Creating, Inviting and Managing Suppliers

Users with the Community Administrator or Community Supplier Administrator role can manage suppliers. Community suppliers can be managed from the Administration module > Suppliers > Manage Suppliers tab. Administrator can add and remove suppliers from the community, assign buyer groups to their suppliers, update community supplier records, and invite suppliers to join the marketplace.

Manage Suppliers 

The Manage Suppliers screen provides an overview of the suppliers enabled within the community, including the status of the supplier registration, if they have provided the information requested and their current state. It also provides the ability to search your suppliers.

The columns included in the supplier list are:

Filter and Export

To open all available filters click on the Filters button. Once you have selected the filters required, click Search to apply the filter. 

The currently filtered list of suppliers can be exported in a CSV format. To do this click on the Export button and select Export.

After a supplier invite is sent out Community Administrators and Supplier Administrators can can view the invite information by going to Admin > Suppliers > Invitations. 

On this page you can view the Supplier Name, Email, Supplier ID, date the invite was created, date the invite was sent, the state of the invite (New, Accepted, or Canceled) and you can click on View on the right side to open the invite and see more details. 

From View, you will see the details that were entered for the supplier when the invitation was created including the user that created/triggered the invite. You can hover over the Requirements Icon to see the requirements that were requested at the time of the invite as well as the status of the requirements if the invitation has been accepted by the supplier. 

The invite link that was sent to the supplier is also available on this page. If you would like to send the supplier a more personalized message with the invite link you can copy and paste it from here into your message. 

The Invitations tab can be found in the Administration module > Suppliers > Invitations. On this tab users with the Community Administrator or Community Supplier Administrator role can invite suppliers to register within Unimarket.

If you are uploading multiple suppliers at once, this method may be easier than individually inviting them in Unimarket, which is ideal for one or two suppliers. 

Upload and Invite Suppliers

• Navigate to the Invitations tab. Click on Invite New Suppliers.
  You will be able to customize the look & feel and content of your invitation. This allows you to  create relevant branding/visual awareness and interest and include any important information that suppliers should know while registering.

• Subject: add detail of what you want your email subject to be.
• Banner: insert an image of your choice, which displays across the top of the invitation.
  • Banner size must be less than 10MB and no larger than 900 pixels wide and 400 pixels high.
• Title: add a title to appear under the banner.
• Body: you can update the default text to include any relevant information as required

• Example:

Once you have made your updates, you can click Preview, Help or Save.

1. • • Preview  will show you how the Body of your message will look to suppliers.
     • Help gives you extra information about the formatting options.
     • Save will permanently save your message and be used for future supplier invitations (until you update and save again)
       
       
2. Select Upload a list of suppliers and click Download Template to attain the Supplier Invite Upload Template.
   
   
   
   
   • Details of the required data in the Supplier Invite Upload Template are below:
     
     

     Column	Type	Mandatory	Comments
     Email	Text	Y	Must be a valid email address
     Company	Text	N
     Supplier Invitation ID	Text	N	Can be anything alphanumeric
     Vendor ID	Text	N
     First Name	Text	N
     Last Name	Text	N
     Buyer Groups	Text	N
     Tags	Text	N
     Search Terms	Text	N
     Require Tax Profile	Text	Y	Valid values are True/False, Yes/No or Y/N
     Require Bank Account	Text	N	Valid values are True/False, Yes/No or Y/N
     Require Bank Account Proof	Text	N	Valid values are True/False, Yes/No or Y/N
     Require Insurance Certificate	Text	N	Valid values are True/False, Yes/No or Y/N
     Auto Connect	Text	Y	Valid values are True/False, Yes/No or Y/N
     Supplier  Invitation ID	Supplier Invitation ID	N	This is a Supplier Invitation ID. This is used to lookup existing supplier invitations.
     Cancel Invitation	Text	N	Valid values are 'Y' or Blank

3. Complete all of the supplier details and save the template as a CSV file.
   
   
4. Click Browse, and select the CSV file and click Upload.
   
   
5. When all the suppliers have been uploaded successfully click OK which will trigger the invite(s) to be sent out to the supplier(s) listed.

