Learn how Purchasing works within Unimarket and the options available to your buyers.
The Purchasing Process can be customized depending on your requirements during implementation. You can find more information on the steps below.
For additional information, refer to help articles below:
The Supplier is notified either via email or integration to process the Purchase Order. Once received Invoices are able to be matched against the invoice to be automatically accepted.
| Note: You can find a more detailed guide on Receiving Orders on our help pages. |
Electronic procurement, generally known as eProcurement, is the automation and
management of the procure-to-pay process. It involves creating and approving purchase
requisitions, issuing purchase orders, receiving goods and services, and processing invoices
electronically.
Click on User icon (silhouette of a person in the upper right corner) > select My
Account > click Settings > and the user can make changes to their contact information.
The Buyer role is assigned to those users who has the authority to make
purchases.
The Browser role is assigned to those users who have the need to create requisitions for goods and services, the ability to search desired item to purchase and assign to a Buyer for purchasing. Browser do not have the authority to make purchases.
Buyer and Browser roles are assigned by Community Administrators.
Approvers have the ability to designate a Proxy when out of the office. This Proxy will have the ability to approve requisitions in their absence. In addition, approvals will automatically be escalated within a pre-set period of time. You may also set your “out of office” in the profile setting by clicking on your silhouette > select Out of Office > check the box that shows that you are unavailable and set your date and time.
This is a temporary period (such as a vacation) and is not meant to be ongoing. The new approver
should be added to the approval queues if ongoing.
If no action is taken within the set hours (e.g. 24hrs) of the approval task, the approval will be escalated to the next approver with authority to take the approval action. If the approver is the last in the approval chain and the 24 hours have passed, the requisition will wait for the approver to take action. This is an automated process within the system. If something is urgent then you should contact the approvers directly.
Approvers will have the ability to edit the Justification notes and Justification Attachments, Delivery Notes and Order Attachments, accounting as well as the Ship To and Bill To fields dependent on the Chart of Accounts the approver has access to.
The purchase requisition will not route back to the Buyer, but it may follow a different
approval path, if the accounting determines a new approval path should be taken.
Declined requisitions can be found in the View Requisitions page, copied and edited for re-submission by the Buyer who originally created the requisition. Requisitions remain in the
system and can be viewed using filters such as “state” (declined, abandoned, canceled,
incomplete…). The requisitions remain in the system perpetually.
Yes, if a requisition is declined, you can search for that requisition and while viewing you
can Copy the declined requisition to be edited and resubmitted for approval.
Yes, use the ‘Split’ button next to the individual line items.
If Items received are damaged or broken, this should be communicated through Order Receiving. Here is where you will select the ‘Return’ option that will notify the supplier that there is an issue with your order. Accounts Payable typically will not process any invoice until all items with the order are marked as “Received”. Once the supplier has either credited back the damaged good or reshipped a replacement, you then will proceed to mark the item as received where Accounts payable will then process the invoice.
Yes, you would use the Non-Catalog Item option to enter in the full description of the services to be provided.
Yes, when a buyer clicks the checkout button or an approver tries to approve a requisition the
system will:
The solution can be setup to either 'warn' users of insufficient funds or 'stop' users from making the purchase all together.
Yes, you can initiate a requisition at any time. If you are not ready to check out yet, simply leave the items in your cart. You can also begin a requisition and save it at any time for later completion by accessing the Incomplete Requisition and complete the check-out process.
Yes, you can create Shopping Lists for orders that you process regularly. This will expedite your purchasing process. You can set up as many Shopping Lists as you need. In addition, you can find previous orders and copy them, edit as needed to meet your current needs and submit as a new requisition for approval.
The Buyer of the order and/or another Buyers/Browsers in that Org Sharing Unit can receive
the item. Buyers and Browser’s both have the ability to complete receiving reports.
If you cannot find your supplier, you can request a supplier by using the supplier request function. This captures the required information and routes it to a Supplier Administrator for review and action. They need to ensure the supplier is correctly loaded before you can start purchasing.
The Unimarket Marketplace makes your searching, shopping and purchasing experience easier than ever. We’ve streamlined the shopping process with features, such as: Guided Buying and pop-up community messaging.
The Marketplace interface consists of many convenient features for users, such as:
Guided buying is a Marketplace shopping feature that categorizes suppliers.
