Managing Tender Recommendations in C-Link

Estimated Read Time: 4 Minutes ⏱

Sections in this Article

• 📊 Creating a Tender Recommendation

• 📝 Submitting for Approval

• 👥 Approval Process

• 🔄 Withdrawing or Cancelling a Recommendation

• ⏰ Sending Approval Reminders

• 🔒 Order Issuance & Governance

• 📁 Attaching Supporting Documents
• ✅ Summary

📊 Creating a Tender Recommendation

To begin the Tender Recommendation process, start from the Quotes & Analysis area.

1. Access Quotes & Analysis
   Navigate to Quotes & Analysis from the main menu.

2. Select a Subcontractor
   Locate the relevant work package and review the submitted subcontractor quotes.

3. Create Tender Recommendation
   From the subcontractor row, select Create Tender Recommendation to open a draft recommendation.

📝 Submitting for Approval

Once your Tender Recommendation is ready, submit it for approval.

1. Complete the Recommendation
   Review and complete all required commercial details, analysis, and risk notes.

2. Submit for Approval
   Click Submit for Approval.

3. Approval Locking
   If approvals are enabled for your account, the recommendation will be locked and automatically routed to approvers.

👥 Approval Process

Approvals are managed based on your organisation’s role hierarchy.

1. Approver Assignment
   Approvers are defined through the Team Manager module.

2. Approval Actions
   Approvers can Approve the recommendation or Reject it with feedback.

3. Notifications
   Both QSs and approvers receive system-generated email notifications at each stage of the process.

🔄 Withdrawing or Cancelling a Recommendation

Controls are in place to manage changes before final approval.

1. Withdraw a Pending Recommendation
   QSs can withdraw a Tender Recommendation only if no approver has taken action.

2. Return to Draft
   Once withdrawn, the recommendation returns to Draft status.

3. Cancel a Recommendation
   To recommend a different subcontractor, first cancel the existing Tender Recommendation.

4. Single Active Recommendation Rule
   Only one non-cancelled Tender Recommendation can exist per work package at any time.

⏰ Sending Approval Reminders

To help keep approvals moving:

1. Send Reminder Emails
   QSs can send reminder emails to approvers directly from the Tender Recommendation page.

2. Audit Log Tracking
   All reminder activity is recorded in the audit log for full transparency.

🔒 Order Issuance & Governance

When the approval workflow is active, additional governance controls apply.

1. Order Restriction
   Orders can only be issued to the subcontractor with an approved Tender Recommendation.

2. Governance & Compliance
   This ensures formal approval, full auditability, and reduces commercial and contractual risk.

📁 Attaching Supporting Documents

Users can now attach supporting documents to a Tender Recommendation to improve transparency during the approval process.

1. Upload or Attach Documents 
   Upload new documents or attach existing project files directly within a Tender Recommendation.
2. Reference Files
   Attached files are referenced in the recommendation report.
3. Access Downloads 
   Reports will contain a secure link to a dedicated Document Downloads page where stakeholders can access or bulk-download relevant files.

Attachments are subject to the same lifecycle and permission rules as the Tender Recommendation itself.

✅ Summary

This guide has outlined how to:

• Create and submit Tender Recommendations

• Manage approvals and reminders

• Maintain governance over subcontractor selection and order issuance

Here’s a quick step-by-step summary:

1. Navigate to 'Quotes & Analysis' to view work packages.
2. Select a work package and choose 'Create Tender Recommendation'.
3. Fill in the commercial details and attach any supporting evidence.
4. Submit the recommendation for approval, where it will be routed automatically.
5. Manage your files and monitor status from the recommendation page.

Following these steps ensures compliant decision-making, transparent approvals, and reduced commercial risk across your procurement workflows.