Once the invitations are sent the registration status of the suppliers can be tracked from the Invitations tab.

Suppliers can be invited by users with the Community Administrator or Community Supplier Administrator roles by going to the Administration module > Suppliers > Invitations tab. 

If you only have one or two suppliers you would like to add, this method may be easier than uploading them using a CSV file, which is ideal for bulk entries.

Manually Inviting Suppliers

1. Navigate to the Invitations tab. 

• Click on Invite New Suppliers.
  You will be able to customize the look & feel and content of your invitation. This allows you to  create relevant branding/visual awareness and interest and include any important information that suppliers should know while registering.

• Subject: add detail of what you want your email subject to be.
• Banner: insert an image of your choice, which displays across the top of the invitation.
  • Banner size must be less than 10MB and no larger than 900 pixels wide and 400 pixels high.
• Title: add a title to appear under the banner.
• Body: you can update the default text to include any relevant information as required

• Example:

Once you have made your updates, you can click Preview, Help or Save.

• • • Preview  will show you how the Body of your message will look to suppliers.
    • Help gives you extra information about the formatting options.
    • Save will permanently save your message and be used for future supplier invitations (until you update and save again).

2. Click Enter a supplier manually and a pop up window will appear to enter the suppliers details.

1. Click Add after you have entered the details or Add More if you want to enter another suppliers information.
2. When all the suppliers have been uploaded successfully click OK.
   
3. Once the invitations are sent the registration status of the suppliers can be tracked from the Invitations tab.

Re-sending Invitations

To resend an invitation to a supplier who has not yet accepted their invitation to register, find the supplier under the list of suppliers in Invitations. You can filter only the suppliers who have not yet accepted by selecting New in the state filter and clicking Search. To resend the invitation check the box next to the suppliers and click Resend.

For details on how to upload supplier invitations in bulk via a CSV file see Inviting Suppliers To Register - Upload.

Users with the Community Administrator or Community Supplier Administrator role can allow Supplier Self-Registration. This enables a community registration page where your suppliers can register and supply their company and tax details.

To enable your community specific supplier self-registration page go to the Administration module > Administration > Suppliers > Registration tab, select the Enabled checkbox, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Save. Once saved the self-registration page can be previewed by clicking on a link located underneath the Enabled checkbox.

The Description field allows the community to define a description that will display on the supplier registration page e.g. "Welcome to University X, we require all our suppliers to register and provide their details before trading. Please register and...".

Default Supplier Settings

Once a supplier invitation has been sent out to prospect Suppliers either by Inviting Suppliers To Register Manually or Invitation through Upload the Community Administrator or Community Supplier Administrator have the options to either Resend, Edit or Cancel the invitation sent. 

Resend a Supplier Invitation 

To resend an invitation to a supplier who has not yet accepted their invitation to register, find the supplier under the list of suppliers in Administration module > Suppliers > Invitations tab. You can filter only the suppliers who have not yet accepted by selecting New in the state filter and clicking Search. To resend the invitation check the box next to the suppliers and click Resend.

Edit a Supplier Invitation 

When a supplier requests that their invitation is to be resent to a different email address, the Edit Supplier Invitation function is a useful tool for this. Similar to the above steps of accessing the invitations go to Administration module > Suppliers > Invitations tab and use Search to find the specific invitation to be edited. Click View and once within the View invitation screen, select More Actions > Resend

In the succeeding screen, the Edit option is available before Resending the supplier invitation where the details including Email, Vendor ID, Requirements etc. can be edited before resending. 

Cancel a Supplier Invitation 

For various reasons, a Supplier Invitation may need to be Cancelled. And to do this, simply navigate to the invitations by going to Administration module > Suppliers > Invitations tab and use Search to find the specific invitation to be cancelled. Click View and once within the View invitation screen, select More Actions > Cancel. When an invitation is cancelled the supplier the link will no longer be valid and supplier will not be able to register.

