Procurement Process

The procurement process begins with Purchase Requests, which serve as the central hub for all procurement activities. From a Purchase Request, you can manage items, bidders, Single Source Justifications (SSJ), RFXs, Purchase Orders (POs), approvals, internal notes, and more features in the future. 

 

1. Create a Purchase Request 

Click “Create Purchase Request” to start a new request. 

2. Add Items to a Purchase Request 

To add an item: 

1. Click “Add Item”.
2. Fill in the required fields. 
3. Click the ✔ icon to save, or ✖ to cancel. 

R&D Purchase Requests 

For R&D Purchase Requests, you will see “Import WP as Item” instead of “Add Item.” 
This allows you to import Work Packages directly into the Purchase Request. 

Item details can be edited at any time before the Purchase Request is marked as Ready for Purchase. After that, items become read-only. 

 

3. Add Bidders to a Purchase Request 

To add a bidder: 

1. Click “Create Bidder.” 
2. Select a supplier from the Vendor Name dropdown. 
   • If the supplier is not listed, it means the company does not yet exist in the system. 
   • You may add the company from the Companies page (if you have access), or contact the Finance team for assistance. 

Company & Contact Details 

• While viewing companies, you may toggle the filter to show: 
• All companies, or 
• Only companies with GSA / NDA on file. 
• The system automatically pulls in the company’s default address. 
• You may add additional notes to the Location field if needed (e.g., a different address or extra context). 
• Once a vendor is selected, the Contact field will populate with existing contacts. 
• If the contact you need is missing, click “Add New Contact” at the bottom of the drop down menu. 
• A new tab will open; add the contact there, then return to the original tab. 
• Click the Refresh button on the Contact filed (NOT the browser) to reload the updated contact list. 

Notes 

• You do not need to add a separate Scope of Work for each bidder. 
  The Scope of Work from the Purchase Request applies to all bidders automatically. 
• The Bid Information section can be left as-is at this stage. 
• Viewing a bidder will show: 
  • General Information 
  • Bid Information 
  • Related Approval Information 
  • Item list (where costs can be updated later) 

4. Create an Approval Request for the Bidder List 

Once all bidders are added: 

1. Open the Action Menu from the Purchase Request. 
2. Select “Create Approval Request for Bidder List.” 
   • A drawer will open with most fields pre-filled. 
   • You may edit these fields if needed. 
3. Select the approvers and click “Send for Approval.” 

📘 For detailed approval instructions, please refer to: 
Approvals Module in BMS | Conexus Knowledge 

After the bidder list is approved, Bidder Information can no longer be changed. 

 

5. Create a Single Source Justification (SSJ) 

If the Purchase Request uses non-competitive bidding, you must create a Single Source Justification. 

• Click “Create Single Source Justification.” 
• Use “Add Row” to select one or more justification reasons from the dropdown. 
• Add comments for each selected reason. 

After creating the SSJ, you can open the Action Menu in the purchase request, and create an Approval Request for the SSJ. Once approved, the SSJ becomes read-only. 

 

6. Create an RFX 

Currently, BMS supports RFP and RFQ only. 

⚠️ Once a bid is selected for a Purchase Request, the associated RFX cannot be updated. 
The only way to update it (not recommended) is to unselect the bid and return to the RFX section. 

6.1 Generate an RFX 

1. Click the down arrow to open the Generate RFX drawer. 
2. Select: 
   • RFX type 
   • Bidders 
   • Issue date 
   • Due date 
3. Click Generate. 
   • The RFX is generated from a docx template provided by the Procurement Management. 
   • Some fields are auto-filled from BMS, please review the document carefully. 
   • If information is missing, it usually means the data does not exist in BMS. 
   • You may either fill it in manually or update the missing data (commonly phone numbers) in BMS and regenerate the RFX. 
   • Regenerating the same RFX type for the same bidder will override the previous auto-generated (R0) version. 

6.2 Upload an RFX 

• If you already have an RFX, you may upload it instead of generating one. 
• Click the up arrow to open the Upload RFX drawer. 
• To prevent duplicates, the system does not allow re-uploading the same document. 

7. View and Update an RFX 

To view an RFX: 

From within an RFX record, you can: 

• View and edit General Information for the RFX 
• Track all versions of the RFX 
• Upload new versions or update version details 

📄 File behavior:
* PDF files open in a new browser tab.
* Non-PDF files download to your local machine. 

 

8. Send RFX to Supplier 

You may send an RFX: 

9. Update Bid Information 

After receiving the bids (quotations/proposals) from vendors: 

Bid Comparison 

10. Mark Purchase Request as Ready for Purchase 

When everything is complete: 

11. Create a Purchase Order 

After a Purchase Request is marked as ready: 

After creation: