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Welcome to the pre-recorded webcast of Seller Registration, Completing Vendor Information
for Statewide Contract Vendors. This presentation is for Statewide Contract Vendors that are
presently in the COMM-Pass system and have received an invitation from the COMMBUYS Vendor
Outreach team to verify and update their COMMBUYS account. You should have received credentials
from Periscope, the COMMBUYS software provider, that includes your permanent Login ID as your
company’s Seller Administrator along with a temporary password.
As the Seller Administrator for your business, you will be in charge of maintaining the COMMBUYS
site for your company. This presentation will focus on completing the registration process
for your COMMBUYS account and learning how to edit and maintain that information. Should
you have any questions concerning any part of the Registration process before the March
24 “go-live-date”, please reach out to your COMMBUYS Vendor Outreach lead for clarification.
After March 24, 2014 you are asked contact the COMMBUYS Help desk for assistance.
There will be other sessions and resources made available that will provide instructions
on navigating and working within the system.
This presentation is NOT for NEW vendors or Vendors with Departmental Contracts registering
with the COMMBUYS market center. Please visit the COMMBUYS website for more information
on training and resources for new vendor and departmental contract vendors registration
at www.mass.gov/osd/commbuys.
What is COMMBUYS?
COMMBUYS is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' new web-based market center. It is managed
by the Operational Services Division for the Executive Office for Administration & Finance
and is replacing the existing Commonwealth procurement access & solicitation system known
as Comm-PASS.
As a Statewide contract holder with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ your business is already
a part of the COMMBUYS community. COMMBUYS has imported some basic information from your
COMM-Pass membership into the COMMBUYS system. It is the Vendor’s responsibility to ensure
that the information is true, accurate, and up to date. As your company’s Seller Administrator
you will need to verify this information and complete the remainder of the registration
process before you can do business on COMMBUYS.
For the purpose of this of this presentation we will define the businesses selling goods
or service to the Commonwealth as Vendors or Sellers. The terms will be interchangeable.
As a Statewide Contractor, the vendor group this presentation has been designed for, is
a vendor holding a contract procured by OSD on behalf of all departments and other eligible
entities for specified Commodities or Services.
Why COMMBUYS?
The Commonwealth obtained a market center that was designed to ensure a fair, transparent,
open, and competitive process, while ensuring the facilitation of the goals and objectives
of the Commonwealth (including but not limited to the Supplier Diversity Program, the Environmentally
Preferable Products program and the Small Business Purchasing Program).
Additionally, a market center was needed that would streamline business processes providing
an interface between multiple systems involved with the procurement process.
All this while promoting other secondary benefits such as reducing paper use and improving file
accessibility and archiving
The goal of this webinar is to take you through the process necessary to complete the Vendor
registration process as an existing Statewide Vendor.
Please note…. Every vendor must have a completed registration to respond to bidding opportunities
on COMMBUYS, including all statewide contracts, as well to complete Purchase Order transactions.
As a Statewide Contract Vendor several basic pieces of information were preloaded or imported
from the COMM-Pass system to COMMBUYS. This presentation provides an overview of each
step of the process necessary to verify the imported information and complete the registration
process.
Seller Administrators manage the user accounts and data for their vendor account.
After viewing this presentation each Seller Administrator will be able to complete the
COMMBUYS registration process including:
Verify imported information- As a Statewide Contract holder several basic pieces of information
were preloaded from the COMM-Pass system to COMMBUYS. The Seller Administrator must review,
verify, and edit any information that has changed or is incorrect.
Complete information, accept terms of use, and manage information in the following sections
that appear as Icons: Maintain General Organization Information
Maintain Addresses Maintain Commodity-EPP Codes & Services
Maintain Program Qualification Maintain Terms and Categories
We will proceed through each step of the process necessary to verify the imported information
and complete the registration process. Along the way we will also explain any new terminology
and highlight areas that require attention or your action.
