Surrogate Bidding and Bidder Preview

Surrogate Bidding and Bidder Preview both enable you to place bids on behalf of bidders. However, although the features provide similar functionality, they each offer different approaches and options.

Surrogate Bidding

Using Surrogate Bidding, you can enter or update bids on behalf of bidders. When doing so, you will see the bid sheet from the purchaser's perspective and not from the bidder's perspective.

All the bid sheet columns (Hidden columns included) will be visible in the online and offline surrogate bidding view. However, bidders cannot see hidden columns in their bid sheet. 

When to use Surrogate Bidding

The Surrogate Bidding feature is particularly useful for bulk-uploading many bids for many suppliers across many lots. It is the only way to populate Purchaser with bidder specific values columns and place starting bids. If you want to perform any of the following actions, use the Surrogate Bidding feature.

• Place bids on behalf of bidders before an event is published.
• Populate Purchaser with bidder specific values columns.
• Bulk-upload bids on behalf of many bidders.
• Upload bids that must bypass the bid validation process.
• Review the impact of bids against hidden data or formulas.

1. By clicking edit bids in the Bidders area, you can place bids on behalf of a specific bidder, either online using Sourcing Optimizer or offline using a downloaded bid sheet.
2. By downloading the Bidder Data Excel file in the Upload area, you can place bids on behalf of all or multiple bidders at one time, and then re-upload the updated file.

Bidder Preview

Using Bidder Preview, you can also enter or update bids on behalf of a bidder. After you access the preview, you will see the event from the bidder's perspective; the preview window displays the user interface exactly as it appears for the bidder.

Any columns that have been configured as hidden from the bidder will not be displayed in this view.

For more information, see Bidder preview.

When to use Bidder Preview

The Bidder Preview feature is most useful for understanding and troubleshooting bidder issues because what you see is what the bidder sees. You can also view the RFI from the bidder's perspective and complete answers on behalf of bidders if required. However, unlike Surrogate Bidding, there is no single downloadable Excel file that you can use to bid on behalf of all bidders at once; you can only ever bid on behalf of one individual bidder at a time.

If you want to perform any of the following actions, use the Bidder Preview feature.

• View an event from the perspective of the bidder.
• View a bidder's bid sheet exactly as they see it.
• Upload a bid sheet on behalf of a bidder.

1. By clicking Preview in the row of a bidder, you can view the event from their perspective. Everything in this screen except for the menu — which is purposely obscured in the screenshot — is precisely how the event looks for that bidder.
2. By clicking the Bid Sheet tab, you can bid on behalf of the bidder in the same manner that the bidder places bids. You can also view the other available tabs and interact with those parts of the event by clicking the available tabs.