🛠 Create Your Own - Vendor Onboarding Workflow

Learn how to create a collaborative process for getting your new vendors added to Gatekeeper and centralising all the data, documents and audit trails

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   Estimated Read Time: 18 minutes                      Estimated Configuration Time: 1-2 hours

 

 

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Sections in this Article

Introduction

Workflow Diagram 

Configuration

🛠 Mandatory Configuration Steps 🛠

Create Workflow Groups

Assign Approver/s

Configure the Request form

Set the Vendor Type

🛠 Additional Configuration Steps 🛠

Adding Custom Metadata to the Form

Configuring Rejections

Add Market IQ Financial

Add Market IQ Cyber

Add NetSuite Sync

Add Extra Phases

Change to a "triggered" Workflow

Disable the Public Request Form

Hide phases from Vendor/Employee Portal

Amend Workflow Description

Getting Started - How to start using your new workflow

Additional Reading

 

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The Workflow - Introduction

 

This workflow will allow you to digitise your Vendor Onboarding & Risk Assessment process.

The structure of this workflow is inspired by the most pragmatic layouts seen across our client-base, but will allow for expansion in scope and sophistication to fit your processes.

By the employing this workflow, you will be guaranteeing that all new vendors you work with have been thoroughly documented and risk-assessed, so when it comes to doing business, you have all the necessary data to make informed decisions

 

 

Workflow Diagram: XML / PDF

 

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🛠 Configuring the Workflow 🛠

Adding the Template Workflow

Before you get started with the configuration, you will need to add the Template workflow to your tenant.

Step 1) Head to the Workflows page

Step 2) Hit Add > Workflow Template

Step 3) Select the Vendor Onboarding  Template

Step 4) If necessary, amend the new workflow's Title

Step 5) Hit ✅ Create

 

 

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🛠 Mandatory Configuration Steps 🛠

These are the basic steps required to make the workflow functional

Technically, once you complete this chapter, your new workflow will work as an end-to-end process

The ⬇️ Additional Configuration ⬇️ steps are optional additions to change the scope of the process & adapt the workflow further to fit your organisation's practices & Gatekeeper subscription 

 

Create Workflow Groups

There are 2 uses for Workflow Groups in your Vendor Onboarding process:

A) Granting Access to groups of users to perform actions/update the form data/grant approval for the vendor relationship

B) Sending Notifications to these groups of users

 

Step 1) Head to Settings > Users

Step 2) Hit Add > Workflow Group

Step 3) Enter the Title of this new group

Including a Description is optional but can help you identify the group if making updates in future. It may be useful to mention the team and processes this group has been created for

Step 4) Edit your new Group to begin adding Members

 

Standard Workflow Groups for a Complete Vendor Onboarding

• • • Procurement/Vendor Management Team
    • Legal/Contract Management Team
    • Finance Team
    • InfoSec/Data Privacy Team
    • Dedicated Compliance Teams for reviewing ESG/Modern Slavery/AML risks
      (unless these categories fall under the remit of Procurement/Vendor Management)

 

Assign Approver/s

Two Phases are designated for approving Vendor Onboarding forms:

Approval Phase 1 - "Approval/s ✅"

This phase is designed to review the initial scope of the Vendor Onboarding request

This is to prevent unnecessary work later in the workflow - maybe if the new vendor/service is not in budget or there is already an existing Vendor in place which already provides the same services your organisation

Approval Phase 2 - "Onboarding Review ☑️"

This phase is designed to perform all final checks & risk approvals

By this point of the workflow, all necessary data & documentation should have been provided so your teams will be able to assess, catalogue & approve all the possible risks.

 

Option 1 - Simple Approval ✅

This setting can be used if only one user/group needs to provide approval for onboarding forms.

Step 1) Edit your approvals phase

Step 2) Go to the Approval tab to check that Approval is  🔘 Enabled & set to 🔘 Single

Step 3) Now go to the Form Access tab

Step 4) Select the User/Group who should provide the approval and hit ✅ Save

Any of the users/groups you populate on the Form Access tab will be able to provide the single approval for the onboarding form to proceed  past this phase of the kanban board

 

Option 2 - Parallel Approvals

This setting can be used if multiple users/groups need to approve onboarding forms

Step 1) Edit your approvals phase

Step 2) Head to the Approval tab to check that Approval is  🔘 Enabled

Step 3) Select 🔘 Parallel

Step 4) In the pop-out Parallel Approvals view, select the required Users/Groups and hit ✅ Save

ALL of the users/groups you populate in the "Parallel Approvals" view will need to provide approval for onboarding forms to proceed  past this phase of the kanban board

 

Option 3 - Conditional Parallel Approvals 

This setting can be used if multiple users/groups need to approve onboarding forms but these users/groups can change depending on the scope of the request

Step 1) Go to your approvals phase & hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Go to the Approval tab to check that Approval is  🔘 Enabled and set to 🔘 Parallel

Step 3) Hit ➕ ADD NEW PARALLEL APPROVAL

Step 4) In the pop-out Parallel Approvals view, select the required Users/Groups

Step 5) Select 🔘 Conditional & hit ✅ Save

Step 6) Hit ➕ ADD to begin assigning conditions for the selected user/group to require approval

Step 7) Repeat Steps 3 - 6 until all conditional approvers are set

Gatekeeper will check the rules for all conditional approvals and apply those where the specific onboarding form matches.