Please note again…. Every vendor must have a completed registration to respond to bidding
opportunities on COMMBUYS or complete Purchase Orders. This includes Statewide Contracts.
Without this information in place you will not be able to interact with the COMMBUYS
market center.
COMMBUYS is a process for us all to learn. We will be introducing new terms throughout
the COMMBUYS training sessions to get everyone up to speed.
For the registration process let’s start with the Vendor roles in COMMBUYS and the
terms we need to understand this process. The proper role selection in COMMBUYS is very
important.
Seller Administrator The Administrator oversees the Seller Information
in the COMMBUYS market center for the business entity. This is a very important role as the
administrator is responsible for the following: Maintains company information
Adds / maintains authorized users for their company by setting up accounts and user rights
for the entire organization; this will determine who receives bid notifications as well as
who can respond. Maintains catalog items
As a Statewide Contract Vendor Vendor, the Seller Administrator account exists and is
part of the information to be verified in the initial Vendor registration. The Seller
Administrator is the only role that has the option of establishing additional Seller accounts
and Seller Administrator backup associated with the Vendor Profile to help perform daily
business functions.
Two suggestions for the Seller Administrator once your registration is complete:
The Seller Administrator should designate themselves as a Seller, at least initially,
to insure that all communications with their business is received and responded to by the
appropriate person. They may also want to designate a backup Seller
Administrator.
Seller The Seller performs the day-to-day business
for the Vendor. This may be the Sales Administrator (who will need to sign up for both roles).
It may be a sales person and their support team depending on the size and structure of
your company.
The Seller conducts daily business operations: Reviews bids
Submits quotes Participates in bidder conferences or forums
Manages contracts / purchase orders / change orders
Some of the terminology we will use in the COMMBUYS market center is different from what
you currently using in Comm-PASS.
There are four basic crossover terms concerning contracts in COMMBUYS:
A Bid in COMMBUYS is a Request for Response or Request for Pricing. What used to be called
a “Solicitation” is now called a “Bid” in COMMBUYS.
A Quote in COMMBUYS is a response to a COMMBUYS Bid, either a response to a contract or one-time
purchase Bid process.
A Master Blanket Purchase Order or Blanket PO is a contract from which goods or services
are purchased from over the life of the contract. They maybe be Statewide or Departmental.
As a Statewide Contract Vendor, you are now on what is called a “Master Blanket Purchase
Order” which is essentially a contract in COMMBUYS market center from which purchases
can be made.
A “Master Blanket PO” consists of a list of approved Vendors who:
have a contract with the Commonwealth that may then be purchased off of or solicited
for contract items or services
Open Market Purchase Orders support one-time purchases of “off-contract” commodities
or services.
In order to go forward with this initial registration process Periscope, COMMBUYS software provider,
sent you Login Credentials for this one-time registration login.
There are also Job Aides available on the COMMBUYS.com website.
Finally, you have your COMMBUYS Outreach Team (pre-March 24) or the COMMBUYS Help Desk (post
March 24) to help you with any details along the way.
Let’s begin: The Login ID is your permanent Seller Administrator ID. This Login ID will
not change.
The Password you received is temporary and will just be used to initiate this registration
process. You will change it in the next step.
Your password must be changed in order to proceed with registration. As Seller Administrator
you can also change it after the registration has been completed.
Enter Current Password you used to log in: xxxxxx
Enter New Password: Enter new password Confirm New Password: Enter new password again
Click the “Submit” box
Upon logging in your Maintenance Home Page will appear. You will see a greeting: “Maintenance
Home Page for: (Name of Company). The date and system clock will be displayed on the
right. This is the time stamp that the system will be using for all transactions in the
market center.
There will be 4 navigational icons displayed. They are:
Maintain Organization Information Maintain Users on this Account
Add Users on this Account Add Associated Organization
Typically when you see the Icons with the word “Maintain” in their name you will
have the opportunity to edit information in those fields.
For the SWC registration process we only need to access the “Maintain Organization Information”
Icon.
