cityofboston.gov - Official Web Site of the City of Boston - Thomas M. Menino, Mayor

GENERAL

What is the Supplier Portal?

The City of Boston now accommodates online processes for bidding, contracting, and vendor registration.  The Supplier Portal gives suppliers the ability to complete these tasks online.  All suppliers will be able to register to view, download and respond to bidding opportunities with the City of Boston.  Vendors will be able to enter and update contact information, receive Purchase Orders by email, and securely sign and finalize contracts with the City of Boston. 

How do I get access to the City of Boston Supplier Portal?

To access all online bidding functionality, a supplier must register for a login to the Supplier Portal.  The registration process can be started by returning to the Procurement home page and clicking the ACCESS SUPPLIER PORTAL link.  The Supplier Portal will be launched and a supplier should follow the prompts in the Supplier Portal Registration section to register.

Bidders, who are suppliers looking to gain access to view the City’s Invitations for Bid, Requests for Proposal and other procurement events, should click the ‘Register as a Sourcing Bidder’ link. Vendors, those suppliers who have an existing agreement (a contract, awarded bid, etc) between their company and the City, should click on the ‘Vendor Registration Form’ link.

After the supplier has walked through the registration process and provided a valid email address, login credentials will be received through email.  These login credentials should be used to login as an Existing User on the Supplier Portal.

Do I need to download any special software to my computer to access the enhancements?

No special software is needed to register as a user, view and submit bids, or update your vendor profile through the Supplier Portal.  However, there is some optional bidding functionality that a supplier can use that requires Microsoft Excel.  Additionally, the preferred method of contract execution through the application of an electronic signature requires that the supplier download and install a free version of Adobe Reader.

Suppliers who submit bids through the Supplier Portal have an alternative option to completing their data entry online. Each posted bid event will contain an XML file attachment. Users may download the XML file, open it with Microsoft Excel, and fill out the same bid response questions as those asked online. Once the bid is filled out, the user is able to upload their completed XML file as their method of responding to the bid invitation. The XML file method will benefit those suppliers who prefer to work offline. This option will be especially useful to complete complex bid responses. Microsoft Excel software is required to use this functionality.

Vendors will have the ability to use the Supplier Portal during the contract process to review the contract and apply an electronic signature to the contract. The use of electronic signatures will streamline the contract signature process, saving time and paper while reducing the risk of documents being damaged or misplaced. To view the contract form and to apply an electronic signature, suppliers will need to download and install Adobe Reader. This software can be downloaded free of cost here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

What if I do not have regular access to a computer to submit a bid online?

The City of Boston offers resources to those suppliers who do not have regular access to a computer to submit online bids. A vendor computer station has been setup in the Purchasing Department in Room 808 of Boston City Hall (link to the Contact Two computers will be available in a private area for vendors to enter their bid information.
Directions 

The City of Boston will continue to support a manual, paper bid submission process. Suppliers can print a bid event packet when viewing the Open Bid Events on the Supplier Portal and return the filled out packet by mail or in-person. Alternatively, suppliers can visit the Bid Counter within the COB departments to pick up a paper bid event packet. Please note that all manual bid packets must be filled out and returned to the City of Boston before the Event End Date for a proposal to be considered.

REGISTRATION

What are the benefits of registering on the Supplier Portal?

By registering yourself as a Bidder with the City of Boston, you will be able to:

• Create a unique Username and Password for secure access to the Supplier Portal
• Select categories (lines of business) which you are interested in selling to the City of Boston
• Be automatically notified of bid event postings related to the categories you’ve selected for yourself and your company
• Pre-define the data needed for your vendor profile once you’ve been awarded a bid and begin doing business with the City of Boston. This step expedites the vendor approval process.

Can I browse the City of Boston’s bid events without registering for the Supplier Portal?

Yes. Registration is not required to view the City of Boston’s bid events that are marked as Public Events. a supplier may access these events by clicking on the ACCESS SUPPLIER PORTAL link from the Procurement homepage. The city's online bid events will appear in the My Sell Events listing. Any supplier may view online events of interest by clicking on the Event Name link within the listing.