To resend an invitation to a supplier who has not yet accepted their invitation to register, find the supplier on the Invitations tab, which can be found in the Administration module > Suppliers > Invitations. You can filter the list for suppliers who have not yet accepted by selecting New in the State field. To resend the invitation, check the box next to the suppliers and click Resend.

Alternatively, resending invites can be done in bulk, similar to how supplier invites are loaded. If the Supplier Invitation ID in the file matches an existing supplier invite, the same invitation URL will be resent instead of creating a new record.

Resending Invitations - Upload

1. Navigate to the Invitations tab. Click on Invite New Suppliers.
   • Customise the message that is included in the invitation resent, so suppliers are aware that they have yet accepted the registration invite and need to action it at their convenience.
2. Select Upload a list of suppliers and click Download Template to attain the Supplier Invite Upload Template.
   • Details of the required data in the Supplier Invite Upload Template can be found here.
3. Complete all of the supplier details and save the template as a CSV file. Make sure you are including the Supplier Invitation ID associated with each supplier so the system treats it as a resent. 
4. Click Browse, and select the CSV file and click Upload.
5. When all the suppliers have been uploaded successfully click OK which will trigger the invite(s) to be resent to the supplier(s) listed.

Resending Invitations - Invitation Export

Another way for invites to be resent is to use an export of current invitations that have not yet been accepted by the suppliers. 

In the Invitations tab, change the State to New and select Search, then click on the down arrow next to the Search button and hit Export. Download said export, then upload the file like you would if it was a bulk invitation upload. 

Go to Administration module > Click Suppliers >Select Invitations >Enter supplier name in Supplier Name field > Select date in Sent Date field

Select Search > Click on View in line item > Select View Supplier Request

A Lite Supplier is a set of details for a supplier you wish to purchase from. These details, including the purchase order email address, are uploaded and managed by your Community Administrator. This means the supplier has no access to Unimarket however, buyers are able to create POs with manually entered (non-catalog) items to send via email.

If you are uploading a lot of Lite Suppliers at once, this method may be easier than manually entering them one at a time in Unimarket, which is ideal if its only one or two suppliers. 

You can read below to find out more information on Uploading Lite Suppliers or watch this short video:

Uploading Lite Suppliers

1. Go to the Administration module > Suppliers > Create Lite.
2. Download the Lite Supplier Template CSV and enter the Lite Suppliers details.
   
   Details of the required information in the Supplier Load Template are below:
   

   Column	Mandatory	Length	Comments
   Company	Y	255	The name of the Lite Supplier in Unimarket
   Contact Name	N	255
   Contact Email	N	255
   Contact Phone	N	20
   Order Email	N	255
   Address Line 1	N	200
   Address Line 2	N	200
   Address Line 3	N	200
   City	N	200
   State	N	200	Must be blank or match a valid region/state name or code.
   Zip	N	20	Zip/Postcode
   Country	N	200	Must match the 2-letter ISO 3166-1 code (eg "US", "NZ", "AU") or the full name (eg "New Zealand").
   Remittance Address Line 1	N	200
   Remittance Address Line 2	N	200
   Remittance Address Line 3	N	200
   Remittance City	N	200
   Remittance State	N	200	Must be blank or match a valid region/state name or code.
   Remittance Zip	N	20	Zip/Postcode
   Remittance Country	N	200	Must match the 2-letter ISO 3166-1 code (eg "US", "NZ", "AU") or the full name (eg "New Zealand").
   Account Number	N	255
   Vendor Number	N	255
   Tax Number	N	255
   Currency	Y	3	3-letter currency code, eg USD, NZD, AUD
   Group Names	N		Comma separated list of existing Buyer Group names
   Tags	N		Comma separated list of existing Tag names
   Search Terms	N	1000	Comma separated list of existing or new Search Terms

3. Once you have all the supplier details in the CSV file save it.
4. Click browse and select the CSV file and click Upload.
5. Once uploaded, verify all requirements are met by clicking the Refresh option near the bottom of the page. This will check the imported items for any errors. Correct any errors at this time and choose Refresh until all lite suppliers are marked as Ready.
6. Once all lite suppliers are imported and verified, select Create to publish your lite suppliers.

