Introducing the Lot Matrix: Simple Lots

At Market Dojo, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to make e-Sourcing simple for our customers.  We believe that software must be easy to use, and give access to the right information at the right time. So we made some changes which we think will help us do those two things even better.

Market Dojo is a Software As A Service product. This means that all our customers will see the benefit of these changes the next time they use the software.

Connecting suppliers and opportunities
Many of our customers have a large supplier base, and don’t always know every supplier who is right for a particular event. To find the widest range of suppliers, customers can make their events visible on their own Market Dojo Portal.

To make events visible, there is a new option on the Display Settings Administration area. First, ensure that you have created a custom portal URL, and then tick ‘Make events publicly visible’.

Now, when people visit https://myportal.marketdojo.com , they will see a list of events, underneath the login box.

Hosts – creating lots
One of the first things that Hosts have to do is create the Lots for their event.  We have made the initial view more welcoming, with easier access to the two main options.  We are soon adding a new option to create ‘Advanced Lots’.  We now show the new option here, but it disabled for the time being.

Before

After

The changes continue here, as you now don’t need to leave the main Lots screen to add or edit.  This makes it easier to refer to the Lots you have already added,  making the process quicker and easier.

Hosts can now also choose to add quantities which are not whole numbers.  In the examples below we have specified a quantity of 15.25 metres of table cloth.

Before

After

Hosts – running an event
When an event  is in progress, the host will want to track the bids as they get placed, and analyse what is happening. To make this easier, we now provide more information on the main screen. This includes details of each participants’ latest bid.  Having this information makes it easier to identify the differences and take appropriate action.  In other words you can now see the Lots by participant and the participants by Lots.

Before

After

After – with participants visible

Participants – placing bids during an auction
Participants now place their bids on the main screen, rather than in a popup. This makes placing bids simpler, especially when the event contains a large number of lots. If the Participant is permitted to see their rank, we have made that information more prominent.

Before

After

Conclusion
We have improved the user interface for both host and participant users. We ensure the right data is available when needed. These changes will make running or participating in an e-Sourcing activity even simpler.

These changes are the first results of our ‘Lot Matrix’ project.  The next stage will give users the ability to provide several data points for each Lot. This data will more accurately express the requirements and offers under negotiation.  We look forward to sharing more of these changes soon.

About: Market Dojo provides accessible eSourcing software. Find out more at www.marketdojo.com