Registration
Vendors must register their company with the Hawaii eProcurement System (HePS). It is the vendor’s responsibility to read all information and become familiar with how to do business with the State. Vendors should use the exact legal name of their company when registering with HePS.
For information on how to search for bidding opportunities and how to submit responses, refer to the
HePS Vendor Quick Reference.
Account maintenance
Vendors are responsible for maintaining their company profile in HePS to keep all information current, especially email addresses. The HePS system uses email notifications extensively for solicitation announcements, addendums, and award information.
Emails
Vendors should add sicomm.net to their address book to ensure they receive notification emails. The email notification system is for convenience purposes only.
Solicitations
Vendors are responsible for reading and understanding all aspects of the solicitation, including: special instructions, specifications, pre-bid meetings, and other items pertaining to the solicitation which may be found in the attachments. It is the vendor’s sole responsibility to follow all instructions regarding the solicitation. If the vendor does not understand any portion of the solicitation, the vendor must contact the State buyer listed on the solicitation for clarification.
Responding to a solicitation
All HePS solicitations require an electronic response via the HePS system. Faxing, mailing, or emailing a response is not allowed and such response will not be considered for award. If documents, forms, brochures, special worksheets, licenses, etc. are required to be submitted, they shall be uploaded in HePS at the same time as the response.
Uploading file attachments
Each attachment in HePS must be less than 4 MG. This restriction may require the vendor to split documents into smaller files and attach them separately. There is no limit to the number of files that may be uploaded to HePS. Technical support is not available 24/7. Vendors should allow sufficient time to submit responses. It is the vendor’s sole responsibility to ensure that their offer is submitted in entirety by the submittal due date and time.
Confirm response
As soon as a response is submitted in HePS the vendor will see a confirmation page confirming and showing all details of the response, including links to the uploaded files. An email confirmation is also sent to the vendors email address detailing the response. Vendors should review the confirmations to verify that pricing is correct and files have been uploaded in entirety. Responses are submitted only after the submit button is selected and the vendor receives the confirmation notices.
Notice of award
If selected for award, a vendor will receive an email notification with a link to view the award. The award is stored in the vendor’s HePS account for future reference. Vendors are advised to read the award carefully. In most cases it is only a notice of award and an official purchase order or contract will be issued by the State to complete the award process. Award can be made only to the vendor name who submitted the response.