Management of received proposals on a Request for Proposals

In this article

• Access the proposals
• View the proposals and make your choice
  • Sort the proposals
  • Navigating through each proposal
  • Plan a meeting
  • Select an expertise
  • Statement of Work (SoW)

Access the proposals

This section explains how to access the proposals you received, and not only their statuses.

From the operations home page

1. On the Home page, click the number of proposals received for a Request for Proposal (RFP).

2. You will see the full list of proposals linked to that RFP, along with their status.

From the list of Requests for Proposals

1. Go to the RFPs tab, then click My RFPs.

2. In the RFP list, find one marked as Published with proposals.

3. Open the menu and click See all proposals.

4. You will be directed to all proposals received, with the Status column displayed.

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View the proposals and make your choice

Sort the proposals

In the grid, you can compare proposals using the available columns and filters:

• Status: to understand each proposal status, see the dedicated article.
• Company: identify whether the proposal comes from a service provider or a freelancer, whether they are preferred, and filter accordingly.
• Availability: the date the supplier can start the project.
• Location: the supplier’s country.
• Submitted price: the proposed rate is compared with the maximum budget in your RFP and is displayed in green if below budget, or red if above budget.
• Subcontracting: check the declared subcontracting status for each project, then sort and filter results.
• Clause: if a clause is set up in the relevant entity and you receive proposals, you can view the clause acceptance date and time in the proposal details to track compliance.
• Eco-certified: identify consulting firms that prioritize sustainable development and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
• Disability status: identify service providers who have declared a disability situation.
• Research Tax Credit (CIR): identify consulting firms eligible for the Research Tax Credit based on their R&D expertise.

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Navigating through each proposal

To review and qualify a proposal, click it or open the action menu and click View Details. This opens a module showing the proposal. You can use tabs to review key details and arrows to move between proposals.

The tabs available on the proposal page are:

• Profile: resume (if available) and consultant profile details.
• Proposal: proposal details completed by the supplier (rate, availability date, sales pitch, daily fees if applicable, and contact information), plus submission and last modification dates.
• Messages: messages between you (or colleagues) and the business manager or freelancer.
• Negotiation (if activated in your account): appears if the Negotiation module premium feature is enabled.

Qualify a proposal

On the right side of the proposal module, you will find key elements to support your decision:

1. Action buttons: available options depend on your evaluation step.
2. An evaluation workflow: shows where you are in the qualification process.
3. A comparison table: compares rate and availability date with the RFP.
4. Internal notes: add a comment for colleagues. You can edit or delete it until a proposal is appointed.
5. RFP details: opens a panel with the main project information.

Each proposal has a status indicating its stage. For details, see the relevant article (proposal status).

You can qualify a proposal in three ways:

• Interesting: shortlist the profile. Once marked as interesting, you can select it and complete the form. Then use the action button in the top-right corner:
  • Send selection to buyer: if the amount is higher than or equal to the buyer validation threshold (and a buyer validation workflow applies), the status becomes Selected. The buyer must Approve it to appoint the profile and create the project.
  • Validate and create project: if the amount is below the buyer validation threshold (and purchase request (PR) is not activated), the status becomes Appointed. You can follow the project in the Projects tab.
  • Validate and send PR: if the amount is below the buyer validation threshold and the PR option is activated (without a custom workflow), the status becomes Appointed and a PR is created.
• Not interesting: remove the proposal from the selection process and select a reason:
  • Out of budget
  • Availability issue
  • Skills problem
  • Not enough experience
  • Other (specify)
• Spam: the submitted profile does not match your need (for example, a junior Java developer proposal when you are looking for a junior project manager). You must provide a reason so feedback can be shared with the provider.

If you mark a proposal as interesting, you can message the supplier privately, schedule an interview, or select them directly.

Approval by the RFP buyer

As a buyer, after reviewing the proposal selected by the operational manager, click Unselect if it does not fit, or Review to open the approval form. If the form is correct, click the validation button (wording depends on your workflow):

• Validate project creation: if the purchase request option is deactivated. The status becomes Appointed and the project is created.
• Validate and send PR: if the PR option is activated without a custom workflow. The status becomes Appointed and the project is created.
• Validate and send to operational: if the PR option is activated with a custom workflow. The status becomes Approved and the project is created. The operational manager must then appoint the proposal and complete any custom fields.

Plan a meeting

After you qualify a proposal as interesting, you can schedule a meeting with the supplier from the platform:

1. Click Make an appointment.
2. Enter the date, time, duration, and location. Add a message if needed, then click Validate.

To track the meeting status, go to the RFP tab and click Interviews. Until the supplier responds, it stays under Interviews awaiting approval. After confirmation, it appears under Future interviews.

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Select an expertise

After interviews, select the proposal that best fits your needs:

• Click the relevant proposal, already marked as interesting.
• In the window that opens, click Select *.
• In the validation window, enter the start and end date of the Purchase Order (PO) agreed with the supplier, the PO number, and the number of working units (WU). Then click Validate.

If a validation workflow requires a buyer to approve the selection, the buyer is notified and must validate it before the project can start.

After validation, the selected supplier receives a notification. Other suppliers who responded to the RFP are also notified that the project is now closed.

Statement of Work (SoW)

When the Statement of Work (SoW) feature is activated in your account, it helps streamline your procurement process. A SoW is a document that includes information from both parties (client and supplier) and the details of the project to be delivered.

The SoW supports purchase requests and helps justify purchases. It allows you, as a client, to create a complete and accurate SoW directly from the selected supplier’s proposal.

Read the dedicated article here.