The Supplier Categories module is where Buyer Admins can create and manage a tree of Categories and Subcategories and assign Suppliers to those Categories. Supplier Categories are used to group Suppliers based on the kinds of products and services they can provide, and are the primary way that Suppliers are organized in a Marketplace.
[Screenshot of Supplier Categories page (collapsed)]
The Categories table displays a list of all Supplier Categories in the Marketplace. To edit the Categories, click the Edit Categories button on the top right-hand side of the table. If no Categories have been created, the table will appear in edit state, and you can click the Add a Category button. A new row will be added to the table. Enter a Category name in the field provided. The name should describe the most general grouping of products or services provided by Suppliers in the Category. Click the trash can icon in the Action column to remove a Category. Use the reorder icons on the left-hand side of the table to reorder the Categories. The order you create here will be the order displayed in the front-end Supplier Directory and in a Quote Request. When you have finished adding, naming, and ordering the Categories, click the Save Categories button.
[Detail Screenshot of Categories table with tier 1 in edit state]
Click the arrow in the Action column to expand a Category. A Category can contain either Subcategories or Suppliers, but it cannot contain both. If the Category is new, you will have two options:
[Detail Screenshot of expanded category with both options]
- Add Suppliers: Click this option to select which Suppliers should appear in the Category. A popup will appear containing all Suppliers in the Marketplace. Use the checkboxes to add or remove Suppliers from the Category. Use the Select All checkbox to add or remove all Suppliers from the Category. Search by Supplier Name to find a specific supplier, use the Filter by Rating button to filter Suppliers by star rating, or use the Sort By button to sort the Suppliers. When you’ve made your selections, click Save to close the popup.
[Detail Screenshot of Add or Remove Suppliers popup]
The Suppliers in this Category block displays all of the Suppliers who have been added to the Category. Search by Supplier Name to find a specific supplier, or use the Sort By button to sort the Suppliers.
[Detail Screenshot of expanded Category with Suppliers]
Click the Edit Suppliers button to open the Add or Remove Suppliers popup again. If you decide to further subdivide the Category, click the Add Subcategories button. Any added Suppliers will be removed from the Category so that Subcategories can be added. - Add Subcategories: Click this option to add a branch tier of Subcategories inside the Category. An indented table will appear inside the expanded Category, allowing you to create and edit Subcategories in the same way that Categories are created. Click the Save Subcategories button to save the tier.
[Detail Screenshot of expanded Category with Subcategories in read-only state]
Click the Edit Subcategories button to rename, reorder, or delete Subcategories. If you decide to simplify your Category structure, click the Add Suppliers button. Any added Subcategories will be removed from the Category so that Suppliers can be added.
Your Supplier Category tree can have up to 3 tiers: A trunk tier of Categories, a branch tier of Subcategories, and a leaf tier of Subcategories containing Suppliers. Not all three tiers need to be utilized, however. Suppliers can be added to any tier.
Any Category or Subcategory containing Suppliers also has additional settings:
Select a Quote Request Form
Each leaf-level Supplier Category or Subcategory must be assigned one of two Quote Request forms, depending on the type of product denoted by the Category.
[Detail Screenshot of Quote Request Form section]
- Supply Products: This Quote Request form is a table-style form that allows Site Users to add name, SKU, quantity, description, and attachments for each line item in the Quote Request.
[Detail Screenshot of front end Supplies Quote Request]
When this Quote Request form is selected as the default for the Category or Subcategory, default display names for three fields in the form (Product Name, SKU, and Item Description or Notes) will be editable, providing a degree of customization to the specific information collected using the form. - Apparel/Promotional Products: This Quote Request form is a questionnaire-style form that collects product detail, pricing, quantity, and decoration information specific to apparel items and promotional products.
[Detail Screenshot of front end Apparel/Promo Quote Request]
Royalty Settings
If royalties must be paid by the Supplier on products in the Category or Subcategory, use the toggle to collect royalties whenever a Site User submits a Quote Request to Suppliers in this Category. For example, if the Category is Branded Merchandise, it may make sense to set the Products are Royalty-Bearing toggle to Yes so that royalties are built into the Quotes created by Suppliers.
[Detail Screenshot of Royalty Settings block]
When Products are Royalty-Bearing is toggled to Yes, enter the default royalty percentage that will be automatically added to the Supplier’s quoted price for all items in the Quote.
[Detail Screenshot of Royalty column in the Supplier Quote Response module]
Approval Settings
If Quotes from Suppliers in the Category or Subcategory, when ordered by Site Users, will require Order Approval, use the toggle to indicate that orders of Quotes from the Category should be sent through an Order Approval process.
[Detail Screenshot of Approval Settings block]
When Send Orders in this Category for Approval is toggled to Yes, select the Approver responsible for approving the Quote orders from the Category.
Use an Import to Add Categories
When the Use an Import to Add Categories section is expanded by clicking the arrow on the left-hand side of the section, click the Download Import Template button to download the CSV template that should be used for the import. Create your category tree in the template file, and, once you’ve completed the document, click and drag it into the upload dropzone or click the Browse Files button to select the template from a file browser. The accepted file types are .CSV and .XLS. Your Supplier Category structure in Agora will be updated as soon as the file has uploaded.
When you’ve finished making your changes, click the Save button at the top or bottom right-hand side of the page.