VENDORS
Simplify, Verify, and Connect
Find and register new suppliers, verify certifications, communicate with vendors, and accept bid submissions digitally.
TRUSTED BY 1000+ PROCUREMENT PROS DAILY
For local government and municipalities, utilities and public works, education, and more, PlanetBids empowers hundreds of organizations across the U.S. to save time and stay on budget with their procurement processes.
HOW IT WORKS
Built by and for procurement professionals to help you:
CUSTOMIZED VENDOR EXPERIENCE
Our flexible solution lets you tailor your vendor experience to fit your agency’s requirements. This allows you to:
- Easily get up and running in one day.
- Choose NAICS, NIGP or homegrown commodity codes.
- Control which documents are required for upload, with full audit trails.
- Provide access to the custom vendor portal from your agency’s website.
CUSTOMIZED VENDOR EXPERIENCE
Our flexible solution lets you tailor your vendor experience to fit your agency’s requirements. This allows you to:
- Easily get up and running in one day.
- Choose NAICS, NIGP or homegrown commodity codes.
- Control which documents are required for upload, with full audit trails.
- Provide access to the custom vendor portal from your agency’s website.
COMPLETE ACCESS TO THE PLANETBIDS NETWORK
Work within your vendor list or tap into the larger PlanetBids network of more than a million vendor profiles to widen your reach.
- Perform real-time searches by location, category, and demographics to increase your qualified vendor pool.
- Dive deep to see a vendor's past participation and awards.
- Send notifications to vendors in your search area and encourage them to apply.
COMPLETE ACCESS TO THE PLANETBIDS NETWORK
Work within your vendor list or tap into the larger PlanetBids network of more than a million vendor profiles to widen your reach.
- Perform real-time searches by location, category, and demographics to increase your qualified vendor pool.
- Dive deep to see a vendor's past participation and awards.
- Send notifications to vendors in your search area and encourage them to apply.
INTUITIVE REPORTING
Generate comprehensive reports to get you the data you need reliably. Our pre-built library comes equipped with crucial reports like:
- SBE/DBE status
- Classification
- Vendor registration
- Vendor types and activity
- .. and more
INTUITIVE REPORTING
Generate comprehensive reports to get you the data you need reliably. Our pre-built library comes equipped with crucial reports like:
- SBE/DBE status
- Classification
- Vendor registration
- Vendor types and activity
- .. and more
VENDORS LIKE IT BETTER
Put all solicitations online in an easy-to-use, publicly available vendor portal where you can communicate, answer questions, and release addenda seamlessly.
- Reduce headaches and improve outcomes and relationships.
- Receive more bids with a smooth user experiences.
- Automate communication with agencies and contractors to ensure vendors get the right information when they need it.
- Save time and never miss a thing with automated notifications.
VENDORS LIKE IT BETTER
Put all solicitations online in an easy-to-use, publicly available vendor portal where you can communicate, answer questions, and release addenda seamlessly.
- Reduce headaches and improve outcomes and relationships.
- Receive more bids with a smooth user experiences.
- Automate communication with agencies and contractors to ensure vendors get the right information when they need it.
- Save time and never miss a thing with automated notifications.
"While local businesses were accustomed to in-person meetings and submissions, they adopted the new procedures and now prefer the online process. It has resulted in a larger vendor pool with greater competition and increased diversity subcontracting."
– Marcie Wood, Management Assistant - Purchasing, City of Reno
KEY FEATURES
Define vendor categories, classifications, and demographics.
Employ advanced search filters to identify an individual or group of vendors.
Integrate vendor information into any ERP systems (Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP, etc.).
Verify certifications and licenses such as SBE, DBE, MBE, WBE, DIR, contractor licenses, and many more.
Generate intricate reports and dynamic charts for better reporting.
Allow vendors to register and maintain their individual profiles at no cost.
Send custom email messages to all or to targeted groups of vendors.
Automate vendor notifications of new bid opportunities, addenda, bid updates, or awards.
Track outreach efforts to see how vendors learned about registering with your agency.
FUEL YOUR ROCKETSHIP
SOLICITATIONS
See the other half of the PlanetBids system. Quickly and efficiently streamline the process of creating, managing, receiving, evaluating, and awarding projects entirely online.
TOP QUESTIONS WE'RE ASKED
Are vendors charged to use the system?
Vendors can register with any agency's PlanetBids portal at no cost. Each agency has a different portal, and vendors must register individual for each agency. There is no limit to the number of agencies a vendor can register with.
PlanetBids also offers a paid service, VendorLine, that aggregates all PlanetBids agencies in one place and also showcases more than 10,000 open solicitations nationwide from non-PlanetBids vendors.
Reminder, there is never a fee to access or bid on any PlanetBids agency opportunity.
Can we receive questions from vendors and communicate answers back?
Yes. Agencies can set a deadline for all questions to be submitted. Vendors will receive confirmation of their submission when a question is asked, and key users identified on the solicitation will be notified immediately when questions have been submitted. PlanetBids uses Artificial Intelligence to group all similar questions together to be answered at one time, and answers are provided to all vendors at one time. Once answers are released by the agency, or if any addenda have been issued, all prospective bidders are automatically notified and can view the Q&A within the solicitation.
Can vendors independently make changes and keep their information up to date?
Vendors can can easily update their vendor profile and prospective bidder profile at any time. Agencies can run a report to view any profile updated within a specific time frame. They will need to make these updates on each vendor profile they maintain, unless they own a VendorLine account.
Can vendors and/or the public download bids and documents?
The public, including any vendor, may view the bid posting and download documents made available by the agency without registering. However, the agency can select which documents require a login. This login is also needed to become a prospective bidder, RSVP to pre-bid meetings, ask questions, acknowledge addenda, and submit a bid. Agencies can also create By Invitation Only bids, which require the vendor to be registered (and invited) before they can view the bid information.
How can bidders check the status of a solicitation?
The public, including bidding vendors, can view the bid status at any time, no login needed (except for By Invite Only bids) within the vendor portal.
What automatic notifications do vendors receive to stay up to date on solicitation info?
PlanetBids automatically sends notifications regarding bid alerts, addenda, Q&A releases, agency custom emails, pre-bid meeting reminders, bid closing reminders, non-participation surveys, intent to award, and award notices.
Will the platform notify matched vendors when a new soliticiation is posted?
Yes! PlanetBids automatically matches vendor profiles to bids and sends bid alerts when a new solicitation is posted. By default, the match is based on category code(s) but can include licenses, pre-qualification requirements, location, and more. In addition, agencies can choose which vendors to notify based on criteria such as keywords, location, type, etc.
Are agency staff restricted from the bid documents until the bid due date and time?
All bids are received in a sealed, locked-box encrypted process and are not accessible until after the due date and time. The RFP cost file can remain sealed after bid closing and unlocked when appropriate by agency staff.
CASE STUDIES
REAL RESULTS, REAL SUCCESS
See how PlanetBids has made a tangible impact on companies' procurement processes. Read more about our clients' transformations.