Bid on an opportunity

On the Cimple platform, you can search for all kinds of different opportunities. To start your search:

1. Log in to Cimple

2. Navigate to your dashboard by clicking 'Suppliers' along the top-navigation bar and then click on 'Supplier dashboard'

3. You’ll see your main supplier page, with a search bar in the centre and your opportunity dashboard to the left.

Using the search bar, you can type in different keywords relating to your company’s specialities and expertise. You can also search by industry or job type. 

By clicking on ‘Sort and filters’, you can narrow down your search by location, sector and budget. 

Once you’re all set up as a supplier and have completed your organisation’s SQ, you’ll be able to bid on opportunities. You’ll be able to choose from all opportunities listed on the platform, or from a tailored list of opportunities which might best suit your industry and expertise.

1. Log in to Cimple

2. Navigate to your dashboard by clicking 'Suppliers' along the top-navigation bar and then click on 'Supplier dashboard'

3. In the left hand column, click through to ‘All opportunities’ or ‘Tailored opportunities’

4. Browse your list until you find something of interest

5. Click the purple ‘View detail’ button

6. A box will pop up detailing all you need to know about the opportunity including dates, deadlines, duration, the evaluation weighting and a little about the buyer.

• You will be able to view the detailed evaluation breakdown to see how the technical questions and social value questions will be scored. The scoring type for the questions could be any of the following: pass/fail, information only, or percentage. 

7. Click ‘Apply’ and you’ll follow one of these two steps:

• Complete and submit your application on the Cimple platform

• If the opportunity wasn’t created on Cimple, you’ll be taken to Contracts Finder where you can find all the details you need to complete your application

If you are currently using Cimple as a public supplier and you want to bid on an opportunity, you’ll need to make sure that you’re logged in on ‘supplier mode’. You can switch on ‘supplier mode’ by following these steps:

1. Log in to Cimple 

2. Navigate to your dashboard by clicking 'Buyers' along the top-navigation bar and then click on 'Supplier dashboard'

3. Click the box in the middle of the left-hand sidebar labelled ‘Create opportunity’

4. You are now in your buyer dashboard where you are able to create new tenders and competitions. 

If you’re a private organisation and you’re looking to bid on an opportunity, your interface with its left-hand side dashboard and search bar, should display everything you need to find and bid on opportunities.

When a tender is submitted, the buyer will often attach several documents to best inform interested suppliers of the opportunity. These documents might include general T’s and C’s, organisational background on the buyer or commercial templates. Finding and download these documents is easy:

1. Log in to Cimple

2. Navigate to your dashboard by clicking 'Suppliers' along the top-navigation bar and then click on 'Supplier dashboard'

3. In the left hand column, click through to ‘All opportunities’, ‘Tailored opportunities’, or if you’ve already found and saved the tender you’re interested in, you may be able to find it in ‘Saved opportunities’

4. Scroll until you find the opportunity you’re interested in. 

5. Click into ‘View detail’

6. A window will pop up and, if there are documents attached, they can be found in a drop down section of the left hand side of the pop up box labelled ‘Attached documents’ 

7. Click on each document and save them to your system

Sometimes a buyer will allow suppliers to easily and directly ask clarifying questions about a posted tender before they’ve even submitted an application. This can potentially save everyone time and effort and help a supplier understand if they’re truly right for an opportunity. To ask a question…

1. Log in to Cimple

2. Navigate to your dashboard by clicking 'Suppliers' along the top-navigation bar and then click on 'Supplier dashboard'

3. In the left hand column, click through to ‘All opportunities’, ‘Tailored opportunities’, or if you’ve already found and saved the tender you’re interested in, you may be able to find it in ‘Saved opportunities’

4. Browse your list until you find your notice

5. Click the purple ‘View detail’ button

6. In the pop up window, you’ll see on the left hand side, there’s a drop down option labelled ‘Clarification questions' –. Click to open up

7. Here, you can type your question – there’s no character limit, but remember to be as precise as you can so that your question is easily understood

8. When you’re done, click ‘Post question’, and your enquiry will be send immediately to the buyer for them to respond to.