Sourcing: Creating Opportunity Postings

Opportunity Postings enable your organization to communicate current sourcing needs or requirements to suppliers. Suppliers can review these postings and respond if their products or services align with your needs. You may choose to make postings visible to all suppliers within the SupplierGateway network or narrow the audience by applying the available targeting options.

To Post an Opportunity - Navigate to the Sourcing module and select Post Opportunity > Create New Posting

Once a posting is published, it will appear in the Opportunity Posting console, where you can view, edit, and manage it using the available action icons. While the posting is active, you can monitor which suppliers have responded and evaluate whether they meet your organization’s requirements. After the posting is closed, suppliers will no longer be able to view or respond, and your team can review the submissions and engage with selected suppliers as needed.

Best Practices for Opportunity Postings

1. Provide a Clear and Specific Title
Use a concise, descriptive title that immediately communicates what your organization is sourcing (e.g., RFP type: Clinical Cleaning Services for Multi-Site Healthcare System).

2. Include a Detailed Description of the Need
Clearly outline what your organization is looking for; including scope, product or service categories, and any relevant background. The more clarity you provide, the easier it is for suppliers to determine whether they are a good fit.

3. Define Requirements and Qualifications Up Front
List mandatory criteria such as certifications, compliance standards, experience levels, industry requirements, or documentation suppliers must provide. This helps filter out unqualified responses.

4. Specify Deadlines and Key Dates
Include clear submission deadlines, review periods, or expected award timelines so suppliers know exactly what to expect.

5. Attach Supporting Documents When Applicable
Provide specifications, statements of work, diagrams, pricing templates, or other materials that help suppliers fully understand the opportunity.

6. Target the Right Supplier Audience
Use audience-filtering options to reach suppliers who are most likely to meet your needs. This reduces irrelevant responses and increases overall quality.

7. Use Clear, Professional Language
Avoid jargon or internal terminology. Use terms suppliers across industries can understand.

8. Communicate Evaluation Criteria
When appropriate, let suppliers know how responses will be assessed; price, capability, certifications, capacity, experience, etc.

9. Keep Postings Updated
If scope, requirements, or timelines change, update the posting to ensure suppliers have accurate information.

10. Close Postings Promptly When Complete
Close the posting as soon as the opportunity is no longer accepting responses to avoid confusion and ensure only valid responses are submitted.

11. Follow Up with Responding Suppliers
After reviewing supplier responses, engage directly with those that meet your requirements. Clear next steps help maintain strong supplier relationships.

The short video below provides an overview of how to create an Opportunity Posting. Please note that the user interface shown is from an older version of the platform, but the functionality remains the same.