The Supplier Designations module is where Buyer Admins can manage and create Designations and apply them to Suppliers in the Marketplace. 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, choosing Suppliers to receive a Quote Request, or when choosing between multiple Suppliers’ Quotes.
[Screenshot of Supplier Designations page (default Designations)]
The Supplier Designations table displays a list of all Designations. Ten default Designations will appear in this table. Here is what the default Designations mean:
- Local: Local businesses, as opposed to national Suppliers.
- WBE: Women Business Enterprise certification.
- 8(a): Businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
- MBE: Minority Business Enterprise certification.
- VBE: Veteran Business Enterprise certification.
- DOBE: Disability-Owned Business Enterprise certification.
- HUB: Historically Underutilized Business certification.
- SDB: Small Disadvantaged Business certification.
- LGBTBE: LGBTQ+ Business Enterprise certification.
- B Corp: Certification for businesses with positive social and environmental impact.
Default Designations can be removed and other Designations can be added. Click the trash can icon in the “Action” column to remove a Designation. Click the “Add a Designation” button at the bottom of the table to add a new Designation.
In the field in the “Designation Label” column, add the Designation label that will be displayed next to Suppliers’ names and in their Profiles. It should be 15 characters or less, quickly communicating the Supplier’s attribute, certification, or trait.
Click the label in the “Label Color” column to change the color of the Designation label. A popup will appear. Choose a color using the color picker or enter a specific hex code. Make sure that the color you choose is dark enough to contrast with the white text.
[Detail Screenshot of Label Color popup]
Use the reorder icons on the left-hand side of the table to reorder the Designations, creating a hierarchy with the most important designations at the top. On some pages on the front-end Marketplace, only two Designations will be displayed for a Supplier, even if the Supplier has more than two Designations. The hierarchy created here will determine which Designations get displayed in those cases.
[Detail Screenshot of Supplier Directory with only 2 Designations per Supplier]
Click the arrow in the “Action” column to expand a Designation and assign it to Suppliers. The “Suppliers with this Designation” block displays all of the Suppliers who currently have the Designation. Search by Supplier Name to find a specific supplier, or use the “Sort By” button to sort the Suppliers.
[Detail Screenshot of expanded Designation]
Click the “Edit Suppliers” button to add or remove Suppliers with the Designation. A popup will appear containing all Suppliers in the Marketplace. Use the checkboxes to add or remove the Designation from Suppliers. Use the “Select All” checkbox to add or remove the Designation from all Suppliers. 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.
When you’ve finished making your changes, click the “Save” button at the top or bottom right-hand side of the page.