Manage Suppliers

The Manage Suppliers module is where Buyer Admins can view and edit all Suppliers who have been invited to participate in the Marketplace.

[Screenshot of Manage Suppliers Page]

The Manage Suppliers table displays a list of all Suppliers added to the Marketplace. This list may include Active, Inactive, and Invited Suppliers. To add a new Supplier to the Marketplace, click the Invite a New Supplier button in the top right-hand side of the page, the Invite a New Supplier card in the tile view, or navigate to Invite a New Supplier in the Admin Console sidebar. Click here for more on the Invite a New Supplier module.

Use the icons at the top of the page next to the page title to toggle between a tile view and a list view of the Manage Suppliers page. 

[Detail screenshot of list/tile icons]

Enter a Supplier’s name in the search bar at the top of the page to find a specific Supplier. Click the filter buttons to the right of the search bar to filter Suppliers by status, Designation, or star rating. 

[Detail screenshot of search bar and filter options with one expanded]

In the tile view, click the Sort By button to sort the Suppliers by date added, alphabetically, or by rating. By default, Suppliers will be sorted by date added, with the most recently added Suppliers at the top. 

[Detail screenshot of Sort By button]

In list view, the Suppliers in the table can be sorted by clicking the arrow next to the column headers.

[Detail screenshot of column sorting]

If there are more than 20 Suppliers added to the Marketplace, the table will be paginated, and page navigation options will appear at the bottom of the page. Click the Results Per Page dropdown to display more Suppliers per page.

[Detail screenshot of table footer with multiple pages]

In tile view, Suppliers with Invited and Inactive statuses will appear with banners over their logo images. Suppliers without a banner are Active. In list view, the Status column indicates Suppliers’ statuses.

[Detail screenshot of three Supplier cards next to each other: one Invited, one Inactive, and one active]

Here is what each status means:

1. Invited: The Supplier has been sent an invitation to participate in the Marketplace, but the Supplier hasn’t yet accepted your invitation. The Supplier won’t appear in the front-end Supplier Directory.
2. Inactive: Either the Supplier has been added to the Marketplace, but hasn’t yet been sent an invitation, or the Supplier was initially Active but the Supplier themselves or a Buyer Admin changed the Supplier’s status to Inactive, removing the Supplier from the front-end Supplier Directory. It’s also possible that a Supplier may be given an Inactive status after accepting your invitation. In this unlikely case, the Supplier will need to enable a Credit Card payment gateway in Payment Methods.
3. Active: A Supplier has accepted your invitation to participate in the Buyer Marketplace, and now appears in the Marketplace Supplier Directory. Site Users in the Marketplace will be able to submit Quote Requests to the Supplier.

If a Supplier has ratings, their average star rating will appear, along with the top two Designations assigned to them. Click here for more on Supplier Designations.

[Detail Screenshot of Supplier card with designations and rating]

Click the trash can icon that appears when hovering over a Supplier in tile view, or in the Action column in list view to remove a Supplier from your Marketplace. A confirmation popup will appear. Removing a Supplier cannot be undone, and that Supplier will need to be reinvited to continue participating in the Marketplace.

Click the Supplier image or the pencil icon that appears when hovering over a Supplier in tile view, or in the Action column in list view to edit a Supplier’s Profile on the Marketplace. The Edit Supplier page will appear.

Edit Supplier

The Edit Supplier page is where Buyer Admins can view and edit Supplier details, permissions, and status.

[Screenshot of Edit Supplier page]

Details 

The Details block displays a Supplier’s name, logo, description, and rating. If a Supplier is either Invited or Inactive, a status banner will also appear in this block. Drag and drop a file into the uploader or click the Browse Files button to upload a .PNG or .JPG logo for the Supplier. Replace an existing logo by clicking the X button in the top right corner and uploading another. Use the checkboxes below the logo to provide or restrict editing permissions to the Supplier. When all three checkboxes are selected, the Supplier will be able to edit their logo, name, and description. Click the Edit button to change the Supplier’s name and description. Click the Save button once you’ve finished making your changes.

[Detail Screenshot of Details section in edit state.]

Supplier Status

Once a Supplier has accepted your invitation to participate in the Marketplace, the Supplier Status block will appear. Use the radio buttons to activate or deactivate the Supplier, showing or hiding the Supplier in the front-end Supplier Directory and allowing or disallowing the Supplier to receive Quote Requests from Site Users.

[Detail Screenshot of Supplier Status block]

If a Supplier has been invited, but they haven’t yet accepted the invitation, the Supplier Status block will not appear on the Edit Supplier page. 

If a Supplier has been added to the Marketplace, but hasn’t yet been invited, an Invite Supplier block will appear where the Supplier Status block usually appears. This block will allow you to send an invitation to the Supplier’s email address, inviting them to participate in the Marketplace. Click here for more on how to Invite a New Supplier.