 

 

Configure the Pre-built Forms

Two Form Sections have been added as '"placeholders" to allow you to build out the fields for your specific onboarding questionnaires:

 

Step 1) Head to the New Vendor Request Form phase and hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Form tab

Step 3) In the REQUEST FORM section, use the ➕ ADD FIELD button to begin building out the questionnaire

 

 

Set Vendor Type

Vendor Type is a key field for classifying your Vendors

This is why Gatekeeper makes this a mandatory field for Vendors in your Gatekeeper repository This also means that your workflow needs to be configured to ensure this is populated for all new vendors, using one of the below methods...

 

Option 1 - Make the field "Mandatory" before the Auto-Create Vendor action

Step 1) Select the phase of the workflow where the Type field should to be populated

Step 2) Hit Edit this Phase

Step 3) Navigate to the Form tab

Step 4) For Type, tick the ☑️ Mandatory checkbox

Step 5) If Vendor Details is currently set to Read Only, change it to Editable (or Custom:Editable)

 

Option 2 - Set up a "backup" value within the AutoCreate Vendor action

Step 1) Navigate to the Auto-Create Vendor phase & hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Action tab

Step 3) Alongside ⚙️ AutoAction | Create Vendor, hit Edit AutoAction Values

Step 4) For Type, choose a backup value from the dropdown

Step 5) Hit ✅ Save

 

 

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🛠 Additional Configuration Steps 🛠

This chapter will contain optional steps to amend the scope or preconfigured settings of the workflow so that it works optimally for your organisation & users

 

Configuration Video Coming Soon...

 

Add Custom Metadata to the Form

The ⬆️ above configuration task ⬆️ involves adding fields to the form which will be useful for influencing the reviews & other actions which take place during the onboarding workflow

However, you may wish to capture additional data in the form which also can be stored in your Vendor repository, allowing you to report & filter on this metadata later on

This is ideal for Due Diligence Forms & other data points about the vendor which you normally capture

When this custom data is added to your forms, the values users populate on the workflow can be published to your repository records via Create/Update Vendor actions

Part 1 - Adding Metadata to your Data Model

Step 1) Head to Settings > Configuration > Custom Data

Step 2) Hit Add > Add Custom Group

Step 3) Name this group & select Allocated to: Vendor

If you wish, you can restrict the Vendor Types for which this set of data should appear by selecting 🔘 Apply to specific Vendor Types

Step 4) Hit Add > Add New Custom Field

Step 5) Create your new custom field, populating Label & Type

Step 6) Repeat Steps 2 - 5 until the data groups & fields are all added

 

Part 2 - Adding the Metadata to the Workflow Form

Step 1) Go to the start phase of the workflow & hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Form tab

Step 3) Scroll to the bottom and hit ADD SECTION

Step 4) Give the section a Name

This can  be the same as you chose for the Custom Data group, but does not need to be!

Step 5) Select Predefined: Vendor, then for Custom Data Group choose the new group you created

Step 6) Hit ✅ Save, then use REORDER to drag & drop this new section to where you wish for it to appear in your form

 

Part 3 - Setting Visibility rules

Once you have added a section to your form, it will technically exist on every Phase. However, whether or not users can see or edit the section at every phase is something you can control

Step 1) Choose a phase where you want to change this setting & hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Form tab

Step 3) Find your form section and choose whether the section should be Read Only, Hidden or Editable for users at that phase

Step 4) Repeat Steps 1 - 3 for all phases of your workflow

 

 

Part 4 - Setting values in AutoActions

Step 1) Choose a phase of the workflow where vendors are created/updated Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Actions tab

Step 3) For the enabled AutoAction, hit Edit AutoAction Values

Step 4) For the new fields, check the corresponding ☑️ Take Value from Form box 

Step 5) You can optionally also set a "backup" value in case the form is left blank

Step 6) Hit ✅ Save

 

Configuring Rejections

Currently, this workflow has 2 Phases where a Vendor Onboarding form can be "Rejected":

 

First is near the start, where a manager/admin user reviews the onboarding request: Approval/s ✅

