Getting Started - Collaborator Users

This article is intended for Internal Collaborator Users -- users who work at the company using Supplios to manage their suppliers.

Are you a company admin just setting up your new Supplios account?   We have a separate 'Getting Started' article for you:  Initial Company Setup (for company admins)

Or are you a supplier who has been invited to join the platform?  We have a separate section dedicated to helping you:  Supplier Help Area

Overview

As an internal Collaborator User, you are a participant in various processes and workflows that your company manages with suppliers.  This may mean that you only use Supplios occasionally, and we have therefore customized your user interface with this in mind.  The interface you see when you login to Supplios is similar to what "Full Users" see, but with a reduced set of options.

After you login, you are taken to your own Dashboard.  Almost everything you need to do will be linked to directly from your Dashboard page.  

Most likely, you will be involved in a few 'Sourcing Events' -- these are the RFQs, RFPs, RFIs, Tenders, and other sourcing processes your company runs with suppliers.  You are added to these Events by the supply-chain / procurement / sourcing team at your company who is responsible for running the RFx process.  A list of all the currently active Sourcing Events you are involved in is shown on your Dashboard for easy access.  We'll go into more detail on this in the Sourcing Events section below.

Depending on the settings for your company, you may also have access to the Vendor and Contact database sections of Supplios to either view or add new Vendors and Contacts at those companies.  If available, you will see links to these sections in your side menu and on the Dashboard page.

Below is an overview of the main parts of the interface and Dashboard for Collaborator Users.

Sourcing - Participating in RFQs, RFPs, RFIs, Tenders...

The Sourcing part of Supplios is where you and your colleagues manage the RFQs, RFPs, RFIs, and Tenders with your suppliers.  Within Supplios, the general name we use to cover all of these processes is "Sourcing Events".  

As a Collaborator User, you may be added to Sourcing Events by your colleagues in supply-chain / procurement / sourcing -- anyone in your company who has a "Full User" license to Supplios.  Only they can add you to Sourcing Events -- you cannot add yourself.

If you have been added to a Sourcing Event, you will see it listed in "My Sourcing Events" on your Dashboard when logging in to Supplios.  You will also see them if you go to the "Sourcing" area, using the side menu.  

When you click on a Sourcing Event you are involved in, you will be taken to the dashboard page for that Sourcing Event, as shown in the image below.  As a Collaborator User, this is read-only for you.  But it gives you a quick snapshot of the details of the event, how many suppliers are involved and their status, etc.

One of the main things you'll want to do as a Collaborator on a Sourcing Event is to view responses as they come in, discuss internally, add comments, and possibly answer questions directly from suppliers.  This is all done through the 'Manage Responses' section of the Sourcing Event.

Within the Manage Responses section, you will see a list of all the Suppliers involved in the RFx, then can view all the details of their responses individually.  From the detail area, you can then review their detailed responses, send messages to these suppliers (External Messages), add comments and discuss with colleagues (Internal Comments), and see contact information for the supplier.  

As a Collaborator, you can see responses from vendors, communicate with vendors, discuss internally, and compare responses in the Comparison Grid.  You are not allowed to change the Status of a response, however.  That is reserved for the Sourcing Event Owner and Admins, and those parts of the interface are hidden in your version of the app.

The image below shows the "Manage Responses" page for a Sourcing Event, as you will see it as a Collaborator user.

You may have questions about other more specific parts of Supplios -- including how the vendor messaging system works, notification emails, changing your profile, etc.  Be sure to check out other articles in our help center to learn more.