[Detail Screenshot of Invite Supplier block]

Contract

Supplier contract management in the Agora Admin Console can be a key piece of Buyer organizations’ control and oversight of Suppliers. If a Supplier is contracted with the Buyer organization, upload their contract with the Buyer organization and enter the term of the contract in the Contract block. Then choose an Admin to receive a notification email before the defined contract term has lapsed. Finally, enter the number of days prior to the end of the contract term that the reminder email should be sent. 

[Detail Screenshot of Contract block]

Choose whether or not the contract and term are visible to Site Users on the Supplier’s front-end Profile page in Quoting Settings.

[Detail Screenshot of front-end Supplier Profile contract section]

Statistics

The Statistics block lists several pieces of information about the Supplier. Here is what each piece of information means:

1. Average Response Time is the average time that it takes for a Supplier to create a Quote once a Quote Request has been submitted to them.
2. % of Quotes Won is the percentage of all Quote Requests received by the Supplier in which a Quote created by the Supplier was accepted by the Site User.
3. Order Processed is the total number of orders handled by the Supplier.
4. Most Recent Order displays the order date of the latest order handled by the Supplier.

[Detail Screenshot of Statistics block]

Choose whether or not statistics are visible to Site Users on the Supplier’s front-end Profile page in Quoting Settings.

[Detail Screenshot of front-end Supplier Profile Statistics section]

Contact Information

The Contact Information block controls all public contact information for the Supplier that appears on their front-end Profile.

[Detail Screenshot of Contact Information block with collapsed info blocks]

An email to the address entered in the Default Contact Email Address field will be drafted when a Site User clicks on the Contact Supplier button on the Supplier’s front-end Profile page.

[Detail Screenshot of Contact Supplier button on the front-end Supplier Profile]

The URL entered in the Website URL field will open in a new tab when a Site User clicks on the Visit Website button on the Supplier’s front-end Profile page.

[Detail Screenshot of Visit Website button on the front-end Supplier Profile]

The Info Blocks section allows Buyer Admins to create any number of multi-purpose info sections that list relevant contact methods, representatives, or addresses.

[Detail Screenshot of Contact Information block with 1 expanded and 1 collapsed info blocks]

[Detail Screenshot of corresponding info blocks on the front-end Supplier Profile]

Click the checkbox next to Supplier can add Info Blocks to give the Supplier permission to add additional blocks to the section. 

Click the Add another info block region to create a new info block. All fields in an info block are optional, and any combination of fields can be used to represent any form of information. Click the checkbox next to Supplier can edit this Info Block to give the Supplier permission to make changes to this info block. Click the Delete Info Block button to remove the block. Click and drag the reorder icon to reorder multiple info blocks on the page. When you’ve finished making your changes, click the arrow in the top right-hand corner of the block to collapse it. When an info block is collapsed, clicking the arrow will expand it into an edit state. 

Designations

Designations are tags used to call out what makes certain Suppliers unique. They make it easy for Site Users to filter for Suppliers that have characteristics they value when browsing the Directory or choosing Suppliers to receive a Quote Request. Click here for more on Supplier Designations. The Designations block displays all Designations that have been assigned to the Supplier. 

[Detail Screenshot of Designations block with several assigned]

Click the X icons next to each Designation to remove them from the Supplier. Click the Add Designations button to assign additional Designations to the Supplier. A popup will open. 

[Detail Screenshot of Select Designations popup]

All Designations that have been created in the Supplier Designations module will be listed in the popup. Use the checkboxes to add or remove Designations from the Supplier. Click Add Designations when you’ve finished making your selections.

Categories

Supplier Categories are used to group Suppliers based on the kinds of products and services they can provide. Categories are the primary way that Suppliers are organized in a Marketplace. Click here for more on Supplier Categories. The Categories block displays the Categories that the Supplier has been assigned to. 

[Detail Screenshot of Categories block with several tiers of categories]

Click the X icons next to each leaf-level Subcategory in the Category tree to unassign the Supplier from those Subcategories. Click the Add to Categories button to assign the Supplier to additional Categories. A popup will open.

[Detail Screenshot of Add to Categories popup]

All Categories and Subcategories that have been created in the Supplier Categories module will be listed in the popup. Use the twirl down the arrows next to each Category to view the Subcategories in them. Checkboxes will appear next to the leaf-level Subcategories in the Category tree. Use the checkboxes to add or remove the Supplier from those Categories or Subcategories. Click Add to Categories when you’ve finished making your selections.

Supplier Admins

The Supplier Admins block will display all the names and contact information for all Supplier Admins who have access to your Marketplace.

[Detail Screenshot of Supplier Admins block]

Click the Remove Supplier button to remove the Supplier from your Marketplace. A confirmation popup will appear. Removing a Supplier cannot be undone, and the Supplier will need to be reinvited to continue participating in the Marketplace.

When you’ve finished making your changes, click the Save button. Click Back to return to the Manage Suppliers page.