Supplier Hub FAQ
Answers to common setup and operating questions about Supplier Hub.
For what the app is and how to set it up from scratch, see the
Supplier Hub Overview.
Setup
Do I need the Procurement or Contracts apps for Supplier Hub to work?
No. Supplier Hub runs independently. The Procurement and Contracts integrations are optional add-ons: if either app is enabled, an awarded RFQ can be converted into a Procurement requisition or a draft Contract. With neither app enabled, the sourcing workflow still completes end to end — you issue, evaluate, and award as normal.
Who can create and issue RFQs once I turn the app on?
Managers and above, plus anyone you have made a Supplier Hub app admin. The same gate applies to issuing, editing after issuance, awarding, cancelling, and managing vendor questions. All authenticated users in your business can view the dashboard, the RFQ list, and the vendor directory, but write actions require the Manager role or higher (or the app-admin grant).
What does the Settings page control, and who can reach it?
Settings is visible only to admins and app admins. It contains workflow toggles (amendment controls, the finance-threshold block, evaluation rules), numbering prefixes, notification switches, and threshold values. Every toggle on that page has a runtime consumer — the app reads the setting before the action runs. If a toggle is off, the gate it controls is simply not enforced.
Permissions and access
Why can’t a team member create an RFQ?
RFQ creation, issuance, and awarding require the Manager role or above. If a team member needs to participate, assign them as an evaluator on an evaluation stage — evaluators can be any manager-or-above user in the business. Members below Manager can still view RFQs and vendor records.
Who can see competing vendors’ bid pricing?
Confidential bid pricing is restricted to managers and app admins. When Blind Evaluation (Scoring Screens) is on in Settings, the scoring and comparison screens show “Vendor #42”-style labels instead of vendor names until the RFQ is awarded, so scores are given against the bid rather than the bidder.
Day-to-day
How do I edit an RFQ after it has been issued?
Turn on Allow Editing Issued RFQs in Settings. With that enabled, a manager can edit an issued RFQ. If Notify Vendors on Amendment is also on, invited vendors are notified of the change. Awarded and cancelled RFQs cannot be edited regardless of this setting.
Can a quote be changed after it is submitted?
Yes, by whoever submitted it, while nobody has started evaluating it. A supplier who submitted on the Vendor Portal clicks Take back to edit on the solicitation; a colleague who keyed a quote in for a supplier clicks Take Back to Edit on the quote’s page. The quote goes back to a draft and leaves the comparison, and it comes back as an update when it is submitted again. With Quote Updated notifications on, the RFQ owner and its evaluators are told both times. Taking back is refused once an evaluator has opened or scored the quote, after the submission deadline, or when the RFQ is no longer taking responses.
What happens when I award an RFQ?
The winning quote is marked accepted, the other bids are marked not selected, the RFQ moves to Awarded, and the winning vendor is recorded. If Email All Bidders the Award Outcome is on, the winner gets a congratulations email and every other bidder gets a regret notice; with it off, no vendor is emailed the outcome. Two optional downstream actions can also fire: if Auto-Create Requisition on Award is on, the Procurement app is enabled, and your role can create requisitions in Procurement, a requisition is created automatically; if Create Draft Contract on Award is on and the Contracts app is enabled, a draft contract is created and linked to the RFQ. RFIs are information-only — awarding an RFI selects a response but never creates a requisition or contract.
Can I delete an RFQ?
Only if the RFQ has not been awarded and no vendor has submitted a quote (excluding drafts and withdrawn quotes). Once real vendor quotes exist, deletion is blocked and the RFQ can only be cancelled.
What is the difference between an RFQ, an RFP, and an RFI?
All three are created in the same form by choosing a type. RFQs and RFPs support line items with pricing, side-by-side quote comparison, and conversion to a Procurement requisition or Contract on award. An RFI is information-only: the line-items section is hidden, no pricing is collected, and awarding selects a response without creating any downstream record.
How does the evaluation pipeline work?
Each RFQ can have multiple evaluation stages — for example Technical Review, Commercial Review, and Final Selection. The first stage opens automatically; the next opens when the current one is complete (all assignments finished, or a manager marks it complete early). Evaluators are assigned per stage and score each submitted quote against weighted criteria. The default criteria are Price (30%), Quality (25%), Delivery Time (20%), Vendor Experience (15%), and Support & Service (10%); an RFI drops Price and scores Quality (35%), Delivery Time (30%), Vendor Experience (20%), and Support & Service (15%). There is no screen for setting an RFQ’s own criteria or weights. The Evaluation Method is recorded on the RFQ and does not change how Compare ranks quotes: lowest total first, or by each quote’s averaged evaluation score when Rank Quotes by Evaluation Score is on.