Guided buying fosters compliant spending by directing buyers toward preferred suppliers while incorporating configurable product tags, such as: Eco-friendly, Local Vendors, Office Supplies, and Vendor Diversity, just to name a few.
Should your organization elect to utilize this functionality, your buyers will discover the guided buying section within the Marketplace. In the absence of defined and assigned collections lists, this section will not be visible in the Marketplace.
| Note: For additional information on how to customize your community's Guided Buying, refer to help articles: Community Management and Tags. |
The Community Message Pop-up provides allows Communities to customize messages seen by users when landing in the Marketplace and Learning Center.
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Note: If a user needs to review the Community Message or Quicklinks, they can click on the Learning Center icon at the bottom left corner to access the information at any time. For additional information on customizing your community's Community message, refer to help article: Community Profile. |
When logged into Unimarket profile, users can access our community alerts/reminders, help articles, product news, tutorials, additional information and Unimarket Support team.
To access community alerts/reminders, help articles, tutorials and additional information about the Unimarket software, select Learning Center on the bottom left corner.
Users can view information within the following tabs:
The Create shortcut icon allows users to begin creating a Non-Catalog order, Blanket Order, Request Supplier or Request Quote by clicking the dropdown arrow. The options provided to the user is dependent upon their assigned role.
When hovering over Supplier tile on the Marketplace Home screen, the View Supplier icon will appear.
Once View Supplier is selected, the supplier's profile will populate displaying the Company Details, Company Address, Contact Details.
When hovering over Supplier tile on the Marketplace Home screen, the View Supplier and Catalogs icon will appear.
Once View Supplier is selected, the supplier's catalog will populate.
The supplier's hosted catalog screen offers easy product browsing, using the below features:
When hovering over Supplier tile on the Marketplace Home screen, the View Supplier icon will appear.
Once View Supplier is selected, the supplier detail screen will populate to view:
Dependent upon the user's assigned role, additional options, such as: Supplier Profile, View Transactions and Create icons, may appear.
If the supplier has a hosted catalog, users will see the Shop tab (to view the suppliers catalog/product listing), and the About tab (to view the supplier detail screen).
Some organizations have a semi-centralized purchasing model. Whereby a select few users, can raise purchase orders, on behalf of others
Users with the Browser role are able to reassign requisitions to assigned Buyers. Once the requisition is reviewed by the Buyer, the requisition can be submitted for approval.
Browsers can find products and services in catalogs and create non-catalog order items to add items to cart.
Browsers can checkout and reassign the Incomplete Requisition to a Buyer, by selecting Reassign (at the bottom of the checkout screen) > the Reassign pop-up box will appear to select desired Buyer in the Assign to field > add note in the Note field, if desired > and select OK.
The Incomplete Requisition will be sent to the Buyer to action. An email notification will be sent and an alert to the Buyer's Tasks menu.
Buyers will receive an email notification and Tasks alert, the Incomplete Requisition is ready to action. To take action, go the Tasks menu > click Tasks tab > select Incomplete Requisitions.
The Incomplete Requisitions screen will appear, listing pending Incomplete Requisitions to action > select Checkout. To view the requisition details, click the desired requisition number.
The Checkout screen will appear to use the standard purchasing process > select Checkout (at the bottom of the screen). If the Buyer is not satisfied with the Incomplete Requisition and the user desires to decline, select Cancel.
Once the Requisition is approved, an order will be created. An email notification will be sent to the Browser and Buyer.
The Unimarket Marketplace makes finding and buying items easier, with a quick search tool advanced filtering options. Additionally, there are shortcuts to access supplier with one click of the desired supplier tile.
The Marketplace interface consists of many convenient search features for users, such as:
Supplier tiles are condensed slightly. So more suppliers are visible on the Marketplace Home screen. Suppliers with catalogs can be accessed, by selecting the desired supplier tile as a a shortcut.
The supplier view is sorted by Premium First catalog suppliers by default. Allowing users to browse through all suppliers alphabetically or utilize the Find Supplier field, to locate supplier's company/legal name, ABN, Supplier ID or search terms.
When using the Search Products or Suppliers field, the Search Results screen will populate displaying the closest match in terms of Product Code/Manufacturing Part ID, Name (supplier or product name), description or search terms. The search term used will be shown next to Search Results header.
