This document describes how to configure the supplier portal.
Prerequisites
Web Client and Supplier Portal installation
Before you start configuring the supplier portal, you must make sure that the Perfion Supplier Portal and the Perfion Web Client are installed:
Supplier Portal - Installation
Web Client - Installation Guide
Supplier Portal license
Your Perfion license file must include access to the supplier portal. The license consists of two elements:
Suppliers: Maximum number of supplier (organizations) you can grant access to the portal
Items: Maximum number of supplier items (across all suppliers) that can be created in the portal
Refer to this page for details about loading a license file: https://perfion.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PIM/pages/244323725/Windows+Administration+Guide#License-Management
Configuration Preparations
Before you start configuring the supplier portal, you should consider the following questions.
Base feature to expose
You can expose one base feature to suppliers. This is the feature supplier will see in main grid.
The obvious base feature to expose is the Product feature. It could be renamed in your Perfion but will most likely have feature ID 100. This is typically the feature where you want suppliers to provide data. It is however possible to expose another base feature if this make more sense in your processes.
Categorizer feature to expose
You can expose one categorizer feature to suppliers. This is the feature suppliers will see in the left panel and use to browse products by category.
In many Perfion implementations, the obvious categorizer feature to expose is the one used to manage item dependencies in the Product configuration. If you expose this categorizer feature, item dependency will work out-of-the-box in the supplier portal. It is however possible to expose another categorizer feature if this make more sense in your setup.
Search filter to expose
Supplier users are able to search for items in the portal via a normal search filter. You create this in Administration → Filters where you normally create search filters.
Make sure to only include features exposed to suppliers (see Feature Configuration below)
Supplier Identifier feature
The supplier portal needs a selectable feature with “supplier identifier values”. Most likely you will have such a feature in advance and use it to select a supplier on a product. If you don’t have such a feature, you should create it and create a value in Feature Data for each supplier you grant access to the supplier portal. Example:
Supplier Key feature
The supplier portal needs an explicit feature to be used as key on each supplier item. This would typically be a Supplier Item Number. The portal combines the value in the Supplier Key feature with the value in the Supplier Identifier feature and use the combination as a globally unique key across all supplier items.
If you don’t have a feature suitable as a Supplier Key feature, you should create it. Example of a Supplier Key feature:
Views feature and Filter feature
The supplier portal needs two selectable search features to handle views (in grid) and filters (in dashboard widgets). Make sure you create these before you start the configuration below. Name the two features SupplierViews and SupplierFilters (or whatever you please):
SMTP server
The supplier portal needs an SMTP server to send welcome and reset password emails to supplier users. You must set up a connection string to your SMTP server as a Remote Connection in Administration → Remote Connections:
Configuration
When you have completed the configuration preparations, you can get started with the actual configuration of the supplier portal.
Company
The first part of the configuration is done in the Company section (Administration → Company).
In this section you will find three configuration tabs:
General Settings
Main Settings
Supplier Portal Settings
General Settings
On this tab you define the name of your own company. This will be displayed in the supplier portal and used in e-mails when new supplier users are created.
You can also upload your company logo. This will also be displayed in the supplier portal.
Mail Settings
On this tab you configure how the supplier portal sends e-mails to supplier users.
Authentication Service URL
The value in this field must be the base URL to your Perfion Web Client.
Smtp Server
This dropdown shows a list of available Smtp Server connections.
E-mail Templates
The remaining part of the Mail Settings tab is dedicated to creating the e-mail templates used to send welcome- and reset password e-mails to supplier users.
The system is preconfigured with English standard templates, so you can get started without changing anything related to e-mail templates. Note that English templates will be used for all languages unless you specifically set up a template for other languages.
Follow these steps to set up an e-mail template:
Choose the template you want to edit in Mail Template
Choose the language version of the template you want to edit In Languages
Click Insert default template to use the English default template as a staring point for your customized template
You can also click Insert blank template to get a blank start for creating your own template
Change Subject and Body according to your preferences
Note that you can use Tags in both Subject and Body. Tags are replaced with actual values when e-mails are sent to supplier users.
Click Clear template if you want to remove the customized template and go back to using the standard template
Click Send Test Email when you are ready to test your template:
The Activation link in the e-mail is inactive when sending test e-mails.
We recommend you test your templates in various e-mail clients to make sure they look nice across the board.
Supplier Portal Settings
On the Supplier Portal Settings tab, you set up the structure of the supplier portal.
Make sure you have completed the Configuration Preparations before you begin
Service URL
The value in this field must be the base URL to your Supplier Portal.
Product Feature
Select the base feature you want to expose in the supplier portal.
The Product Feature cannot be changed once the portal has been set up. Make sure you select this features carefully.
Category Feature
Select the categorizer feature you want to expose in the supplier portal.
Supplier Identifier Feature
Select the feature with supplier identifier values you want to use to link supplier items to suppliers.
Supplier Key Feature
Select the feature suppliers will use to identify their items.
The Supplier Key Feature cannot be changed once the portal has been set up. Make sure you select this features carefully.
Search
Select the search filter you have created specifically for suppliers to search their items in the portal.
Views Feature
Select the search feature you have created specifically for supplier views.
Filter Feature
Select the search features you have created specifically for supplier filters.
Primary Color / Secondary Color
Select two colors to use in the portal.
Feature Configuration
In Feature Configuration you select the features you want suppliers to see/manage in the supplier portal.
Start by selecting the configuration for the Product feature you exposed in the Company setup. Then click the Suppliers button in the toolbar. This will give you access to four different views specifically built for the supplier portal:
Expose
In this view you select the features suppliers should enrich with data. Exposure can be based on item dependency so that supplier will see different features in different categories. This only works if you selected the item dependency “master feature” as categorizer feature in the Company setup.