Can I save draft scores and come back later?
Yes. The evaluation form offers a Save Draft option that persists scores without completing the assignment. The evaluator can return and finish later. Only a final submission advances the stage.
When something looks wrong
Why can evaluators still see vendor names after I turned on blind evaluation?
Check where they are looking. Blind Evaluation (Scoring Screens) replaces vendor names with labels such as “Vendor #42” on the scoring and comparison screens, the RFQ’s quote list and activity trail, the dashboard’s recent quotes, and quote notifications. Names stay visible on a single quote’s detail page and in the vendor directory, and every screen shows names again once the RFQ is awarded. The setting is read each time a page loads, so turning it on takes effect immediately, including for evaluations already in progress.
Why does the vendor scorecard page say “Vendor scorecards are disabled”?
The Vendor Scorecards setting is off. Turn it on in Settings. This setting gates all scorecard surfaces across the app — the Vendors tab still lists vendors and their qualification status, but no scorecard data appears until the toggle is on.
Why can’t my RFQ be issued over the finance threshold?
Block Issue Above the Finance Threshold is on in Settings, and the RFQ’s estimated value (the sum of its line items) exceeds the Finance Approval Block Threshold (USD). The default threshold is $10,000. Nothing is sent to a finance team for approval, and no role can issue past the block: the RFQ becomes issuable once its estimated value drops to the threshold or below, or once an admin raises the threshold (or turns the block off) in Settings.
Why can’t I find the “Create contract” button on my awarded RFQ?
Three conditions must all be true: the RFQ must be awarded, Create Draft Contract on Award must be on in Settings, and the Contracts app must be enabled for your business. If all three are met and a contract was already created (either automatically on award or manually), the button changes to a link showing the linked contract. RFIs never show this button — they are information-only and cannot be converted into a contract.
Vendor management
What do the vendor qualification statuses mean?
Qualification has five statuses: Pending, Approved, Rejected, Probation, and Blocked. Only Approved vendors are counted in the “qualified vendors” metric on the dashboard. Risk is scored on three dimensions — Financial, Operational, and Compliance — each rated Low, Medium, or High. The overall risk score is 0–100, where below 30 is Low risk, 30–69 is Medium, and 70 or above is High.
How do vendor performance scorecards work?
Each vendor is scored across five dimensions: Quality, Delivery, Price, Service, and Responsiveness, each on a 0–100 scale. Scores come from your team: after an RFQ is awarded, a manager rates the winning vendor from the RFQ page on the criteria chosen under Vendor Rating Criteria in Settings (1–5 stars each, stored as 20–100). The overall score is the average of the rated dimensions. Performance status is derived automatically: 90–100 is Excellent, 75–89 is Good, 60–74 is Fair, 40–59 is Poor, and below 40 is Unacceptable. Scorecards require the Vendor Scorecards setting to be on, and rating requires Vendor Rating.
Licensing and limits
Does Supplier Hub require a licence?
Yes. An admin must enable and license Supplier Hub from Admin → Apps → All Apps before it is available. The app is disabled by default.
Are there limits I should know about?
- RFQ number prefix: configurable, up to 10 characters. Default is “RFQ-“.
- Quote number prefix: configurable, up to 10 characters. Default is “QTE-“.
- Minimum evaluators per stage: configurable from 1 to 20. Default is 2.
- Minimum Quotes for Comparison: configurable from 1 to 20. Default is 3. It only sets when the “Quotes Ready for Comparison” alert fires; an RFQ can be compared and awarded with fewer quotes.
- Default Quote Window: 1 to 90 days. Default is 14 days, counted from the day you create the RFQ — it prefills the submission deadline, which you can change on each RFQ.
- Finance Approval Block Threshold: default $10,000.
- Insurance expiring-soon window: 30 days.
- Scorecard dimension range: 0–100 per dimension.
- Overall risk score range: 0–100.
- Analytics export formats: PDF, CSV, and Excel (XLSX), from the export menu on the analytics page.
- Analytics default period: last 6 months. Other options: 30 days, 90 days, and 1 year.
More help
- Supplier Hub Overview
- Ask AI — the assistant answers Supplier Hub questions from these articles.