Remember later we will show you the other Icons you may access to manage your COMMBUYS
account.
Click on the “Maintain Organization Information” Icon
This will bring you to the “Maintain Organization Information” screen with eight different
icons... We will take a closer look at the five that are needed to complete the registration
process. They are:
Maintain General Organization Information Maintain Addresses
Maintain Commodity-EPP Codes & Services Maintain Program Qualification
Maintain Terms and Categories
It is time to begin the registration completion process.
Click on the “Maintain General Organization Information” Icon to continue the registration.
This section is used for maintaining your general organization’s information.
Review ALL data that is in place carefully to be sure it migrated from the old system
accurately. Include or update information to all fields and drop boxes as needed.
All the fields and drop boxes with (*) asterisks MUST be completed.
Please verify your Tax ID number. This is important for identifying your company within
the system. Click “show” Tax ID to review your tax ID number.
If the Tax ID is not correct contact your Outreach Lead or the COMMBUYS Help Desk directly.
If you have an emergency contact person as part of your contract agreement please verify
this information also.
If you have an emergency contact person and the information is not appearing click the
“Yes” radio button and fill in the information.
When you have completed this screen click the “Save & Continue” box to be returned
to the previous screen.
“Save & Continue” will save the information you have just entered and allow you to continue
on the same screen.
“Reset” will erase all the information on that page.
“Cancel & Exit” will cancel the work done on this screen and return you to the previous
Icon.
For the purposes of this on-time registration process do not use the “Attachment Box”
at the bottom of the page at this time. It is not part of the registration process.
When you have verified and completed ALL of the appropriate fields and drop boxes on the
“Maintain General Organization Information” screen use the “Org Maintenance” link
on the left hand side of the Navigation Bar in the Dark Blue strip.
To avoid possible error messages when registering please only use the “Org Maintenance”
link.
The next task you will need to complete is setting up your mailing address information.
Click on the “Maintain Addresses” Icon.
The address COMMBUYS understands to be your General Address will appear on the next screen.
Typically this is your company’s primary mailing address. Please verify this information.
If your company’s primary address is not displayed correctly select the “Edit”
link in the name column to update your information.
If you are done for now click “Exit”.
To add more addresses click “Add Another Address”.
Here is the General Mailing Address for your business. If any information displayed is
incorrect or missing, edit the appropriate field.
To clear all the fields click the “Reset” button.
Be sure to complete the (*) Asterisked fields and drop down boxes.
When complete click on the “Save & Exit” box to be brought back to the “Maintain
Addresses” screen.
Your updated company address information is now displayed
To add another address select the “Add Another Address” box
Using the “Address Type” drop box at the top of the field you will be given a variety
of address types to choose from: Bid Mail Address
Emergency Mailing Address Purchase Order Mailing Address
Remit Address Sales Address
Click on the Address Type you would like to add
As you did with the General Address complete the (*) asterisked fields
When you have completed entering the appropriate information Click “Save & Exit” to return
to the “Maintain Addresses” screen
Remember when you are done with Addresses to Select the “Org Maintenance” link to
return back to the “Maintain Organization Information” screen
The next area is Commodity-EPP Codes & Services.
In this section you will chose specific codes that describe your goods and service. The
commodity coding will be how you are notified about Bid opportunities that are posted on
the COMMBUYS market center that you would like to be made aware of.
You will be using the United Nations Standard Products Services Code, also known as “UNSPSC”.
If you are not familiar with this coding system is important to spend a little time learning
about it before filling out this section. We suggest before beginning the registration
process that you visit the UNSPSC website and get a complete understanding of the system.
We will give you a Primer here…
COMMBUYS will be using the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code system
to define commodities.
By their own definition, “the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC)
is a hierarchical convention that is used to classify all products and services.
It is the most efficient, accurate and flexible classification system available today for
achieving company-wide visibility of spend analysis, enabling procurement to deliver
on cost-effectiveness demands and allowing full exploitation of electronic commerce capabilities.”
