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Buyer Admin: How do I bulk invite suppliers to my Purchasing marketplace?

shivani Updated by shivani

This guide covers how to invite suppliers in bulk via our Supplier Onboarding Module (SIM).

As part of this process, the system will verify whether the supplier is already part of our supplier network.

If you only have a small number of invites to complete, we would recommend following our standard guide here: How do I connect with a supplier on my Purchasing marketplace?

How To Access Supplier Onboarding (SIM)

To access the Supplier Onboarding Module, from the Purchasing homepage, click on the Supplier Onboarding (SIM) link in the top right hand corner:

This will open a new tab in your browser.

SIM Administration

Before proceeding to invite suppliers, we first recommend checking the SIM Administration page to ensure you have the correct follow ups and custom message in place.

To do this, click your account name in the top right hand corner and select Administration:

Within Administration you can manage automatic reminders triggered by the bulk invitation feature including when follow emails are sent and in how many days an invitation should expire. You can also set a default custom message that will be sent to suppliers when they are invited to register.

If you made any updates, click Save changes.

Invite Suppliers - Bulk Invitation

  1. Using the left hand menu, click on Invite Suppliers.
  2. The Bulk Invitation tab is selected automatically.
  3. On the right hand side, go to the section Download CSV Template and click the Download button:
  1. The downloaded template contains five columns, all of which are mandatory except for 'CC Addresses':

If any required data is missing during the upload, the system will display a prompt and prevent the upload from proceeding. For example, where a VAT number is missing:

  1. Once all data is complete, save the file and return to the Invite Suppliers screen.
  2. Click Select file within the Bulk Invitation tab to locate your file and click Open.
  3. Add a label to the file and click the Upload button:
  4. When uploading, the system will complete a match against your file. The following statuses could appear during this process:
    1. New: waiting for processing
    2. Matching in progress
    3. Awaiting approval: Processing has finished, waiting for your approval
    4. Done: the list has been approved and invitations are sent
You may need to manually refresh the page to update the Status of the upload / match.
  1. Once the status reaches Awaiting approval, click Approve suppliers in the Actions column:
  2. This page allows you to review potential matches and decide whether to connect with them or send an invitation to join the OneAdvanced supplier network. The page shows the following:
    1. which of the suppliers are already part of the OneAdvanced supplier network meaning immediate connection is possible.
    2. which of the suppliers are not already part of the OneAdvanced supplier network. If you wish to proceed with inviting them to join, you can do so via this page.
    3. which of the suppliers are already on the system and connected to you. In this situation, no further action is required.

If any field contains a large number of results, you can search for a specific supplier within each dropdown. You also have the option to bulk select or individually select and deselect suppliers.

  1. Once you are happy with your selections, click Approve list, and then Yes if you want to proceed.
  2. You will see an overview of the suppliers you’ve approved, along with links to help you track their engagement.

The supplier(s) will have received an email communication automatically depending on whether they are being invited to join the network or connect with your organisation. The information held in the Administration page (accessible from the top right hand corner drop down) will be used to trigger automatic communications.

  1. Click the List of uploads button if you wish to return to the main Bulk Invitation tab, where you will see the status has changed to Done.

A report will also now be available to download in the Report column which shows the action taken:

How can I track the progress of my invitations?

  • For suppliers who are already part of the OneAdvanced Supplier network, you can track the connection status on the My Network page
  • For suppliers who have been invited to join the OneAdvanced Supplier Network, you can track the sent invites from the Track Invites page

How did we do?

Buyer Admin: How do I connect with a supplier on my Purchasing marketplace?

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