Step-by-step guide
Respond to the bidder agreement
When you enter the project for the first time, you may be asked to review and accept a bidder agreement. This agreement contains the terms, requirements, or conditions set by the buyer.
If you accept:
You legally acknowledge and agree to the terms.
You gain full access to the auction.
If you decline:
You cannot participate in the auction.
Chat with the buyer
You can use the Chat panel at any time, during the bidder agreement review or throughout the auction, to ask clarifying questions or contact the buyer.
Preview the auction
After accepting the bidder agreement (if enabled for the respective auction), you will enter the Preview stage.
Here, you can review:
The auction start time
The auction rules
The items being auctioned
Decline participation after accepting bidder agreement
Even after accepting the bidder agreement, you can still decline to participate in the auction.
To do this, click Decline participation, located in the auction overview, within the Auction details section.
A pop-up will appear asking you to confirm. You can optionally provide a reason for declining, then click Decline participation again to confirm.
Once confirmed:
You will lose access to the project.
You will no longer be able to participate in the auction.
If you do not click this button, you will remain an active participant in the auction.
Bid in the live auction
When the auction starts, the interface displays:
The current bid
A countdown timer showing how long you have to accept the current bid
To submit your bid:
Click Accept bid.
A confirmation dialog will appear asking you to confirm your choice.
Once confirmed, your offer becomes binding and cannot be withdrawn.
The status changes to Offer pending until the current time step ends.
Important: Accepting a bid is legally binding and you must honor the accepted price.
After the auction
If you win
You will see a success message confirming that your bid was the winning offer. The procurement team will contact you with next steps.
If you do not win
If another supplier accepts the bid before you do, you will receive a message indicating that you did not win the auction.
How do ties work
In case that another bidder accepts the same price, we have a tie. Depending on the configuration of the buyer, the following will happen:
The bidder that accepted the price first, wins the auction.
There is a sealed bidding round of 30min during which you and the other bidder have time to once again improve your current offer. In that case, the following message will appear on screen "We have a tie, as multiple suppliers have accepted the same offer simultaneously. To assist us in making a final decision, please take some time to submit your best bid. We will reach out to you once the auction concludes."
The new bid needs to be lower than the last accepted bid.
Paused auction
Buyers may pause the auction, for example, if some suppliers experience connectivity issues.
While paused:
You cannot accept bids.
A message informs you that the auction is temporarily suspended until the buyer resumes it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I access technical support during the auction?
How do I access technical support during the auction?
Click on the message bubble on the bottom right corner of the screen and select Ask a question.