This guide provides a complete walkthrough for creating a new project RFP and, if required, an Auction using the Corporate templates.


The templates is specifically designed for Metro AG / International buyers managing quantity collection and price negotiations for Food, Near-Food, or Non-Food articles.



Prerequisites: 

Before you begin, make sure you have:


Important: Projects must be created from the RFX module, and all articles must be defined and maintained under Demand Specification. This step is a mandatory prerequisite for awarding.


Step-by-Step Process


1. Create the Project


Navigate to:


Menu → Sourcing → Project Management → RFX → Project List
Click New to start a project.

Select one of the Corporate Templates:

  • Corporate Global Food Sourcing – Metro AG Food & Near-Food products
  • Fresh Template Corporate Global Food Sourcing – Metro AG Fresh products
  • Non Food Corporate Sourcing – Metro International Sourcing Non-Food items

Then click Apply.




Configure Project Details


  • Enter the Project Name (follow your naming convention).
  • Select the International Classification:
    • Click “+”, search for the category, select it, then Apply.
  • Choose Time Schedule (Yes/No)
  • Click Save.


2. Create the Project Team


  • Go to Project Team → Add.
  • Search for internal users (country buyers, colleagues) and click Add to Project Team.
  • In the popup, assign the correct Role, then click Apply.
(Note: They must have an eSourcing account.)


Common Roles:

  • OBM Lead – Project owner
  • OBM Substitute – Full rights, acts as backup
  • Guest – Read-only access
  • Buyer Participant – Country buyers providing quantities
  • Mandatory roles for Metro AG Food projects with time schedule:
    Head of QA, Quality_Assurance, Packaging Design_, Technical Packaging_, Logistic Master Data, Master Data_


Click Back to Project Team to review invited users.



Important Notes:

  • Roles can be changed anytime.
  • Users can be invited anytime.
  • Users can be deleted only if the project status is In Setup.
  • If the project is no longer In Setup, set the invitation status to Uninvited to remove a user.

 



3. Invite Suppliers


  • Go to Supplier Circle and click Add.
  • Search for the supplier (by company name, username, email, etc.), select them, and click Add to Current Project.


Onboarding Requirements:

  • All invited suppliers must be onboarded via MLP.
  • If the company is having an MLP Supplier ID, it is onboarded in Metro Link Plus
  • If the user has an SSO flag, they have eSourcing access via Metro Link Plus.


  • Click Back to Supplier Circle to review invited suppliers.



➡ See How to remove a supplier from the project if needed. 


4. Upload Project Documents


  • Navigate to Documents and click Mass Upload to attach files for buyers and suppliers.
  • Select files and wait for upload completion.


  • Set access permissions for buyers and suppliers as needed.
  • Before publishing the RFP, at least one document must be set as General Conditions (GC). 
    • To do this, select the document and click Set GC.


Important Notes:

  • Documents must not be marked as Restricted before upload.
  • GC documents cannot be replaced once the RFP grid is published.
  • When the project is no longer In Setup, you can upload additional documents and adjust access, but you cannot delete documents.


5. Define the Articles in Demand Specification


Go to Demand Specification - Edit line items and choose:
  1. Insert Empty Lines (for creating new articles), or
  2. Insert Existing Article (for renegotiating existing items).



Option A -  Insert empty lines: 
  • select the number of lines and click Apply.
  • Fill in article details and click Save. 
  • Note: Fill the article name according to your naming conversion
    (Columns marked in red are mandatory.)



Option B -  Insert Existing Articles:

  • Search for the articles you need to renegotiate, select them, and click Renegotiate Article.
  • You can also search by the previous Project ID to select multiple articles at once.

Important Conditions for Renegotiation:

  • The article status must be Active or Expired.
  • The article must not have any version marked as In Development.
    • If a version is In Development, it means the article was not yet awarded in a previous project and cannot be renegotiated.


Helpful Tools: 

  • Use Export Grid to fill data in Excel, then Import Lines to upload.



  • Use Copy to replicate data across articles (e.g., contract dates, unit measurement).



6. Publish the Demand specification grid (for quantity collection)


When you are ready to open the quantity collection: 

  • Open BU View.
  • Click Publish.



 

A popup will appear:

  • Click Next
  • Set Start and End dates
  • Click Apply



What Happens Next: 


  • Project status becomes Online.
  • Only internal users see the grid.
  • Buyer Participants receive an email announcement.
  • As long as the grid is Online/Extended → buyers can submit quantities.
➡ Instructions for Country Buyers:  How to place Quantities as a Country Buyer


Options while Quantity collection is Online


  • Open the project → Demand Specification → Back to Tender Elements



  • Use View answers or View reports to see the quantities published by the countries: 


  • Use the Extend if you need to change the end date and time: 
  • Select countries
  • Click Next, set new date/time
  • Click Apply




  • Use Place Values option in case you need to add quantitates on behalf of a country:
  • Select Business Unit
  • Enter quantities → Save
  • Click Publish all tabs



7. Create RFP (Request for price) 


When the Demand Specification grid is Closed or In Analysis, open the 3‑dot menu or double arrow:


Choose one:

  • Transfer to RFP

    • Creates one line per Article per Country
    • Suppliers submit values separately by country

  • Aggregate & Transfer

    • Creates one line per Article
    • Quantities aggregated across all countries



Available Options in RFP Setup


  • Edit Line Items – Change article details


  • Previewer – See what suppliers will see


  • Open – Adjust grid structure, delete/add columns


  • You can also set up a competitive RFP, allowing suppliers to see their ranking position and/or the best price after submitting their own values. Suppliers can receive email notifications if their ranking changes.
            ➡  See instructions on how to set up a competitive RFP.


8. Publish the RFP

  • When ready In the RFP menu → click Publish.


  • A Popup will appear:

    • Click Next
    • Set Start/End dates
    • Click Apply


After Publishing:



Additional Actions:

  • Use View Answers to check supplier responses.
  • Use Extend to change the end date.
  • After the end date, the RFP status changes to “In Analysis”, and suppliers will no longer be able to add or edit prices.


You can then:

  • Optional: Continue negotiations by creating an Auction from this project

➡ See how to create an auction.

  • Award the project and select the winning supplier 
        ➡ See how to award a Corporate project.