⚡️ Gatekeeper Expert - Parallel Vendor Onboarding and Automated NDA Workflows ⚡️

   Estimated Read Time: 10 Minutes

➕ Requires the Vendor Portal

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
  • The Use Case - Vendor Onboarding and Automated NDA
  • Diagram
• Configuration
  • Create a Custom Status Field
  • Add the Custom Field to the Vendor Onboarding Workflow
  • Configure a Qualifying Question
  • Configure an AutoAction to Populate the Custom Field
  •  Configure Conditional Transitions to the AutoAction Phase
  • Create the NDA Workflow Trigger
  • Add a Conditional Approval
  • Edit AutoAction Values when the NDA is Complete

• FAQs
• Additional Reading

Introduction

Getting an NDA in place as part of a vendor onboarding process protects intellectual property, sets a professional tone early in the relationship, gives Legal teams early visibility, and familiarises vendors with Gatekeeper. However, when the NDA is completed first, it can delay risk, due diligence, and other onboarding tasks.

AutoActions and automated triggers let you run these processes in parallel. When the vendor onboarding form shows an NDA is required, a separate NDA workflow starts automatically, so the vendor can sign the NDA while onboarding continues.

Diagram

✕ Click anywhere to close

This article shows how to configure a workflow that runs the following process:

• When submitting a vendor onboarding form, the requestor answers Does this vendor require an NDA?
• If the response is yes, a new card is automatically created in the automated NDA workflow.
• An NDA is generated and sent to the vendor contact for e-signature.
• Once the NDA is signed, the vendor's NDA status updates to Executed.
• Before the vendor can complete onboarding, a review checks that:
  
  • All required onboarding tasks are complete.
  • The NDA has been executed.
• If the vendor meets these requirements and is approved, they progress to Vendor Onboarded, and their status updates to Live and Approved.

Configuration

The steps below walk through how to configure your vendor onboarding and automated NDA workflows to run in parallel. If you do not already have these workflows set up, see the Vendor Onboarding and Touchless NDA best practice templates.

Create a Custom Status Field

First, create a custom status field to automatically pull vendor records into the automated NDA workflow.

1. From the navigation menu, expand Settings, then click Configuration.
2. Click Custom Data.
3. Click an existing Vendor Custom Data Group or add a new one to store this field in. If you're planning to run more contract and vendor management processes in parallel, consider adding a custom data group to store all related statuses.
4. Within the custom group, clickAdd New Custom Field.
5. Enter a label for the field, e.g. NDA Status, and select Dropdown list as the type.
6. Add the following dropdown options then click Save.
   1. N/A
   2. NDA Expired
   3. NDA In Place
   4. NDA Required

Add the Custom Field to the Vendor Onboarding Workflow

Next, add the status field to the vendor onboarding workflow form.

1. Click the start phase of the workflow to edit it.
2. Navigate to Form, then click Add Section and enter a section name.
3. Select the following from the dropdown lists:
   1. Predefined: Vendor
   2. Custom Data Group: The custom group that contains the NDA Status field.
4. Click Save.

Next, hide this field on the workflow form so that users cannot update it manually. To do this: 

1. Click the cog icon to access the workflow configuration.
   
2. Locate the form section that contains the NDA Status field.
3. Select Hidden from the dropdown list on the start phase, then click the copy icon.
4. Select the checkboxes for all other phases in the workflow. This will apply the settings for this section from the start phase to all other phases.
5. Click Copy to save the changes.

Configure a Qualifying Question

If not every new vendor needs an NDA, add a form field to capture this. The response determines whether the NDA workflow is triggered.

You can skip this section if you require NDAs for all vendors, or plan to qualify them using an existing form field, for example Vendor Type.

1. Click the start phase of the workflow to edit it.
2. Navigate to Form, then click Add Field in the relevant section.
3. Configure the settings, for example
   1. Label: Will this vendor have access to sensitive data (personal or otherwise)?
   2. Type:  Yes/No
4. Click Save.

Configure an AutoAction to Populate the Custom Field

After adding the qualifying question, add an AutoAction to update the NDA Status field based on the response. For example, if the question is Will this vendor have access to sensitive data (personal or otherwise)?, the AutoAction sets NDA Status to NDA Required when the response is Yes.

