Supplier Approval

New suppliers must be approved before they can be used in purchase orders. The Supplier Approval process ensures due diligence is completed and only verified vendors enter your procurement workflow.

Approval Process

1. A user creates a new supplier record and submits it (status: Awaiting Approval).
2. An approver is notified via email that a new supplier requires review.
3. The approver can click the secure link in the email (valid for 24 hours) to view the supplier details and approve or reject it, even without logging into the main system.
4. Alternatively, the approver can log into the system, open the supplier detail page, and review the company information, contact details, uploaded documents, and notes.
5. The approver clicks Approve or Reject.
6. If approved, the supplier’s status changes to Approved and it becomes available in the PO supplier dropdown.
7. If rejected, the status changes to Rejected with the rejection notes recorded. The original creator is notified and can update the record to return it to a Draft state for resubmission.

Hierarchical Approvals

The system supports a two-tier hierarchical approval workflow based on your Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) policy:

• First Approval: The first designated approver receives the email and approves the supplier. The status changes to First Approved.
• Second Approval: A second designated approver is then notified. Once they approve, the status changes to Approved.

Supplier Statuses

Status	Description
Draft	Saved supplier record, not yet submitted for approval.
Awaiting Approval	Submitted and awaiting review by the first or primary approver.
First Approved	Approved by the first-tier approver, awaiting second-tier approval (if hierarchical approval is enabled).
Second Approved	Approved by the second-tier approver.
Approved	Fully reviewed and accepted – available for use in purchase orders.
Rejected	Declined by an approver. The rejection reason is recorded. The creator can edit the supplier to return it to Draft.
Inactive	Previously approved but now deactivated. Cannot be used in new POs.

Who Can Approve

Only users with the Supplier Approval permission or an Admin role have permission to approve or reject supplier records from within the system. Approvers designated in the P2P policy will receive email links that allow them to process approvals externally.

Resubmitting a Rejected Supplier

If a supplier is rejected, the creator can edit the record (for example, uploading missing compliance documents or correcting contact information). Editing a rejected supplier automatically changes its status back to Draft, allowing it to be updated and resubmitted for approval. The approval history on the detail page shows all previous approval and rejection events.

TIP

Approvers can use the Resend Email action to send another approval notification if the original 24-hour secure link has expired.