Supplier Qualification Redesign

Qualification Management Redesign – Overview

The redesigned Qualification Management introduces a process‑centric model that replaces rulebooks, templates, and separate manual processes.

Instead of configuring disconnected elements, users now create Qualification Processes that define:

• How are qualification requests triggered? (Manual / Auto-triggered)

• Which suppliers are included? (Manually adding in the process / Triggered by supplier status)

• What information suppliers must provide? (Master Data Update / Document Acceptance / Questionnaire)

• How are questionnaire results assessed? (Auto-assessed based on thresholds)

Key Concepts

Qualification Process

A Qualification Process defines the internal configuration for qualifying suppliers. It includes defining:

• General Information (Basic information, Organizational scope, Response times and reminders)

• Assessment Scope (What information suppliers must provide? Master Data/ Document Acceptance/ Questionnaires)

• Trigger Rule (for auto‑triggered processes- How qualification requests are triggered)

• Assessment rules (How questionnaire results are assessed)

A process acts as a reusable framework that generates qualification requests.

Qualification Request

A Qualification Request is an individual request sent to a supplier based on a qualification process. It represents the execution of the process for a specific supplier.

Each request tracks:

• Supplier responses

• Assessment results

• Status and history

Assessment Scope

This section explains which disciplines are supported by qualification management. A Qualification Process Scope can include one or more disciplines. Each discipline defines which information or actions are required from the supplier as part of the qualification request.

Refer to the section: Creating a qualification process for detailed information on how to configure the different disciplines.

1. Master Data Update

Description
The Master Data Update discipline requires the supplier to review and, if necessary, update their master data information as part of the qualification request.

This ensures that supplier information is up to date during the qualification process.

Information Requested

• Master Data Update:

  • Company Data (Company Name, Registered Number, D-U-N-S Number etc.)

  • Address Data (Main and other address details)

  • Bank Data (Main and other bank details)

  • Contact Person Assignment (Supplier can assign a specific user as contact person to your organization)

• Optionally require specific master data fields as mandatory, such as:

  • DUNS Number

  • VAT ID

Assessment Logic
The ‘Master Data’ discipline is auto assessed. If the supplier provides all the mandatory information, the assessment status is ‘Succeeded’. The user cannot manually change the assessment status.

2. Document Acceptance

Description
The Document Acceptance discipline allows you to request one or more published document sets to be accepted by the supplier as part of the qualification.

This is typically used for compliance documents, certifications, or contractual acknowledgments.

Information Requested

• Acceptance of Document

• Comment if not accepted

Assessment Logic
The ‘Document Acceptance' discipline is auto assessed. If the supplier accepts the document, the assessment status is ‘Succeeded’. The user cannot manually change the assessment status.

3. Questionnaires

Description
The Questionnaires discipline allows you to request one or more published questionnaires from the supplier. Questionnaires may include scoring and weighting and can be assessed automatically or manually.

Information Requested

• Response to questionnaires: single or multiple

Additional Details:

• Questionnaires can be assigned to specific material groups.

Assessment Logic

• If auto-assessment is not enabled, the questionnaire needs to be manually assessed

• If auto-assessment is enabled and scoring is enabled for questionnaire, based on the score achieved by the supplier:

  • Red zone → Auto-failed

  • Amber zone→ Needs to be manually assessed

  • Green zone→ Auto-succeeded

• If auto-assessed, the user cannot manually change the assessment status of the questionnaire.

Assessment Logic for Qualification Requests

Which disciplines influence the state of qualification request?

Note: The result of the Questionnaire (Material group specific) does not affect the overall qualification status of the supplier. It affects the assignment of supplier to the related material group.

If the Questionnaire (Material group specific) is Succeeded → Material Group is Approved

If the Questionnaire (Material group specific) is Failed → Material Group is Rejected

How is assessment state of qualification request calculated?

A qualification request is ‘Succeeded’ only if all the disciplines in that request are succeeded.

