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?
Only managers and above. 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.
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, approval gates, 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 is turned on in Settings, evaluators see anonymised vendor identifiers instead of vendor names during scoring, so pricing context is limited to the evaluation criteria.
Day-to-day
How do I edit an RFQ after it has been issued?
Turn on Allow RFQ Amendments After Issue in Settings. With that enabled, a manager can edit an issued RFQ. If Notify Vendors on RFQ Amendment is also on, invited vendors are notified of the change. Awarded and cancelled RFQs cannot be edited regardless of this setting.
What happens when I award an RFQ?
The winning quote is marked accepted, the RFQ moves to Awarded, and the winning vendor is recorded. If the Notify Vendors on Award setting is on, the vendor receives a notification. Two optional downstream actions can also fire: if Auto-Create Requisition from Winning Quote is on and the Procurement app is enabled, 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%), but the RFQ author can set custom criteria and weights.
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?
Enable Blind Evaluation in Settings must be on at the time the evaluation is opened. The setting replaces vendor names with anonymised identifiers (e.g. “Vendor #42”) in the comparison and scoring views. If the RFQ was already under evaluation before the setting was enabled, existing scoring sessions may still show names — enable the setting before starting evaluation.
Why does the vendor scorecard page say “Vendor scorecards are disabled”?
The Enable 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 did finance approval block my RFQ from being issued?
Require Finance Approval for Large RFQs is on in Settings, and the RFQ’s estimated value (the sum of its line items) exceeds the Finance Approval Threshold. The default threshold is $10,000. Lower the threshold, increase the RFQ value to stay under it, or have a user with the appropriate role issue the RFQ. Separately, RFQs whose estimated value is at or below the Auto-Approval Threshold (default $1,000) are auto-approved with no gate.
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. The overall score is the average of whichever dimensions have been rated. 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 Enable Vendor Scorecards setting to be on.
Licensing and limits
Does Supplier Hub require a licence?
Yes. An admin must enable and license Supplier Hub from the Apps Marketplace 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 required: configurable from 1 to 20. Default is 3.
- Default submission deadline: configurable. Default is 14 days from issue.
- Finance approval threshold: default $10,000.
- Auto-approval threshold: default $1,000.
- Insurance expiring-soon window: 30 days.
- Scorecard dimension range: 0–100 per dimension.
- Overall risk score range: 0–100.
- Analytics export formats: PDF and CSV. There is no native Excel/XLSX export from the analytics page (the service generates XLSX internally but the controller only serves PDF and CSV).
- 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.