Participating in an Item-Level Auction

2 years ago
alex
4 minutes

This guide walks you through how to participate effectively in an item-level reverse auction, step by step.

🗝️ Key rule: In reverse auctions, suppliers can submit multiple bids, but only in descending order. The lowest bid wins.

In item-level auctions:

Buyers can choose multiple winners based on the lowest price per line, which is why this format is called an “Item-Level Auction”.

Each item has a defined starting price and minimum step.

Supplier rankings are calculated per item.

1️⃣ Introduction – How to Respond to an Item-Level Auction

Suppliers can use Prokuria without creating an account.

📩 When a Buyer launches an auction, invited suppliers receive an email with a link to a secure response page, where they can:
🔹 View details
🔹 Fill in their answers
🔹Submit bids

Example of email invitation:

2️⃣ Viewing Auction Details and Accepting or Declining Participation

Steps to access the auction:

  1. Open the email and click “View Event”
  2. Accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
  3. Click “Continue” to access the event page

🚨 Extra Security Step (for certain accounts)

🔹 Some accounts may require an extra security step before accessing the auction.
🔹 If this applies, the supplier will receive a one-time password (OTP) via email.
🔹 Enter the password when prompted to proceed.

After the Supplier accepts the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy by clicking the “Continue” button, the response page will become accessible.

🔹 On the response page, you’ll see two options:
✅ Participate – Notifies the buyer that you intend to participate
❌ Decline – Notifies the buyer you are not participating (You can change your decision later if the auction is still active.)

3️⃣ Placing a Bid

After confirming participation, you’ll gain access to the full event details.
📌 Bids can only be submitted after the auction has officially started.

You can quote for all items or only selected ones based on your offer.

🗝️ Key elements to consider when bidding (Supplier should take into account the following):

  • Starting price/unit – The maximum accepted price per item.
    Suppliers cannot bid above this value.
    Example: If the starting price is 5000 RON, your bid must be ≤ 5000 RON.
  • Minimum step/unit – The smallest amount by which a supplier can reduce their bid.
    Example: If the step is 10 EUR and your current bid is 250 EUR, your next bid must be ≤ 240 EUR. You cannot bid 245 EUR.

⏹️ Bids cannot increase – Each new bid must be equal to or lower than the previous one.

  • Cool-down period – If a new bid changes the rank 1 position for an item during this period (set in minutes), the auction is automatically extended by that duration. This continues until no bids affect rank 1 during the cool-down period.
  • Time window – You can submit bids only between the start and end times of the event.
    (Keep in mind the end time may be extended automatically if the cool-down feature is active.)

⚠️ If you enter a bid higher than your previous bid, the field will be highlighted in yellow, and a warning will appear.

🔄 If you accidentally place an incorrect bid and want to revert it, contact the buyer. They can retract your latest response so you can place a new one.

4️⃣ What You Can See During the Auction

If enabled by the buyer, you may be able to view:

  • Your rank per item
  • Best bid value per item

❗ Example: If two suppliers submit the same best bid, both will have rank 1. A red notification will appear to indicate that multiple suppliers share the top rank.

5️⃣ Bulk Quote (Excel Upload)

This feature is ideal for auctions with many items or services.

📌 Follow these 3 simple steps to submit bids via Excel:
a. Click “Import Items” – A dedicated window will guide you.
b. Click “Download Existing Records” – Fill in the “Your bid/unit” column (up to 6 decimals).
c. Click “Upload File” – Select the completed file, and Prokuria will process it automatically.

a. Click on the “Import items” button.

b. Click on “Download existing records”.

c. Click on ”Upload file” and select the newly created file.

6️⃣ Cool-Down Period in Action

⬇️ During the cool-down period, if a new bid changes the top rank for any item, the auction is extended by the number of minutes set by the buyer.

⏱️ This process repeats until no new bids affect the top rank within the extension time.

Need Help?

📩 Contact us at support@prokuria.com – We’re here to assist you!