Online Reverse Auction Bidder's Guide - Ariba
The purpose of this guide is to supplement the "All you need to know about Western Power's
Ariba e-Procurement system" guide (available at http://www.westernpower.com.au/suppliersand-tenderers-tendering.html) which provides information for suppliers on how to submit
tenders in Ariba. This guide provides suppliers with additional information to make your
online bidding experience as successful as possible.
What is a Reverse Auction?
A reverse auction is a competitive bidding event for line items and/or lots. You may be asked
to submit a "pre-bid" for lots or items during a defined period, and will then be able to submit
a final bid during the reverse auction period.
Item and Lot Pricing
Within the auction you may be requested to submit prices at item and/or lot level. Lots are
groups of goods/services and will either require unit pricing to be submitted for all items
within a lot, or require a total lot price only. Where you submit a total price only, you may be
required to provide unit pricing after the auction is complete.
You may be required to enter lot pricing for multiple lots at one time; alternatively lots may be
staggered sequentially so you will bid on one lot at a time.
How to Select a Lot or Item
After registering your intent to participate in the event you can navigate to the "Select Lots"
section of the auction. Select the items you wish to place a bid on and then click "Submit
Selected Lots".
You can now enter pricing for items and lots as per the requirements of the auction. Some
basic examples are shown below.
Placing Valid Bids
A valid bid is accepted when the bid meets the minimum decrement bid requirement. The
decrement is the minimum amount of decrease for which a valid bid will be accepted. A valid
bid can exceed the minimum decrement bid amount.
You cannot revert to a higher bid amount from your previously placed bids. It is important to
note that you will need to submit a pre-bid in the preview phase of the Auction.
Entering a pre-bid is good practice to demonstrate that you have an understanding on how to
place a bid. The pre-bid will not be visible to other suppliers. Once the Auction begins your
pre bid will be used to determine your initial ranking.
Bid Exceptions, Rejections and Invalidations
A bid must be in a numeric value. A decimal point will need to be placed to represent the
cent values. A bid can be rejected or declared invalid in a few instances, if you place:
- a bid that is higher than the ceiling price;
- a bid that is higher than or equal to your previous bid, it will be rejected; and
- a bid that is a tie with the current low bid or within one decrement of the current low bid, will
be rejected, and noted on your screen as either a Tie Bid or Bid Decrement Violation;
If you submit a bid that is greater than 10% lower that your previous bid, the system will
trigger a warning message (This is to ensure that you have not accidentally placed a bid that
is too low). To proceed with the submission of this bid, confirm that bid is valid; and submit.
Clearing a Bid Rejection or Violation
To clear a Bid Rejection or Violation:
- Read error message; and
- Adjust bid accordingly and submit valid bid
It is recommended that you practice these actions during the Demo Auction, by deliberately
forcing a Bid violation, and then clearing the violation by using one of the techniques detailed
above. This can be organised by the Sourcing Specialist running the event.
Changing an Errant Bid Amount
During an Auction, you may accidentally place a bid amount that does not reflect your
intentions. It is often caused by hastily clicking the bid button, hitting the enter key on the
computer keyboard while typing in the bid, leaving a zero (0) out, or misplacing the decimal
point. Therefore it is very important that all bids are checked for accuracy and placed with
extreme care.
If you believe an error has occurred you can request that your bid placement be invalidated,
with permission from the Western Power Sourcing Specialist; by phone notification during the
LIVE Auction. The Sourcing Specialist contact information will be provided to you before the
Auction. It is suggested that you record this number, just in case you need the contact the
Sourcing Specialist during the Auction.
NOTE: Any bid retrieval will be subject to approval from Western Power. Simply requesting
bid retrieval does not guarantee that the bid will be invalidated. If a bid is invalidated and
reverts to the previous bid, you will receive an email notification. An audit record of this bid
change will be available after the Auction.
Final Minutes and Extension Times
During the final minutes of the Auction, please monitor the event clock. This will notify you
that the Auction will close in a short period of time, as indicated on the Bidding screen, if no
other bids are placed. If a new valid, competing bid is placed in the final Extension Time, you
will see an additional period of time added to the Auction. This allows all Bidders to assess
the change in bids and elect to place a counter bid, if they choose. Bidders will be advised of
the final extension time period and the additional time period during the Demo Auction.
NOTE: Only items that receive a bid will be extended, any items that do not receive a bid in
the last minutes will automatically close and no further bidding will be permitted for those
items.
Live Auction Online Chat and Message Board
During the Auction Bidders are able to communicate with Western Power's Sourcing
Specialist through the compose message button shown below:
NOTE: Questions should only be in relation to submitting a bid through the Auction and
should not relate to the scope of the project. Bidders are also able to contact Western
Power's Sourcing Specialist via the telephone contact number provided.
Lodging Bids in the last 30 Seconds
There is no point or advantage in placing a bid in the last 30 seconds of an Auction, as any
bidding activities received on time will automatically extend the Auction for another extension
period.
By delaying your bid, you run the risk that any network delays could mean that your bid is not
received before the Auction closes. If no bid activity is received during the final extension
period, the LIVE Auction will close.
Bidders are hereby notified that a bid placed within 30 seconds of the closing time of the
Auction may not be received in time due to the lag time in transmission from your PC to
Western Power. This time lag is controlled by the Internet and your PC’s connectivity and is
not inherent in the Auction program being used by Western Power
You must place any final bids before the last 30 seconds of the Auction. The Live Auction
will not close unless there is no bid activity during the final extension period, so you can’t
“beat the clock.” This notification of final bid placement is to ensure that you are aware that
bids lodged in the final 30 seconds of the Auction might not be received in time.
Pausing the Auction
The Western Power Sourcing Specialist reserves the right to pause an Auction at any time
during a live auction for any reason. If an Auction is paused you will be sent a notification via
the online Message Board and by email. Once the issue has been resolved, the Auction will
recommence and you will receive online notification and an email notification.
Email Notifications
It is important that you maintain a close watch on your email inbox during the course of an
Auction, so that you are aware of any notifications that have been sent by the Western
Power during the course of the live auction. The Western Power Sourcing Specialist will also
be checking for any emails from registered Bidders.
Conclusion
Western Power would like to thank you for participating in the upcoming live Auction. You
are invited to call the Sourcing Specialist with any additional questions you may have before,
during and after the Auction.