Adding a feedback column

Feedback columns enable you to provide additional bid feedback to bidders. They enrich bid analysis, helping you to better understand and analyze the bid data.

You can add a feedback column to your bid sheet from the Add a column area of the Columns tab.

Feedback types

A range of configurable feedback types are available for creating feedback columns. For additional information about each type of feedback, see Feedback tab.

Different feedback types offer different configurable settings. However, you can configure the Name, Description, Placement, Visibility, and Bid source for every type of feedback column except Winning feedback, which is only available after a round concludes. Depending on the feedback type selected, feedback columns can be based on formulas, bid sheet columns, or the event's cost calculation formulas.

Before you can configure certain types of feedback, you must first assign specific column roles. For additional information, see Assigning a column role.

1. Name: Enter a name for the column.
2. Description: Optionally, enter a description for the column.
3. Placement: Select from the list where in the bid sheet you want to place the column. You can place the column at the beginning of the bid sheet, the end of the bid sheet, or before any other column in the bid sheet.
4. Visibility: Select whether the column will be visible to bidders or hidden from bidders.
5. Bid source: Select whether the feedback updates after each round or after each bid is submitted.

Traffic light

Traffic light feedback provides bidders with a color-based visual indicator — green, amber, or red — of how they are performing on lots based on their bid data. This type of feedback enables bidders to quickly identify where they must make adjustments in order to improve their chances of winning lots.

The feedback can be based on one of the event's cost calculation formulas or bid sheet columns. This enables you to offer traffic light feedback not only on cost, but also on other bid data, such as transit time, capacity, emissions data, or any other relevant bidder-input column.

If you are using target-based traffic light feedback, you must assign the Target column role to the column containing the target values. For additional information, see Traffic light feedback and target rates.

Traffic light feedback can be based on different aspects of the bidder's performance.

• Bidder rank: The feedback is based on the bidder’s rank.
• Bidder rank subject to meeting a target: The feedback is based on the bidder’s rank once the target is met. If the bidder has not met the target, a red light is displayed.
• Proximity to first-ranked value: The feedback is based on how close the bid is to the first-ranked bid.
• Proximity to target value: The feedback is based on how close the bid is to the target.

If you are setting rank-based traffic light feedback, the numbers entered in the green and amber rank brackets refer to the bidder's rank on lots. If you are setting proximity-based traffic light feedback, the numbers in the rank brackets refer to the percentage difference to the lowest bid, or to the bid target.

Winning

This provides bidders with feedback about winning bids. It can be configured to provide the bidder with different variations of feedback based on whether or not they are currently winning lots. The winning result will only be shown at the end of each round.

• Show winning status: Indicates to bidders whether or not they are winning a lot. Winning bids are marked with a green star and losing bids are marked with a gray x.
• Show winning value: Displays to bidders the value of the bid for each lot they are winning.
• Show winning share: Displays the percentage share of each lot they are winning.
• Show winning volume: Displays the volume share of each lot they are winning.

Rank

This provides bidders with their rank on each lot. The feedback can be based on one of the event's cost calculation formulas or bid sheet columns. Rank-based feedback is more effective when there is good bid coverage.

Proximity

This provides bidders with the exact difference or percentage difference to the first-ranked or next-ranked bid. The feedback can be based on one of the event's cost calculation formulas or bid sheet columns. Configure the rank type and rank scale settings using the configuration form.

Reserve met

This feedback indicates if a bidder has satisfied the reserve set for each lot. You can configure the feedback to tell the bidder if their bid has met the reserve or if any bid has met the reserve. To use this type of feedback, you must first assign the Reserve met column role to a column containing the reserve prices for each lot. For additional information, see Reserve feedback.

Blue circles indicate that the reserve has been met; gray circles indicate that the reserve has not been met. Bidders can hover over the circles for more information.

Current bid

This feedback tells the bidder the value of their current bid for each lot as calculated by the primary cost calculation.

Next bid

This feedback tells the bidder the value of the bid that they must meet or outperform for each lot for the bid to be acceptable.

Before you can create a Next bid feedback column, you must first assign the Bid decrement column role to a column with the minimum bid decrement value for each lot. This value is subtracted from the bid value to derive the value displayed in the Next bid column.

Custom

If you select the Custom feedback type, you can create a formula using bid sheet columns, arithmetic operators, functions, and feedback functions to build your feedback column. Feedback formulas support an expanded set of functions that enable you to communicate performance across bidders.

For more information on feedback formulas and functions, see Formulas and functions.

Enter the formula in the Enter a formula field, or else use the buttons provided to build your formula. Click Test this formula to test if your formula is correct.