Qualification Request to Qualification Status Mapping

Qualification Request States

The different states of qualification request along with its description is as follows:

• Invitation Queued: The request has been published and is queued to be sent to the supplier.

• Sent: The invitation has been sent, and the supplier can access the request.

• In Progress: The supplier has started working on the request but has not yet submitted it.

• In Assessment: The supplier has submitted the request, and it is under evaluation.

• Succeeded: The qualification request has been successfully completed and approved.

• Failed: The qualification request has been assessed as unsuccessful.

• Canceled: The request was manually aborted or automatically canceled.

• Expired: The response deadline has passed without full submission.

The state of the Qualification Request also determines whether the supplier can be added to another Qualification Process.

Note: For each supplier and a specific organizational scope, only one Qualification Request can be active at a time

Qualification Status

The qualification status for a supplier is displayed in the supplier master data under the tab Basic Information. The Qualification Status is also displayed for each Organizational Unit to which the supplier is extended.

The Qualification Status is auto calculated based on the status of the qualification request sent to the supplier. If multiple requests were sent to the suppliers, the status of the latest request influences the qualification status.

The different qualification statuses are:

• Not Yet Qualified: The supplier has not been invited to any qualification process for the defined organizational scope.

• Ongoing: At least one active qualification request is currently in progress for the supplier.

• Failed: The latest completed qualification request resulted in an unsuccessful assessment.

• Successful: The latest completed qualification request was successfully assessed and approved.

Mapping

The table below shows how the latest qualification request influences the qualification status at supplier master data.

Entry Points to Qualification Management

Qualification Management now consists of two tabs: Qualification Processes & All Requests

Qualification Processes Tab

The Qualification Processes tab displays a table with all processes. It also allows creation and maintenance of manual and auto‑triggered processes.

Table Columns

• Process Number

• Title

• Status (Being entered, Published, Ended)

• Type (Manual or Auto‑triggered)

• Organizational Scope

• Responded / Invited

• Creation Date

• Last Updated

All Qualification Requests Tab

The All Requests tab provides a consolidated view of all qualification requests across all processes. It includes requests from both manual and auto‑triggered processes.

Available Columns

• Request Number

• Supplier Number

• Supplier Name

• Process Title

• Process Type

• Request State

• Invitation Date

• Days Left

• Master Data

• Document Acceptance

• Questionnaires (Scope)

• Questionnaires (Material Group)

Manual vs Auto-triggered Qualification Process

The redesigned Qualification Management introduces two types of qualification processes that users can configure to support different business scenarios:

Manual Process (Existing)

A Qualification Process in which suppliers are explicitly selected for qualification.

• Suppliers are added manually during or after publishing the qualification process

• Qualification requests are created when the process is published

• Additional suppliers can be added later to an already published process

This option is ideal for targeted or ad-hoc qualification campaigns.

Auto-Triggered Process

A Qualification Process in which qualification requests are created based on supplier status changes.

• A supplier status is defined as the trigger while configuring the process

• When a supplier is assigned this status, a qualification request is generated automatically

This option is suitable for automated onboarding, re-qualification, or compliance-driven qualification scenarios.

Both types of processes can be configured for Organization/Organization Unit scope.

Creating a Qualification Process

Click Create in the Qualification Processes tab to create a new process.

You can choose between:

• Manual Process

• Auto‑Triggered Process

Steps for creating qualification process:

• Step 1 – General Information

This step applies to both manual and auto‑triggered processes. The sections in this step include:

• Basic Information

  • Language (mandatory)

  • Title (mandatory)

  • Description

  • Welcome Text (mandatory)

Multiple language versions can be maintained.

• Organization Scope

  • Select Organization or Organizational Unit (mandatory)

  • If Organizational Unit is selected, only one unit can be chosen

  • Assign a responsible user or user group for notifications

• Response Time and Reminders

  • Define response time in days (mandatory)

  • Configure one or more reminder intervals

When moving to the next step, the process is saved with status Being entered.

• Step 2 – Assessment Scope

Define which disciplines are included or what information the supplier needs to provide.

