ASTRAS

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Allocation Network GmbH

Version 6.2.8

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1 General questions .............................................................................................. 4
1.1 The system is logging me out automatically. Why? .................................................................. 4

1.2 Questions regarding pop-up blockers ........................................................................................ 4

1.2.1 I get the message “You’re blocking pop-ups” .......................................................................... 4
1.2.2 How can I turn off my pop-up blocker? .................................................................................... 4
1.2.3 Why must pop-ups on ASTRAS not be blocked? .................................................................... 5
1.2.4 I already disabled the pop-up blocker in my browser, but the pop-ups are still not being
displayed. ........................................................................................................................................ 5
1.2.5 I receive a safety warning when I download a file from the portal. .......................................... 5

1.3 Questions on e-mails .................................................................................................................... 5

1.3.1 Why do I see “unread e-mails” in the box on my “Home” site even though I already received
and read them in my inbox? ........................................................................................................... 5
1.3.2 Why do I permanently receive e-mails from the system? Can I disable them? ....................... 5
1.3.3 Which e-mails will be sent automatically by the system while the event status is „active“? .... 6

2 Questions on suppliers ...................................................................................... 7

2.1 I can’t see the event. ...................................................................................................................... 7

2.2 I can’t find the RFQ documents (NDA). ....................................................................................... 7

2.3 How can I place a quote? .............................................................................................................. 7

2.4 How can I edit a temporarily saved quote? ................................................................................. 8

2.5 I’m not able to import my quote. .................................................................................................. 8

2.6 Where can I upload additional documents? ............................................................................... 8

2.7 How can I send an email in the system? ..................................................................................... 9

2.8 I’m not responsible for the event. ................................................................................................ 9

3 Questions regarding registration/login .......................................................... 10

3.1 I forgot my user name and/or password. .................................................................................. 10

3.2 My user name or password is wrong/doesn’t work. ................................................................ 10

3.2.1 I receive the message that the entered user name or password is invalid. ........................... 10
3.2.2 I receive the message „you login is locked“. .......................................................................... 10

3.3 I receive the message „you login is disabled“. ........................................................................ 10

3.4 I haven’t received login informations yet. Why? ...................................................................... 10

3.4.1 You haven’t finished your registration yet: ............................................................................. 10
3.4.2 You finished the registration but the confirmation (of the buyer) is still missing: ................... 10
3.4.3 No one requested you to register on the portal but you did receive an invitation for an RFQ:
10

3.5 I want to finish my registration but I get an error message: ................................................... 10

4 Questions regarding data administration or user management .................. 11

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4.1 How can I edit my company informations? .............................................................................. 11

4.2 How can I edit my user account? ............................................................................................... 11

4.3 How can I change my password? .............................................................................................. 11

4.4 How can I change the language of the system? ....................................................................... 11

4.5 Can I create additional contacts (accounts) for my company? .............................................. 11

4.6 How can I delete a contact person?........................................................................................... 11

4.7 What is a DUNS-Number? ........................................................................................................... 12

4.8 I received a message that certificates are about to expire / expired. What should I do? .... 12

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1 General questions
1.1 The system is logging me out automatically. Why?
This is due to security reasons. The automatic log-out from the system happens whenever
you stayed inactive for 30 minutes. In the bottom right corner of your screen you can see the
remaining time until you will be logged out automatically. You will not be logged out while
you actively operate in the system (e.g. by clicking).

1.2 Questions regarding pop-up blockers

1.2.1 I get the message “You’re blocking pop-ups”

To be able to work with ASTRAS it is obligatory to allow pop-ups from this page’s URL. Please
edit your pop-up blocker’s settings (see Fehler! Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden
werden. Fehler! Verweisquelle konnte nicht gefunden werden.) and contact your internal
IT support if necessary.

1.2.2 How can I turn off my pop-up blocker?

Caution: Plugins like Google Toolbar or Yahoo Toolbar can block pop-ups, too. In case you
use a plugin like this, please edit its settings so pop-ups won’t be blocked. You can get
further information on this topic in the plugin’s documentation.

Pop-ups can be allowed in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 10.0 as follows:

1. Click on Tools – Pop-up blocker – Pop-up blocker settings
2. Enter the supplier portal‘s address, e.g. www.company.supplierportal.com. Ask your
administrator for the correct URL to use if necessary.
3. Click on Add. The address will be added to the list. Pop-ups on this page won’t be blocked
anymore.
Click on Close and OK.

