⚡️ Vendor Portal Expert - Workflow Phase Reminder Emails ⚡️

Discover how to automate workflow reminders so Gatekeeper chases your Suppliers for you!

 

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   Estimated Read Time: 4 minutes

    Estimated Configuration Time: 5 Minutes

 

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Sections in this Article

Introduction

Configuration

Enabling Reminder Emails

Configuring Email Content

Updates from base email content

Internal Delay Communications

FAQ

Additional Reading

 

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Introduction

 

Our ⚡️ Workflow Phase Notifications article covers how important it is to provide the appropriate context & guidance for your Vendors in any notifications Gatekeeper sends when they have a task to perform

 

Also available when configuring notifications is the automated reminders

This can be used to automate chasers, clarify tasks & deadlines in order to (hopefully) avoid delays

In this article we will walk through how to configure these and some content to consider

 

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Configuration

 

Part 1 - Enabling a Reminder

Step 1) Go to your Vendor Portal phase & click to edit

Step 2) Navigate to the Notifications tab

Step 3) Alongside the EMAIL REMINDER you wish to send, enable the switch & enter a number of days to send the reminder

Step 4) Hit ✅ Save

 

Part 2 - Configuring the Notification Content

Step 1) In the Notifications tab, click the edit button to configure the Email Template

Step 2) Populate the Subject, Content & Button Text

Step 3) Hit ✅ Update to confirm the template updates, then ✅ Save to store your changes

 

Email Content Guidance

For these reminder emails, you could technically copy the content from the initial phase email

However, to get the most of these emails, we recommend changing it up a bit!

 

If your Vendor takes so long that they receive a reminder, it could be because they either:

a) Forgot to complete their tasks

b) Are struggling to use the portal or answer some of your questions

To address these, it would be wise in your reminder emails to 

a) Stress the deadline (SLA Due Date) & highlight the delays this may cause to other processes

b) Provide a point of contact for the Vendors to reach out for assistance

 

Example Configuration

Subject: 

⏰ Onboarding Form Still Required ⏰

Content: 

{{ recipient.full_name }},

This is a reminder to complete & submit the onboarding form for <strong>OUR COMPANY NAME</strong> on behalf of {{ card.name }}

This is a key part of our process to ensure that the setup & management of our supply chain/contractual obligations runs smoothly! ✅

If you have any queries about the process, you can reach out to <strong>[xyz team/person]</strong> via email or by <i>@-tagging</i> them in the below onboarding form's <strong>Messages</strong> tab

Many Thanks,

OUR COMPANY Vendor Management Team 

<hr><i>You will receive an automated reminder every <strong>7 days</strong> until a submission is received. Please aim to complete this form by <strong></strong> to avoid any delays</i>

Button:

View Form 📋

 

How it Looks ✨

 

Additional Consideration: Supplier Management Admins

Step 1) Go to your Vendor Portal phase & click to edit

Step 2) Navigate to the Notifications tab

Step 3) Enable the EMAIL REMINDER for your internal stakeholder/s using

Option A: CC Group ➡️ a "Supplier Management Admins" workflow group

Option B: Card Creator

Step 4) Hit ✅ Save

 

In either of these email templates, you could enter some suggested steps for your internal users such as:

a) Reach out to the vendor to see if they need assistance

b) Check whether the vendor is on track to submit their form in the near future

c) (For Admins) check whether the card should be manually moved onwards - potentially if input has been received offline or if the vendor onboarding will not be proceed any further

Whichever of these steps should be included (potentially all of them), the aim of making these suggestions to your internal users is that they are aware of some steps to take to avoid & remedy delays with the workflow

 

Example Content: 

{{ recipient.full_name }},

This is an automated update that the onboarding form for <strong>{{ card.name }}</strong> has not received a response for <strong>X days</strong>

 

<i>The deadline communicated to the vendor for this form is: <strong>{{ enter_phase.sla_due_date }}</strong></i>

Delays to this submission may indicate that the vendor is having issues with the form, with the Vendor Portal or that communications have taken place outside Gatekeeper

 

To avoid further delays, please could you reach out and ensure that the vendor has all the guidance they need to complete the form

<hr><i>👋 You will receive another reminder in <strong>X days</strong> until a submission is received. </i>

 

 

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FAQ 💬

 

Q: How long will reminder emails continue to send?

A: For as long as a workflow card remains on the phase

If you want to limit the number of reminders, we suggest using an SLA timer to automatically move cards after

 

Q: If a Vendor has not accepted their invitation, can the reminder emails invite their user to the portal?

A: No. These only send notifications about workflow phases

To access the Portal, Vendor Users can follow the activation link from the Invitation Email or use the "Reset Password" option on the Gatekeeper login screen

 

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Additional Reading 📚

 

⚡️ Team Inboxes

Above, we mention the option of leveraging reminder emails to ping an Internal user/team when a Vendor Portal form is delayed.

If your team overseeing Vendor Management workflows shares an inbox/Slack/MS Teams channel, you could set this up to receive the escalation notifications!

 

Other Articles in this Series ⚡️

• Coming Soon: Vendor Portal Branding
• Best Practice: Invitation Emails
• Best Practice: Notification Emails
• Best Practice: Workflow Phase Instructions
• Best Practice: Leveraging SLA Deadlines