Release 3.3

Note: There is likely to be a transition period for the supplier changes so we have disabled the Supplier Information Capture functionality until the New Year. If you are interested in receiving Supplier information via this new process in the future, please contact us via the help desk.

Supplier Marketplace Enhancements

Release 3.3 includes a lot of changes around the Unimarket Supplier Marketplace that seek to improve the supplier registration process and provide functionality to allow communities to receive supplier data updates including company and tax information.

Registered Suppliers

A key feature of this release is the introduction of a new type of supplier called a ‘Registered Supplier’. To date, only Premium suppliers have registered on Unimarket and Lite suppliers have remained Community specific. Unimarket is keen to increase the number of suppliers within the Supplier Marketplace so we have changed the registration process so that any supplier can register on the marketplace for free and then upgrade to a Premium Account if they require additional Unimarket services. All registered suppliers can manage their information online and they will be listed within the Unimarket Directory that can be viewed by communities.

Supplier Information Capture

Keeping supplier records up to date and accurate is a large task for all organizations. With the introduction of Registered Suppliers, a community can now request that all of their suppliers register on Unimarket (for free) and update their Company and Tax information online. This ensures suppliers can accurately manage their information in one place and it will be automatically available to all of their customer communities. This reduces the effort of updating this information for suppliers and it reduces the on-going effort required by communities to keep supplier records up to date.

US Customers

For US customers we have added the ability for suppliers to complete and submit their W9 and W8 tax forms electronically online. This will ensure greater accuracy as we have included validation on key information such as Tax ID (TIN) formats.

Our Future Goal

We are currently in the process of building a Supplier Interface to allow Communities to update their finance systems with the company and tax (W9,W8) data provided by their suppliers via Unimarket.

Supplier Request Process

We have built a new supplier request process that allows communities to request their supplier to register either via a community specific registration page or via a new invite process. As part of the process a community can determine what information they require suppliers to provide before establish them in their community. For example, requiring them to complete their Company Profile.

Supplier Registration

We have upgraded and simplified the Supplier Registration process to ensure it is easy to follow and quick to register.

Supplier Directory and Forums

Many of the changes in this release around the supplier marketplace are designed to bring buyers and suppliers closer together and use the power of the network to improve procurement processes and communication. We have improved the Unimarket Directory to make it more useful to communities, suppliers can categorize their services, allowing easier searching within the Directory and we have introduced forums to allow buyers and suppliers to communicate through Unimarket. In future releases we will continue to build on this to ensure that Unimarket becomes an invaluable collaboration tool for networking between suppliers and communities.

Change Orders

Unimarket has completed Change Order functionality to allow users to modify an order after it has been approved and sent to the supplier. Given the complexity and the constraints around some supplier’s ability to process change orders, we have put rules in place. All Lite suppliers will automatically have Change Orders enabled as there is no integration and Premium suppliers must opt-out if they do not wish to accept changes. This feature can be enabled or disabled with your community depending on whether your organization wishes to allow orders to be changed. Unimarket can also set up change orders to use Order Versions or Cancellation / New Order Number. Please discuss with Unimarket which process should be used as your ERP / Finance system may have specific requirements. We will also disable this functionality be default, as customer integration will need to be tested individually.

Community Customizable Forms

The Community can define custom forms for use during the non-catalog order process. These allow additional information to be captured and appended to the Purchase Order. Examples are Travel Forms, Sole Source forms, Contract for Services etc. If the Community has defined forms they will be available from within the first step of the non-catalog order process.

Bug Fixes and Small Changes

• RFX Supplier - accepted and quoted appears twice in bid.
• Creating invoice should add validation to ensure there is at least one line on each order in the invoice.
• Blanket Order invoice notification should go to available to list as well as the original creator.
• Approval emails are showing account splits to 8 dp.
• Add an Invoice Reference Field for scanned invoice documents.