End-to-end sourcing and supplier onboarding workflow in Source-to-Pay Operations

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of End-to-end sourcing and supplier onboarding workflow in Source-to-Pay Operations

    The integrated workflow of Sourcing and Procurement Operations (SPO) alongside Supplier Lifecycle Operations (SLO) in ServiceNow provides a seamless process for sourcing and onboarding new suppliers. This enables all stakeholders—including employees, procurement specialists, supplier managers, and suppliers—to have complete visibility and improved collaboration throughout the sourcing and onboarding lifecycle.

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    How the Workflow Functions

    • An employee initiates a sourcing request for a product or service, potentially involving a new supplier, via Shopping Hub or Employee Center.
    • Work assignment rules route the request to a procurement specialist, who begins an automated supplier qualification process.
    • A supplier onboarding case is created and assigned to a supplier manager, who uses a structured onboarding playbook to manage supplier tasks.
    • The supplier receives and completes assigned tasks and questionnaires through the Supplier Collaboration Portal, facilitating data collection such as banking and location details.
    • The supplier manager reviews submitted supplier data, completes the onboarding playbook activities, and decides to continue or cancel onboarding based on the information gathered.
    • Throughout this process, employees, procurement specialists, and supplier managers retain full visibility into status and progress via their respective portals.

    Key Requirements

    To implement this sourcing and onboarding workflow, several ServiceNow plugins must be installed and activated, including but not limited to:

    • Shopping Hub
    • Sourcing and Purchasing Automation
    • Procurement Case Management
    • Source-to-Pay Workspace
    • Playbooks for Sourcing and Procurement Operations
    • Supplier Lifecycle Operations and Supplier Collaboration Portal
    • Advanced Work Assignment plugins for both sourcing and supplier lifecycle
    • Risk Assessments Integration
    • Common Architecture and Service Delivery plugins

    Proper installation sequencing is essential for smooth operation.

    Getting Started with New Supplier Sourcing

    • Employee role: Request unavailable products or services in Shopping Hub and add a preferred new supplier.
    • Procurement specialist role: Review sourcing requests in Source-to-Pay Workspace and initiate supplier qualification.
    • Supplier manager role: Manage onboarding cases using the onboarding playbook, assign supplier tasks, and review submitted supplier data.
    • Supplier contact role: Access the Supplier Collaboration Portal to complete assigned tasks and risk assessment questionnaires.
    • Supplier managers then finalize onboarding decisions by completing all playbook activities.

    This comprehensive workflow enhances transparency, automates key qualification and onboarding steps, and improves supplier collaboration—resulting in efficient and controlled sourcing and supplier onboarding operations within ServiceNow.

    With Sourcing and Procurement Operations and Supplier Lifecycle Operations together, provide complete visibility to all the stakeholders involved in the sourcing process, along with improved supplier onboarding experience.

    How sourcing and supplier onboarding works

    The following figure shows how an employee, procurement specialist, supplier manager, and supplier use the SPO and SLO applications together to get complete visibility into the sourcing process and simultaneously enjoy improved supplier onboarding experience.

    Figure 1. Workflow for sourcing and supplier onboarding
    Workflow of the sourcing experience
    In this workflow:
    1. An employee visits Shopping Hub (or Employee Center) and creates a sourcing request with a new supplier to be onboarded.
    2. Work assignment rules route the request to a procurement specialist's workspace.
    3. The procurement specialist initiates automated supplier qualification, which creates required cases, including a new supplier onboarding case that is assigned to a supplier manager.
    4. The supplier manager reviews the supplier onboarding case and uses the onboarding playbook in the supplier workspace to onboard suppliers.
    5. The playbook generates tasks and assigns them to the supplier being onboarded.
    6. The supplier contact views the assigned tasks in the Supplier Collaboration Portal.
    7. The supplier contact completes the assigned tasks and submits the required questionnaire in the Supplier Collaboration Portal.
    8. The supplier manager reviews the collected supplier data and completes the onboarding playbook in the supplier workspace.
    9. The employee, procurement specialist, and supplier manager have complete visibility into the status of work, including supplier onboarding, through process completion, from their respective portals.

    Requirements for sourcing with a new supplier

    Install and activate these plugins.
    • Shopping Hub [com.snc.sn_spend_uib]
    • Sourcing and Purchasing Automation [com.snc.sn_pr]
    • Procurement Case Management [com.sn_spend_psd]
    • Source-to-Pay Workspace [com.sn_spend_workspace]
    • Playbooks for Sourcing and Procurement Operations [com.sn_spend_cp]
    • Advanced Work Assignment for Sourcing and Procurement Operations [com.snc.sn_spend_awa]
    • Supplier Common Architecture [com.snc.sn_slm]
    • Supplier Lifecycle Operations [com.snc.sn_supplier_mgmt]
    • Supplier Collaboration Portal [com.snc.sn_supplier_sp]
    • Advanced Work Assignment for Supplier Lifecycle Operations [com.snc.sn_slm_awa]
    • Source-to-Pay Common Architecture [com.snc.sn_shop]
    • Finance Common Architecture [com.sn_fin]
    • Common Service Delivery [com.sn_spend_sdc]
    • Risk Assessments Integration for Sourcing and Procurement Operations [com.sn_spend_vrm]

    For information on the installation sequence, see Application plugin installation sequence in Sourcing and Procurement Operations.

    Get started with sourcing with a new supplier

    To get started with sourcing with a new supplier, follow these steps:
    1. Request for a product or service that you don't see on Shopping Hub, and add a new supplier that you prefer to source it from. For more information, see Requesting for products or services that you don't see on ShoppingHub.

      Role: sn_shop.shopper.

    2. Review the sourcing request and its associated purchase lines on the Source-to-Pay Workspace. For more information, see SPO list page.

      Role: sn_shop.procurement_specialist.

    3. Begin the qualification process to onboard the new supplier. For more information, see Supplier qualification.

      Role: sn_shop.procurement_specialist.

    4. Review the supplier onboarding case and start the supplier onboarding using playbooks. For more information, see Use the supplier onboarding playbook to onboard suppliers.

      Role: sn_slm.manager.

    5. The playbook automatically creates supplier tasks to conduct risk assessment and to collect supplier information, such as banking information and location details.
    6. Log in to the Supplier Collaboration Portal and complete the following:

      Role: sn_slm.contact.

    7. Review the collected supplier information and determine whether to continue or cancel the onboarding process.

      Role: sn_slm.manager.

    8. Complete the different activities in each stage of the playbook to successfully onboard the new supplier.

      Role: sn_slm.manager.