Activate Pre-Market Request Approvals

  • Updated

Pre-Market Approvals require Local Group Managers and Administrators to approve or decline a Buyer's RFx before it is posted to Suppliers. When activated for a Local Group or specific Buyer, if the Buyer selects an RFx Value that requires approval, their designated set manager must approve the request before it goes to Suppliers.

Prerequisites

  • You must be a Super Admin or Local Group Administrator to set Pre-Market Approvals.

  • The Buyer must belong to a Local Group where pre-market approvals are active, and the RFx Value threshold is set to require approval (for Local Group-based approvals).

  • For individual Buyer approvals, the custom threshold must be enabled for that user.

Activating Pre-Market Approvals for a Local Group

Follow these steps to set pre-market approvals against RFx values for a specific local group:

  1. Select Local Groups and Users under the Admin Tools menu.

    • Note: This menu is either in the top menubar or on the homepage on the left-side menu.

  2. Against the required list, click on the three vertical dots and select Edit local group.

  3. Go to the RFx Settings section and under the 'Setup Request Approval Thresholds & Triggers' setting, click the Set thresholds link.

  4. On the next page, set the general 'Go to Market' approvals based on the set RFx values.

    • Note: Buyers will set an Estimated Value on the RFx Budget tab in the Request Wizard when creating their request.

  5. Select the 'Yes' radio button for an RFx value to require approval when that value is selected.

    • Note: Selecting the 'No' radio button means the request is sent to suppliers immediately without approval when that value is selected.

  6. Click on Save when finished.

Activating Pre-Market Approvals for a Specific Buyer

Follow these steps to set custom pre-market approvals against RFx values for an individual Buyer:

  1. Select Local Groups and Users under the Admin Tools menu (either in the top menubar or on the homepage on the left-side menu).

  2. Against the local group the Buyer is registered to, click on the blue numbered button under the BUYERS column to view the buyers in that local group.

  3. Click on the three vertical dots to the right of the desired Buyer and select Manage Request approval thresholds (custom) in the pop-up.

  4. Set the approval threshold for each RFx Value for the specific buyer (same as step 4 in Local Group activation).

  5. Check the box against ENABLE these thresholds for this user? and then click on Save.

Results / Validation

  • Buyers in the Local Group (or the specific Buyer) that you applied Pre-Market Approvals to will be required to have their Request approved prior to the RFx being made available to Suppliers, if the selected RFx value requires approval.

  • The set manager of the Buyer will be sent a notification alerting them of the request requiring approval.

What's Next / Related

  • The Administrators/Managers who approve a request have the following options:

    • Approve the Request.

    • Approve the Request but require re-approval if subsequently edited.

    • Decline the Request (and provide a reason in a free-text field, which is relayed to the Buyer).

  • Review how Admins/Managers can review and approve/decline requests: Approving/Declining Requests.

  • Find instructions on how to view and update a Buyer's set manager: Updating a Buyer's set Manager.

  • You can also add approval triggers to set a minimum number of suppliers to be invited to a request, based on the expected dollar value: Setting Minimum Supplier Requirement by RFx Value Threshold.

Troubleshooting

  • Request is Declined: If a Request is declined, the Administrator must provide a reason in a free-text entry field. This is then relayed to the Buyer, who must address the issue and resubmit the Request.

  • Manager is Unavailable: If the Buyer's set manager is unavailable to approve a request, another admin may be able to impersonate their account to approve the request.

    • The Super Admin user can impersonate all users.

    • Local Group Administrators may be able to impersonate each other's accounts or impersonate a Local Group Manager if the Local Group Administrator is managing the local group.

Limits & Notes

  • Pre-Market Approvals are activated on a per-Local Group basis; they do not apply to all Requests in the enterprise automatically.