Date:20/04/2010 Page 1 / 15 CONTRACTOR PROFILE GUIDE APRIL 2010
Date:20/04/2010 Page 2 / 15 VERSIONS Version Author Date Description 1.0 20/04/2010 Contractor profile user guide CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION...3 2. BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLATFORM...3 2.1. PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PORTAL...3 3. USE PROCEDURE...4 3.1. REGISTERING A PROFILE...6 3.2. ACCESSING A PROFILE...8 3.3. COMPANY INFORMATION...11 3.4. MY COMPETITIVE TENDERS...12 3.5. MEETING POINT...12 3.6. INNOVATION MAIL BOX...15
Date:20/04/2010 Page 3 / 15 1. Introduction This document constitutes the user guide for the functionalities relating to the Contractor profile. The objective is to describe to tenderers how the functionalities work on an operating level within the public procurement portal. The Contractor profile is a virtual space within the public procurement portal. By means of authenticated browsing, users can access all the contents of the Portal, in particular a set of services aimed at tenderers so as to provide a space for each individual tenderer. The space offers a series of tools that facilitate access to and management of public procurement calls for tender of interest to you, collaboration and communication between tenderers, and the improvement of innovation in the framework of public procurement. Authenticated access allows tenderers to select those calls for tender that interest them, and makes it easier to carry out subsequent enquiries from the same area. Within the general Contractor profile section, users can access other services such as the Meeting Point and the Innovation mail box. 2. Basic information about the Platform The Public Procurement Services Platform is an IT system that acts as a central access point to public procurement information from the Generalitat of Catalonia. Tenderers can access the platform via the public procurement website. 2.1. Public procurement portal It is the electronic centre for public procurement for participating contracting authorities for the purposes described in article 10 of Law 11/2007, of 22 June. It facilitates access by companies to information concerning procurement activity by the public administration, specifically competitive tenders and awards. - It provides access to comprehensive information published by the contracting authorities. - Access is open to the general public. - Authentication by means of a digital certificate is required to access contractor profiles.
Date:20/04/2010 Page 4 / 15 3. Use procedure Registration and use of the Contractor profile can only be carried out by means of authenticated access using a digital certificate. What is a digital certificate? Digital certificates serve as a mechanism for identifying users. They ensure actions are authorised and make it possible to know in what capacity the certificate owner is acting - i.e. it is possible, for example, to identify a member of the public when acting as an individual, as a person associated with an organisation, as their legal representative or as a member of a professional group. Accepted digital certificates.contractor profiles can be accessed by means of digital certificates from the organisations properly accredited by the Catalan Certification Agency (CATCert). A list can be found at http://www.catcert.cat/web/cat/5_2_entitats_certificacio.jsp Certificate types.catcert classifies certificates according to type in order to communicate the link between an individual and a company and that person's degree of authority to represent the company. Natural person - represents a member of the public as such. Corporate natural person - represents an individual as a member of the company, although they do not have powers of representation. Representative natural person - confers powers on an individual to represent a company. Legal person - identifies a company as a legal entity. The Contractor profile incorporates the following functionalities: - Profile registration - Company information - a means of updating a company's identification and presentation documents and its user profile. This information becomes publicly available as company contact data when the tenderer uses the Meeting Point. - My competitive tenders - makes it possible to create a list of calls for tender that are of interest to the tenderer. This section is private and cannot be seen by the administration or by other tenderers, and it has no effect upon them. - Meeting point - this function makes it possible to exchange contact data with other tenderers that have indicated an interest in collaborating on that particular call for tenders. When tenderers use this functionality, their company data shall become publicly available to other tenderers. - Innovation mail box - a means of submitting innovative proposals to the Administration. The functions that are accessible to the tenderer depend, according to their identification criteria, on the Certificate type used to access the Contractor profile.
Date:20/04/2010 Page 5 / 15 - Profile registration - requires access with a corporate natural person certificate, a representative natural person certificate or a legal person certificate. - Company information - requires access with a corporate natural person certificate, a representative natural person certificate or a legal person certificate. - My competitive tenders - access allowed with any certificate. - Meeting point - access allowed with any certificate. - Innovation mail box - access allowed with any certificate. How to start work: 1. Profile registration Companies must first go through the registration procedure to access the Contractor profile and the functionalities found within that area. Companies registered with the Electronic Register of Tenderering Companies (RELI) prior to March 2010 are automatically registered and are, thus, exempt from this procedure. - The information given on the form comprises identification data along with the corporate presentation. The information shall become publicly available when the tenderer uses the Meeting point functionality. - The person who carries out the registration (and who owns the certificate) shall be registered as the first user and contact in the Contractor profile. 2. Registering other users After having registered, the person who carried out the registration can register other users or contact persons in the company within the profile. These users can then access the profile thereafter and make use of the functionalities.
