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Buyer Admin: How do I enable/disable a marketplace supplier in Free Format?

Abigail Briggs Updated by Abigail Briggs

To support procurement policies and prevent users from bypassing catalogue controls, you can configure which suppliers are available in the Free Format module for your organisation to order from.

This article explains how administrators can control which marketplace suppliers can be available in the Free Format module at both company and business unit (BU) level.

  • Company-level : This setting determines the visibility of the supplier for users assigned at the company level (i.e., not within a specific business unit). Toggling this setting also gives you the option to apply the same visibility status across all business units.
  • Business Unit : Each business unit has its own setting, which can be used to override the company-level setting. This allows you to customise the supplier's visibility for specific business units.

What is Free Format? The Free Format module enables users to raise purchasing requests for items or services that are not available in the standard catalogue. It captures off-catalogue requests through Purchasing, ensuring that non-standard requirements can still follow the correct approval and procurement processes.

How do I change the visibility of a marketplace supplier in the Free Format module?

Where can I manage these settings?

Only administrator users with access to SIM (Supplier Onboarding). Within the SIM module for each supplier you will find a 'Free Format Configuration' tab

  1. Login to your account > Navigate to SIM (Supplier Onboarding) in the top right hand corner
  2. Click on My Network on the left hand navigation bar
  3. In the table of suppliers, find the supplier you wish to change
  4. Click Actions alongside the supplier.
  5. Select Free Format Configuration tab
  6. A new tab opens showing Free Format settings for that supplier. You can control the visibility of a supplier for different levels within your organisation using the following settings:
  • Company-level toggle: This setting determines the visibility of the supplier for users assigned at the company level (i.e., not within a specific business unit). Toggling this setting also gives you the option to apply the same visibility status across all business units.
  • Business Unit toggles: Each business unit has its own toggle, which can be used to override the company-level setting. This allows you to customise the supplier's visibility for specific business units.
Organisations without Business Units
In your organisation, you may have users that are assigned at both Company Level or Business unit. If you do not use Business units, then all of your users will be located at the 'Company level'.
Organisations with Business Units
Organisations who have implemented business units may users in the business units, or also at Company Level (if the user has not assigned a business unit

How do I change the visibility for Company Level users or all your organisation

If you are using this for the first time the settings are default to 'On' for both Company and Business Unit.

  1. In the 'Company Level' section change the toggle to the required status
  2. A pop-up will display where you will be given two options:
    Company Level Only: If you want to only make this change for users assigned at company level i.e. not any users that are in a business unit.
    Apply to All Business Units: If you want to make this change for all users at both the company level and all business units. This is useful for bulk enabling or disabling Free Format across your whole organisation.
  3. Click one of the options at the bottom of the pop-up
  1. Changes only take effect when you click Save Changes.

How do I change the visibility of an individual business unit

  1. To change the visibility within a specific or multiple business units change the toggle to to the required status against the business unit. (Note: The business unit settings override the Company level status)

How do I know what suppliers are visible in the Free Format module?

How to navigate the “My Network” page
  1. Go to the Marketplace Buyer page.
  2. Select SIM.
  3. Click My Network.

You will see a list of suppliers connected to your organisation.

Understanding the Free Format Status
  1. On the My Network page you will see Free Format status at both levels:
  • Company FF Status
    • ON – Free Format ordering is enabled for this supplier at the company level. Users whose access is controlled only at company level can order from this supplier via the Free Format module.
    • OFF – Free Format ordering is disabled for this supplier at the company level. Users controlled by this setting cannot order from this supplier via the Free Format module.
  • BU FF Status
    • Shows, for each supplier, how many Business Units have Free Format ON vs OFF.
    • This helps you quickly identify where Free Format is enabled or disabled at BU level.

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