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⚡️ Vendor Portal Expert - Workflow Phase Notifications ⚡️

Learn how to improve automated communications with vendors for better engagement and user experiences.

 


Sections in this article:


Introduction

As a Gatekeeper Admin, you may use workflows regularly and have a solid understanding of how they function across the full process. However, many Vendor Portal users only engage with workflows occasionally.

In many cases, the notification email is the sole opportunity to provide any guidance about the workflow process. While some proactive vendors may log in to the portal to track a form's progress, most will rely on email notifications. That means each notification email is a valuable opportunity to communicate meaningful information about your workflow process and to drive vendor engagement.

To make the experience clear and effective, it's recommended to include the following in the notification message:

  • Why the vendor is receiving the form

  • What they’re expected to do

  • What will happen next

The steps in this article outline ways you can use notification content to make your workflows more informative and engaging for external users.

Configure Notification Emails

Notification Message Content

To amend the notification subject line and body:

  1. Click to edit the phase where you wish to configure a notification.
  2. Click the Notifications section.
  3. Enable the toggle alongside the relevant email recipient.
  4. Click the pencil icon to edit the Email Template.
  5. Populate the Subject and Content boxes.
  6. Click Update to save your changes.

For the subject line, you can use concise titles, emojis and dynamic content to make the subject clear.

For the main body of the message, you can use:

  • HTML tags for formatting, such as
  • Emojis 
  • Dynamic content, such as
    • {{ recipient.full_name }} inserts the recipient's name
    • {{ actor.full_name }} inserts the name of the user who has sent the workflow card to them. This helps the recipient understand who to contact with questions or issues.
    • {{ card.name }} includes the name of the workflow card
    • {{ enter_phase.sla_due_date }} includes the deadline for their action to be completed
  • Conditional content
    • Including "if" tags is a useful way to customise notification content based on how the workflow card is sent to the vendor. This allows you to tailor the message depending on the context.
      • If the card is being sent to the vendor for the first time (via a standard submission), you can type the content within the below tags:
{% if submission %}

You are invited to complete an onboarding form on behalf of {{ card.name }}

{% endif %}
      • If the card is being sent back to the vendor(e.g. after a rejection or request for changes), you can type the content within the below tags:
{% if approval.rejected %}

Your supplier onboarding form has been returned to you for updates by {{ actor.full_name }} ({{ actor.email }})

<strong>Comments:</strong> {{ approval.reason }}

{% endif %}

 

Note: Once you have configured the email message, you can preview it in the template editor by clicking the preview links.

preview links

Labels 

Labels let you name a phase, or the entire workflow, in a way that makes sense to others, separate from the internal name used during configuration.

Phase Label

To configure a label for a phase:

  1. Click to edit the phase that you want to label.
  2. From the Core section, enter text into the Label box.

phase label

Workflow Label

To configure a label for a workflow:

  1. From the navigation menu, click Workflows.
  2. Expand the 3 dots on the relevant workflow, then select Edit this Workflow.
  3. Enter text into the Label box.
  4. Click Save.

workflow label

Example Notification Email

This is the following default configuration before customisation:

This will produce an email like the screenshot below:

In contrast, the following configuration can be used to create a more engaging and informative notification:

This will produce an email like the screenshot below:

updated email example

It can be worth enabling notification emails in phases where vendor input isn’t required, especially when it helps keep them informed about the status of their submission. For example, you could set up an automatic notification to let the vendor know when their onboarding has been fully approved and the workflow has moved to a final Done phase.