Introduction

VendorLink has developed a new feature to ensure that organizations also be able to properly safeguard the information that arises during a purchasing process. We call this function Project Compliance. Many organizations need auditors and supervisors demonstrate how a procurement process went and that goes further than just store the outcome of a sourcing process. The Project compliance functionality ensures that you as an organization can record a project from an intake questionnaire to actually contracting a supplier and all process steps in between.

Project compliance setup

In the Vendor Management module of VendorLink we have the Project Compliance functionality accommodated. You can see it as capturing a preliminary stage to arrive at a supplier choice. In the Vendor module you have the choice to create a supplier or to start a project in order to eventually arrive at a supplier. You do this by clicking the project icon on the left in the menu.

This icon opens the screen with current projects that you as a user have access to. For each project it is clear how many phases a project consists of and What is the status of those phases? By means of the large green button 'Start new project' a new project can be started. You can start a new choose project to start an 'empty' project or choose to create it or opening a template project that already contains predefined project phases and parts stand. You can read more about these parts in the sections below. A project is visible to the creator of the project by default, but you can by clicking on the colored user dots at the top right of the project give more people access to the project to form a project group. 

Project phases and functionalities

In a project you have the possibility to use different functionality of VendorLink to link such as questionnaires, audits, rfx processes, classifications and a contract. To give direction to a project and to link this different functionality, you have to divide a project into phases. In every phase you add choose which of the functionalities below you want to activate.

Project questionnaires: These are questionnaires that must be completed during a project. You can think of an intake form, but also questionnaires about data processing and internal assessments. Any questionnaire that you include in a project must be handled through a workflow in which you indicate which people have to fill in or assess something in the questionnaire.

RFx: As part of a procurement project, processes such as Prevent RFI, RFQ or RFP from requesting information from potential suppliers to be delivered. VendorLink has included functionality for this in the Contract Management module, but this can also be linked from within a project.

Audit: Potential suppliers often also have to comply with all kinds of general terms and conditions that are sometimes also accompanied by documentation requirements such as the supplying certificates or signing a confidentiality agreement. VendorLink has the Audit functionality for this and this is also as a project phase to link.

Risk Classification: All steps in a project often have also a joint outcome or classification that can be used to demonstrate that all kinds of project steps have been taken internally and externally and that these have been assessed to be. The assessment is done through workflow functionality in the various de project phases but the recording of the total classification (for example: a possible BIV classification) can be determined by means of the Risk Classification functionality are linked to a project.

Tasks and Notes: In addition to the above functionality, you have standard in every phase the possibility to make notes and link tasks. You can use these well-known VendorLink functionalities to draw important conclusions and have immediate insight into any remaining points.

Project Templates

Because many organizations have written policies that describe how to purchase to comply with laws, regulations and requirements of auditors, you can work with templates within projects. In a template you can phases, and parts within those phases, ready so that people cant start of a new project immediately see which steps must be taken to become compliant to work. You can create a template by clicking on the 'Start new project' click and then activate the template checkmark. You can then select a design a project with phases so that when you start a new project you can template you can select.