Supplier Tags set up by your community to appear on Search Results screen under Filters. To customize the user's search by suppliers assign to the listed supplier tag groups shown, once the desired box is selected. For additional information about supplier tags, refer to the help article here.
When hovering over Supplier tile on the Marketplace Home screen, the View Supplier icon will appear.
Once View Supplier is selected, the supplier detail screen will populate to view:
Dependent upon the user's assigned role, additional options, such as: Supplier Profile, View Transactions and Create icons, may appear.
If the supplier has a hosted catalog, users will see the Shop tab (to view the suppliers catalog/product listing), and the About tab (to view the supplier detail screen).
Guided buying is a Marketplace shopping feature that categorizes suppliers.
Guided buying fosters compliant spending by directing buyers toward preferred suppliers while incorporating configurable product tags, such as: Eco-friendly, Local Vendors, Office Supplies, and Vendor Diversity, just to name a few.
Should your organization elect to utilize this functionality, your buyers will discover the guided buying section within the Marketplace. In the absence of defined and assigned collections lists, this section will not be visible in the Marketplace.
Users with the Community Management, Community Supplier Administrator or Community Administrator role can perform the task of adding Guided Buying groups.
To learn more about Guided Buying you can watch this video or continue reading below.
To customize Guided Buying, go to the Administration module > select Settings > click Management tab > select Guided Buying tab > click +Add Collection.
The Create Collection screen will populate > in the Collection Name field insert the desired collection name > Visible on Marketplace is enabled by default. If you desire ensure the Guided Buying Collection does not appear on the Marketplace screen, disable by selecting the toggle.
Add supplier with supplier tags, by selecting the dropdown in Add Supplier Tags field. To help support collections, supplier tags can be viewed on the Order Export. The Export will show the tags at the time of the order.
Click the encircled "i" above Add Content Block and the section will expand.
Insert the desired content in the text field and/or a URL (links will open in a new tab). That will appear at the top of the screen once buyers are on the Guided Buying screen in the Marketplace. To delete the content, select the trash can icon at the top of the text box.
To customize the Guided Buying landing screen, users can add one image to each collection with a maximum size of 2MB. The file format must be either JPG or PNG. To add the desired image, under Banner Image header select Browse.
Once completed, select Save. To cancel the in progress collection, select Cancel.
To reorder the community's Guided Buying Collections, select the up or down arrows in the desired collection.
To delete a Guided Buying Collection, go to the Administration module > select Settings > click Management tab > select Guided Buying tab > select Edit.
The Create Collection screen will populate > to edit desired information > once completed, select Save.
To view a Guided Buying Collection, go to the Administration module > select Settings > click Management tab > select Guided Buying tab > select View > review the listed content > select Save.
To delete a Guided Buying Collection, go to the Administration module > select Settings > click Management tab > select Guided Buying tab > select Delete > a pop-up box will appear to confirm deletion, by clicking OK.
Users can select a Guided Buying group of suppliers when creating an RFQ, by going to the Marketplace module > select Purchasing > click Request Quote.
The Request Quote screen will populate. There are 5 section within the Request Quote screen to complete, to submit the RFQ: Header, Suppliers, Attachments, Email, and Confirm.
Header section:
The RFQ header is used to define the buyer's requirements. To complete the Header section, insert required information marked with a red asterisk. Once completed, select Continue.
Suppliers section:
Select +Add Supplier > use the Search field to locate desired supplier(s) or choose supplier(s) from Guided Buying Collections, in Guided Buying field.
Once located, check the box associated with desired supplier(s) > click Add.
Attachments section:
Select Browse, to attach desired documents > click Continue.
Email section:
On the Email section, a standard email message is provided to include in the supplier invitation to submit a quote.
Review > update the message, if desired > select Continue once approved.
Confirm section:
Review the information. If you would like to update information, select Back.
Once completed, select Finish.
The supplier(s) will receive an email invitation to respond with a quote. Once supplier(s) creates a quote in their supplier profile, the buyer (who created the RFQ) will receive an email notification to review the submitted supplier quote.
The Shopping List feature provides users the ability to create a shopping list with frequently ordered items, from Hosted Catalog and/or Non-Catalog Items.
