Create Opportunities

The Vendor Management (VM) solution provides a guided, automated experience for contracting professionals to create and update opportunities, and for vendors to submit proposals to opportunities. After an opportunity is created, simple, informative record interfaces, enabled by Appian Records, lets end users view and update this information.

Create and navigate a new opportunity in VM

Creating a new opportunity in Vendor Management (VM) is a guided experience that walks you through the process of entering the information you need to start the procurement process. Once initiated, the opportunity wizard guides you through the following steps:

1. Import from SAM.gov.
2. Enter general information.
3. Provide additional details.
4. Upload opportunity attachments.
5. Specify required proposal documents.
6. Post the opportunity.
7. Post an opportunity to ESBD.
8. Post an opportunity to SAM.gov.

To create a new opportunity, you must be a member of the AS VM Create or Update Opportunity PM Access security group. By default, the Contracting groups belong to this security group.

Create a new opportunity in VM

To start a new opportunity in Vendor Management (VM), click + CREATE OPPORTUNITY from the Home or Opportunities page. The page contains the various data collection steps required to create a new opportunity. You can click NEXT to go to the next step, or SAVE & CLOSE to save a draft of the opportunity.

After you enter the information, it populates on the Opportunity record.

Import from SAM.gov

When creating an opportunity, you have the option to import an existing opportunity using SAM.gov and automatically populate your Create Opportunity wizard. Click SKIP STEP 1 to skip the import from SAM.gov and create your opportunity manually.

To pull in opportunity information from SAM.gov:

1. Enter the opportunity ID in the search box and click SEARCH.
2. If an opportunity is found, verify the information.
3. Click the opportunity to confirm the selection.
4. Click NEXT.

Enter general information

Next, enter details relevant to the new opportunity, such as the ID, opportunity title, description, and instructions. If you import from SAM.gov, the system automatically populates these fields.

To enter general information about the opportunity:

1. Enter ID, Title, Description, and Instructions for the goods or services you are procuring.
2. Select your Department/Ind. Agency, Division/Sub-Tier, and Office. These fields provide context about who the contract is for.

3. Select a Type, Response Due Date, Response Due Timezone, Question Due Date, and Question Due Timezone. These values determine the submission deadlines for vendor proposals and questions.

   • Note: The response due date and time must be later than the question due date and time.

4. If the new opportunity is a sealed bid, select Yes in the Sealed Bid field.

   1. Select a Proposal Opening Date, Proposal Opening Time, and Proposal Opening Timezone.

      • Note: The proposal opening date and time must be later than the response due date and time.

      

5. Select the Opportunity Visibility. This field determines whether your opportunity displays to all vendors or only selected vendors.

   • When you set the visibility to Private, you can choose to which vendors and vendor groups the opportunity is visible.

   

6. Click NEXT.

Provide additional details

The Details page is where you can add details about the opportunity. You can provide an address for the Place of Performance, input NAICS, and NIGP or PSC codes, and select Set Aside Codes for the opportunity.

To provide additional details for the opportunity:

1. Add NAICS Code and NAICS Code Description.

2. Add NIGP Code and NIGP Code Description or PSC Code and PSC Code Description.

   • Note: The NIGP codes are applicable for State and Local Government only. At least one NIGP code and description is mandatory for Texas Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD). The PSC codes are applicable for Federal only.
3. Select Set Aside Codes from the dropdown.
4. Provide an address for the Place of Performance.
5. Click NEXT.

Upload opportunity attachments

The Attachments page enables you to upload documents and forms to the opportunity for vendors to view and fill out.

To upload the attachments for the opportunity:

1. Click UPLOAD.
2. Using the Upload button, upload up to 15 documents. Your users and vendors can view and download these documents from the Opportunity Summary page.
3. Click UPLOAD.

4. Enter a Description for each uploaded document.

   • Note: The Description field is editable only when ESBD integration is enabled.
5. Click NEXT.

Specify required proposal documents

The Required Proposal Documents page enables you to add documents that vendors need to submit with their proposal and indicate whether there are forms that need completion.

To add a required proposal document to your opportunity:

1. Click + Add Required Document.
2. Enter a Document Name.
3. If the document is a Form that vendors must fill out, select one of the uploaded attachments.
4. To add more documents, repeat step 1 or use Blue Trash icon to delete entries.

Create an opportunity from a solicitation in AM

You can create an opportunity in VM from a solicitation that is in Released status in AM.

To create an opportunity from a solicitation in AM:

1. Access the AM solution and open a solicitation that is in Released status.

2. From the Solicitation Summary page, in the Posted Solicitation section, click Create Opportunity.

   

   • Note: When the Create Opportunity wizard opens, the solicitation data from AM pre-populates in the applicable fields in the Create Opportunity screen in VM. The fields such as ID, Title, Description, Department, Response Due Date, and Response Due Timezone display the solicitation data from AM.
3. Enter other necessary data in the General Information section.
4. Click NEXT.
5. In the Details section, notice the NIGP or PSC and NAICS codes display data from solicitation.
6. Enter other necessary data in the Details section.

7. Click NEXT. The Attachments section contains documents from the solicitation. Delete any documents that are not required.

   1. If you need those deleted solicitation documents later, click IMPORT FROM SOLICITATION.
   2. Select the checkbox associated with the documents you want to import.
   3. Click IMPORT.
8. Click UPLOAD to browse, select, and upload any documents needed for the opportunity, then click UPLOAD.