The UNSPSC system is: A system of classification, in this case,
of products and services bought and sold A hierarchical tree structure, which enables
“drill down” and “roll up” analysis To enable collaborative commerce as technology
and procurement exchanges grow this allows for a more uniform classification system that
can be shared with all
UNSPSC uses a classification system that parallels your Biology 101 class Animal Classification
unit. In our case we are working with commodities and services rather than genus and species.
COMMBUYS will be using the first three numbers of the UNSPSC Code….
Segment Family
Class
Using the example above the toner cartridge would be found under “Duplicating machines”
or number 44-10-15.
If you would like to learn more about the UNSPSC Commodity Code system we invite you
to visit their website:
www.unspsc.org
This a simply laid out informational site that is easy to navigate. The FQA’s and
Education sections might be particularly helpful in learning more about this new way of classifying
your products or services.
We suggest you do this before beginning the registration confirmation process to be sure
you have a good understanding how the UNSPSC classification system works.
Now that you have a better understanding of how the commodity codes are formulated we
can look at how to find the appropriate designations for your company’s goods or services. Do
you remember how you refined your Solicitation search in COMM-Pass by casting a “wide net”
at first and sharpening your selections through Keywords? We suggest you do the same thing
with this new system.
Please note that like all the Vendor information sections in COMMBUYS the Commodity Codes are
also editable. You can activate and deactivate them as you learn the system and become more
comfortable with them.
There are three ways to search for the Commodity code in the COMMBUYS Market Center:
Segment- Family Search Keyword Search
UNSPSC Code Browse
After the registration you can sample each method to find the which one works best for
you. You may want to combine how you use the different searches.
Click the “Maintain Commodity-EPP Codes & Services” Icon to see the UNSPSC Search
tool.
Next click on the “Maintain Commodity-EPP’s” Icon.
You will be sent to a screen showing your present code selections.
Your screen may display that a UNSPSC Code is required, you MUST select at least one
to proceed with registration.
Select the “Add Additional Codes” box to continue – the next few slides will explain
the three different ways to search the codes.
Searching by UNSPSC Segment- Family Search - Selecting the correct UNSPSC is very important
and you may want to select broad categories and all possible categories in order to receive
a wide range of bid notifications.
Under the Search heading find the UNSPSC Segment- Family box
Using the drop box you can identify your commodity by Segment grouping
When you find the Segment you are looking for click on it
You will now receive your family options for this segment.
Click the corresponding boxes for the family groupings that you want associated with your
contract.
As you can see COMMBUYS uses the first three numbers of the UNSPSC code… the segment…
the family… and class.
In this case 32-13-10
Click on the “Save” box to activate this code
The second way of finding the UNSPSC Code is using the Keyword Search
In the “UNSPSC Keyword” box type the word of the commodity or service you are seeking.
In the “Search using” drop down box choose “ALL of the criteria”
Click Search
The Class description of the items matching your Keyword will appear below.
Click the corresponding boxes of the items you are choosing.
Click “Save & Exit” to save these commodities
This might be a good option for selecting codes if you are not familiar with the system
or want to see all the options for a particular commodity or service.
Here you are given ALL the family options via the word “electrical” instead of from
a specific segment number. With electrical there are several segment numbers… 25-17,
26-12, 39-11, 39-12. Although you can not see them on this screen view 32 separate products
or services related to electrical that came up.
The third way to find the correct Commodity Code is the UNSPSC Code Browse.
Next to the UNSPSC Code Browse click the “Show Categories” box
All the categories will appear below
Find the appropriate Segment Code
Click the corresponding underlined number for the Segment description you would like
to learn more about.
This will “open up the commodity” to its family and class level
If this is a commodity you are seeking click “Save” to activate your code selection.
You will be sent to the “Current Codes” screen.
At the “Current Codes” screen you can see all the codes associated with your business
profile.
Once codes have been chosen and saved you can deactivate codes that are not working
for you or add additional codes.
