In a sealed bid tender, your bid is visible to no one until the envelope opens: not to your competitors and not to the buyer that opened the tender. The lock is not only on screen; until the envelope opens, bids are not sent to any user at the buyer company, including administrators.
What it gives you
- Your price cannot be passed on to a competitor, and the buyer cannot see your price and set up the tender again. You can give your best price with confidence.
- You can update or withdraw your bid until the bid deadline; since the buyer cannot see it, this has no effect on competition.
- Everyone bids with the same information: the buyer's clarifications are published to all suppliers at the same time in the FAQ and addenda.
When the envelope opens
- Automatically when the bid deadline passes.
- Or earlier, but only if all suppliers expected to bid have bid. In that case the buyer can open the envelope before time is up, and your bid is locked at that moment.
When the envelope opens, you receive a "Your Bid Is Under Evaluation" email and your tender page shows "Evaluation Stage".
After the envelope opens
- You never see competitors' prices at any stage.
- The buyer may start a new round. If it does and calls you, you receive an email; in some tenders your rank is also shown, but prices are not. Details: New round invitation.
- The buyer may correct a term written missing or wrong in your bid (payment terms, delivery, shipping, warranty) for its own evaluation. The price you entered does not change.
Do not leave it to the last minute
Submit your bid early, then update it if needed. If you have a connection problem at the last minute, a bid is not accepted after time is up.
Still stuck?
Tell us what you see on screen and we will look at it together.