Hannah Foote
Your team’s internal data is important for effectively analyzing bids in Scout. Use Reference Columns in Scout DNA to strategically compare Supplier bids against your own data.
In this article we will cover:
What are Reference Columns?
Reference columns are buyer-side only columns that you set up on the Analysis page in Scout. Reference Columns are the data points that you will look at in comparison to the received Bids from Suppliers. Reference Columns never show to Suppliers. Reference columns can be added after an RFx/Event is published and before suppliers submit bids.
Reference Column Value
With Reference Columns, you can always easily see what figures you want Supplier data to be compared against.
Examples of common data points put into Reference Columns are:
- Target Savings
- Baseline Spend
- Incumbent Supplier
- Historical Unit Price
How to Set up Reference Columns in Scout DNA
To begin, first access the closed Event that you would like to run Analysis on. Next, locate the Analyze Bids button on the Supplier Panel next to Compare Bids:
From here, you will be brought to the Bid Analysis page. To create your reference columns, open the “Analytics Toolbox” and select the “Edit” button for Edit Columns.
Click the “Add Column” button to begin configuring your reference columns.
You can return after each Column Name to create multiple columns at once, or copy and paste in header names from Excel. Set the Analysis Type to “Reference”, and then specify the type of data that will be entered for your reference columns (if creating multiple, the data Type can be edited individually later). Click “Save” to create these columns in your data table.
Your newly created column/s will appear in the references section of your datatable. You can now manually enter in data, or copy and paste from Excel.
In DNA, you also have the option to create formula columns using your reference data. To do so, click “Add Columns”, set Analysis Type to “Reference” a Type to “formula”, then click Save.
Next, edit the new formula column to set up the calculation. You will see all numerical or currency reference columns you have created as an option to include in your formula.
Conclusion
When you have completed inputting your reference data, click “Save and Exit” to exit DNA Edit Mode. Do not forget to map the columns you have created if you are using this data as the baseline costs to compare your Supplier Bids too.
For more on Scout DNA, click here.