Hannah Foote
Scout provides you with two options to start reverse Auctions:
- Go direct to Auction with your Suppliers (i.e. build an Auction from scratch), or
- Run a Sourcing Event (i.e. RFP), then go to Auction with the Suppliers and price sheets run through that Event.
Here, we'll discuss how to start an Auction using either of these options.
Go Direct to Auction
Starting a new Auction is easy! To build an Auction from scratch, simply click the Start Auction button from the action bar at the bottom of your Scout Events page:
Doing so will bring you to the Auction edit page where you can build the Auction you'd like to run. There, you'll be able to:
- Enter Auction information and/or participation guidelines for suppliers to follow
- Set a timeline
- Designate minimum bid decrements
- Invite both Suppliers and Stakeholders
- And more!
Read our Build Auctions article to learn more about how to build and run Auctions in Scout.
Start Auctions from Events
Event Criteria
Auctions can be created from previously run Sourcing Events (i.e. RFPs), or what we call "closed events", in Scout. You can start an Auction from a closed event if:
- Your RFP included a price sheet
- 2+ suppliers submitted bids to your RFP
- Bid submissions included completed price sheets
- Your RFP has been run and is now closed (i.e. the Bid Submission Deadline has passed)
- The Worksheet included columns for: Title, Quantity, Unit of Measure, and Price with Calculate Total on Price selected.
Generate the Auction
If your event meets these criteria, you can generate an auction based on the event. To do so:
- Open the closed event's dashboard from your Events Dashboard page
- Expand the drop down arrow next to the "Download" button and click "Build Auction".
- Build the auction that you would like to run!
Once you click "Build Auction", your new auction will be generated and its auction edit page will open.
There, you will be able to select some or all of the suppliers who submitted bids in your event to participate in the auction, and the prices they submitted will be translated into their starting, or "original", bid.
Read our Build Auctions from RFPs article to learn more!
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