To deactivate codes: Check the box associated with the code you
would like to deactivate
Click the “Deactivate Selected Items” box
To add more codes: Click the “Add Additional Codes” box
This will bring you to the UNSPSC Search screen and you would conduct your search
If you are done in the Commodity Icon select the “Org Maintenance” link to return to
the “Maintenance Organization Information” screen to continue with registration
The “Maintain Program Qualification Icon” is next. It is a review of the qualifiers
concerning eligibility for the Small Business Purchasing Program.
Whether you are eligible for the SBPP or not this section should be checked off to complete
the registration process.
Click on the “Maintain Program Qualification Icon” to complete this portion.
To continue without registering simply click on the “Exit” box. This will tell COMMBUYS
you are not a SBPP registrant.
If you are going to list your company in the Small Business Purchasing Program (SBPP) you
will be asked a number of qualifying questions to register as a SBPP Participant.
To register continue by clicking on the “Continue” box
Next from the “Program Qualification Warning” screen click on “I Acknowledge” to continue.
You are now on the “Program Qualification Questions” screen
If you are going to list your company in the Small Business Purchasing Program (SBPP) you
will be asked a number of qualifying questions to register.
To complete the SBPP portion of the registration process respond to the (*) asterisked fields
and drop boxes questions as prompted.
You will need to know a number of items including Tax and Unemployment Insurance filing information.
Click on “Save & Continue” when completed
You will be brought to this screen labeled “Program Qualification Results”
Click on the “Org Maintenance” link to return to the “Maintenance Organization
Information” screen to continue with registration.
If you click on the “Maintain Program Qualifications” Icon you can view your responses to the SBPP
questions.
On the “Maintenance Organization Information” screen the next Icon is “Maintain Regions”.
COMMBUYS does use the “Maintain Regions” Icon.
The next Icon to verify and complete the registration process is the “Maintain Terms & Categories”
section.
Some of the categories can be checked off by the Vendor. The categories where State
or Federal Certification are involved will be checked off by the COMMBUYS administration
after completion of your registration.
Click on the “Maintain Terms and Categories” Icon.
Terms- This section is not used in COMMBUYS.
Your company’s contract terms are included in your Master Blanket Contract posting.
The remaining errors will be resolved as you complete the remainder of this screen.
Categories- are used to find businesses from specific search criteria based programs. These
include Supplier Diversity Program, Environmentally Preferable Products, Small Business Purchasing
Program.
General Acknowledgment is required for registration Select (Y) to confirm agreement with COMMBUYS
Agreement and Terms of Use for Sellers
DUNS Number Check the corresponding box if you have a
DUNS number and enter it in the Notes section
Note: selecting the boxes in this section will not change your status in these programs
as the current certification process for each program still applies.
The next box set is… Environmental Preferable Products/ Services
Vendor (Y/N) Check if you offer EPP products or services
per the State EPP requirements
Box Description Reads: Does your company sell environmentally preferred products or services
(EPP)? EPPs are products and services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health
and the environment when compared to competing products or services that serve the same purpose.
They may include, but not be limited to, items that contain recycled materials, minimize
waste, conserve energy and/or water, reduce the amount of toxic substances disposed or
consumed, protect open space, or lessen the impact to public health. Category URL: http://www.mass.gov/epp
The next box set is… MBE Certified
Read only checkbox
Box Description Reads: Are you currently certified by the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office
(SDO) as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)? Note that once your COMMBUYS registration
is complete, your selection will be validated against the SDO Directory of Certified Businesses.
The database is available for search at the following link Category URL: http://www.mass.gov/sdo
Note: selecting these boxes in this section will not change your status in these programs
as the current certification process for each program still applies .
The next box set is… Prime/Sub Partnering
Check if you are interested in working in a business to business relationship as a Prime
vendor working with a Sub or a Sub vendor working with a Prime.
