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Bid Management Administrator Guide

Bid Management module administration is done in the M-Files Admin tool. These settings are required for Bid Management to function properly and are used to control outbound notifications for Bid Management. All Bid Management Configurations for M-Files are located on the following navigation path:

> Configurations | Other Applications | TEAM.MConnect | Bid Management Notification Configs

This Guide describes only those settings that apply to the Bid Management module, and each is described below.

M-FilesAdmin

SMTP From Email Override​

The system will use this value as the "From" email address for all outgoing Bid Management messages. Each Project within Construction Management requires a "Project Email", and Bid Management can default to this project-level value or you can provide a unique address here which will override that. To set a global value which will override the project-level setting, click the gear icon to the right of ther setting and the M-Files Placeholder Editor will appear. Simply type in the email address you want to use and click OK.

To instead use the Project Email value dynamically from each project, click the gear icon to open the M-Files Placeholder Editor. Clicking Insert Placeholder will add empty brackets for you { }, and then type Project.Project within and a menu of options will appear. Select Project Email. Now the placeholder will read, {Project.Project Email}.

M-FilesAdmin

The Placeholder Editor used here follows the same rules as the Notification Template Placeholder Editor in M-Files. See the M-Files Documentation for more information on how the Placeholder Editor works.

SMTP From Name Override​

Click the gear icon to the right of this setting to specify the From Email Name to use. The M-Files Placeholder Editor will appear and allow you to enter the value (see above). The value specified can be an any text value or you can use the Insert Placeholder button and specify a dynamic property such as Project Owner or Project Title. All outgoing messages from the system will use this value as the From Email Name for outgoing Bid Management messages.

Bid Event Configurations​

Bid Management has a set of Events which create outbound email notifications. Each event that generates an outbound email is listed here in the configuration panel.

M-FilesAdmin

Each Event has the same three settings which help determine how the outbound message will be formatted. Below you can see the three settings for the "Bid Request Creation" event.

M-FilesAdmin

  • E-mail Subject
    • This will be the subject line within the e-mail. It can be plain text or it can use Placeholders that reference M-Files properties. Click the gear icon to the right to configure the value.
  • E-mail Body
    • The purpose of the Email Body is to provide a way to use replaceable properties within the Body of the email message such as a Project Title. When the system sends out an email it generates a new email message using the text specified here. If not Email Template is specified this value will make up the entire body of the outbound email for the associated event. If an Email Template is used, the E-Mail Template may be used in place of or in conjunction with this value. Using the two in combination requires that the Template file references the {{BODY}} tag. In that situation the {{BODY}} will be replaced with the contents of Email body specified here. Please see Email Templates in the User Guide for more information.
  • E-mail Template Name
    • Instead of filling out the Body, you can instead enter the name of the Email Template document that will be used as the body of the outgoing e-mail for this event. Each name must be unique. If there are multiple Email Templates with the same name, the first one found will be used. Please see Email Templates in the User Guide for more information.

Bid Events Suggested Body Text​

For each of these, you can cut and paste into the M-Files Placeholder Editor, but you will need to select, then delete, and then replace each of the bracketed entries by using the Insert Placeholder button and retyping the placeholder. The double-bracket placeholder {{ }} is a custom M-Connect placeholder which you do not need to replace!

  • Bid Request Creation
Your organization has been selected to bid on the following work: <b>{Bid Subject}</b><br><hr><p style="line-height: 30px; word-break: break-word; mso-line-height-alt: 30px; Margin: 0 0 10px 0;">{Bid Message}</p><br><hr><p style="text-align: center;"><br>Please visit the Bid Management portal to review the Bid Request, determine if the work is a good fit for your organization and prepare a response. <a href="{{M-CONNECT LINK}}" target="_blank">Review Bid Request</a></p>
  • Bid Request Response Received
We've received your response. We will evaluate all responses after the Bid Close date.  Thank you for your participation.
  • Bid Reminder
<p style="line-height: 30px; word-break: break-word; mso-line-height-alt: 30px; Margin: 0 0 10px 0;">You have a bid request awaiting response. Please log in to the Bid Management portal and submit your response before the due date. Thank you.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="{{M-CONNECT LINK}}" target="_blank">Review Bid Request</a></p>
  • Bid Final Response Notification
<p style="line-height: 30px; word-break: break-word; mso-line-height-alt: 30px; Margin: 0 0 10px 0;">This is the final reminder for {Bid Title}. Please log into the Bid Management Portal and submit your response before the time it is due: {Response Due Time}<br><br>Thank you</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="{{M-CONNECT LINK}}" target="_blank">Review Bid Request</a></p>
  • Bid Under Review Notification
The bidding for {Bid Title} has closed, and we are reviewing all of your responses. Thank you!
  • Bid Awarded Notification
Thank you for your submission regarding {Bid Title}. We are please to announce that you have been awarded this bid. Please look for further communication from us regarding signing your contract. Thank you!
  • Bid Partially Awarded Notification
n/a
  • Bid Request Rejected Notification
Thank you for your response to {Bid Title}. We've reviewd all submissions and have chosen a winner. Thank you!
  • Bid Cancelled Notification
The Bid "{Bid Title}" has been canceled. No further action is required on your part. Thank you!
  • Outbound Bid Message Notification
<p style="line-height: 30px; word-break: break-word; mso-line-height-alt: 30px; Margin: 0 0 10px 0;">You've received a new message on the Portal. Please log in and review at your convenience. Thank you</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="{{M-CONNECT LINK}}" target="_blank">Review Bid Request</a></p>
  • Inbound Bid Message Response Notification
<p style="line-height: 30px; word-break: break-word; mso-line-height-alt: 30px; Margin: 0 0 10px 0;">There is a new response to your message.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="{{M-CONNECT LINK}}" target="_blank">Log in to M-Connect</a> to view it.</p>
  • Contract Signed, Notify Bidders Notification
Thank you for your submission regarding {Bid Title}. We've reviewed all submissions and awarded the contract to a different subcontractor. Thank you for bidding and we look forward to continued partnership with your organization.

This concludes the Bid Management module configuration settings. From here we'll move on to Administration of the Package Management module.