Status of the Lite Supplier Creation

• Unprocessed - the supplier details were loaded but have not yet been validated. Selecting the supplier with the check box and clicking the Create or Refresh options at the bottom of the page will process the validation.
• Error - the supplier information has been processed and there is an error in the validation of the supplier details. Errors can represent an insufficient number of characters for a zip code, a bad currency code, or anything related to the required fields. If the country (not required) is defined for the address, then the system will ask for the Street 1, City, State and Zip code to be entered.
• Duplicate - the supplier name matches another supplier in your system. This is often because the supplier received a notification to become a registered supplier. The matched duplicate will appear in a drop-down menu allowing you to verify and clean up any duplicates found.
• Ready - after selecting Refresh, the validation process has passed and no errors were found. The supplier is now ready to be created by selecting the supplier and clicking the Create button at the bottom of the screen.

Tips

• For the address, if any part is entered then the entire address must be valid.
• Buyer Group Names must reference a group you have setup in the system. (Setup groups)
• Tags must reference existing Tag names in the system. (Setup Tags)

A Lite Supplier is a set of details for a supplier you wish to purchase from. These details, including the purchase order and email address, are entered or uploaded and managed by users with the Community Administrator or Community Supplier Administrator role. This means the supplier has no access to Unimarket. However, buyers are able to create a non-catalog, to send via email.

You can read below to find out more information on Creating Lite Suppliers or watch this short video:

If you only have one or two Lite Suppliers to add, this method may be easier than uploading them using a CSV file, which is better for bulk entries. See steps below for instructions:

Creating a Lite Supplier

1. Go to the Administration module > Suppliers > Create Lite tab.
2. Click +Create Lite Supplier.
3. A pop up window will appear where you can enter the suppliers details.
   
   

4. The Company and Currency fields are required. If you want orders placed in Unimarket to be sent to the supplier, you will need to enter an Order Email address.

5. Click Add to finish or Add More if you would like to enter additional Lite Suppliers.

Tips

• For the address, if any part is entered then the entire address must be valid.
• Buyer Group Names must reference a group you have setup in the community. (Setup groups)
• Tags must reference existing Tag names in the system. (Setup Tags)

Each supplier (both Registered and Lite) has individual settings which can be configured by users with the Community Administrator or Community Supplier Administrator roles.

To edit these settings go to the Administration module > Suppliers > Manage Suppliers tab. The filters at the top of the page will help you search to find specific vendors. Locate and click the name of the supplier you wish to open to review or update. 

Profile Tab

When a supplier is opened on the Manage Supplier page, you will be taken to the Profile tab displaying the Supplier ID, Company or Trading Name, and Legal Business Name at the top and further details broken down into sections. To update the details or override what has been provided by your supplier in this tab, click Edit on the right hand side.

Also, from each supplier you can click on the More Actions Menu on the right hand side and you will see the option for Supplier Store which will take you to the suppliers store in the Marketplace.

If you see an exclamation on the Profile tab that means there is a variation between what your community has entered and what the supplier has entered for a field. You can click on View Variations and you will see what the supplier has entered in this field. If you think this should be how it is entered in your community you can press Use Supplier Data to transfer in what the supplier has entered in this field and then press Save.

Company Details

Tax Details

NZ Communities will see the GST number if this has been entered by the supplier.

AU Communities will see the ABN number if this has been entered by the supplier.

US Communities will see the Tax Identification Type and Tax Identification Number if this has been entered by the supplier.

About

In the About section, Communities can see general information provided by the supplier including, UNSPSC Categories Supplied, Default [UNSPSC] Category, Regions Supplied, a short Description of products and services provided. A Company URL, Affiliated Purchasing Agreements the supplier may be part of and if the supplier is an EEO/AA Employer (US Only).

Settings Tab

 The Settings tab allows Communities to adjust options on an individual supplier instead of across the entire Community.

Purchasing

If you have enabled Payment Terms you are able set the default payment term on a supplier if it differs from the Community wide default.

