The Protest (PRTST) page serves as the central repository to track protest and post award disputes in CGI Advantage. The page can be accessed via Global Search or by clicking the Protests row-level action on the Procurement Management page. On newly inserted records, transaction reference information is required to infer the associated procurement folder information. The most current, final version of the SO, PO, MA, PE and TM Transaction Types can be referenced on the Protest page. Since multiple protest/disputes can be entered against a procurement folder the system automatically generates a unique Protest ID for each record on the page.
When accessed from the Procurement Management page, this page is pre-filtered to only display protest and dispute tracking records related to the Procurement Folder that was selected on Procurement Management, including historical procurement folders. Newly inserted records are pre-populated with the Procurement Folder, Procurement Title, Procurement Type ID, Procurement Type, Buyer, and Buyer Team of the associated Procurement Folder on Procurement Management.
When accessed from Page search, all protest and dispute records related to non-historical procurement folders are displayed on the PRTST page. On newly inserted records, the Procurement Folder is inferred from the entered transaction reference information (Transaction Code + Doc Dept + Transaction ID) and the Procurement Type ID, Procurement Type, Buyer, and Buyer Team are inferred from the associated Procurement Folder.
The buyer should complete all applicable fields on the Protest tab. The Buyer should manually select a value in the Protest Status field to indicate the status of the protest/dispute. Each Protest Status has a hidden Final indicator that indicates whether the protest/dispute has reached a “final” resolution. If a transaction is being processed that references a Procurement Folder that has one or more outstanding protests/disputes (that is, the Final indicator is not selected), then an overrideable error is issued. The following table lists each Protest Status value and indicates whether the Final indicator is selected for that value.
Protest Status |
Final |
Intent to Protest |
|
Initiated |
|
In Progress |
|
Withdrawn |
Yes |
Denied |
Yes |
Sustained |
Yes |
Resolved |
Yes |
An overrideable error message is issued on the PO, MA, PR and MD Transaction Types to alert users that the transaction has one or more outstanding protests/disputes. A protest/dispute is considered outstanding if the Protest Status does not have the Final indicator selected (that is, Intent to Protest, Initiated, and In Progress). The Status History tab maintains the history of the Protest Status.
If the Protest Action Template field is populated on the Protest tab, then all Actions associated with the template are automatically added to the Actions tab. You can manually change the information inferred from the template. You can remove actions added by the template, and you can manually add Actions to the Actions tab by selecting valid Actions from the Action pick list. If the value in the Protest Action Template field is changed, then all existing actions associated with the template, and all manually added actions are deleted from the Actions tab. However, if at least one action has been completed (that is, the Completed flag is Yes on the Actions tab), then a change to the Protest Action Template field is prohibited and any additions/deletions must be done from the Actions tab.
The Action field provides a pick to the Protest Action table. When an action is recorded on the Protest tab, the Days before Buyer Alert field from the Protest Action table is used to infer the value for the Alert Days field. When an action is recorded on the Protest tab, the Days Required for Completion field from the Protest Action table is used to infer the value for the Estimated Completion Date field.
Estimated Completion Date = (Application System Date + number of calendar days recorded in the Days Required for Completion field on the Protest Action page).
The Action records are added to the Action tab upon Save.
The Protest Action Alerts batch process sends alerts to buyers and buyer teams regarding incomplete protest actions that are flagged for an alert. An alert is sent if all of the following are true:
A Protest Action record has an Alert Date that is equal to or less than the current system date. (Note: The batch job calculates the Alert Date, and it is not visible on the Protest page. Alert Date = Estimated Completion Date – Alert Days), AND
The value selected in the Protest Status field does not have the Final indicator selected, AND
The Completed flag has not been selected for a Protest Action record, AND
The Issue Alert flag is selected.
Refer to the “Protest Action Alerts” run sheet in the Procurement Run Sheets guide for more information.
Buyers can upload documentation related to the proceedings by selecting the Attachments action on the Protest tab.
When a new protest record is saved, a Protest Filed? flag is checked on the Procurement Management page indicating that a protest has been filed for the associated Procurement Folder. The Protest Filed? flag is automatically unchecked if all Protest records associated with the Procurement Folder on the Protest page have been deleted.
If the Procurement Security (PROC_SECURITY) parameter on the Application Parameters page is true then only the following users may update the Protest record: the related Procurement Folder’s Buyer, member of Buyer Team, Manager or Member of Management Team, or any user that is identified as a Procurement Administrator on the Procurement User page. If the Procurement Security parameter on Application Parameters is false, then a Manager can make the changes or if no buyer is assigned then anyone can make changes.
The Protest page can also be used to capture agency initiated complaints against a vendor or a specific vendor contract. You may enter records onto this page in two ways; either via submitting a Performance Evaluation (PE) transaction or through manually entering the record on this table. If the record is created through a PE transaction, all the required data is inferred from the PE transaction upon submission of the PE transaction to Final. If the record is created manually, then you must manually enter all the required data.
If a record is added to the Protest table (either manually or via the PE transaction), with the Complaint Email Type field populated, then the system infers the corresponding Email/Letter Type from the Email/Letter Generation (ELGT) table and creates two records on the Manage Email Letter Generation (EMAIL) table. The first record created on the EMAIL table is used to send a message to the vendor against whom the complaint is registered, while the second record is used to send a message to the agency who has registered the complaint against the vendor.