Workflow orchestration: Select Suppliers

At the Select Suppliers stage of the workflow, you can configure the following settings:

General

• Edit the step name
• Toggle on Add suppliers from outside the Supplier group to enable users to add and invite suppliers that are not part of the Supplier group at the Select Suppliers step
• Select a Supplier group from the dropdown list to make that group of suppliers available for invitation to the event. You can configure further related settings in the Advanced tab to filter and preselect suppliers from this group

Assignment

• Automatically assign the user who created the request to this step by toggling on Auto-assign to requester
  
• Select Direct assignment to directly select users in your organization that will be assigned to take action on the step
• Select Conditional assignment to create conditional rules under which specific users or teams will be assigned to take action on the step

Notifications

Configure which notifications will be sent for the step by toggling on or off the relevant notification:

• Toggle on At step to notify watchers that a request has reached the step
• Toggle off Take action which notifies actors that they must make an award decision
• Toggle on Step completed to notify watchers that bidding has closed

Advanced

• Create a Filter formula for filtering in suppliers from the Supplier group
• Create a Preselection formula for preselecting certain suppliers in the Select suppliers step
• Toggle on the Auto-complete step to automate supplier selection based on the formula configurations

Creating formulas for supplier selection

Conditional rules can be used to refine and improve the manual supplier selection process, and to automate it entirely. Using these formulas can help users assigned to the Select suppliers step by filtering the range of suppliers available for selection, and preselecting certain suppliers to indicate that they particularly relevant for the request. You can automate supplier selection based on the configured formulas.

You can use Supplier group fields and Intake fields in the conditional rules of the formula. These fields can be compared against each other, and values. Depending on which type of field you select, and what input type that field is, different configurations will be available.

The user interface is designed to guide you through the rule-building process, displaying only available selection options. The same options are available for both Filter and Preselection formulas

1. Click Add filter to add a filter formula
2. Click Add preselection to add a preselection formula
3. In the Name field, enter a name for the formula
4. Under Where, select The intake field or The Supplier group field
   
   
5. If you selected The Intake field:
   • From the Select an intake form field, select a field.
   • If the field is a text input type:
     • Select a comparison operator — contains all (all values must be present for the condition to be satisfied), contains any (any value must be present for the condition to be satisfied), does not contain any (no value must be present for the condition to be satisfied)
     • To compare a Supplier group field, select Supplier group field from the next dropdown list.
       • From Select a supplier group field, select a field
     • To compare a value, select Value from the next dropdown list
       • Enter the value or values you want to compare, one per line
   • If the field in a number input type:
     • Select an aggregator — either Sum, Min, Max, or Average. An aggregator function is required because the system may be evaluating based on multiple items in the request. Sum is the most commonly used aggregator.
     • Select a comparison operator — is equal to, is not equal to, is greater than, is less than, is greater than or equal to, is less than or equal to.
     • To compare a Supplier group field, select Supplier group field from the next dropdown list.
       • From Select a supplier group field, select a field.
     • To compare a value, select Value from the next dropdown list.
       • Enter the value or values you want to compare, one per line.
         
         
6. If you selected The Supplier group field:
   • From Select a supplier group field, select a field.
   • If the field in a number input type:
     
     • Select a comparison operator — is equal to, is not equal to, is greater than, is less than, is greater than or equal to, is less than or equal to
     • Enter the value you want to compare
   • If the field is a text input type:
     • Select a comparison operator — is equal to; is not equal to
     • Enter the value or values you want to compare, one per line
   • If the field is a list input type:
     • Select a comparison operator — contains all (all values must be present for the condition to be satisfied), contains any (any value must be present for the condition to be satisfied), does not contain any (no value must be present for the condition to be satisfied)
     • Enter the value or values you want to compare, one per line
   • If the field is a Boolean input type:
     • Under Value, select True or False