The Blanket Order feature provides communities with a streamlined way to contract with a single supplier for the provision of unspecified products and services over a specified time-frame. This process is designed to allow for convenient, pre-approved purchasing on demand.
Key Concepts
Pre-Approval: The blanket (or contract) order is submitted and must first pass through the standard approval process.
Purchase-on-Demand (Draw Down): Once approved, products and services are procured as needed. Funds are drawn down from the blanket order's allocated amount each time a purchase (release) order is submitted to the specified supplier.
Enabling and Managing Access
Community Activation: To enable Blanket Orders for your community, you must reach out to your Customer Success Manager.
Buyer Access Control: Community Administrators have the ability to enable/disable the feature for specific buyers within the community.
Note: For additional information on controlling buyer features, refer to the help article Editing a Supplier.
Related Blanket Order Features
| Feature | Description | Key Details |
|---|---|---|
| Creating a Blanket Order | Allows buyers to purchase goods and services without raising a new purchase order for every transaction. | Requires pre-approval via the standard approval process. |
| Making Changes to Blanket Orders | Allows for modifications after the initial creation. | Creator or Community Administrator can edit the Available To users. |
| If Edit Blanket Orders is enabled, the Creator and Community Administrators can change the dates. | ||
| Only the Creator of the blanket order can increase or decrease the amount. | ||
| Note: If desired changes are not visible in the More Actions menu, check that a buyer group is assigned to the blanket order's supplier. | ||
| Drawing Down Using an Invoice | Funds are drawn down automatically upon invoice approval. | Supplier/community-submitted invoices are routed to delegated approver(s). Once approved, a matching release order is automatically generated to draw down the funds. |
| Drawing Down Using a Release Order | Funds are drawn down directly by authorized buyers. | Authorized buyers can create a release order, which draws down the allocated funds and does not require further approval. |
| Approving Blanket Order Invoices | Details who can view and approve invoices against the order. | Users with access to the blanket order (including those in the Available To field) can view/approve invoices. |
| Blanket Order Credits | Allows for applying credits against the blanket order. |