More than your average customer service
Transitioning to an e-sourcing solution from your previous purchasing process can seem overwhelming. From the decision of changing your purchasing process to posting your first solicitation, you’re bound to look for a helping hand. That’s why having an exceptional customer service team is essential to providing e-sourcing solutions to you and other local government agencies. BidNet Direct’s Buyer Support team is the best in the business, and more than just your typical customer support team!
Transitioning to e-sourcing
Receiving proper training on your new e-procurement solution is essential to a smooth transition. Our Buyer Support team makes sure that your agency is completely comfortable with the platform and is there to provide assistance through every step of the process. They will walk you and your team through the features of the platform step by step, including showing you the ins and outs of posting your solicitations for vendors. The Buyer Support team will also help you post your first solicitation if it is time sensitive, and set you up with your own branded page with your logo and a welcome message to vendors. Other features that they will walk your team through include:
• Extensive bid library
• Vendor management and vendor lists
• Online Q&A feature
• Electronic bid submission
• Issuing awards
• Tracking and reporting
• Optional value added services (Contract Management, Approval Workflows, Bid Evaluation, etc.)
These features will all be available at your fingertips, and the Buyer Support team will show you and any other member of the purchasing team who will be posting solicitations how to utilize the features and functionalities of the platform. The BidNet Direct platform is extremely easy to use and intuitive to the needs of purchasing professionals. However, the Buyer Support team wants to ensure that you are comfortable enough with the platform that you can be self-sufficient, and are always happy to hear from you if a question or re-training on a feature is needed.
Available round the clock
The Buyer Support team knows that sometimes procurement projects take more time than expected, leading to long hours for purchasing professionals. For that reason, the Buyer Support team prides itself on being available to our agencies outside typical work hours, with hours of 8am – 8pm ET Monday thru Friday. This can be especially helpful to our agencies on the west coast, like Suzanne Jurgens of UTSD. “I like that the support is there early in the morning and the support is there late at night. At least beyond the 8 till 5. That’s really nice.” However, agencies on the east coast who are stuck trying to get a solicitation out in time can also benefit from these late hours. Liz Garrison, Administrative Assistant for the City of Newburgh, has experienced first-hand how the Buyer Support team is there to assist even late at night. “[The] support team is awesome. I would work late past 10-11 o’clock, and they would be on the phone with me at 8:30-9[at night]”, Liz explained. “Pat [one of the support team members] was the best…and would stay late to help me with those calls.” And if you don’t manage to get a member of our Buyer Support team in the office, they always make sure to respond as soon as possible! “If I left a voicemail, someone would always call me back first thing in the morning…they are just an awesome team.” Whether it be by phone or email, our Buyer Support team will always promptly respond to any messages left.
Continuous training
Once your agency is up and running on the platform, that doesn’t mean that our training support falls off! BidNet Direct’s Buyer Support team offers continuous training, no matter what changes within your purchasing department. Whether you are bringing on a new hire who needs initial training, or you simply need a refresher; the Buyer Support team is here to help. That also includes training on any of the specific features that your agency may decide to take advantage of down the road. For example, if your agency initially only accepts physical bid submissions after posting on the platform, but later on decides to start accepting electronic bid submissions, we can walk you through the feature again so that you’re ready to do so! The same goes for any of our value added services, like adding the Contract Management platform to your agency’s services. No matter what the training is for, or how much of it is required, this training always comes at no charge to you or your agency!
Whether you are just joining BidNet Direct, or have been utilizing your regional purchasing group for years, the Buyer Support team is always ready and happy to help!
Find out how BidNet Direct can help your government organization today! 
