Categories are used to organise suppliers on a Supplier List based on the goods or services they provide. This article provides the steps to create new enterprise-level categories and link them to a specific Supplier List. Use this process when you need to structure your Supplier List so Buyers can easily find the right suppliers for a request.

Concept: How Categories are Used

• Supplier Organisation: Suppliers who register onto a Supplier List must be allocated to at least one Category on that list. Categories help organise suppliers based on the goods or services they provide.
• Buyer Selection: Categories enable Buyers to find the Suppliers on a list that provide the specific goods or services needed.
  • When selecting suppliers for a request, Buyers first select the list group/type (Internal, External, or Public lists).
  • Buyers then choose which categories of goods and/or services the request falls under.
  • The system shows which supplier lists cover those selected categories, and Buyers then see the Suppliers registered on the selected lists who are registered to those selected categories.
• Subcategories: Subcategories can be added to existing categories. They are used to narrow down the suppliers by filtering out those who do not match your criteria.

  • Goal: Selecting a single subcategory should ideally produce a smaller number of suppliers than if more subcategories were selected. You should avoid situations where selecting just one subcategory shows all suppliers on that supplier list.

    Example: Trade Services (Top-Level Category) with Plumbing, Electrical, Painting, and Building (Subcategories).

• Design Note: Categories should be kept concise to avoid overwhelming Buyers navigating a supplier list. This is achieved by creating Supplier Lists for a specific type of good or service, rather than trying to cover a broad range of suppliers on a single list.

Prerequisites

To create and manage categories, you must be a Super Admin or a Panel Administrator at an enterprise level

Steps 

Create Enterprise Categories and Subcategories

1. Navigate to Admin area

   • Select Admin Tools menu (top menubar or left-side menu).
   • Click Enterprise Supplier Lists.
     
   • Click the Manage Categories link on the left .
     

2. Add a new top-level category.

   • Click the Add new button above the list of current categories.
     

3. Name and save the category.

   • Select the UNSPC Segment your category matches.
     
   • Enter the category’s name.
   • Click Save. To add another category immediately, click Save & add new.

4. Add subcategories (Optional).

   • The new category will appear in the list and should be expanded.
   • Click the Add new link that appears under the new category .
     

5. Name and save the subcategory.

   • Enter the subcategory’s name.
     
   • Add any Category Tags (information on this is found in the Assigning & Using Category Tags article).
   • Click Save. To add another subcategory immediately, click Save & add new.

Link Categories to a Supplier List

1. Open the Supplier List Wizard.

   • Do this when creating a new supplier list or editing a pre-existing supplier list.

2. Navigate to the Linked Categories step.

3. Select the categories to link.

   • Select the desired top-level category on the left.
   • Select the relevant subcategories you want to add on the right.

4. Attach the selected categories.

   • Click the Add selected categories button .
     
   • The categories will appear under the Current categories list.

5. Save your changes.

   • Click the Continue button.
   • If editing an existing list, you will be taken to the List Complete step. Click the Finish button to save your changes.

Results / Validation

The newly created categories and subcategories will be available for use. The linked categories will be displayed under the Current categories list on the Supplier List Wizard.

What's Next / Related

• Assign Category Tags
• Create a Supplier List

Limits & Notes

• Scope: Keep categories concise by creating separate Supplier Lists for specific types of goods or services.
• Subcategories: Subcategories must be configured so that selecting one subcategory produces a smaller number of suppliers than the top-level category.