Tender

The Tender workflow is designed for complex, high-value purchases that require formal bidding processes and multiple evaluation rounds. Unlike RFQs, Tenders support iterative negotiation, allowing you to refine requirements and collect improved proposals across multiple bidding rounds before making an award decision.

Process Overview

flowchart LR
    A[Create Tender] --> B[AI Sourcing]
    B --> C[Finalize Suppliers]
    C --> D[Collect Bids & Proposals]
    D --> E[Evaluate Bids]
    E --> F{Another Round?}
    F -->|Yes| D
    F -->|No| G[Award]
    G --> H[Approval]
    H --> I[PO Created]

How It Works

Create a Tender

An end user initiates a Tender for complex procurement requirements. The submission includes:

Detailed scope of work or technical specifications
Evaluation criteria and weightings
Submission requirements (technical proposals, commercial bids, compliance documents)
Timeline with multiple milestone dates
Budget range or estimated contract value

Tenders typically involve higher-value purchases where you need to evaluate both capability and pricing comprehensively.

AI Supplier Sourcing

ProcureFlow's AI identifies qualified suppliers based on:

Historical performance: Past participation, award rates, and delivery track record
Category expertise: Suppliers with proven experience in similar complex projects
Compliance status: Suppliers meeting your organization's qualification requirements
Capacity assessment: Suppliers capable of handling the scope and timeline

The AI generates a recommended supplier list, prioritizing those most likely to submit competitive and compliant proposals.

Finalize Supplier Invitations

As the procurement officer, you review the AI recommendations and make the final decision on which suppliers to invite. You can:

Accept the AI recommendations as-is
Add pre-qualified suppliers from your approved vendor list
Remove suppliers based on current commitments or strategic considerations
Require suppliers to acknowledge participation before the formal bidding begins

Once finalized, ProcureFlow sends formal Tender invitations to all selected suppliers with complete submission requirements.

Suppliers Submit Bids and Proposals

Invited suppliers access the Tender through the Supplier Portal and submit their responses. Each submission typically includes:

Technical proposal: Approach, methodology, team composition, and project plan
Commercial bid: Pricing breakdown, payment milestones, and total cost
Compliance documents: Certifications, references, and mandatory declarations

Suppliers can ask clarification questions through the portal. All Q&A is logged and shared with other participants to maintain fairness.

Evaluate Bids

ProcureFlow supports comprehensive bid evaluation across multiple dimensions:

Evaluation Type	What It Measures
Technical	Proposal quality, methodology, team capability, past performance
Commercial	Pricing competitiveness, payment terms, total cost of ownership
Compliance	Mandatory requirements, certifications, risk factors

Each evaluator scores independently, and ProcureFlow aggregates results while flagging significant scoring variations for discussion. The system also detects anomalies (such as unrealistic pricing or incomplete submissions) for your review.

Decide on Additional Bidding Rounds

After evaluation, you assess whether the current submissions meet your requirements or if another round would yield better outcomes. Consider opening another round when:

No submission fully meets technical requirements
Pricing is above budget and negotiation could help
Clarifications revealed scope gaps that suppliers should address
Competition is close and a refined round could differentiate proposals

If you proceed with another round, suppliers receive feedback on areas for improvement and submit revised proposals. The evaluation cycle repeats until you're satisfied with the submissions.

Tip: Most Tenders require 2-3 rounds to reach optimal outcomes. ProcureFlow tracks all versions, so you maintain full visibility into how proposals evolved.

Award Decision

Once you've completed all bidding rounds, you make the final award decision based on cumulative evaluation scores. ProcureFlow supports:

Single award: One supplier wins the entire contract
Split award: Divide scope across multiple suppliers based on capability or risk considerations

The system generates an award recommendation with supporting analysis, but the final decision is always yours.

Approval Workflow

The award decision routes through your organization's approval chain. For high-value Tenders, this typically involves multiple approval levels. Approvers can:

Review complete proposal comparisons across all rounds
See evaluation scores and justification for the recommended supplier(s)
Access all submitted documents and Q&A history
Approve, reject, or request additional information

Approval workflows are configurable based on contract value, category, or strategic importance.

Purchase Order Created

Upon final approval, ProcureFlow generates Purchase Orders or contract documents for each awarded supplier. These include:

Agreed scope of work and deliverables
Pricing and payment milestones
Terms and conditions specific to the contract
Reference to the Tender for complete audit trail

Suppliers receive notification through the portal with next steps for contract execution.