At least one discipline must be enabled. The different disciplines are:

• Master Data Update

  • Enable to request supplier master data review

  • Optionally require DUNS number and VAT ID

• Document Acceptance

  • Select one or more published document sets

  • Multiple selections are allowed

• Questionnaires

  • Select one or more published questionnaires

  • Questionnaires are displayed in a table showing assigned material groups

  • Material Group Assignment for Questionnaire

    • Each questionnaire can be assigned material groups

    • A material group can only be assigned to one questionnaire within the same process

    • At least one questionnaire must remain without material group assignment

  • Optional setting to ‘Send material group–specific questionnaires only if material group is assigned to supplier’

• Step 3 – Trigger Rule (Only for Auto‑Triggered Processes)

This step is available only for auto‑triggered processes.

Trigger Configuration: Select one supplier status as trigger rule. When the selected supplier status is assigned to a supplier, a qualification request is created automatically.

Conditions:

• If the supplier status is already selected for another auto-triggered process which is in ‘Published’ state and has the same ‘Organizational Scope’ it cannot be used again.

• To use the same supplier status as trigger rule for a different process:

  • End the previous process

  • Change the ‘Organizational Scope’

• Allowed Configuration:

  • Auto-triggered Process 000001: Trigger Rule: Supplier Status ‘New’ - Organizational Scope: Germany

  • ✅ Same Status as Trigger Rule but different Organizational Scope

    • Auto-triggered Process 000002: Trigger Rule: Supplier Status ‘New’ - Organizational Scope: France

  • ✅ Different Status as Trigger Rule but same Organizational Scope

    • Auto-triggered Process 000003: Trigger Rule: Supplier Status ‘High Risk’ - Organizational Scope: Germany

• Assessment Rules

This step is:

• Step 3 for manual processes

• Step 4 for auto‑triggered processes

Configuration:

• Enable or disable auto assessment

• Define threshold ranges for:

  • Red (auto-failed)

  • Amber (optional)

  • Green (auto-succeeded)

Default thresholds for Red and Green Zone:

• 50% and 80%

If a questionnaire result falls into the amber zone, manual assessment is required.

Assessment rules apply only to requests generated by this process.

• Step 4 – Suppliers (Only for Manual Processes)

In manual processes, suppliers are added explicitly while creating the process or after publishing.

To Add Suppliers

• Click on the ‘Add Suppliers’ button

• Search and filter suppliers

• Filter by supplier status and material group

• Select one or more suppliers to add

To Remove Suppliers

• Click on the ‘Remove Suppliers’ button

• All added suppliers are displayed

• Select the suppliers to be removed and confirm

Rules

• Suppliers cannot be added if another request for the same organizational scope is already ongoing

• One ongoing request per supplier per organizational scope

• Step 5 – Summary and Publish

Summary Page

Review all configured settings, including:

• Enabled disciplines

• Selected documents and questionnaires

• Assessment rules

• Trigger rule (auto‑triggered)

• Invited suppliers (manual)

Publish

• A process can only be published if mandatory information is complete

• On clicking on publish:

  • Process status changes to Published

  • Once Published, the configuration of the Qualification Process cannot be changed

  • Qualification requests are created for all the added suppliers for manual process

  • Qualification requests are created if the selected trigger rule is assigned as supplier status to a particular supplier

Qualification Process Detail View

Open any Qualification Process in any status by clicking its Process Number in the table. The detail view displayed depends on the current status of the Qualification Process

• Being entered: The user navigates to Step 1: General Information in the Process Configuration.

• Published: The user sees all qualification requests for this process displayed in a table view. Additional actions include View Process, Export, Add Further Suppliers (Manual Process), and End Process.

• Ended: The user sees all qualification requests for this process displayed in a table view. Additional actions include View Process and Export.

Actions on Qualification Process

Open the Process Detail view to access available actions. Select Actions menu in the top-right corner. If a primary action is available, it appears directly.