Instructions

The community can specify buyer purchasing instructions in the Description field for the supplier as well as an Alert and Links that will show on the supplier's specific marketplace page.

Invoice Matching

This information is used to define supplier specific matching rules if the community default is not required. 

Contacts Tab

The Contacts tab will display all available contacts and denote which contact is the supplier contact. Users with the Supplier Administrator and Community Administrator role can Switch To Advanced Mode by clicking the toggle in the right hand corner of the page.

This will allow Administrators to  set a Community Default contact for the supplier as well as add contact information if the supplier is unable to.

To add a new Contact click Add Contact in the right hand corner and enter the name, phone number and email address.

To update the default contact information for your Community click Actions next to the contact and select Set as Default. Administrators can also edit or delete contacts created and managed by the community.

Emails Tab

The emails tab will display the suppliers contact information for different types of notifications from within Unimarket.

Addresses Tab

The Addresses tab displays the Physical, Mailing and Remittance Addresses for the supplier.

Switching to Advanced Mode allows Administrators to add Remittance Addresses by clicking Add Address and filling out the address details in the pop-up and selecting Add when complete.

After you have added an additional address you are able to click Actions and select Set as Default to update the Community Default Remittance address.

Documents Tab

The Documents Tab displays any documents that the supplier has uploaded. If needed a Community Admin or Community Supplier Admin can add documents on the Documents tab by clicking +Add Document button and completing the pop up.

Payments Tab

The Payments Tab will show the payment information entered by the supplier such as their bank details and credit card information if they accept payment this way. If needed a Community Admins or Community Supplier Admins can add payment information by clicking Edit.

Transactions Tab

The Transactions tab allows for easy access to Requisitions, Orders, and Invoices with the supplier. 

History Tab

The History tab allows Community Admins and Supplier Admins access to view both an Audit History tab and an Event History tab. The Audit History will show changes made to the supplier detailing the user with the date and time. You are able to filter the Audit History tab by user and date. The Event History will show users who Connected or Disconnected the Supplier from the Community.

Comments Tab

The comments tab will show comments between you and the supplier. These comments fall into two types: Messages sent from the Community to the Supplier (or vice versa) and automatic notifications regarding updates.

If your community would like to only allow your countries currency be used by suppliers when they are registering you can go to Administration module > select Suppliers > click Registration tab > under the Default Supplier Setting, uncheck the Allow Foreign Currencies box. 

To streamline your supplier registration process and ensure compliance with using your country's currency, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Administration module within your system
2. Select Suppliers 
3. Click on the Registration tab
4. Locate the Default Supplier Settings section
5. Uncheck the box labeled Allow Foreign Currencies

By implementing this change, you'll restrict suppliers to using only your country's currency during registration.

If you uncheck the Allow Foreign Currencies box, any new registrations that go out will not allow suppliers to select any other than your countries currency.

Communities are able to load documents against suppliers on the Documents Tab which you can get to by going to Administration > Suppliers > Search and click into specific supplier > Documents tab.

Inactive Documents

By default the option Active Documents Only is enabled. When documents are deleted by the Community or the Supplier they will be marked Inactive.

To see these documents uncheck Active Documents Only.

Viewing Attachments

To view the attachment(s) loaded with a document you can click on the paperclip icon to open the below pop-up. This will allow you to view (click on the eyeball icon) or download (click on the down arrow) the attachment(s).

Adding Documents

To add a new document to the supplier you will need to go to the Documents tab and click +Add Document found above the Active Documents Only check box.

Here you can enter the Purpose, Valid From Date, Valid To Date, check Show to Buyers box to enable it to be viewed by buyers and any Attachments. The Purpose field and attachment field are mandatory. 

Upon successful upload, notifications will be sent out to:

• Community Supplier Admin role.
• It gets posted to Supplier Comments and an email goes out to the Supplier Comments email (or the default if not specified) from the suppliers account. (See the Supplier Help article for Create, Edit & Assign Supplier Contacts for more information on this).