Date:20/04/2010 Page 6 / 15 3.1. Registering a profile Companies registered with the Electronic Register of Tenderers (RELI) as of March 2010 will already have their Contractor profile and will have been automatically registered on the Portal. All other companies are required to register their profile manually. To do this, the user needs to gain access using the company's certificate and complete the registration form with the company's information. A number of guidelines regarding the form follow: The "NIF/CIF" (tax identification number) and "Name/Company name" fields cannot be changed because they were taken directly from the certificate used for the registration. "Contact person" is the name and surname of the certificate owner whose NIF (tax identification number) appears on the form.
Date:20/04/2010 Page 7 / 15 "Corporate presentation" is a means of attaching a corporate presentation document. Language. This states the language for navigating around the profile (available in the future). Description. This makes it possible to input a description of the company's activity. After having added the corporate information, confirmation of submission is required before the profile is registered. The user that carries out the registration and that owns the certificate shall appear as the first user and contact person for the profile (additional information can be added later in the Company information, section).
Date:20/04/2010 Page 8 / 15 3.2. Accessing a profile The address for accessing the public procurement portal is: https://contractaciopublica.gencat.cat The vertical menu on the left-hand side includes a link entitled Contractor profile. Clicking on this will open a window to begin access by means of the certificate.
Date:20/04/2010 Page 9 / 15 The application detects available certificates and a new window opens where the user is asked to choose one in order to authenticate the Contractor profile. The user needs to choose a certificate, select it from the list and click Accept. When the Contractor profile is accessed, the following home page is shown:
Date:20/04/2010 Page 10 / 15 Each page has a Log off icon at the top right. Clicking that option takes the user out of the Contractor profile.
Date:20/04/2010 Page 11 / 15 3.3. Company information The first step in being able to make the best use of the functionalities in the Contractor profile is to have complete and up-to-date corporate information. The Change basic information link takes the user to a form where they can add/update corporate information. The Add/Change contact person enables changes to be made to user data and contact names in the profile. There are two implications in adding a contact name: - the person is added to the user profile. This means that from then on, they will have access using a certificate associated to the NIF (tax identification number) indicated.
Date:20/04/2010 Page 12 / 15 - They will appear in the company's contact person list (other tenderers can be seen when the Meeting point functionality is used). 3.4. My competitive tenders This makes it possible to keep a list of the competitive tenders of interest to the tenderer and to access the list easily. Calls for tender can be added to My tender offers by clicking on the "add to my profile" link that appears in detail in the call for tenders. Each contracting authority decides when each call for tenders is removed from the Portal. When such time comes, the call for tenders will no longer be visible on the Portal or, consequently, in My tender offers created by the tenderer. 3.5. Meeting point The meeting point is a virtual space aimed at tenderers to promote collaborative purchasing. It contains contact information for other companies that have indicated their interest in tendering in a call for tenders. When a tenderer wants to contact other tenderers with regards to a specific call for tenders, they need to "indicate their interest". This procedure: - makes their company's presentation and contact details available to other tenderers that have also indicated their interest. - gives them access to the presentation and contact details of other tenderers that have indicated their interest. To add a call for tenders to the meeting point, that call for tenders must be added to My tender offers. Then one of the following is required: From the details of a specific call for tenders, link to This competitive tender suits your profile Display interest From My tender offers, link to "Add interest" When indicating their interest in a call for tenders, the tenderer can select which users (there must be at least one) from the profile they want as contacts in the meeting point. An interest can be viewed/changed by the "See interest" link in My tender offers Show interest from the detail of the last published phase of the call for tenders The "companies that have expressed an interest(n)" link is used to view those companies' contact information that appears under each call for tenders in the Meeting point when at least one other company has indicated their interest in the call for tenders.
Date:20/04/2010 Page 13 / 15 Each contracting authority decides when each call for tenders is removed from the Portal. When such time comes, the call for tenders will no longer be visible on the Portal or, consequently, in My tender offerscreated by the tenderer. An example follows of two companies in the Meeting point that have indicated their interest in a call for tenders. Company 1 Company 2 1. Tenderer 1 has indicated its interest in call for tenders 23432/2010 2. Tenderer 2 has also indicated its interest in the same call for tenders.
Date:20/04/2010 Page 14 / 15 2. Tenderer 1 accesses the Meeting point for the call for tenders and sees that there is another company that is interested 4. Tenderer 2 accesses the same Meeting point and also sees that another company has indicated its interest 3. Tenderer 1 refers to the detail of the companies that are interested in the call and is able to view the identification and presentation information about Tenderer 2 and the contact person for that call for tenders. 5. Tenderer 2 refers to the detail of the companies that are interested in the call and is able to view the identification and presentation information about tenderer 1 and the contact person for that call for tenders. Establishing a possible concrete contractual relationship between the various tenderers for a particular call for tender is outside the scope of the Meeting Point.
Date:20/04/2010 Page 15 / 15 3.6. Innovation mail box The innovation mail box makes it possible for innovative proposals about projects of potential interest to be submitted to contracting authorities. Please note: advertising or commercial proposals shall not be considered. Submitting proposals does not imply any contractual commitment on the part of the administration. For a proposal to be sent, the user needs to complete the form, accept the rules of participation and confirm submission.