You can read below to find out more information on Shopping Lists or watch this short video:
The Search Results screen will populate > select Add To List > the Add To Shopping List pop-up box will appear > ensure Add to a new shopping list is selected > Enter desired shopping list name in text box > select OK.
Once completed, a notification will appear at the top right corner. Advising the item has been added to the user's Shopping List. If desired, click View Shopping List to be taken to the Shopping Lists screen.
From the Marketplace module, select Create >click Non-Catalog > insert information in required fields marked with a red asterisk > select Add to Cart > the Shopping Cart screen will appear > click +Add to Shopping List > a pop-up box will appear.
Ensure Add to a new shopping list is selected > Enter desired shopping list name in text box > select OK.
Users can create a new Shopping List with a mixture of Non-Catalog and Hosted Catalog products.
Select desired items from the Marketplace > the Shopping Cart screen will appear > click Add to Shopping List > a pop-up box will appear > Ensure +Add to a new shopping list is selected > Enter desired shopping list name in text box > select OK.
Users can copy items from multiple existing Shopping Lists and create a new Shopping List, by going to the Marketplace module > select List > check the box of 2 or more items from any shopping list desired > click More Actions > select Copy To List > Select if you want to add the items to a new shopping list or one that already exists and click OK.
Creators of a shopping list can delete shopping lists.
Delete one item
Users can remove an item from a desired Shopping Lists, by going to the Marketplace module > select List > check the box of desired items to delete > click More Actions > select Remove Selected Items.
Delete multiple items from multiple Shopping Lists
Users can remove an item from a desired Shopping Lists, by going to the Marketplace module > select List > check the box of 2 or more items, from any shopping list desired > click More Actions > select Remove Selected Items.
Delete a Shopping List
If the user desires to delete an entire Sopping List, go to the Marketplace module > select List > click the "check all" box > select More Actions > click Delete Shopping List.
| Note: If the user selects all items in the Shopping List and select Remove Selected Items, the entire Shopping List will be deleted. |
To add items to an existing shopping list, locate the desired item(s) > add item(s) to cart > click +Add to Shopping List > select Add selected items to existing shopping list > click the dropdown, to choose the desired shopping list > select OK.
When users are ready to use the Shopping Lists created, click on Lists on the left menu pane. All shopping lists created are located on the left side to view/access. The Shopping Lists are sorted A-Z by name.
Users can either select all items from a list or select a single items by checking the appropriate boxes on the right side of the item(s).
Hosted Catalog Items
To add hosted catalog items to cart for checkout, select the box on the right side of the desired item(s) > click Add to Cart.
For Non-Catalog items, an Edit option is available if any of the details and/or pricing has changed before continuing checkout.
Creators of a shopping list can share the shopping list.
Users can share there shopping list to other users within their organization unit(s), by clicking Lists > select the desired shopping list > click More Actions > select Share Shopping List.
Once selected, the Share Shopping List pop-up box will appear, to select desired Organization Unit(s) > click OK.
Once users have found the desired products and/or services to purchase, there are a few options to add the items to cart. Which are dependent upon how each supplier created their hosted catalog for the community.
Upon selecting the desired products and/or services to purchase, user may receive the Add To Cart option > select the desired quantity > select Add To Cart.
Once selected, the item(s) will be placed into cart and a pop-up notification will appear at the bottom right screen confirming placement in cart.
Some products will display View Options, which means users must view the product, by selecting View Options.
Complete the included additional fields (e.g. size or color) > enter the desired quantity > select Add To Cart.
Hosted catalog items with no specified price can be added by suppliers and will display the Get Quote option.
Once Get Quote is selected > the Request for Quote screen will populate, submit an electronic requested quote to the supplier.
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Note: For additional information about creating an RFQ, refer to help article requesting a quote (RFQ). |
Visit Supplier option will appear when a supplier has a Roundtrip catalog.
Once Visit Supplier icon is selected, the user will be redirect to the supplier's eStore to continue shopping.
Users with the Buyer role, can create/submit a non-catalog (manual) order, when enabled by the community and supplier. To purchase items from Lite suppliers without a catalog, this is the only option to submit orders.
Some Premium Suppliers do not allow non-catalog orders to be created. Since all products offered are within their eStore catalog, outside of Unimarket. For these suppliers users will not see the option to create non-catalog item, in Unimarket.
