Create MBE-WBE Solicitation - EO-16

Description

This function is part of the Contract Awards subsystem and is used to electronically create and submit the MBE/WBE Solicitation form (formerly the EO-16). The MBE/WBE Solicitation is required for all State projects having minimum participation levels for minority and/or women owned business enterprises. The form is not formally reviewed by the Bureau of Equal Opportunity, but must be submitted prior to the Due Date. When the project is in Pre-Award status (before the contract has been awarded), no MBE/WBE Commitment forms (EO-32) can be created unless a MBE/WBE Solicitation form exists in Submitted status for the same Business Partner/Business Type combination. The Create and submit MBE/WBE Solicitation function provides part of the Submission, Review, and Approval functionality and is accessed from the MBE/WBE Participation link on the Contractor Project page. The form is only required when the project is non-federal (100% State). When the Submission Due Date is passed or the MBE/WBE Solicitation Status is Submitted, this function is no longer available.

Note: Unlike the MBE/WBE Commitment and the DBE Participation submissions, the MBE/WBE Solicitation screen can only be submitted once and should include all of the necessary information when you submit it.

Quick Navigation

This following table provides an overview of the steps in this process. Detailed step-by-step directions are provided in the next section.

From this screen….	perform this action:
ECMS Welcome page (logged in)	Select the Contractor Services option on the navigation bar Select the My Projects option beneath Contractor Services on the navigation bar
My Projects page	Click the Project Number hyperlink for the project
Contractor Project Page	Click MBE/WBE Solicitation link
MBE/WBE Solicitation	Enter your firm’s contact information Click SAVE button Click ADD button
MBE/WBE Solicitation Detail	Enter: · MBE/WBE business partner information · Business Type (Subcontractor, Supplier, Consultant, Regular Dealer, etc.) · Contact method(s) and date(s) · Amount (of quote, if applicable) Click SAVE button
	Repeat for each MBE or WBE business solicited When you are finished, click the SUBMIT button to update the form status for each form to "Submitted'.

