Using Supplier Collaboration Portal in APO
Summarize
Summary of Using Supplier Collaboration Portal in APO
The Supplier Collaboration Portal in Accounts Payable Operations (APO) enables suppliers and their contacts to interact efficiently with AP specialists by submitting invoices, managing invoice inquiries, and handling tasks. Access is granted to supplier contacts through linked user records, allowing login via credentials managed outside ServiceNow. While APO supports invoice and inquiry management, supplier onboarding and contact updates are handled through the Supplier Lifecycle Operations (SLO) module or by importing records from external ERP systems if SLO is not used.
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Supplier Collaboration Portal Features
- Portal Header Options: Located at the top-right of the portal, it includes:
- My Tasks: View and manage tasks assigned to the logged-in supplier user.
- My Requests: Access and manage all assigned invoice inquiry cases.
- Submit a Request: Raise invoice requests directly from the portal.
- Widgets: Key portal widgets include:
- My Active Items: Displays tasks, requests, and invoices with capabilities to raise inquiries directly from invoice forms.
- My Requests: Lists invoice inquiry cases submitted by the user, allowing detailed case management.
Operational Guidelines and Requirements
- After installing the Supplier Collaboration Portal, administrators must approve restricted caller access privileges to prevent supplier errors.
- The Explicit Roles plugin enforces user access by requiring explicit role assignments for APO access.
- Tasks and invoice inquiries are managed via the portal header's Tasks and My Requests menus, streamlining communication between suppliers and AP teams.
- Suppliers can create Universal Requests from the portal to submit invoice inquiries directly to the Source-to-Pay Workspace for further processing.
- The Supplier Catalog enables suppliers to submit invoices and inquiries for AP evaluation.
- Virtual Agent support allows suppliers to check statuses and create inquiry cases through chat, enhancing self-service capabilities.
Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
This portal streamlines supplier communication with AP specialists, reduces manual handling of invoice inquiries, and improves visibility into task and request statuses. By integrating with the Source-to-Pay Workspace and leveraging virtual agents, it facilitates efficient invoice processing and supplier collaboration, ultimately enhancing operational efficiency in Accounts Payable.
The Supplier Collaboration Portal enables suppliers to interact with Accounts Payable specialists to submit invoices, create inquiry cases, and manage tasks.
Supplier and supplier contact management
APO grants supplier contacts access to the Supplier Collaboration Portal to manage invoices and invoice inquiries, handle tasks, and submit invoices or inquiries through the portal, Virtual Agent, or Live Agent chat.
APO does not include workflows to onboard suppliers or to add and update supplier contacts. These workflows are part of SLO. If your instance has APO without SLO, import supplier and supplier contact records into ServiceNow from your ERP or other system of record instead of using the SLO onboarding workflow. For more information, see Manage supplier contacts from the Source-to-Pay Workspace and Add a supplier contact from the Source-to-Pay Workspace.
Each supplier contact record requires a linked user record. When you import a supplier contact, create a corresponding user record that stores the contact's user ID and password so the contact can log in to the Supplier Collaboration Portal with credentials set up outside ServiceNow.
Supplier Portal Collaboration header
The portal header is located at the top-right corner of the home page contains the following options.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| My Tasks | Lists all the tasks that are assigned to the logged-in user. For more information on tasks, see Working with tasks in Supplier Collaboration Portal header. |
| My Requests | Opens the My Requests page, which lists all the requests assigned to you. |
| Submit a request | Supplier raises invoice requests. |
For more information regarding the Supplier Portal Collaboration header options, see Working with tasks in Supplier Collaboration Portal header.
Supplier Collaboration Portal widgets
The Supplier Collaboration Portal integrated with Accounts Payable Operations consists of the following widgets. For more information on Supplier Collaboration Portal widgets, see Supplier Collaboration Portal.
My active items widget
As a supplier contact, you can view specific items from the following tiles in the My active items widget:
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Tasks | Opens the My Tasks list page, which lists all the tasks that are assigned to the supplier. For more information on tasks, see Working with tasks in Supplier Collaboration Portal header. |
| Requests | Lists all the invoice inquiry cases for the supplier. For more information on inquiry requests, see Working with My Requests. |
| Invoices | Lists the invoices for supplier to view the invoice details and raise invoice related inquiry case. For more information on invoice inquiry see Submit an Invoice Inquiry. Note: .From the invoice form, you can submit an inquiry case. For more details on inquiry case, see Submit an Invoice Inquiry |
My Requests widget
Displays a list of invoice inquiry cases that you have submitted. Selecting a case directly opens the My Requests page so that you can work on that inquiry case. Select View All to view the list of all inquiry cases that you have submitted. For more information on My Requests widget, see Working with My Requests.
For more information on installing Supplier Collaboration Portal, see Configure Supplier Lifecycle Operations.