This article shows you how to build the questionnaire of a sourcing event in the Strategic Sourcing module and configure scoring: creating sections and questions, choosing question types, setting file-upload limits, weighting sections, defining knockout questions, and reusing question templates. You do all of this in the Questions & Scoring step (step 2) of the event creation wizard, which has two tabs: Questions and Scoring.
How is a questionnaire structured?
A questionnaire is organized into sections, and each section contains an ordered list of questions. Sections group related questions (for example "Company Profile", "Quality & Certifications", or "Sustainability") and are also the level at which scoring weights are set. In a multi-round sourcing event, sections and questions added after publishing belong to the next round, so suppliers only see new content when the round advances.
How do I add sections and questions?
To add sections and questions, work on the Questions tab of the Questions & Scoring step:
Select Add Section and type the section title.
Inside the section, type your question in the field labeled "Type a question or use / for quick commands...". Typing "/" opens a command menu where you pick the question type.
For Single Choice and Multiple Choice questions, add answer options with Add Option. At least 2 options with labels are required.
Toggle Required on questions suppliers must answer (also available as Mark as Required in the question context menu).
Drag and drop sections and questions to reorder them. Changes save automatically into the questionnaire draft; validation errors are listed until you fix them.
Which question types are available?
The questionnaire supports five question types. The following table lists each type and what suppliers see.
Question type | What suppliers do |
Short Text | Enter a single line of text. |
Long Text | Enter multi-line text, for narrative answers. |
Single Choice | Select exactly one option from your list. |
Multiple Choice | Select any number of options from your list. |
File Upload | Upload a file that meets your format and size rules. |
For choice questions you can insert ready-made option sets instead of typing options manually. The available option templates are: Yes / No, Yes / No / N/A, Agree / Disagree, 5-Point Likert Scale, Satisfaction Scale, Priority (High/Medium/Low), Frequency Scale, Rating 1-5, Rating 1-10, and Compliance Status.
What are the limits on file upload questions?
File Upload questions have two settings you must configure: Accepted File Types and Max File Size in MB. The accepted file types you can choose from are PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, JPEG, PNG, and ZIP. At least one file type must be selected and a max file size must be specified, otherwise the questionnaire draft shows a validation error.
How does scoring work?
Scoring turns questionnaire answers into comparable numbers, and you configure it on the Scoring tab of the Questions & Scoring step. Each question has an evaluation method: No Scoring, Auto (the score is derived automatically, for example from the points assigned to each answer option), or Manual (an evaluator scores the answer, typically against a rubric). Each section has its own evaluation settings, opened from the section row: Include in Evaluation (when disabled, the section's questions do not contribute to the overall score), Section % (the percentage of the total score this section contributes; all sections should add up to 100%), and Minimum Score Required (a minimum percentage suppliers must achieve in this section). The Configure Section Weights dialog lets you drag sliders per section, apply Equal Weights, or Normalize to 100%. Per question you can also set the Question Importance weight (higher values give the question more influence on the section score) and the Scoring Scale (maximum points). Bulk actions let you set the scoring type, rubric, or knockout flag on many questions at once.
What are knockout questions and rubrics?
A knockout question automatically disqualifies a supplier whose answer fails your criteria. Enable it with Knockout Question in the question's evaluation settings, then open Configure Knockout Criteria and choose the Criteria Type: Select Options (failing answer options for choice questions) or Contains Text (text that must be present in the answer). Depending on the questionnaire's knockout behavior, a failed knockout either excludes the supplier from evaluation or flags the response for review. A rubric is a reusable scoring guide for manually scored questions: it has a name, an optional description, and scoring tiers, each with a tier label, an optional description, and points. Assign a rubric via Select Rubric on a question, create new ones with Create New Rubric, and use Default Rubrics by Question Type to automatically apply a rubric to all manually scored questions of a given type.
How do I reuse questions with templates?
Question templates let you reuse question libraries across sourcing events. Manage them on the Question Templates page under Templates in the sidebar: each library has a name, a scope (Global or Personal), and tabs for its Questions and Sections. In the questionnaire builder, use Add from Template in the section context menu to insert questions from a library, and Save as Template on a question to add it to a library for future events.