The opening and closing dates set the response window for a sourcing activity: suppliers can only respond and submit between them. This guide is for users who create sourcing activities.

Before you start

Only users whose role lets them create or edit sourcing activities can set these dates. Changing the dates after an activity has been sent means reopening it, which needs the Sourcing Plus plan.

Set the dates on a new activity

Open the Activity Overview step

Go to Sourcing > eSourcing and click Create Sourcing Activity. Choose your areas on the Sourcing Wizard step and click Next to reach Activity Overview. To finish a draft instead, see Save and Resume a Draft Sourcing Activity.

Enter the opening date and time

In Opening Date & Time (required), pick when suppliers can start responding. Before this time, invited suppliers can open the activity and read it, but they can't respond or submit.

Enter the closing date and time

In Closing Date & Time (required), pick the submission deadline. You can't choose a date earlier than the opening date. After this time, suppliers can't submit or change their responses.

Click Next

Complete the other required fields and click Next. The dates are saved with the draft and shown to suppliers when you send the activity.

💡 Note: Dates and times use the time zone in your organisation's Company Settings, whatever time zone you or your suppliers are in.

Change the dates after sending

You can't edit the dates of an activity that has been sent. To give suppliers a new response window, reopen it:

Open the activity

Go to Sourcing > eSourcing and click the activity's title.

Click Reopen/Edit

In the summary panel on the left, click Reopen/Edit. Choose No, reopen activity to keep the activity as it is, or Yes, make changes to edit it too.

Choose suppliers and set the new dates

Select the suppliers who can respond again, then enter the New opening date and New closing date and the information for your suppliers. Click Next, then Yes to confirm. See Reopen or Edit a Sourcing Activity for the full steps.

📌 Important: Reopening only applies to the suppliers you select. Suppliers you leave out are told the activity has closed, and existing scores will need to be reviewed again.

What happens next

  • Before opening: invited suppliers can log in and view the activity, with a message that it isn't open for responses yet.

  • Reminders: suppliers are emailed 24 hours before the activity opens (if it was sent more than 24 hours earlier) and 24 hours before it closes. See Automated Sourcing Notifications.

  • At closing: responses can no longer be submitted or changed, and the activity's status changes from Open to Closed.

  • After reopening: the selected suppliers get a new round with the new dates. Their earlier responses are kept.

Troubleshooting

I can't pick the closing date I want

The closing date can't be earlier than the opening date. Set Opening Date & Time first, then choose a later closing date.

A supplier says they can't respond yet

The activity hasn't reached its opening date and time. Suppliers can read it, but responding starts at the opening time in your company time zone.

I can't see Reopen/Edit

The button only shows to users who can edit the activity, and not on activities that have been awarded or cancelled. Demo records can't be reopened.

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📌 Need Further Help?
If you need further assistance, please contact your internal platform administrator for support. Otherwise please reach out to oboloo's support team. If you are unable to view the above area in the oboloo platform, please check your user permissions and access rights.