July 27, 2020
COMMBUYS Enhancements
Get the Details and Find Training Resources
The Operational Services Division (OSD) continues to work with our COMMBUYS software provider to enhance our buyer and vendor user experience. We are pleased to launch the following enhancements effective August 3, 2020, and provide training to facilitate their adoption and use.

Enhancement Descriptions
Navigation enhancements help buyers and procurement managers more easily locate documents within the portal:
  • New Change Order Status Tile - New dashboard view enables buyers to quickly identify Change Orders ready for action by you and others in your organization;
  • Bid Solicitation Search Using Bid Opening Date - Additional search parameter helps to narrow search results and find items more quickly;
  • Expanded Internal Quick Search Capabilities to Conduct Multi-field Searches - Offers document searches across multiple fields: Vendor Name, ALT ID, Item Description, Document Number, and Document Description for more targeted search capabilities.

Simpler ways for Department contract managers and municipal procurement managers to manage MBPOs, easier import and export capabilities for bid items, more vendor visibility during bid tabulation:
  • New Begin and End Date Fields to Launch/Remove Shoppable Items and Change Pricing as of Future Dates - You control when an item is available for purchase and are able to account for future price changes;
  • View Vendor Categories during Bid Tabulation - Gives you the ability to view and sort quotes on the Items Tab based on labels, i.e. supplier diversity (SDO);
  • Easy Bid Item Upload - Easily import a large list of items for vendor response using the COMMBUYS template;
  • Simplified Bid Award Process - Compare bid item pricing from all responding vendors and award at the item level. Easily export items for evaluation/awarded items;
  • Improved Approval Path Capabilities for Bid Award - Bid Award approval paths consider Bid Award amount, i.e. one path for <$100M, another for $100M+.

Improved navigation for buyers and vendors:
  • Web Browser Back Button Capabilities - Users return to their previous screen or step more easily; as expected.

More visibility and ease of response for vendors:
  • Add Up to Five Unique Email Addresses for Bid Notifications - Expanded from one email address, businesses are less likely to miss a bid opportunity;
  • Export and Upload Bid Items to a Quote - Enables ease of response for bids with a large number of items: easily download bid items and upload responses using the COMMBUYS template.
Find Training Resources

Buyers
OSD's Training Department has scheduled several online training sessions to review these enhancements and demonstrate their use within the COMMBUYS portal. Sign up to attend a one-hour session:
  • Tuesday, August 4, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, August 6, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
  • Thursday, August 6, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
  • Monday, August 10, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
  • Monday, August 10, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday, August 12, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
  • Wednesday, August 12, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.


Vendors
OSD is preparing a prerecorded webcast providing an overview of the COMMBUYS enhancements for vendors. Link to this recording from the Important Links box on the COMMBUYS home page beginning August 3.
Questions

Refer questions about navigating the new COMMBUYS enhancements to the OSD Help Desk at 888-MA-State (627-8283) or OSDHelpDesk@mass.gov .