What is sealed
A portal submission stores the bid as AES-256-GCM ciphertext. A site owner can open the SharePoint list and see the ciphertext. They cannot read the prices without the seal key, and that key is not in SharePoint. It stays on the Function App.
Search does not look inside a sealed bid. Documents and clarification text remain searchable because they are not part of the sealed envelope.
Who can unseal
Admin and Sourcing Manager can unseal. Unseal is refused when the scheduled open time is still in the future. If the event has no scheduled time, the schedule is not blocking the open.
When opening quorum is greater than one, each required committee member attests before the envelope opens. The app checks that the person attesting is on the committee. Quorum defaults to one, so a single authorized buyer can open the bid when you leave the default in place.
Two-envelope commercial
In a two-envelope event the commercial response stays sealed until the event is in Evaluation, Consensus review, Best and final, Award approval, or Awarded. Technical reviewers can work from the technical envelope without seeing the price.
Scoring
Evaluators score the bids assigned to them. An evaluator does not see another evaluator's scores. Admin and Sourcing Manager can view the other scores when they need a consensus view. Weights should total 100 percent before you compare suppliers.
Conflict of interest
Each evaluator records one of three declarations: no conflict, a potential conflict, or a conflict that requires recusal. The declaration is stored with the score sheet and can be included in the award report.