Pop-ups can be allowed in Mozilla’s Firefox 26.0 as follows:

1. Click on the Firefox button (top left corner)
2. Click Options
3. Choose the tab Content
4. Click Exceptions
5. Enter the supplier portal’s address, e.g. www.company.supplierportal.com. Ask your
administrator for the correct URL to use if necessary.
6. Click Allow. The address will be added to the list. Pop-ups on this page won’t be blocked
anymore.
7. Click Close.

Pop-ups can be allowed in Google Chrome 31.0 as follows:

1. Click on „customize and control Google Chrome“ (top right corner)
2. Click – Settings
3. Click – „Show advanced settings“
4. Click on Privacy – Content settings

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 5. Click on Pop-ups– „Manage exceptions…“
6. Enter the supplier portal’s address, e.g. www.company.supplierportal.com. Ask your
administrator for the correct URL to use if necessary and set behavior to “allow”.
7. Click „Done“.

1.2.3 Why must pop-ups on ASTRAS not be blocked?

For using ASTRAS the usage of pop-ups is a necessary requirement. Pop-ups are small
windows automatically opened by ASTRAS. Since on some websites they contain mainly
bothersome advertising, many browsers come with blocking functions, the so called pop-up
blockers. However in the RFQ portal pop-ups are an important element and must not be
blocked.

1.2.4 I already disabled the pop-up blocker in my browser, but the pop-ups are still not
being displayed.
Plug-ins like Google Toolbar or Yahoo Toolbar can block them, too. In case you use such a
plugin, please adjust the settings so pop-ups will not be blocked from the page
www.allocation.net/asp/astras.R6/WFE/public/master/de/DE/-/showLogin. Consult your
internal IT support for troubleshooting.

1.2.5 I receive a safety warning when I download a file from the portal.
This is a global safety setting in your browser. Please confirm this warning by right clicking on
the message to open the context menu.

1.3 Questions on e-mails

1.3.1 Why do I see “unread e-mails” in the box on my “Home” site even though I already
received and read them in my inbox?
On the Home site in the portal you can see an overview of your unread messages. These
have been sent simultaneously to your e-mail address, too. Please go to “Your data” in the
menu bar – “Inbox” – “more…”. Here you can mark all the e-mails as read so they won’t be
displayed on the Home site anymore.

1.3.2 Why do I permanently receive e-mails from the system? Can I disable them?
Different kinds of information or reminder e-mails can be sent to you from the system, e.g.
status reports on your preregistered suppliers or e-mails concerning your current events.
In an event you will only receive e-mails if you’re set as the event responsible and the
event’s status is „active“.
 In this case you can either set the event’s status on [closed] in the edit options on the
main sheet – you will not receive any status e-mails and the suppliers will not receive any
reminders anymore.
 Or you change your role in the event and remove the option „event responsible“,
however you won’t be displayed as contact person to the suppliers.
 You can also deactivate e-mails for the whole system. Go to “Your data” – “Settings” to
see all e-mails that can be sent to you from the system. Search for the subject of the e-
mail you do not want to receive anymore, e. g. “status report of your preregistered
suppliers” and check the box next to it. Save your changes with “OK”. You will not receive
status reports of your preregistered suppliers anymore.

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1.3.3 Which e-mails will be sent automatically by the system while the event status is
„active“?
These reminder e-mails will be sent automatically every day from Monday to Friday:
 To all suppliers who have not looked at the event in the current round during the first 48
hours (“Reminder - Invitation to quote”).
 To all suppliers who have not yet quoted four days before the current round ends
(“Reminder for RFQ/RFI”).

The event responsible receives an overview with their current events and committed quotes.
One day after the last round ended the event will automatically be set “offline” and
“closed”. For this the event responsible receives an automatic information e-mail, too.

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2 Questions on suppliers
2.1 I can’t see the event.
 The event is closed already
Is the event already closed you will not find it on the home-page. In this case you have to
switch to the events tab and switch the status filter to „all“. After that you will see the event
in the list.
 Another contact person is invitet to the event
Only the contact person that is invited to the event will be able to see it. If you colleague
receives the invitation he needs to login with his account to see the event (in this case you
will not see the event on your own account).

2.2 I can’t find the RFQ documents (NDA).

Buyers have the option to enter a NDA (non-disclosure agreement) in the system. This NDA
needs to be read and accepted/signed before you get access to the RFQ documents.

