Supply Chain · Supplier Management

An approved vendor list that the rest of the system obeys

Every supplier moves from prospect to approved through documents, qualifications and an approval tier. Once approved, the vendor appears in the item-vendor matrix with prices and lead times, and only then can a buyer pick it on an RFQ or a PO. Scorecards, flow-down clauses and corrective actions keep the list honest.

From prospect to preferred source

Five steps, each one visible on the vendor's record.

1
Onboard
Send a vendor onboarding link. The supplier uploads its documents; each file is validated by content. Extra document slots per vendor for anything specific.
2
Qualify
Record process qualifications, commodity categories and the items the vendor covers. Categories gate what the vendor may be asked to quote.
3
Approve
Adding or approving a vendor routes to an approval tier. The lifecycle status moves from under evaluation to approved.
4
Price and rank
The item-vendor matrix holds base and negotiated price, lead time and rank per supplier. Mark one as the preferred source.
5
Measure
Scorecards track on-time delivery, quality acceptance and price variance. Raise a SCAR when something goes wrong.

How a vendor becomes selectable

Approval is a gate, not a label. Sourcing only sees what has passed it.

Inside the product

Vendor directory

Every supplier, from a prospect under evaluation to an approved vendor, with its lifecycle status, process qualifications, and category and item coverage. This is the entry point for onboarding: send the link, collect the documents, approve.

Lifecycle status per vendor: prospect, under evaluation, approved
Onboarding link with document upload and magic-byte validation
Per-vendor extra document slots on the vendor form

Item-vendor matrix

For each item, every approved supplier with base and negotiated price, lead time and rank. The preferred source is what the sourcing engine defaults to when it proposes a direct PO or an RFQ. The negotiated price list is captured from accepted quotes and contracts, so it is never typed twice.

Base price, negotiated price, lead time and rank per supplier
Preferred source drives sourcing by default
Negotiated prices auto-captured from accepted quotes and contracts

Commodity categories

Categories gate qualification: a vendor is qualified for categories, and an RFQ is split by category so each vendor only sees the lines it is qualified for.

Qualification per category
RFQs split by category at sourcing time

Scorecards, flow-down clauses and SCAR

Scorecards measure on-time delivery, quality acceptance and price variance from the documents already in the system. Flow-down clauses are attached to purchase orders automatically, marked mandatory or optional. A supplier corrective action request records root cause, corrective action, verification and closure.

On-time delivery, quality acceptance, price variance
Mandatory and optional clauses flow onto every PO
SCAR with root cause, action, verification, closure

Approval and restricted pickers

Adding or approving a vendor goes through approval tiers like any purchase document. RFQ and PO vendor pickers list only approved vendors. One policy decides whether the picker is narrowed to vendors approved for the specific item or shows every approved vendor.

AVL changes routed through approval tiers
Only approved vendors selectable on RFQs and POs
Item-level or all-approved scope, set by policy

Speaks your market's language

The vendor record keeps its meaning across markets; the labels follow yours.

Approved vendor list

AVL · ASL · vendor master · empanelled vendors

Preferred source

Primary supplier · L1 vendor · default source

SCAR

Supplier corrective action · NCR to vendor · 8D request

Questions buyers ask

Can a buyer raise a PO on a vendor that is not approved?: No. The vendor pickers on RFQs and POs only list approved vendors. A policy decides whether the list is narrowed further to vendors approved for the item, or shows every approved vendor.
Who approves a new vendor?: Adding or approving a vendor goes through the same approval tiers as a purchase document. You set the tiers under Approval Settings by role and value. Self-approval is blocked by default.
Where do negotiated prices come from?: The negotiated price list is captured automatically from accepted quotes and contracts. The item-vendor matrix shows base and negotiated price, lead time and rank per supplier, and marks the preferred source.
How do suppliers send their documents?: Through a vendor onboarding link. Uploaded files are checked by content, not just by extension. Per-vendor extra document slots cover anything specific to that supplier.
What is a SCAR?: A supplier corrective action request. It records the issue, the root cause, the corrective action, the verification and the closure, against the vendor's record.

Related supply chain pages:Project Procurement Approvals Purchase Orders Supply Chain overview

Build your approved vendor list

Import vendors and items from a sheet, send onboarding links, and let approval tiers do the gating.

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An approved vendor list that the rest of the system obeys

From prospect to preferred source

Five steps, each one visible on the vendor's record.

Onboard

Send a vendor onboarding link. The supplier uploads its documents; each file is validated by content. Extra document slots per vendor for anything specific.

Qualify

Record process qualifications, commodity categories and the items the vendor covers. Categories gate what the vendor may be asked to quote.

Approve

Adding or approving a vendor routes to an approval tier. The lifecycle status moves from under evaluation to approved.

Price and rank

The item-vendor matrix holds base and negotiated price, lead time and rank per supplier. Mark one as the preferred source.

Measure

Scorecards track on-time delivery, quality acceptance and price variance. Raise a SCAR when something goes wrong.

Inside the product

Vendor directory

Lifecycle status per vendor: prospect, under evaluation, approved
Onboarding link with document upload and magic-byte validation
Per-vendor extra document slots on the vendor form

Item-vendor matrix

Base price, negotiated price, lead time and rank per supplier
Preferred source drives sourcing by default
Negotiated prices auto-captured from accepted quotes and contracts

Commodity categories

Categories gate qualification: a vendor is qualified for categories, and an RFQ is split by category so each vendor only sees the lines it is qualified for.

Qualification per category
RFQs split by category at sourcing time

Scorecards, flow-down clauses and SCAR

On-time delivery, quality acceptance, price variance
Mandatory and optional clauses flow onto every PO
SCAR with root cause, action, verification, closure

Approval and restricted pickers

AVL changes routed through approval tiers
Only approved vendors selectable on RFQs and POs
Item-level or all-approved scope, set by policy

Questions buyers ask

Can a buyer raise a PO on a vendor that is not approved?

No. The vendor pickers on RFQs and POs only list approved vendors. A policy decides whether the list is narrowed further to vendors approved for the item, or shows every approved vendor.

Who approves a new vendor?

Adding or approving a vendor goes through the same approval tiers as a purchase document. You set the tiers under Approval Settings by role and value. Self-approval is blocked by default.

Where do negotiated prices come from?

The negotiated price list is captured automatically from accepted quotes and contracts. The item-vendor matrix shows base and negotiated price, lead time and rank per supplier, and marks the preferred source.

How do suppliers send their documents?

Through a vendor onboarding link. Uploaded files are checked by content, not just by extension. Per-vendor extra document slots cover anything specific to that supplier.

What is a SCAR?

A supplier corrective action request. It records the issue, the root cause, the corrective action, the verification and the closure, against the vendor's record.