Community Administrators can enable the Allow Non-Catalog Purchasing setting, by referring to help article editing a supplier.
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Note: Suppliers can enable Allow Non-Catalog items, in their Configure Store settings. |
To create a non-catalog order, go to Marketplace module > select Create dropdown > click Non-Catalog.
The Create a Non-Catalog Item screen will populate. Select the desired suppliers > Insert required information marked with a red asterisk. Required fields vary dependent upon the community and supplier settings enabled.
The Category will be entered based on the following:
Below is sample image of a Non-Catalog form displaying fields and features:
Once the desired Non-Catalog form is completed, select Add to Cart. If the user desires to add more items for the same supplier, repeat above instructions.
Upon selecting Add to Cart, all desired items to order will be added to the Shopping Cart and an alert will appear at the top of the screen. When ready for check out, click the Shopping Cart icon.
The Shopping Cart screen will populate. If the user would like to change any information, select Edit or edit on the Checkout screen.
To view the Non-Catalog details, select Details > a pop-up box will appear showing details entered.
If the user would like to move the Non-Catalog item(s) to an existing Incomplete Requisition, select the Move dropdown and chose the desired Incomplete Requisition number.
To remove the item from the Shopping Cart, select Remove.
To check out the item on the Check out screen, click Checkout.
At times, communities may need to edit item(s) on a Non-Catalog requisition that is Pending Approval or Paused for review. While editing, this will Pause the approval process.
If the community and supplier has Edit Orders enabled, Approvers or the assigned Buyer of the requisition can edit the item(s).
Suppliers can enable Edit Orders, in their Configure Store settings.
Communities that desire to enable this feature, should reach out to the Customer Success Manager.
| Note: If cross-supplier checkout is disabled, the requisition checkout will only include items from one supplier. |
The Buyer or Approver of the Pending/Paused requisition, can edit by going to Marketplace module > select Transactions > click View Requisition.
The Requisitions screen will populate, to locate the desired requisition utilizing the Requisition Number search field or Filters. Once the Pending/Paused requisition is located, select the requisition number.
Once completed, the desired requisition view screen will appear, select More Actions > click Edit.
Scroll down the product detail line(s) > click Actions > select Edit.
The Edit Non-Catalog Item screen will appear to edit the fillable fields shown. The Supplier Name and Item Type cannot be edited.
| Note: The Unit Price can be updated, if the community and supplier accepted currency is the same. |
For additional information about paused requisitions, refer to help article pause requisition. To learn more about how to edit standard requisitions, refer to help article edit requisitions.
If community's Estimated Price setting is enabled, users has the ability to submit a Non-Catalog requisition when the exact items' value is unknown (not available for suppliers with order integration). This feature allows user to specify a price range for the Non-Catalog item(s).
The Estimated Maximum Unit Price is used for Approval and the Estimated Minimum Unit Price is submitted to the supplier.
The Price Range feature can be enabled by users with the Community Administrator role, by referring to procurement administration module help article.
To create a Non-Catalog form to assign a price range to item(s), go to Marketplace module > select Create dropdown > click Non-Catalog.
The Create a Non-Catalog Item screen will populate. Select the desired suppliers > Check Use Estimated Price box.
In the Estimated Minimum Unit Price field, enter the lower price. The value will be sent to the supplier.
In the Estimated Maximum Unit Price field, enter the higher price. The value will be sent to the approver. On the requisition and order, a graph symbol will appear signifying assigned price range.
Insert required information marked with a red asterisk. Required fields vary dependent upon the community and supplier settings enabled. For additional information on how to create a Non-Catalog form, refer to create a Non-Catalog order.
Once the desired Non-Catalog form is completed, select Add to Cart. If the user desires to add more items for the same supplier, repeat above instructions.
Upon selecting Add to Cart, all desired items to order will be added to the Shopping Cart and an alert will appear at the top of the screen. When ready for check out, click the Shopping Cart icon.
The Shopping Cart screen will populate. To view the price range price designated, hover over the graph symbol for details under the Price column.
To view the Subtotal price range, hover over the graph symbol for details under the Subtotal column.
If the user would like to change any information, select Edit or edit on the Checkout screen.