Can I have multiple users for my account?

Online registration is a one-time requirement for each supplier user. However, note that multiple users from the same company can register their own profile and set their unique preferences. 

If I am already registered as a Bidder, do I also need to register as a Vendor?

A Bidder who has previously registered and submitted a bid through the Supplier Portal is automatically converted t to a Vendor within the Financials system upon the award of their first bid event. Therefore, if you have already registered as a Bidder, you do not need to also register as a Vendor.

Both Bidders and Vendors follow the same login process once registered. However, once a Bidder becomes a Vendor in the Financials system they can access new functionality through the Supplier Portal to view and sign contracts and enter and update vendor information. 

How do I become an approved Vendor for the City of Boston?

To become a Vendor for the City of Boston, you should login to the Supplier Portal through the link on the Procurement home page. 

A supplier who has never done business with the City of Boston should first register as a Bidder.  When a Bidder is awarded their first contract or purchase order with the City of Boston, the Bidder profile is converted to a Vendor and routed for approval.  A winning bidder will receive a notification once they have been approved as a Vendor and a contract is ready for their review.

A supplier who has an existing relationship with the City of Boston should register as a Vendor.  An existing Vendor has access to finalize their missing profile data through the vendor e-Form.  Upon submission, this vendor data is routed for approval.  A vendor will receive notification once their changed information has been approved.

Where can I find my Vendor ID?

If you are an Existing Vendor with the City of Boston, you can locate your Vendor ID on your Purchase Order or your check stub.

How do I update my vendor information?

If you are an Existing Vendor with the City of Boston, you can update your vendor information by accessing the Vendor e-Form through the Supplier Portal.  When logged into the Supplier Portal, vendors will see a link to View Vendor Form and Update Vendor Form.  Select the appropriate option and make the necessary changes.  The updates will be routed to the City of Boston for approval and posted to your organization’s vendor file.

I have registered for the Supplier Portal. What do I do next?

Once you have registered for the Supplier Portal, you have access to submit online bid responses to the City of Boston’s bid events that have been advertised. You are invited to submit a bid for any solicitation for goods or service that your organization can provide. 

Vendors will have the ability to continue utilization of the City of Boston’s Supplier Portal during the contracting process.  When a contract document containing the details of an awarded bid is assembled, an email notification will go out to the vendor indicating that they can review the contract.  An electronic version of the contract is accessible through the Supplier Portal and vendors with digital signature capacity can apply their electronic signature when ready to approve.

SUPPLIER SUPPORT

I have forgotten my password and cannot login to the Supplier Portal. How can my password be reset?

Suppliers who have forgotten their password can reset the password directly from the login page of the Supplier Portal.  After launching the Supplier Portal, click on the ‘I Forgot My Password’ link.  You will be prompted to enter your User ID.  After your User ID is submitted, the forgotten password will be reset and a new password will be sent to the email address that was used to register the User ID.

A supplier can also recover a forgotten User ID through the login page of the Supplier Portal.  After launching the Supplier Portal, click on the ‘Forgot User ID’ link.  You will be prompted to enter the email address that was used to create the account.  The forgotten User ID will be sent to the email address that is entered.

I received an error when uploading a file attachment during my bid response. What do I do?

File names for uploaded documents cannot exceed 64 characters. This limit includes the file extension on the document. The character limit on your file name might be slightly different depending upon the type of document you are uploading. This is because the character length of the file extensions can be different on different document types.

For example:  The file extension on a PDF document is .pdf (4 characters including the period), this would leave 60 characters left for your file name (total: 64). On a Microsoft Word document with a file extension of .docx (5 characters including the period), this would leave a total of 59 characters to use on the file name (total:64). In all cases, the maximum amount of characters you can use on an uploaded document including the file extension is 64 characters.

Where can I get additional help?

For specific big or event help, contact information is included with each listing. You may also ask more general questions by emailing Vendor.Questions@cityofboston.gov or calling 617-635-4564.