9. Enter a Description for each uploaded document.

   • Note: The Description field is editable only when Texas Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD) integration is enabled.
10. Click NEXT.
11. In the Required Proposal Documents section, click + Add Required Document to upload the required documents.
12. Click NEXT to complete the creation and post the opportunity.

Create an opportunity from a solicitation in GCW

You can create an opportunity in VM from a solicitation that is in Released status in GCW.

To create an opportunity from a solicitation in GCW:

1. In the GCW solution, navigate to MY WORKSPACE or PROCUREMENTS.
2. Select the Solicitations tab to view the Solicitations list.

3. Locate the solicitation that you want to create an opportunity for and click the link to open it.

   • Note: You can only create an opportunity from a solicitation that is in Released status.

4. From the Solicitation Summary page, go to Integrations > Vendor Management and click Create.

   

   • Note: When the Create Opportunity wizard opens in VM, the solicitation data from GCW pre-populates in the related opportunity fields, and those fields appear disabled.

     A message appears with a link to the solicitation in GCW, where you can make changes to those fields if needed.

     

     The Sealed Bid field appears disabled when creating an opportunity from a solicitation in GCW.

5. Enter other necessary data in the General Information section and click NEXT.

   • Note: In the Details section, notice the NIGP or PSC and NAICS codes display data from the solicitation.
6. Enter other necessary data in the Details section and click NEXT.

7. In the Attachments section, delete any documents that are not required for this opportunity.

   • Note: When the Create Opportunity wizard opens in VM, the solicitation documents from GCW are made available in the new opportunity.

   • If the available solicitation documents are required for this opportunity, click IMPORT FROM SOLICITATION, select the checkbox associated with the documents you want to import, and click IMPORT.

8. Click UPLOAD to browse, select, and upload any documents needed for the opportunity, then click UPLOAD.
9. Click NEXT.
10. In the Required Proposal Documents section, click + Add Required Document to upload the required documents.
11. Click NEXT to create and post the opportunity.

Post the opportunity in VM

In Vendor Management (VM), to post the opportunity:

1. Review the details you have entered.

   • Note: For sealed bid opportunities, the Sealed Bid and Opportunity Visibility fields are disabled after the opportunity is posted.
2. Verify that there is no missing information and there are no validation messages.

3. When you are ready, click CREATE or POST to finish creating the opportunity and make it visible to vendors.

   • Note: When the opportunity is created directly in VM, the CREATE button appears. When the opportunity is created from a solicitation in Award Management (AM) or Government Contract Writing (GCW), the POST button appears.

Once you have posted the opportunity, a confirmation message displays indicating that the opportunity has started. From here, you can close and track vendors' progress.

Public opportunity posting to ESBD

Post an opportunity to ESBD

Once an opportunity is created and made public, you can post it to the ESBD site, if applicable.

To post a public opportunity to ESBD:

1. From the Opportunities List, locate and click the opportunity to drill down to the Summary View.

   • Note: At least one NIGP code and description is mandatory for Texas ESBD.

2. From the Summary view, in the ESBD Solicitation section, click Post.

   

   1. On the Post to ESBD dialog, select the ESBD Posting Requirement from the dropdown.
   2. Enter a Contact Number.

   3. Select the ESBD Attachments.

      • Note: Attachments are mandatory when the posting requirement is less than 14 days or 14-21 days from the opportunity due date.
   4. Enter the Estimated Amount.
   5. Click POST.

   

3. Notice that the opportunity is posted to ESBD.

   

4. Click the link to view the posted opportunity in the ESBD site.

Once an opportunity is posted to the Texas ESBD site, the DAT file containing the details of the posted opportunity is created and stored in your SFTP folder.

View details of ESBD post

Once an opportunity is posted to the Texas ESBD site, you can view its details in VM.

To view the ESBD posting details of a public opportunity:

1. From the Opportunities List, locate and click the opportunity to drill down to the Summary View.
2. From the Summary view, in the ESBD Solicitation section, click Vertical Ellipsis icon.

3. Click View Details.

   

   1. On the View Details dialog, view the details of the ESBD posting, such as ESBD Posting Requirement, Contact Number, Original Post Date, and Estimated Amount.
   2. Click CLOSE.

   

Public opportunity posting to SAM.gov

Post an opportunity to SAM.gov

An active public opportunity can be posted to SAM.gov. Private opportunities cannot be posted to SAM.gov.

To post a public opportunity to SAM.gov:

1. From the Opportunities List, locate and click the opportunity to drill down to the Summary View.

2. From the Summary view, in the SAM.gov Solicitation section, click Publish.

   

   1. On the Publish to SAM.gov dialog, select the Archival Type from the dropdown.

      1. If Archival Type is Autocustom, select the Archival Date.

         • Note: Archival Date must be greater than the opportunity response due date.
   2. Select Additional Reporting from the dropdown.

   3. Click Publish.

      

View details of SAM.gov post

Once an opportunity is posted to SAM.gov, you can view its details in VM.

To view the SAM.gov posting details of a public opportunity:

1. From the Opportunities List, locate and click the opportunity to drill down to the Summary View.
2. From the Summary view, in the SAM.gov Solicitation section, click Vertical Ellipsis icon.

3. Click View Details.

   

   1. On the View Details dialog, view the details of the SAM.gov posting, such as Archive Type, Additional Reporting, and Original Post Date.
   2. Click CLOSE.

   

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