A rejection here will transition the form to "❌ Vendor Rejected ❌ DONE" and essentially means "No"

 

Second is at the end where the Vendor's Onboarding form is assessed: Onboarding Review ☑️

Any rejections here will send the form back to "Vendor Onboarding Form 👷" for revisions and essentially means "Update the form & try again"

However, there may occur scenarios where a rejection at this late stage of the workflow is in fact a hard-stop: The rejection means "We cannot work with this Vendor"

To change this, similar to the above "Resubmissions & Appeals" walkthrough, you could configure a Review Rejection phase where an admin user/team decides which of the responses is appropriate:

Send the form back to the Vendor or Send the Form to the Rejected-Done phase

 

 

 

Add Market IQ Financial

Part 1: Adding the Market IQ Metadata Fields to the Form

Step 1) Navigate to the start phase of the workflow & hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Form tab

Step 3) Scroll to the bottom and hit ADD SECTION

Step 4) Give the section a Name (e.g. "Market IQ Financial Data")

Step 5) Select Predefined: Vendor, then for Custom Data Group choose Market IQ  | Financial

Step 6) Hit ✅ Save, then use REORDER to drag & drop this new section to where you wish for it to appear in your form

Step 7) For each phase, set the visibility of this new data section

 

Part 2: Enabling the Sync Action

Step 1) Choose a phase where you wish for the Vendor to be linked to the Market IQ data feed and hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Actions tab and enable Update Vendor with Market IQ | Financial

 

 

⚡️Expert: Using the Score for a Conditional Approval ⚡️

Step 1) Choose your phase where an approval could take place and hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Approval tab

Step 3) If not already, set Approval to 🔘 Enabled and Approval Type to 🔘 Parallel

Step 4) Hit ➕ ADD NEW PARALLEL APPROVAL

Step 5) In the pop-out Parallel Approvals view, select the required Users/Groups, select 🔘 Conditional then hit ✅ Save

Step 6) Hit ➕ ADD to assign conditions, choosing the Credit Rating field and a set of values which you deem risky-enough to require approval

 

 

Add MIQ Cyber

Part 1: Adding the fields

Step 1) Navigate to the start phase of the workflow & hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Form tab

Step 3) Scroll to the bottom and hit ADD SECTION

Step 4) Give the section a Name (e.g. "Market IQ CyberSecurity Data")

Step 5) Select Predefined: Vendor, then for Custom Data Group choose Market IQ  | Cyber

Step 6) Hit ✅ Save, then use REORDER to drag & drop this new section to where you wish for it to appear in your form

Step 7) For each phase, set the visibility of this new data section

Part 2: Enabling the Sync Action

There is no dedicated "workflow action" to connect Vendors to Market IQ Cyber like there is for Market IQ Financial

All you need to ensure is that the Vendor Website is populated and published to the record in the repository

 

⚡️Expert: Using the Score for a Conditional Approval ⚡️

Step 1) Choose your phase where an approval could take place and hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Approval tab

Step 3) If not already, set Approval to 🔘 Enabled and Approval Type to 🔘 Parallel

Step 4) Hit ➕ ADD NEW PARALLEL APPROVAL

Step 5) In the pop-out Parallel Approvals view, select the required approving Users/Groups, select 🔘 Conditional then hit ✅ Save

Step 6) Hit ➕ ADD to assign conditions, choosing the Cyber Score or Grade field and the values which you deem require approval

 

 

Add a NetSuite Sync

Step 1) Choose the phase where a vendor should be sync'd to NetSuite and hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Actions tab

Step 3) Enable Update Vendor

(It is also possible to enable a NS Sync using Create Vendor)

Step 4) Underneath this action, check  ☑️ Sync to NetSuite on Action

 

 

 

Add Extra Phases

Step 1) Navigate to the right hand side of the workflow board

Step 2) Next to New Phase, hit ADD

Step 3) Choose a phase title (& Description) for your phase, then hit ✅ Save

Step 4) Hit Reorder & Minimise to move your phase to the point in the workflow where it fits your process 

Step 5) Now configure the rest of your phase for its dedicated purpose

 

Example Use Case 1: Adding a new phase before Onboarding Review for MIQ Finance Linking

Context: To make the most of the Market IQ data in your risk assessments/approvals, you should ensure that the connection is performed before the final Onboarding Review phase

⬆️ See above action for context ⬆️

 

Example Use Case 2: Adding a new phase after Onboarding Review for NetSuite Sync

Context: It is recommended that Vendors should only be added to NetSuite once they have been fully approved and will definitely be worked with!

⬆️ See above action for context ⬆️

 

 

Alternative Initiations: Change to a "triggered" workflow

Internal request forms are (in our opinion) the best way for your Vendor Onboarding process to begin...