Step-by-Step Directions

User Action	Result
Open your browser software and access the ECMS Welcome page.	The ECMS Welcome page is displayed with the navigation bar on the left.
Using the Registered Users Login fields at the top of the navigation bar, enter your user ID and password. Click GO or tap the Enter key.	The ECMS Welcome page appears. Your user name now appears at the top of the navigation bar, and the navigation bar options are tailored to your security group(s).
From the navigation bar, select the Contractor Services option.	The Contractor Services options available to your user group are displayed.
Select the My Projects option beneath Contractor Services on the navigation bar.	The My Projects page is displayed and lists the projects associated with your business partner ID.
If needed, enter search criteria to narrow the displayed listing of projects, then click the REFRESH button.	The My Projects page is updated based on your search criteria.
Locate the project for which you want to create a MBE/WBE Solicitation and click the Project Number hyperlink.	The Contractor Project page for the specified project is displayed.
If necessary, use the down arrow icon at the upper left of the screen display to jump to the bottom of the screen.	The lower portion of the screen is displayed.
Click the MBE/WBE Solicitation hyperlink.	The MBE/WBE Solicitations screen is displayed. Note: The Submission Due Date contains the date by which you must submit all forms required for the project. Required forms for State projects include the MBE/WBE Commitment forms (formerly EO-32). These forms must also be acknowledged by the respective subcontractors, suppliers, or services listed on the form. All forms are provided as interactive ECMS screens available from links on the Contractor Project page.
Enter the name of the contact person at your firm who can answer questions about the MBE/WBE Solicitation forms in the Contact field.	The name you entered appears in the field. This is a required field. Once you enter the information for one MBE/WBE Solicitation form, however, each subsequent form you create automatically contains the same information.
Enter the contact person’s telephone number in the Phone field.	The number you entered appears in the field. This is a required field.
Note the minimum participation levels for minority business enterprises (MBE) and women-owned business enterprises (WBE) are displayed in the MPL fields.	The MPLs are displayed as percentages of the overall project cost with respect the total bid amount. Note: As you add MBE/WBE forms for individual subcontractors, services, or suppliers, the table in the middle of the screen will be populated with the information you added.
To create a MBE/WBE Solicitation form for the first business partner, click the ADD button.	The MBE/WBE Solicitation Detail screen is displayed in ‘create’ mode.
Select the MBE/WBE by clicking the selection arrow to the right of the Business Partner field.	The Business Partner selection screen is displayed in a separate browser window. This screen is in the standard ECMS selection window format that allows the user to select an item from a list and add it to the appropriate field on the previous screen The list of available business partners displayed in the Select Items to be Added list box is read from the Prequalification tables in the ECMS database. Note: The MBE/WBE subcontractor, service, or supplier must appear in this list.
In the Select Items to be Added list box, locate the MBE/WBE and highlight the entry. Click the ADD>>> button.	The user you selected is moved to the Selected Items list box.
Click the OK button.	The Business Partner selection window closes, and you are returned to the MBE/WBE Solicitation Detail screen with the user you selected displayed in the Business Partner field. If the user is listed only as a MBE or only as a WBE in the Prequalification tables, the Type field is prefilled and cannot be changed. If the user is listed as either a MBE or a WBE, the Type field displays a radio button option, and you must select which type they should be considered as.
Enter a brief description of the type of work you solicited the business partner for with regard to the project (for example, installing PC network in field office).	The text you entered appears in the field. If the text is longer than the text box display, a scroll bar appears to the right of the text box to allow you to scroll through the text. This is a required field that accepts up to 255 alphanumeric characters. You can copy and paste from a word processing document using standard Windows features. However, any formatting (for example, italics, underlining, bold) will be lost.
In the Contacted by Phone, by Fax, by Mail, and/or by Email fields, enter the date you contacted the business partner in mm/dd/yyyy format.	The date you entered appears in the field. At least one of these fields must contain a valid date before the screen can be saved. Tip: You can use the Calendar/clock icon to the right of the date fields to select the date from a pop-up calendar graphic. The calendar graphic displays the current month. If the date you want to select is within the current month, simply click the day. To change the month the calendar displays, use the left- arrow key to display the previous month(s).
If you received a quote from the MBE/WBE, enter the amount of the quote in the Amount field.	The amount you entered appears in the field and is formatted as currency.
Click the SAVE button.	The system displays a ‘please wait’ message while it saves the currently displayed MBE/WBE Solicitation information. When processing is complete, a ‘save successful’ message is displayed.
Click OK on the message box.	The message box closes, and the MBE/WBE Solicitation Detail screen is re-displayed with the information you just entered.
To create another MBE/WBE Solicitation form, click the ADD button.	The screen is cleared and you can enter the information for the next MBE/WBE Solicitation form. Note: You must click the SAVE button before you click the ADD button. If you do not, the information you entered will be lost when the screen is cleared.
When you have created all of the MBE/WBE Solicitation Detail records, select MBE/WBE Solicitation from the Go links and click the GO button.	You are returned to the MBE/WBE Solicitation screen, where the embedded table displays all of the individual forms you created on the MBE/WBE Solicitation Detail screens.
To view or modify a MBE/WBE Solicitation form, click the Business Partner hyperlink.	The MBE/WBE Solicitation Detail screen for the selected business partner is displayed. View or update the information as necessary. Use the NEXT and PREV button to scroll through the list if desired.
When you are satisfied with the information, return to the MBE/WBE Solicitation screen and click the SUBMIT button.	A message is displayed asking you to confirm that you want to submit the MBE/WBE Solicitation forms. Note: If the SUBMIT button is not displayed, either you are not logged in with a user ID in the appropriate user group, or the Due Date has passed.
Click OK on the message box.	The system displays a ‘please wait’ message. When processing is complete, a ‘successful’ message is displayed.
Click OK on the message box.	The message box closes, and you are returned to the MBE/WBE Solicitation screen. The MBE/WBE Solicitation Status displays “Submitted”, and the SUBMIT button is no longer displayed.

Related Help Documents

Topic	Help Document
List of Solicitation forms	Tell Me About MBE/WBE Solicitation
Form fields (EO-16)	Tell Me About MBE/WBE Solicitation Detail
Submit	How Do I Submit BEO Forms

Created by
Joseph D Howe/PennDOT on 03/16/2005 at 10:51:07 AM