Joining a sourcing platform made easy
When deciding to join an e-sourcing platform, the on-boarding process offered by the host is very important. BidNet Direct provides local government organizations with an easy to use e-sourcing solution. When joining one of BidNet Direct’s regional purchasing groups, we want to make the process for your organization as easy and fast as possible. Therefore, our Buyer Support team is there to assist every step of the way. Whether it is walking you through the posting of your first solicitation, or a quick question when adding an addendum to a solicitation months after joining, the Buyer Support team is there to answer any questions that may arise. However, the goal is to get each purchasing professional comfortable enough with the platform that they can publish their solicitations fully on their own. Utilization of the platform comes at no cost to your agency, and the step-by-step process to bring your agency on board has been simplified to the point that it can be completed in only a matter of hours!
Paperwork, gathering of logo, and information to set up your account
When your organization decides to join BidNet Direct, the Buyer Support team will gather some information in order to set up your organization’s account. After we have the simple information from you, such as email addresses and roles for the users who will be utilizing the platform, our Buyer Support team will take care of the entire-set up for you. Once we have that information, as well as your agency’s logo, your agency will be up and running on their own branded page within the Purchasing Group in no time! You can see what this will look like by viewing one of our 1300 participating agency’s pages here, or simply go to our Participating Agency page and click on any of our participating local government agencies.
Straightforward and effective training
After receiving the needed users from your organization, BidNet Direct’s Buyer Support team will then set up training. Done remotely, your Buyer Support Specialist will take you through the ins-and-outs of the platform, including how to post your first solicitation. Not only will they provide you with training, but they will train all of the other users your organization chooses to assign as well. If needed, they will also provide you and your users with access to our Learning Environment, mimicking the platform’s live site. This environment is set up as a replica for all users to become familiar with the platform until you are ready to start posting solicitations on the live site. The Buyer Support team’s goal is to ensure that you and your team are comfortable using all aspects of BidNet Direct’s Purchasing Group, and we will walk you through the platform until that is the case!
Press Release and Vendor Letter
It is important that your current and perspective vendors know how to find your solicitations, and BidNet Direct makes that as easy as possible as well! We will draft a press release created specifically for your organization that will announce that you’ve joined your regional purchasing group, and provide details on how to register for access and alerts to all of your solicitations! We will then send the draft to your organization for approval before we disseminate the press release over the wire.
We also encourage our new agencies to send out a vendor letter to your current vendor list. This vendor letter is a direct communication alerting your vendors of where to find your upcoming solicitations and how to register for access to your bids, along with all of the other participating agencies using the solution. Our Buyer Support team will send out a copy of the letter via email or hard copy, based on the contact information your agency has available for your vendors. Sending a hard copy requires a print of your company’s letterhead and envelopes, as well as reimbursement for any postage costs incurred. No matter which method is used, this is an effective way to alert your current vendors of your new purchasing process.
Short and easy
From early on in the decision making process, all the way to becoming a participating partner agency on BidNet Direct, we are there throughout to ensure that the on-boarding process is as quick and easy as possible. Whether they are training one person or a dozen; or whether they are walking you through the process to publish a bid or publishing it on your behalf; BidNet Direct’s Buyer Support team tailors the experience to your organizations specific needs. Depending on the level of urgency, this entire process can be done from start to finish as quickly as you need! Contact our Buyer Support team today to walk you through posting your first online solicitation and expand your outreach tomorrow!
Find out how BidNet Direct can help your government organization today! 