They give you clear information about who requested the new vendor, why they need a new vendor and (if you have a well designed Request form) can handle the compilation of key information about the new relationship up front

They also put you in control of you vendor relationships. You can guarantee that a new vendor does not begin onboarding until it has been approved by the right parties, avoiding wasted time

However, depending on where this vendor onboarding fits into your Procurement, Vendor & Contract Management life-cycle, you may want to change the way the workflow process begins...

Part 1: Changing the Form Access

To remove the possibility that this process is manually initiated:

Step 1) Navigate to the start phase of the workflow & hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Form Access tab

Step 3) Set the Authorisation Type to 🔘 Internal

Step 4) Select the Key stakeholder who should be responsible for completing the start form

 

Part 2: Changing how the workflow starts

Step 1) Head to the Workflows page

Step 2) Click to edit the workflow then select the Workflow Triggers option

Step 3) Hit ➕ ADD TRIGGER

Step 4) Choose a Name for your trigger then hit ✅ Create

Step 5) Hit ➕ ADD to compile your rules  for trigger to fire

 

If you want to use trigger conditions based on the actions of Vendor Users, you can select: 

Vendor Portal Self Registration or Vendor Portal Invitation

 

Otherwise, you can use trigger conditions where your Vendor record matches metadata values

such as "Vendor / Approval is Awaiting Approval"

 

 

Disable the Public URL Request Form

If using the Authenticated Employee Portal Form to start the workflow, you may want to disable the Public Form option (to prevent any users from finding & using the less secure of the 2 options)

Step 1) Head to the start phase of the workflow & hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Form Access tab

Step 3) Uncheck the ☑️ Public Form option

Step 4) Hit ✅ Save

 

Hide Phases from the Vendor/Employee Portal Progress Tracker

Step 1) Head to Modules > Vendor Portal

Step 2) Find your workflow then hit the  Menu then Edit Icon

Step 3) Check ☑️ Hide for the phases you wish to hide from your user dashboards

Step 4) Hit ✅ Submit

Step 5) Repeat for Modules > Employee Portal (if necessary)

 

Amend Workflow Description

When using this workflow in Employee Portal, your users will see a brief description within the request form on the Submit Requests dashboard:

Step 1) From the Workflows page, go to your Vendor Onboarding workflow

Step 2) Click to Edit this Workflow

Step 3) In Description, enter a short summary to explain to your users what the workflow is for & hit ✅ Save

 

 

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Getting started! ⚡️

 

If using the Employee Portal

Once your workflow is configured, it's ready to go

Your users can access their Submit Requests dashboard and initiate a new Vendor Onboarding request

If you wish to embed the URL for this form elsewhere in Gatekeeper (or even in another system), you can obtain it by right-clicking the Request button:

 

If Using a Public Form

Step 1) Head to the start phase of the workflow & hit Edit this Phase

Step 2) Navigate to the Form Access tab

Step 3) Here, you can find (& copy) the url for this workflow form to be shared with your users

 

If "Triggered"

Step 1) Head to the Workflows page

Step 2) Click to edit the workflow then select the Workflow Triggers option

Step 3) Click your trigger's name

Step 4) Switch the Trigger Status from Pipeline to Live

 

If "Triggered by Self-Registration"

Part 1 - Enabling the Trigger

⬆️ Same as above ⬆️

Part 2 - Sharing your Vendor Portal Registration Link

Decide how you wish to share this registration link with your Vendors, this could be manually shared with them or stored somewhere they can access in their own time (e.g. a Vendor-facing website page)

Step 1) Head to Modules > Vendor Portal

Step 2) Set SELF REGISTRATION to Enabled 

Step 3) Hit the Copy button to store the url in your Clipboard

This is your Vendor Portal Registration page - you can share it by storing the link on your website/confluence page/email signature!

 

 

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Additional Reading 📚

 

⚡️Supplier Portal Expert - Invitation Emails

Review the best way to configure how your Vendor users will be invited to the Gatekeeper platform

A simple configuration task but extremely important if you want to set clear expectations from the outset and operate with transparency in all your new relationships

 

⚡️Supplier Portal Expert - Workflow Phase Notifications

Similar to above, some useful tips for ensuring that every automated email your vendors receive is clear, information and well-received

 

⚡️Supplier Portal Expert - Workflow Phase Reminder Emails

Find guidance on configuring automated reminder emails for your vendors phases, so you don't have to spend as much time chasing for responses!

 

⚡️Gatekeeper Expert - Workflow Access Masterclass

Learn about all the levels of configuring access to your workflow cards so each of your phases always involve the right stakeholders and collaborators

 

What is the Supplier Classification System?

A quick walkthrough of a popular Vendor Classification System from a Google Supply Chain Manager