What are the Component Columns that I can use in an Advanced Lot?

What are the Component Columns that I can use in an Advanced Lot?

What's the issue you're facing?

I am builing an Advanced Lot and would like to understand what each of the different component columns that I can use are and how I can use them.

Solution

Both columns and rows are required in an advanced lot.
By adding each of these you will effectively build a table or matrix and will determine the response types you are expecting within each cell.

To add in a column click on ‘Add Lot Component Column’, then give the column a name and enter additional description (if needed). You will then need to decide who is going to be entering information on this column. This can either be Host entered information (information entered by the buyer) or Participant entered information (part of the suppliers' bid). Each column will need a defined ‘Component Type’ (the type of data you are expecting to be entered in the Column), which can be either Price, Text, Number, Date or Picklist.
  1. Price components - these make up the price element of the suppliers' bid. If selected, you will be asked to determine; 
    1. The number of decimal places.
    2. The unit of measure to handled for this component 
      1. Free Text - Allowing entry of free test for each cell.
      2. Enter Default - Allowing you to assign a predefined default value for all cells in the column.
      3. UoM set - A UoM set allows you to create several Unit of Measure options for your participants to choose from. If you chose this option you much also set the conversion between each one.
        1. To create a UoM set select the UoM Set button, you will then be prompted to give the UoM Set a name (for example 'Length'), You then determine the default UoM within the set (the UoM default will be the UoM to which all others UoM's within the set are converted to - in the example of Length being the UoM set a default value could be 'Meter'), You then need to assign the conversion values (the UoM options you would like you participants to have) - In the example of Length UoM Set and Meter being the default value you may have 'Centimetre'  as a conversion value. Once you have named a conversion value you then need to assign the value needed to convert the conversion value to the default value. For Example the conversion value of centimetre will be multiplied by 100 to give the same value as the  default value of meter. See image 2 for a visual of this example. Within a UoM Set you can add in multiple conversion value with different conversion rates - this gives your participants options to how they submit pricing by unit of measure
    3. Whether you want this field to be ranked. Making a component ranked will mean that participants who enter pricing will be ranked with lowest price appearing as rank 1. If you decide to make the lot component ranked these will be set as the default option for cells within the component column.
    4. Whether you want participants' ranking to be visible to participants. This only applicable in either a ranked auction or in a multistage RFQ. Participants won't see their ranking as part of a standard RFQ. 
    5. (If partial bidding it turned on) You will also have the option to make this the Line Item total. The Line item total is the cell in which is most important within a particular line. This can be a cell that sits in a total column/row that has a formula in or any other price component column. For example this could be a total cell that adds up cells within a line to give a summed total, Or it could be a specific column with a price that is deemed most important for that line item. 
  1. Text components - if selected this will then mean that any cell within the column will be a free text cell.
  1. Number components - If selected this will then mean that any cell within the column will need to be numeric. Numeric components can be used in conjunction with price components when creating formulae within either Total Columns or Total Rows. For example you could capture a 'day rate' price component and a 'number of days' number component then within the total column add a formula to multiple price component by number component.
  1. Date components - If selected this will then mean that any cell within the column will nee to be a date entered field.
  1. Picklist components - If selected you can either use an existing picklist or build a new picklist. If you want to create a new picklist you need to give the list a name and decide if the list will be categorised as either None, Currency or Numeric. 
    1. None:  your picklist will be a simple list of text values that the user will choose between.
    2. Currency:  each value will also have an associated currency value. This means that a text option can be used to represent a currency amount, such as an additional cost.
    3. Numeric: each value will have an associated numeric value. As with the numeric components this means it can then be used in conjunction with a price component when creating formulae within either Total Columns or Total Rows. 
Once confirmed you then add in each list option until you are happy with all list items. Then press Save.
































Image 1: showing the column component options.


Image 2: showing the UoM Set screen with Length as a set