Different actions available are as follows:

1. View Process

Description
Displays the configuration details of the Qualification Process in read-only mode. This allows you to review the scope, assessment rules, and related configuration.

Availability
Available when the Qualification Process is in:

• Published

• Ended

(For processes in Being Entered status, the configuration opens in editable mode)

How to Perform the Action

1. Open the Qualification Process from the list.

2. Click View Process in the Actions menu.

3. The process opens in read-only mode.

4. Navigate through the stepper to review configuration details.

No changes can be made in this mode.

2. Delete process:

Description
Deletes the Qualification Process from the list. This permanently removes the process and cannot be undone.

Availability
Available only when the Qualification Process is in the Being Entered status.

How to Perform the Action

1. Open the Qualification Process you want to delete.

2. Click Delete Process (appears as a Primary Action).

3. A confirmation dialog is displayed.

4. Select Confirm to delete the process.

3. Add Further Suppliers

Description
Allows you to add additional suppliers to an already published Manual Qualification Process. A new qualification request will be created for each newly added supplier.

Availability
Available only when:

• The Qualification Process type is Manual

• The process status is Published

How to Perform the Action

1. Open the published Manual Qualification Process.

2. Click Add Suppliers (Primary Action).

3. The supplier selection dialog opens.

4. Search and select the suppliers you want to add.

5. Click Add to confirm.

A qualification request is automatically created for each added supplier.

4. End Process

Description
Ends the Qualification Process and prevents any further qualification requests from being created. All open qualification requests belonging to the process are set to state Canceled.

Availability
Available only when:

• The Qualification Process status is Published

How to Perform the Action

1. Open the published Qualification Process.

2. Click End Process in the Actions menu.

3. A confirmation dialog is displayed.

4. Enter the required comment (mandatory).

5. Select Confirm to end the process.

The process status changes to Ended, and all open requests are canceled.

5. Export Process

Description
Exports all Qualification Requests belonging to the selected process as an Excel file. The export includes request overview, questionnaire overview, and detailed responses.

Availability
Available only when:

• The Qualification Process status is Published or Ended

• At least one Qualification Request exists for the process

How to Perform the Action

1. Open the Qualification Process.

2. Click Export in the Actions menu.

3. The system generates and downloads the Excel file.

If filters are applied to the request list, only the filtered requests are included in the export.

Qualification Requests – Detail View

A Qualification Request can be accessed from the following locations:

• All Requests tab – Displays all requests from all Qualification Processes.

• Process Detail view – Displays only the requests associated with the selected process.

• Qualification tab in Supplier Master Data – Displays all requests related to the selected supplier.

The Request Details view provides a complete overview of a specific Qualification Request. It consolidates key information, discipline‑specific data, uploaded documents, and the full activity history. This helps users monitor progress, verify supplier input, and take required actions.

The Request Details page is structured into the following areas:

Request Overview

The Request Overview section displays high‑level information about the Qualification Request, including:

• Request Number

• Supplier Name and E-Mail

• Organizational Scope for the Request

• Qualification Request State

• Days Remaining until expiry (if applicable)

This section provides a quick summary of the request’s context and current status.

Discipline‑Specific Tabs

These tabs offer detailed information for each part of the qualification workflow. Each tab shows its current completion status and the data provided by the supplier.

• Master Data: Displays the current status of the Master Data section and all supplier‑provided information relevant to this part of the qualification.

• Document Acceptance: Shows the list of Documents requested for acceptance from the supplier and their acceptance state.

• Questionnaires (Organizational Scope): Includes

  • A list of generic questionnaires applicable to the scope

  • The current status of this questionnaire section

  • The assessment status and score for each questionnaire

This tab helps users quickly assess questionnaire progress and results at the scope level.

• Questionnaires (Material Group): Includes

  • The current status of this section

  • A list of questionnaires tied to specific Material Groups

  • The status and score of each

To view detailed responses, click on any questionnaire in the list.