The next box set is… SDVOBE Certified
Read only checkbox
Box Description Reads: Are you currently certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
as a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDBOSBs). The database of certified
businesses is available for search at the following link. Category URL: https://www.vip.vetbiz.gov/
The next box set is… SDO Certified
Read only checkbox
The next box set is… Business Structure Designation
This is a mandatory selection as you must choose one of the following business types:
Sole Proprietorship/ Partnership/ LLP/ Corporation/ LLC/ Business Trust/ Other business type
Choose one
The next box set is… Business Type
Choose one check box…. Profit or non-profit business
The next box set is… WBE Certified
Read only checkbox
Box Description (should) Read: Are you currently certified by the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity
Office (SDO) as a Woman Owned Business Enterprise (WBE)? Note that once your COMMBUYS registration
is complete, your selection will be validated against the SDO Directory of Certified Businesses.
The database is available for search at the following link Category URL: http://www.mass.gov/sdo
When you have completed these categories click “Save & Exit” to return to the “Maintenance
Organization Information” screen
With the completion of this category you should have completed the registration process.
To verify this log out from COMMBUYS and log in again using your updated password.
Click on the “Alerts” tab. If there are any mandatory areas that you missed then they
will appear as errors at this time.
In the example we give here it appears the UNSPSC code was not selected. The registrant
will need to go back and enter a code in order to be in the COMMBUYS market center.
While we are logged into the COMMBUYS market center again let’s review a few other notes
concerning editing.
COMMBUYS does not use the “Credit Memo List” Icon on the “Maintenance Organization Information”
screen.
Next let’s see how the “Maintain Quote Attachment Repository” Icon is set up.
From the attachment repository you may upload documents and create folders to manage documents.
For example, you want to include a brochure, product list, business references etc. you
can upload and manage them here.
Let’s look at uploading a file.
Select the “Add File” link next to the quote folder
Enter the name of your document and a brief description.
Browse to locate the document.
Select “Save & Continue”
The words “File Upload Successful” displays at the top of the screen.
Click “Save & Exit” to continue.
You can manage your documents by adding folders.
Select the “Create Folder” link to create a new folder
Name your folder and select “Save”
To maintain and manage users on your account select the “Maintain Users Icon”.
Here you will be able to locate users and manage things like:
Roles Contact Information
Password Status
And Security Questions
As a part of User Maintenance you can search for a particular Seller using the User search
tool.
Fill in the fields and drop boxes including Name or User Role
Click “Find it”
If the User is not there and you would like to add them
Click “Add User” to get to the “New Vendor User” screen
From the new Vendor User screen you can add new vendor users to your COMMBUYS account:
Fill in the (*) asterisked fields and drop boxes
Create a permanent Login for the New Vendor User
Create a temporary Password for the New Vendor User
Check off the correct Role – you may add another seller administrator as needed.
Remember the Seller role will allow the user to conduct daily business operations:
Reviews bids Submits quotes
Participates in bidder conferences Receives and responds to contracts / purchase
orders / change orders
Click the Save & Exit box to get out
The “Add Users on the Account” Icon has the same functions he same way as the “User
Add” component from the last Icon.
Please follow the directions for the new vendor user screen as described in the last slide.
For vendors who have associated vendors such as Doing Business As (DBA), this selection
will allow the parent vendor to request the DBA vendor to register.
When the vendor clicks on the Add Associated Organization option, an email screen appears.
The vendor will enter in the email address for the DBA vendor and a message in the Text
field onscreen.
Click “Send” to send the message
You are good to go and ready to use the new COMMBUYS Market Center!!!
Welcome to COMMBUYS!!!!
This completes our training for this session.
We encourage you to contact your COMMBUYS Resources for any assistance you might need
in completing this important task.
If it is before March 24… Contact your Vendor Outreach Contact who your company has been
working with over the past couple of months
If you need assistance after March 24… Contact the COMMBUYS Help Desk
Phone 888-627-8283
Email: COMMBUYS@State.MA.US