What can I as an application manager check if a buyer does not see the expected supplier(s)?
It can happen that a buyer cannot select the desired supplier when creating an order. In this article, we will guide you step by step on what to check and finally what you can do to resolve this.
Checklist
At the bottom of these 7 steps, you will find a brief summary of all the items that need to be checked.
In this article, we assume that the user has a role with ordering authority. If you're unsure if the user has a role, you can check this via the menu item Application Management / Organization / Roles.
1. For which organizational unit does the employee want to place an order?
It is important to first determine for which organizational unit the requester wants to place an order. This will help you identify which role to check.
2. Check which supplier groups are linked to the role and verify if the supplier is linked to any of the supplier groups from the role.
First, navigate to the menu item Application Management / Organization / Roles. Enter the name of the employee and organizational unit in the left filters and click Select. You will now see the role(s) the user has for this organizational unit. Hover over the role and click on the magnifying glass (show) to open it. Check the following settings under the Procurement section:
2.A Create orders: Yes
If this setting is set to No, the user cannot place orders.
2.B Create manual orders: Yes/No
If the user wants to place an order with a supplier for which a manual order request can be created, this setting should be set to Yes. If the user wants to place an order with an OCI supplier or from the internal assortment, this setting does not apply.
2.C Supplier Groups
Here you can see which supplier groups the requester is linked to through this role. It is important to remember these. Tip: Open the next step in a new tab so you can quickly view the supplier groups linked to the role.
3. Check to which supplier group(s) the supplier is linked.
Navigate to the menu item Application Management / Procurement / Suppliers. Find the relevant supplier, click on the three dots to the right of the supplier, and then click 'Link supplier group'. In this overview, you will see which groups the supplier is linked to. Compare this with the supplier groups in the user's role and link the supplier to new supplier groups where necessary. Finally, click 'Save'. If the user still does not see the supplier, proceed to the next step.
4.Determine the type of order that needs to be placed.
Depending on the type of order, different checks need to be performed. Is it an order from the internal assortment? Then proceed to step 5. Is it a manual order request? Skip step 5 and go directly to step 6. Is it a supplier with an OCI integration? Skip steps 5 and 6 and proceed directly to step 7.
5. Order from the internal assortment: Check if items are available.
Go to the menu item Application Management / Procurement / Assortment. Check if assortment items are available by searching for this supplier. Before clicking Select, set the view to 'All'. Do you see passive items? Edit them and set them to active. Don't see any items? Add them or import an assortment. Read more about the Assortment menu item in this article.
6. Manual order request: Check the supplier's settings.
Go back to the overview of the Suppliers menu and open the supplier. Check the following setting:
6.A Manual order allowed: Yes/No
If this setting is set to No, and the user wants to create a manual order request, this setting should be set to Yes. If the employee wants to place an order from the internal assortment, go back to step 4. If it concerns a supplier with an OCI integration, this setting cannot be edited. Check by scrolling down and looking under advanced settings, the 'OCI' setting is likely set to Yes. If this is a legitimate OCI supplier, proceed to the next step.
7. Ordering from an OCI supplier:
7.A Check the OCI setting at the supplier.
Open the supplier from the menu item Application Management / Procurement / Suppliers using the magnifying glass (show). Scroll down and expand the advanced settings, check if the 'OCI' setting is set to 'Yes'. Is this setting grayed out or not visible? Then check if the settings 'Manual order allowed' and 'Send order directly' are set to 'Yes' and change them to 'No' by editing the supplier. After this change, you can edit the 'OCI' setting.
7.B Check the setting 'Specify link per'.
Is it set to Address? Then check the external links. Scroll down a bit, here you will see all delivery addresses for which a linkage is set. Then check with the requester which delivery addresses are linked in their profile. The user can check this by clicking on their name in the top right corner and then clicking on 'My profile'. Under the Procurement heading, you'll find the delivery addresses the user can see when ordering. If at least one of the delivery addresses set as an external link under this supplier is not checked in the user's profile settings, advise the user to check one of these delivery addresses.
Does the user need to order for a specific delivery address that does not exist for this supplier? Click on the plus icon (add) under External links in the supplier's settings and add the delivery address. Check with the supplier if and which login credentials should be used for this delivery address.
Summary
- Check the user's role via the menu item Application Management / Organization / Roles.
- Check in the role if 'Create orders' is set to Yes, if it's a manual order request also check if 'Create manual orders' is set to Yes. Finally, check which supplier groups are linked to the user's role.
- Check in the menu item Application Management / Procurement / Supplier using the three dots to which supplier group(s) the supplier is linked, compare these with the groups linked to the user's role, and make adjustments where necessary.
- Determine the type of order: An order from the internal assortment (5), a manual order request (6), or an order from an OCI supplier (7).
- If it's an order from the internal assortment, check in the menu item Application Management / Procurement / Assortment if there are items available for this supplier and add them if necessary.
- If it's a manual order request, check at the supplier if 'Manual order allowed' is set to 'Yes' and adjust if necessary. If you cannot edit the setting, the 'OCI' setting is likely set to Yes under advanced settings.
- If it's a supplier with an OCI connection, check if the 'OCI' setting at the supplier is set to Yes. If you cannot edit the setting, this is because the 'Manual order allowed' and/or 'Send order directly' settings are set to Yes. Are there connections per delivery address? Check if the delivery address the user needs to order for is set as an external link under this supplier, and check with the user if the delivery address is checked in their profile. Does the delivery address does not exist yet as external connection with this supplier? Then add this to this supplier.
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