This function is available to allow Communities to manually upgrade a supplier who has been initially set-up as Lite Supplier to a Registered Supplier account.

Where this applies:

The registered/premium suppliers must meet the following conditions:

- Not already be in the Community

- Match the same currency as the lite supplier

- Be enabled

(i.e. the functionality allows a customer to upgrade a supplier they have as type Lite, to an existing supplier with a Registered supplier profile/store).

Role:

The action is available to Community Administrator and Community Supplier Administrator, in the supplier's account within the Administration module.

How:

Within the Administration module, go to Suppliers and search the Lite supplier you would like to convert. Within their Supplier Profile, select More Actions > Convert to Registered

It will then open the Search supplier window to search for the Registered account you'd like to upgrade.

The Supplier address, currency and Tax Identification number will be shown to use as a match to the Lite account. 

A reason is required to be entered, otherwise the OK button is disabled.

A succeeding confirmation to merge Suppliers will be prompted to complete the conversion, a final reminder that this action cannot be undone and the Lite account will be merged to the Registered account.

If this feature has been enabled for your community, users have the ability to request a new supplier or request access to an existing supplier from the Unimarket Directory.

Requesting a New Supplier

A user must have the Browser or Buyer role to be able to request a new supplier.

Go to the Marketplace module and select Request Supplier under Purchasing.

Select Request Supplier under Search or Add a New Supplier, enter the required information and click Send Request.

Users with the Supplier Request Administrator role are notified via email of the new supplier request and they can action it by approving or declining the request. While the request is under review the status will be listed as Pending.

Status Definitions

Pending – The request is under review by a Supplier Request or Community Administrator.

Accepted – The request has been approved and an invitation has been sent to either the supplier’s email address provided in the Supplier Request form or, the email address specified by the existing supplier.

Completed – Supplier has completed the registration and the registration is under review (Pending status on Supplier Administration page). Once the supplier is Connected, the requesting user will receive the email notification that the supplier is available.

Declined – The request has been declined. An email notification will also be sent to you if your request is declined with the reason provided.

Deleted – This request has been deleted by the requesting user (only the requesting user can Delete a request).

Email Notifications

When the supplier is connected and available to trade with you will receive an email notification.

This is an optional Community feature that allows users to request for new suppliers to be connected to the Community. Once a user requests a new supplier to Unimarket or requests access to an existing supplier, any user with the Supplier Request Administrator role is notified via email and a task will appear within their Tasks menu for them to approve or decline the request.

Users who have the Community Administration or Community Features role have access to the Community settings where this feature is enabled.

To enable this feature:

• Log in to Unimarket.
• Go to the Administration module and click on Settings.
• On the Settings tab, under Community Users Settings, click the Enable users to request suppliers checkbox.

When users create requests for a new or existing supplier to be connected to the Community, users with the Supplier Request Administrator or Community Administrator role will receive the request task. They are notified via email of the Supplier request and a task will appear in their Tasks menu. 

Approving/Decline a New Supplier Request

• Select Supplier Requests from the Tasks menu and ensure the State search filter is set to Pending.

• Click on the supplier name and a pop-up window will appear with the supplier details.
• Enter any notes needed in the comments box and select either Accept or Decline.

• If the Supplier Request Administrator or Community Administration user has accepted the request they will be taken to the Add Supplier pop-up window. The supplier information is already populated and the supplier requirements can be set.

• Once the requirements are set, click Add and an email invitation will be automatically sent to the Supplier asking them to register.
• The Status will also change to Accepted in the Supplier Requests page.
• When the Supplier has accepted the invitation, completed the registration and met the requirements, you will receive a notification to review and validate the information provided by the newly requested supplier.
• To finalize the connection to the new supplier select Suppliers from the Administration module, change the State search filter to Pending and click Search.
• Open the supplier profile by clicking on the supplier name and select +Connect from the More Actions menu on the top right right of the screen.
• Once connected the end user will be notified via email.

Status Definitions

Pending – The request is under review by a Supplier Request or Community Administrator.

