properties, do the following:

      • Select the property you want to remove.

      • Select Delete Row from the Row Actions burger menu.

      • Select Save.

  4. To approve the inquiry, click Approve.

    What happens when approving an inquiry?

    The following actions are triggered by the inquiry approval.

    1. Approving an inquiry means that the quote summaries for all assigned bidders are created and no more changes can be applied to the inquiry.

    2. Depending on the Summarize Line Items indicator, identical material over different requisition supplements will either be summed up or placed on individual quote details.

    3. The default values of Weight Unit, Volume Unit, Required Delivery Date on the quote detail level are fetched from the values of the project defaults ZX_WEIGHT, ZX_VOLUME, and ZP_X_WEEKS.

    4. If ZP_EXPLICR is set to Y, Export License Required is set to Yes and % Domestic Production to 0 on quote details. If ZP_EXPLICR is set to N, Export License Required is set to No and % Domestic Production to 100.

    5. The commercial evaluation checklists and other costs assigned to the inquiry are attached to the quote summaries.

    6. The technical evaluation checklists assigned to the inquiry and its line items are copied to the quote summaries or quote details. If any quote detail / requisition line item requires a technical evaluation, the whole quote summary is marked as 'technical evaluation required'.

    7. The documents, VDRs, and text and terms assigned to the inquiry are copied to the quote summaries. VDRs and properties that are assigned to the requisition or its line items are copied to the quote summary or the quote details.

    8. If you have properties assigned to a bidder, they are copied to the quote summary.

    9. Data entered for Price Breakdown and Alternates/Options are transferred to the quote summaries.

    10. If project default ZP_EN_ACT is set to Yes, invitation emails are sent to all bidders as follows:

      • Email is sent to bidders with RFQ Email set to Yes on the Bidders tab.

      • If project default ZP_USE_CON is set to No, company email address is used which is defined under Addresses > Communication Links on the Companies page with communication type RFQ_EMAIL.

      • If project default ZP_USE_CON is set to Yes, user email address is used which is defined under Company Contacts > Communication Links on the Companies page.

      • Email is sent to all contacts specified in Email Recipients on the Bidders tab.

      • Email is created using template assigned to project default ZP_EMT_RQS (inquiry supplement  0) or ZP_EMT_RQM (higher inquiry supplement).  

    11. Additional emails are sent to all potential bidders, see Define mailing list for more information.

    Prerequisites to approve an inquiry:

    • You must have the ALLOW INQUIRY APPROVAL privilege.

    • At least one bidder must be assigned to the inquiry.

    • At least one requisition must be assigned to the inquiry.

    • If project default ZP_SUPAPRV is set to Y, the list of bidders must be approved, which means the Bidders Approved check box must be set.

    • On an inquiry supplement greater 0 (zero), the Reason for Supplement must be entered.

    • If project default ZP_ADD_RQD is set to Y, at least one addendum must be specified for an Inquiry supplement greater 0 (zero).

  5. Alternatively, click Approval Sequence to approve or reject the inquiry.

    For more information see Approval Sequence.

    Configure Approval Sequence

    To define the approval sequence, do the following:

    1. Select Configure Approval Sequence.

    2. To use an existing template for the approval sequence, select Use Template, select a template from the Approval Template list, and select Copy.

    3. In the Configure Approval Sequence dialog, select Add Row.

    4. Enter the sequence number in the Seq cell.

    5. Select a User from the list.

    6. Select a user Title from the list.

    7. Optionally, select a Distribution Category from the list.

    8. Select Save.

    9. To define approval prerequisites for a user, select the user name in the User cell and do the following:

      1. Select Add Row.

      2. Enter the sequence number in the Seq cell.

      3. Select a User from the list.

      4. Select Save and close the dialog

      Yes is shown in Prerequisites. This means, the approvers defined as prerequisites must have approved before the user can approve.

    10. Close the Configure Approval Sequence dialog.

    Approve or Reject

    To approve or reject, do the following:

    1. In the Approval Sequence dialog, select your user name.

    2. Optionally, enter a Comment and select Save Comment.

    3. To attach a document, select Upload > Browse in the Upload dialog, select a file and close the dialog.

    4. Select Approve to approve or click Reject to reject.

    SHARED Tip If you have the ENFORCE APPROVAL privilege, you can select Enforce Approval to enforce an approval though not all persons on the approval sequence have approved.

    Reverse Approval

    To reverse an approval, do the following:

    1. Select Reverse Approval.

    2. Enter the reason for reversal in the Reason box.

    3. Select Reverse Approval.

    After setting up the approval sequence, the Approve button is no longer enabled.

  6. To reverse the approval of an inquiry, click Reverse Approval.

    What happens if you reverse the approval of an inquiry?

    When reversing the approval of the inquiry, the following changes are applied:

    • all quote summaries and details for this inquiry will be deleted,

    • Approved On, Approved By, and Issue Date will be cleared,

    • the Bidders Approved check box will be cleared,

    • the actual date of the milestone for the 'Inquiry Approval' event will be deleted. But this is only done for inquiries with supplement 0 (zero) and if the project default ZP_MS_TRCK is set to Y (this is, automatic milestone tracking).

    You can only reverse the inquiry approval if:

    • you have the ALLOW INQUIRY APPROVAL privilege,

    • no higher inquiry supplement exists,

    • no agreement was created for this inquiry,

    • in case of an inquiry-only inquiry, no purchase requisition has been created based on the associated quotes.