Many different feature types can be exposed, but there are some exceptions. These feature types can NOT be exposed:
Base feature (the base feature of the configuration is reserved for internal use)
Remote features
Related values
SWAP features
Selectable image/file features (explicit image/file features are supported in the portal)
Table features
Expose Read Only
In this view you select the features where suppliers should see your internal values. This is particularly valuable if you do not allow suppliers to create items themselves, but you control item creation in Perfion and expose selected items for suppliers to enrich. In these cases, suppliers need to see some internal values to clearly identify the right items to enrich.
Almost all feature types can be exposed as read only. These are the only exceptions:
Base feature (the base feature of the configuration is reserved for internal use)
SWAP features
Table features
Mandatory
In this view you select which of the exposed features are mandatory for the supplier to enrich. If a mandatory value is not enriched, the supplier cannot submit the item.
Auto Approve
In this view you select the features where you do not want to approve supplier values. When a feature is checked, supplier values/updates automatically overwrite your internal values.
Organizations
With company settings and feature configuration done, you can now start creating organizations (suppliers) and users. These are created separately from Perfion users and can only log in to the supplier portal.
Organizations and users are created and maintained in Administration → Users and Groups → Organizations and users:
Select Organizations in the left panel to see a list of current active organizations. You can change filtering to see Inactive or All if preferred.
Right-click an organization to create a new or edit an existing:
General
On this tab you define the supplier’s name, logo and abbreviation. You can also set the supplier as active or inactive.
The Abbreviation is a unique supplier identification. This code (no spaces or special characters) uniquely identifies the supplier. The Abbreviation can’t be changed once it has been saved.
It is highly recommended, to use the supplier’s value in the Supplier Identifier Feature as Abbreviation.
Supplier Portal
On this tab you define what the supplier is able to do in the supplier portal.
Has access to Supplier Portal
This checkbox controls if the supplier has access to the supplier portal or not.
Supplier Identifier
Pick a value from the Supplier Identifier Feature you defined in Company Settings. Make sure this value is identical to the Abbreviation defined on the General tab.
Filter
Select the filter best suited for this supplier. The selected filter defines the search options available for the supplier in the portal. Filters for suppliers are created in Administration → Filters just like all other search filters.
The two search options at the top of the filter (Product status and Data status) are automatically added by the supplier panel. You do not need to define these in the Filter definition.
Languages
Click the Edit button to select the languages for which the supplier must supply data. Suppliers work with languages in grid the same way as yo do in Perfion.
Roles
Three different roles can be set for a supplier. These roles are fundamental to the process you want to use use when working with suppliers.
Can create new products determines if the supplier can create new items in the portal. If unchecked, you must create new items in Perfion and expose these to suppliers. Please refer to XXX for further information about exposing items to suppliers.
When Auto accept submitted items is set, all items submitted by the supplier are automatically accepted an created in Perfion.
When Auto accept updated values is set, all updates done by the supplier (to accepted items) are automatically accepted and copied to the linked Perfion item.
Categories
Click the Edit button to select the categories in which the supplier can create/enrich products.
Virtual categories are not shown to suppliers. They only see lowest level categories (“normal” items)
Users
Select Users in the left panel to see a list of current active users. You can change filtering to see Inactive or All if preferred.
Right-click a user to create a new or edit an existing:
General
The User dialogue only has one tab. This is where you define the key settings for the user..
Organization
Choose the organization the user belongs to. This cannot be changed once it has been saved.
Org User ID
Assign a code to the user. It must be unique within the user’s organization, but it does not have to globally unique across all organizations.
Name
Type in the user’s name.
Type in the user’s e-mail address. This is mandatory as it is used to log in to the supplier portal. The e-mail must be globally unique across all suppliers (same e-mail cannot be used in two different organizations).
Active
This checkbox defines if the user is active and as such has access to the supplier portal.
Organization Abbreviation
This field is read-only and automatically populated with the abbreviation of the selected organization.
Organization Name
This field is read-only and automatically populated with the name of the selected organization.
User ID
This field is read-only and automatically populated with the Organization Abbreviation followed by the Org User ID. The User ID is globally unique and used in the database to identify all changes done by the user.
Send user a “Welcome” email on close
If you are creating a new user, the dialogue also contains a checkbox to send user a welcome email when the dialogue is closed. If you keep this setting when you click OK, the new user will receive a welcome email based on the template you defined in Company settings.
Send e-mail to users
If a user forgets a password or “looses” a welcome email, you can send these mails manually by right-clicking a user and selecting the e-mail you need from the Supplier Portal option:
Supplier Views (“Columns”)
By default, the Columns drop down in the main grid toolbar, only contains the option “All”. This enables the supplier to see all exposed features.
Add views
You can add “views” to the drop down by creating Items for the Views feature you selected in Supplier Portal Settings. This is done in Feature Data. Each item must contain an API query with a Select-element:
The Select-element can be written exactly like in all other API queries. You can select all active languages, all features in Perfion and make references to all views. You can even select features not exposed to suppliers; these will be filtered out of the result when the query is used in the supplier portal. As an example, this query will be viable as a supplier portal view. It will return all features exposed in the portal:
<Query>
<Select languages='EN'>
<Feature id='**' view='Config' />
</Select>
</Query>
In addition to all the normal API elements, you can also use these four specific supplier portal “views”:
Expose returns all features exposed for suppliers to manage
ExposeReadOnly returns all features exposed as read only to suppliers
Mandatory returns all features marked as mandatory in the configuration
AutoAccept returns all features set to Auto Accept in the configuration
When you have created the items/views you need, they automatically become available in the Columns drop down allowing supplier to focus the grid to relevant columns:
