A supplier record holds a supplier's details in one place so they can be used across sourcing activities, contracts, savings initiatives and compliance tracking. This guide is for anyone who adds suppliers to oboloo.
Before you start
Add a supplier
Open the Suppliers page
In the main menu, go to Supplier Management > Suppliers.
Click Add New Supplier
Click Add New Supplier above the supplier table. The Add Supplier panel opens on the right.
Enter the supplier name
Type the supplier's official name in Supplier Name (required). oboloo checks the name against its sanctions list as you type and shows Supplier appears on a sanctioned list. or Not on the sanctions list. under the field. The check is for information only and doesn't stop you saving. See Screen Suppliers Against Sanctions Lists.
Add the supplier details
These fields are optional:
Description/Notes: a short description of the supplier.
Supplier ID: your organisation's own reference for the supplier.
Supplier Type: for example manufacturer, distributor or service provider.
Supplier Industry and Supplier Sub-Industry: you can select more than one of each, so the record reflects everything the supplier provides.
Company Website: oboloo uses it to fetch the supplier's logo automatically.
If your role can manage configurations, you can add a missing value from the top of the dropdown, for example New Industry. Values are managed under Settings > Configurations. See Add or Delete Dropdown Values.
Enter the main contact
Complete Contact Name, Email Address and Confirm Email Address (all required). This contact becomes the supplier's primary contact, who receives document requests, onboarding packages and eSourcing invitations. You can add more contacts and change the primary contact later on the supplier's Contact Info tab. See Primary Supplier Contacts.
Choose locations and departments
Select one or more values in Select Location and Select Department. Each location you choose must be linked to one of the selected departments, otherwise it is marked in red and you can't submit until you remove it.
If a location or department doesn't exist yet, choose New Location or New Department at the top of the dropdown to create it without leaving the form.
Set the supplier options
Check this box to indicate that this is a preferred supplier: turn on for preferred suppliers.
Does this supplier need to be approved?: turn on to send the supplier for approval, then choose the Approver. See Approve or Reject a Supplier.
Does this supplier need to go through onboarding?: turn on to start onboarding as soon as the supplier is created. See Supplier Onboarding Overview.
Record Access: choose No restriction, Only owners can edit or Only owners can view and edit. See Record Access – Restricting Individual Records.
Submit the supplier
Click Submit. If another supplier already uses the same email address, oboloo shows Duplicate Supplier Already Exists. Click Confirm Duplicate to add it anyway, or cancel and check the existing supplier first.
What happens next
You're asked about the profile: the Go to suppliers profile? prompt asks whether you want to complete the additional fields now. Click Yes to open the supplier record, where you can add contacts, payment terms, documents and more owners.
Onboarding starts (if switched on): instead of the prompt, the Configure Supplier Onboarding window opens so you can send an onboarding package to the primary contact.
The approver is notified (if approval is on): the approver gets an email and an in-app notification, and the supplier stays Unapproved until they approve it.
You become a Supplier Owner: the person who creates a supplier is added as a Supplier Owner automatically and receives notifications about it, such as compliance deadlines and document expiries. See Supplier Owners.
The logo appears: if you entered a Company Website, the supplier's logo shows on the record. You can add or change the website later by clicking Edit on the supplier's summary card.
Quick-add a supplier from another record
When you're creating a contract, savings initiative or sourcing activity, you can choose New Supplier in the supplier dropdown. The quick Add Supplier form only needs Supplier Name, with optional Supplier ID and Supplier Industry. Open the supplier record afterwards to add contacts and other details.
Troubleshooting
I can't see the Add New Supplier button
Your role doesn't allow you to create suppliers. Ask your administrator to check your access. See Viewing Your Access Rights.
The Submit button is greyed out
One or more locations aren't linked to a selected department. Remove the locations marked in red, or select a department they belong to.
The approval or onboarding switch turns itself off
Supplier approvals and onboarding are part of the Supplier Plus plan. On other plans, the Upgrade to Supplier Plus window opens and the switch stays off. The onboarding switch is also hidden if your role can't create onboarding records.
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If you need further assistance, please contact your internal platform administrator for support. Otherwise please reach out to oboloo's support team. If you are unable to view the above area in the oboloo platform, please check your user permissions and access rights.