Accepted – The request has been approved and an invitation has been sent to either the supplier’s email address provided in the Supplier Request form or, the email address specified by the existing supplier.

Completed – Supplier has completed the registration and the registration is under review (Pending status on Supplier Administration page). Once the supplier is Connected, the requesting user will receive the email notification that the supplier is available.

Declined – The request has been declined. An email notification will also be sent to you if your request is declined with the reason provided.

Deleted – This request has been deleted by the requesting user (only the requesting user can Delete a request).

If the Supplier Request feature has been enabled for your community, buyers and browsers have the ability to request a new supplier from the Unimarket Directory.

Requesting Access to an Existing Supplier from the Unimarket Directory

Community Administrators do not have this feature as they can create a supplier invitation to register directly and there is no need to submit a request for approval.

1. Go to the Marketplace module and select Request Supplier under Purchasing.
2. Select Search Existing Supplier under Search or Add a New Supplier.
3. Type in key words to find the desired supplier.
4. Choose the supplier from the drop-down menu.
5. Select the user you are sending the request to and enter your reason.
6. Once you are happy select Send Request and a notification will be sent to the users that can manage the request.
7. While the request is under review the status will be listed as Pending.

Status Definitions

Pending – The request is under review by a Supplier Request or Community Administrator.

Accepted – The request has been approved and an invitation has been sent to either the supplier’s email address provided in the Supplier Request form or, the email address specified by the existing supplier.

Completed – Supplier has completed the registration and the registration is under review (Pending status on Supplier Administration page). Once the supplier is Connected, the requesting user will receive the email notification that the supplier is available.

Declined – The request has been declined. An email notification will also be sent to you if your request is declined with the reason provided.

Deleted – This request has been deleted by the requesting user (only the requesting user can Delete a request).

Email Notifications

When the supplier is connected and available to trade with you will receive an email notification.

The Unimarket Directory allows users with the Community Administrator or Supplier Administrator Roles to view a list of all Registered and Premium Suppliers within Unimarket. 

You can access the Unimarket Directory from the Marketplace module under Marketplace or from the Actions in the top right on the Manage Suppliers page from the Administration module.

On the Unimarket Directory you are able to search by name or filter the list by Supplier Access.

Tags can be found in the Administration module > Settings > Management tab > Tags tab. Tags can be assigned to Suppliers, Products or to Invoice Stubs. Once a Supplier Tag has been created, it can then be added to a Guided Buying Collection.

Tags allow Communities to group Suppliers by categories into Guided Buying Collections like 'Office Supplies'. Tags also allow Suppliers to be grouped into broader cross-cutting categories such as 'Sustainable' or 'Preferred'. 

Product Tags remain visible on the product throughout the purchasing process so items can be easily categorized during checkout and approval.

Communities can also apply a Boost to Supplier and Product Tag so that any Supplier or Product with the tag will be boosted in the search results. For example, if the 'Preferred' tag is boosted then any supplier meeting the search criteria AND tagged with 'Preferred' will appear at the top.

Tags can also be used to assist Accounts Payable with managing invoices sent to the Unimarket Invoice Inbox.  The invoice stub can be assigned Tags to help identify who within Accounts Payable is responsible for reviewing the invoice.

Creating/Adding Tags

To create a Tag Select Add Tag under the Search button.

Select the Type, enter the Name, a Description and choose the Color of Tag. Click Add More if you wish to create additional Tags, Click Add to create the Tag and close this pop-up.

Assigning Tags

Supplier Tags can be assigned by a Community Administrator, or Supplier Administrator by Editing a Supplier.  In the Administrator module select Suppliers. Key in the supplier's name and select. Click the Settings tab. Under the Purchasing section, supplier tags can be entered.

Once a Supplier Tag has been created, that Supplier Tag can be added to your Guided Buying Collections. See here for more information on Guided Buying. 

Product Tags can be assigned by a Community Administrator or Supplier Administrator by viewing the catalog in the Marketplace and press the three dots on the right side of Add To Cart and then pressing Manage Tags. 

Invoice Tags can be assigned by Users with the Create Invoices role to the individual “Invoice Stubs” in the Invoice Inbox. Select the three dots, click Manage Tabs.

Users with the Community Administrator or Community Supplier Administrator role can send messages to multiple or individual suppliers. You can view previous messages between your community and a supplier on the comments tab for each supplier.

Multiple Suppliers

1. Go to the Administration module > Suppliers > Manage Suppliers and select Bulk Change from the drop down menu in the Export button.

1. Choose which suppliers you will send a message to.
   

   Note: Lite suppliers will appear grayed out and although the checkbox is selected the message will not be sent to them, as lite suppliers do not have a store in Unimarket that they can login to for them to view or respond to the message.

   
   
2. Select Continue and select Create Comment.
3. Select Continue again and a Comment box will appear to enter the message you wish to post to all the selected suppliers.
4. Select Continue, review the suppliers you are sending the message to and select Finish.

Your message will now be sent to the selected Suppliers via email. The email will be sent from the email address of the user who created the message. This message will also be visible in the Comments tab for each supplier. 

Individual Suppliers

1. Go to the Administration module > Suppliers > Manage Suppliers.
2. You will then need to locate the supplier using the search filters, click on the suppliers name to open the supplier and go to the Comments tab.
3. Click +Add Comment and a pop up text box will appear where you enter the message you would like to send.
   
   
4. Click Send once you have reviewed your message and it will be sent to the supplier from your email address. If the supplier replies within Unimarket by creating another comment, it will be sent to the community email address entered in the community profile settings. However, if they reply directly to the email, it will come back to your email address. For more information on profile settings see Community Profile.

You can view the message history for each supplier by going to the Manage Suppliers tab, clicking on the supplier name and going to the Comments tab.

Suppliers can be assigned Search Terms that allow them to be returned in searches where the buyer or browser is using the Search bar at the top of the page. Users with the Community or Supplier Administrator role have the ability to add these search terms to supplier profiles.

If a buyer searches for the words 'Printer Paper', Unimarket will return results that include any products that match that search along with any suppliers who have those search terms assigned to them. This means that suppliers who don't have a hosted catalog, therefore no products that would show up in the search, can still be captured.

You can read below to find out more information on Search Terms or watch this short video:

Adding Search Terms - Individual Lite Supplier

1. Go to the Administration module > Suppliers > Create Lite.
2. Click +Create Lite Supplier
3. A pop up window will appear where you can enter the suppliers details.
   
   
4. Click on the Search Terms field to view a list of current search terms and select from the list or,
5. If the search term you need is not part of the current search term list, type in the appropriate search term and it will now appear as an option which you need to select.
6. Click Add or, if you are adding another supplier click Add More to open up a new supplier detail screen. Once you have added the supplier this will save any new search terms you have created.

Adding Search Terms - Current Supplier

1. Go to the Administration module > Suppliers > Manage Suppliers
2. Search for and click on the name of supplier you wish to update
3. Go to the Settings tab
   
4. Scroll down to and click on the Search Terms field to view a list of current search terms and select from the list or,
5. If the search term you need is not part of the current list, type in the appropriate search term and it will now appear as an option which you need to select.
6. Click Save and this will save any new Search Terms you have created and the changes you have made to the supplier.

If your community would no longer like to transact with a supplier, they can be disconnected to remove them from your connected supplier list. Community Admins and Community Supplier Admins can do this by:

• Go to the Administration module and select Suppliers.
• Locate the Supplier.
• Click on the Suppliers name.
• Click More Actions (right side of screen) and select Disconnect.

What is an ISO Country code and how does Unimarket use them?

The purpose of ISO is to define internationally recognized codes of letters and/or numbers that we can use when we refer to countries and subdivisions. This information comes from United Nations sources (Terminology Bulletin Country Names and the Country and Region Codes for Statistical Use maintained by the United Nations Statistics Divisions). The current version of ISO Country Codes is ISO 3166-1.

In Unimarket we use the 2 digit ISO country code to define the "country" field when related to addresses and the 3 digit ISO when relating to currency.