The last 6 months have brought lots of changes. We have added more buyers and suppliers than ever before and we have developed and released small to large product updates that we hope have improved your experience. Alongside new features, work was done on several existing key areas to make our platform more user friendly and to incorporate valuable feedback directly from you, our users.
AOG
New AOG Flow. This is seamless for AOG buyers but we have introduced a new AOG request/response flow whereby buyers are immediately notified when an invited supplier is able to support a most urgent part request. Before entering their quotes suppliers are promptly asked to submit the location of the requested part and contact info.
"WANTS TO BID" Tag. This indicator is shown in the Bids Summary view as a result of the new AOG flow described above. Parts location and missing contact information is collected right away to allow buyers to call or click to message the supplier.
"LIKELY TO BID" Tag. Powered by our new Recommendation Engine, for AOG requests, the platform is able to tag potential suppliers that may have requested parts as "Likely to Bid" in the Bids Summary View table so that buyers can reach out to confirm availability.
Creating RFQs & Inviting Suppliers
Industry Standard Templates. Multiple adjustments to field templates and formulas to better reflect industry standard practices
New and Improved Copy RFQ functionality. Overhauled "Copy RFQ" feature. It is now much easier to use previous RFQs as templates to create new ones and speed up the process. Improvements include: Option to exclude the previously entered list of part numbers from the copy, Excluding RFQ notes from copy, Remembering the last selected folder, Refreshing the list of invited supplier contacts with latest updates from SRM
Unarchive RFQs. It is possible to unarchive previously archived RFQs.
Bid Deadline Timer. Bid deadline was replaced with a timer. Now you do not have to adjust the deadline before submitting, timer is applied to the moment of publishing of the RFQ.
Custom Default Timers. We now support custom timer values per priority. Let us know what are you company standard bidding deadlines for AOG, Urgent or Routine requests and they will be applied by default.
Submit Bids After Deadline. You can now allow suppliers to bid after the bid deadline.
Add Multiple Email Invitees. Inviting suppliers by email is easier and more efficient. You can now copy lists of emails, even if they contain names or other special characters, into the invite field and system will handle the rest.
Recommendation Engine. It uses past bid history, your PO history, if you provided it to us, as well as other market data to identify suppliers who are likely to have the parts you requested. If you decide to use it on a per RFQ basis, the system will automatically discover and invite suppliers to respond to your requests.
Awarding & Bids Summary
Awarding Multiple Suppliers. Several suppliers can now be awarded for any given part.
Bids Summary Excel Download. You can now download the bids comparison table as an Excel file.
New Excel Download Fields. Additional fields have been added to the excel output, including: Bid source (Weblink, Catalog or Supplier quote), Rank (bids are ranked by price and highlighted similar to application view), Availability (no quotes are also included and identified as not available).
Supplier Management & Request Routing
Improved Supplier Relationship Management. The Suppliers management system has been overhauled to make request routing more targeted and information in Suppliers tab more up to date.
Priority Routing. Buyers can now select which supplier contacts should receive specific priority RFQs. For example AOG requests can be routed to suppliers' AOG desk only.
Other Important Changes
Supplier API. A new API was released for suppliers to automate their bids. The API can be used to receive part requests and submit bids automatically and integrate with internal ERP systems to avoid duplicating efforts of entering and responding to requests.
'Qty Offered'. The system will now ask for and capture the Quantity Offered instead of Quantity Available for every request of quote so that Suppliers can provide Buyers a more accurate offer.
Parts Search. Part and RFQ Search functionality has been optimised and extended to support parts found in uploaded catalogs.
Email Notifications. Email notifications for buyer accounts are now off by default.
Country Codes. Entering country codes in phone numbers has been enforced throughout the application to make it easier for buyers to contact suppliers.
Upcoming Features
Product Rebrand & UI Refresh
In the coming months, we will be rolling out a new product UI together with our new product name and brand. You will continue to benefit from the same great functionality you have been using with more to come.
Purchase and Repair Order Management
Good progress has been made on upcoming Orders Management feature. This new product module strives to automate the follow up process, streamline the communication between Buyers and Suppliers and offer a new level of order management. Here is a sneak peak of what is to come 😉