You can accept a NDA as follows:

1. Open the event.

2. A list of NDAs will show up.
3. Click “read”. A download manager will open. Open or save the file.
4. As soon as you read the NDA you can/need to accept it. You can do that by clicking
“accept”. Confirm with “Ok”. Now you get access to the RFQ documents.
5. In some cases the NDA needs to be signed. That means you need to send a signed version
of the NDA to the buyer. You can do that per email or upload it in the system. Procedure
as follows: Click “accept” – a pup-up will open – search for your file on your hard drive
and import it. Save with “Ok”.
6. Now you have to wait until the buyer has confirmed your signed NDA. You will be
informed per email. After that you can logon the system again and access the RFQ
documents.
Attention: The pop-up (Nr. 4) can be missed easily and may be minimized in your task bar.
Accepting an agreement:
1. Open the event.
2. The agreement will show up.
3. Read the text and print it where required (upper right corner).
4. Mark the checkbox in the upper right corner.
5. Click „accept“.

2.3 How can I place a quote?

Quotes can be placed in active rounds only. If there is a active round is visible at the upper
right corner in the “current round” section.
Depending on the event you can download a quotation form (excel) or enter your quote
online.

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If you open the event you will find a „export“ and „ create new quote“ button on the main
sheet.
Click “export” to download the quotation form and the RFQ documents. Save the quotation
form at your hard drive and fill in all required informations.
To import the filled quotation form again you need to click „create new quote“. After that
you switch to the first sheet in the “place quote” section of the navigation menu. Now you
can click the actions menu (upper right corner) and choose “import a quote”.
If you didn’t change the file structure and considered all presets, the system will import your
quote. You can take a look at the presets in the “read first” tab of the quotation form.
If all informations are entered you can click „commit quote“. If you don’t want to commit yet
you can “save quote temporarily” – in this case you can make additional changes and
commit it later at any time.
You can also enter your quote directly into the system (without the quotation form):
1. Open the event.
2. Click „create new quote“.
3. Select the first sheet (second/third and so on) in the „place quote“ section and fill in all
required informations. Mandatory fields are marked in yellow.
If all informations are correct you can „commit quote If you don’t want to commit yet you
can “save quote temporarily” – in this case you can make additional changes and commit it
later at any time.

2.4 How can I edit a temporarily saved quote?

If you open an event temporarily saved quotes will be opened automatically. This can be
seen from the fact that there is a “commit quote”, “save quote temporarily”, “cancel” and
“quit button at the bottom of the page.
If you don’t see these buttons proceed as follows:
1. Click on „quotes“ in the navigation menu.
2. Click on the name of your quote to load it.
3. Now you can see your entry’s or edit them in the sheets of the “place quote” section in
the navigation menu. You can import a new quote to override your values if needed.
4. If you are sure that you don’t have any changes you can “commit quote” (or save
temporarily to commit them later).

2.5 I’m not able to import my quote.

I get an error while uploading the (filled) quotation form and I‘m not able to „commit quote“
successfully. In this case it’s most likely that you changed the quotation form structure,
missed some mandatory fields or entered wrong informations. Please read the error
message exactly and review your entry. If the problem continues to exist please contact the
support hotline.

2.6 Where can I upload additional documents?

In a RFQ you have the possibility to upload additional documents: Enter the event and click
on supplier uploads in the navigation menu. Click “new” and upload your document. You can
also link a document to the specific quote.

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2.7 How can I send an email in the system?
1. Open the event.
2. Click on „Messages“ in the navigation menu.
3. Click “new” a pop-up will open.
4. You can select the recipient, define a subject, add an annex and edit your text. Multiple
recipients can be marked by using the Ctrl-button.
5. Click „Ok“ to send out the email.

2.8 I’m not responsible for the event.

If you are invited to an event which you are not responsible for please contact the
responsible event manager. The contact informations of the event manager are available at
the main page of the event. The event manager can add the responsible person of your
company to the event.

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3 Questions regarding registration/login
3.1 I forgot my user name and/or password.
Click „forgot password“ to receive new login informations. Enter the email address of the
registered account and the captcha – confirm with OK. You will receive an email with a link
to generate a new password. It’s recommended to copy the password in the email and not
to write it (please make sure that you don’t copy a “blank character”).

3.2 My user name or password is wrong/doesn’t work.

3.2.1 I receive the message that the entered user name or password is invalid.
Click „forgot password“ to receive new login informations. Enter the email address of the
registered account and the captcha – confirm with OK. You will receive an email with a link
to generate a new password. It’s recommended to copy the password in the email and not
to write it (please make sure that you don’t copy a “blank character”).

3.2.2 I receive the message „you login is locked“.

You have tried to login with the wrong login data 5 times. Your account is locked. Please use
the “forgot password” function to unlock your account.

3.3 I receive the message „you login is disabled“.

Please contact the support-hotline (contact informations are available at the login page).

3.4 I haven’t received login informations yet. Why?

3.4.1 You haven’t finished your registration yet:

You can define your own password during the registration. Your user name will be sent out
once you finished your registration and a buyer has confirmed it.

3.4.2 You finished the registration but the confirmation (of the buyer) is still missing:
If you finished the registration recently you have to wait until the confirmation of a buyer.
This can take up to 1-2 days. After the confirmation you will receive your user name
automatically (your password was defined by you during the registration).

3.4.3 No one requested you to register on the portal but you did receive an invitation for
an RFQ:
If you did receive an invitation email please click on the link in the email. You will be
forwarded to the login page and can use the “forgot password” function to get your login
informations.

3.5 I want to finish my registration but I get an error message:

If you get an error message while finishing your registration please check if there are any
sections marked in red in the navigation menu. Is that the case it’s most likely because you
missed a mandatory field or entered a wrong format. Please make sure that you enter a
material group (at least one).

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4 Questions regarding data administration or user management
4.1 How can I edit my company informations?
Logon the portal. Click “your data” – “company”. Now you can edit your company data,
company informations, documents, certificates, classifications and contact persons.

4.2 How can I edit my user account?

Logon the portal. Click “your data” – “user account”. Now you can edit your personal
informations and user name.

4.3 How can I change my password?

Logon the portal. Click “your data” – “password”. Now you can change your current
password.

4.4 How can I change the language of the system?

Logon the portal. Click “your data” – “user account”. The system language depends on the
„country-specific settings“.

4.5 Can I create additional contacts (accounts) for my company?

You can add contact persons to your company: Click „your data“ – „company“ – „contact
persons“. By clicking the plus at “contact persons” you will get a list of all contact persons for
your company.
To create new contact persons proceed as follows:
1. Click „your data“.
2. Click „company“. Your company informations will be shown.
3. Click „contact persons“ in the navigation menu.
4. Click „create“ (upper right corner) to create a new contact. Mandatory fields are marked
in yellow.
5. Enter the user informations of the new contact.
6. To create a user account please select the new contact person and click „request user
account“ in the actions menu (upper right corner).
7. Save your entry with „Ok“.
Now all responsible buyers receive the information that you requested a new user account.
The buyers will review your request and send out the user name and password.

4.6 How can I delete a contact person?

You can delete another contact person as follows:
1. Click „your data“ in the menu.
2. Click „company“. Your company informations will show up.
3. If the contact persons are not shown you have to click the plus ( ) at „contact persons“
in the navigation menu.
4. Click “deactivate user account” in the action menu (upper right corner).
5. Enter a reason for deactivation and confirm with “yes”.
6. Save your company data with „OK“.

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4.7 What is a DUNS-Number?
The D-U-N-S® Number (Data Universal Numbering System) of Dun & Bradstreet is used to
identify each company witch a unique number.
If you don’t know your DUNS you can inquire it per phone or email. The contact informations
can be found at www.upik.de (Germany), http://www.upik.de/en/ (worldwide). If your
company doesn’t have a DUNS number you can request one.

4.8 I received a message that certificates are about to expire / expired. What should I
do?
You receive this message because at least one of your certificates is about to expire /
expired. The message is a reminder for you to update this certificate. You can do that as
follows:

How to upload a new certificate:

1. Logon to the system.

2. Click „your data“.
3. Click „company“. Your company informations will be shown.
4. Click “documents”.
5. Click „new document“. A pop-up will open.
6. Select „certificate“ as document type.
7. Enter a name and the certificate type.
8. Enter the certificate number and the certifier.
9. Enter the issued date and “valid until”.
10. Click „browse“ and select the respective file.
11. Confirm your entry with „OK“. The certificate will be added.
12. Save with „OK“.
Attention: If a certificate is planned but not available yet you can activate the option
„Certification is planned on the date stated below“. In this case please enter the name oft he
certificate and a planned date.
How to delete a certificate:
1. Click „your data“.
2. Click „company“. Your company informations will be shown.
3. Click „documents“.
4. Select the certificate you want to delete and click .
5. Confirm the confirmation message with „yes“. The certificate will be deleted.
6. Save with “OK”.
Please consider that data updates need to be done by yourself.

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