1. On the vendor onboarding workflow, click Add to create a new phase.
2. Enter a name e.g. AutoCreate Vendor | NDA Needed, then click Save & Next.
3. From Actions, select the AutoAction | Create Vendor checkbox.
4. Click Edit AutoAction Values and configure the values that will be used to create new vendor records.
5. For the NDA Status custom field, deselect the Take Value from Form checkbox, then select NDA Required and click Save.
6. From Transitions, select the radio button for the next phase in the workflow.
7. Click Back to Workflow, then click Reorder to position this phase where you wish the NDA process to start. This is generally next to the original AutoCreate Vendor phase.

Configure Conditional Transitions to the AutoAction Phase

Next, configure the transitions of the preceding phase so that only vendors who require an NDA are routed to the AutoAction phase.

1. Click to edit the phase before the standard Create Vendor phase.
2. From Transitions, select the Conditional radio button.
3. Click Add Transition.
4. Enter a name e.g. Approved | NDA Needed then click Create.
5. Click the pencil icon next to Transition to Phase and select the radio button for the AutoCreate Vendor | NDA Needed phase.
6. Click Add to create the following conditions:
   1. Card Submission OR Approval Status equal to Approved
   2. The qualifying question field or other form field is set to a response that requires an NDA e.g. Will this vendor have access to sensitive data (personal or otherwise)? is one of Yes.
7. Click the pencil icon next to Transition Status and select Live, then click Update.
8. Click Back, then click Reorder Transitions and position the new transition at the top of the list. Once finished, click Update.

Create the NDA Workflow Trigger

Once the vendor onboarding workflow has been fully configured to update the custom NDA Status field, you can add a trigger to the NDA workflow using this field. 

1. From the navigation menu, click Workflows.
   
2. Expand the 3 dots on the NDA workflow, then select Workflow Triggers.
3. Click Add Trigger, then enter a name (e.g., New Vendor Onboarding | NDA Required) and click Create.
4. Under Conditions, click Add then locate the newly created custom NDA Status field.
5. Configure the condition, for example NDA Status is one of NDA Required, then click Create.
6. Click the pencil icon to set the Trigger Status to Live.

Add a Conditional Approval

To confirm the NDA has been signed is complete, add an approval at the end of the vendor onboarding workflow. This can be handled by a central vendor management user or team.

1. From the vendor onboarding workflow, click the final approval phase to edit it.
2. From Approval, ensure that the Enabled and Parallel radio buttons are selected.
   1. If you currently have Simple enabled, navigate to Form Access to check who is responsible for this phase, then add them as a parallel approver first.
3. Click Add New Parallel Approval.
4. Select the required users or groups, then select the Conditional radio button and click Save. Usually this would be the main Gatekeeper admin, or the Vendor Management/Procurement team.
5. Click Add to assign the following condition:
   1. NDA Status is one of NDA Required.

If you do not have a final approvals phase:

1. Add a new phase to the workflow.
2. Enable approvals, then configure the settings in Form Access, Notifications and Transitions accordingly.
3. Reorder the phase into the correct position.
4. Add a conditional transition to the preceding phase to repoint any vendors that require an NDA to this phase, while vendors who have already completed an NDA will bypass it. 

Edit AutoAction Values when the NDA is Complete

Finally, you can configure the NDA workflow to automatically update the values for the NDA Status on the vendor record.

1. Click to edit the Done phase.
2. From Actions tab, select the AutoAction | Update Vendor checkbox.
3. Click Edit AutoAction Values, then ensure that the Take Value from Form checkbox is selected for all fields except for NDA Status, which should be set to NDA In Place.

FAQs

Additional Reading 📚

• ⚡️ Gatekeeper Expert - Contract Request and Vendor Onboarding Workflows - Discover how to automate onboarding forms for contract requests with new vendors.
• 🛠 Create Your Own - Vendor Onboarding Workflow - Discover how to add and configure our suggested Best Practice workflow for onboarding new vendors.
• 🛠 Create Your Own - Touchless NDA  - Discover how to add and configure our template workflow for a self-serve NDA Request workflow you can share with prospective vendors.