Uploaded Files

Provides a consolidated list of all files submitted as part of this Qualification Request in a table view. The available columns are

• File Title

• Category

• Questionnaire

• Questionnaire Assessment State

• Valid Until

• File Validity

• Icon to Download File

History Log

The History Log captures all key events related to the Qualification Request. Each entry includes:

• Timestamp

• Event

• Details (Score of questionnaire etc.)

• Username

• Comments

The list of events captured are:

• Request creation

• Request expiration

• Request aborted

• Request restarted

• Request succeeded

• Request failed

• Master Data Update assessed

• Document Acceptance assessed

• Questionnaire assessed

The events are displayed in a table for clear chronological tracking.

Actions on Qualification Requests

Actions on a qualification request are available from the Qualification Request Detail View. To perform the actions, open the Request Detail view to access available actions, select Actions menu in the top-right corner. The availability of each action depends on the current request state and system rules.

1. Restart Request

Description
Restarts the Qualification Request and sends it again to the supplier. Previously submitted responses for questionnaire are retained and prefilled for the supplier.

Availability
Restart is available only when:

• The request is in one of the following states:

  • Sent

  • In Assessment

  • Succeeded

  • Failed

  • Canceled

  • Expired

AND

• No other Qualification Request exists for the same supplier for the same organizational scope (Organization or Organizational Unit) in an ongoing state.

• Ongoing Request States are: New, Invitation Queued, Sent, In Progress, In Assessment

How to Perform the Action

1. Open the Qualification Request.

2. Click Restart Request in the Actions menu.

3. Confirm the action in the dialog with mandatory comment.

4. The request is reactivated and resent to the supplier.

The supplier receives a new invitation, and previously entered responses for questionnaire remain available.

2. Abort Request

Description
Cancels the Qualification Request and stops the qualification process for the supplier. The request status changes to Canceled. An E-mail is sent to inform the supplier.

Availability
Abort is available only when the request is in one of the following states:

• Invitation Queued

• Sent

• In Progress

Abort is not available once the request is:

• In Assessment

• Succeeded

• Failed

• Canceled

• Expired

How to Perform the Action

1. Open the Qualification Request.

2. Click Abort Request in the Actions menu.

3. Confirm the action in the dialog with mandatory comment.

4. The request status is updated to Canceled.

Canceled requests remain visible for audit and reporting purposes.

3. Confirm Failed Qualification

Description
Finalizes a failed qualification result. This action is used when one or more disciplines have failed and the request is in assessment for Manual Process.

Availability
Available only when:

• The Qualification Request is in status In Assessment

• The Qualification Request is part of Qualification Process of type Manual

• At least one discipline has failed (automatically or manually)

How to Perform the Action

1. Open the Qualification Request.

2. Review the failed discipline(s).

3. Click Confirm Failed Qualification in the Actions menu.

4. Confirm the action in the dialog with mandatory comment.

5. Confirm the action.

The request status changes to Failed, and supplier status mapping is triggered if configured.

4. Succeed / Fail Questionnaire (Manual Assessment)

Description
Allows the user to manually assess a questionnaire when automatic assessment is not sufficient.

Manual assessment is required when:

• The questionnaire has no scoring

• Auto-assessment is disabled

• The questionnaire result falls into the Amber threshold

A mandatory comment must be provided for the decision.

Availability
Available when:

• The request is in In Assessment status

• The questionnaire requires manual evaluation

How to Perform the Action

1. Open the Qualification Request.

2. Navigate to the Questionnaires section.

3. Open the specific questionnaire

4. Review the questionnaire response

5. Select Mark as Succeeded or Mark as Rejected.

6. Enter a mandatory comment.

7. Save your decision.

The assessment decision is logged in the History Log.

5. Summary

Supplier Status Mapping

The Status Mapping feature allows you to define how Qualification Status values correspond to Supplier Status values within the system. This ensures that supplier status updates are consistent and aligned with your qualification outcomes and approval processes.

Qualification Status and Supplier Status

Each supplier’s overall qualification status is determined by the most recent Qualification Request assigned to that supplier.
The available qualification status values are:

• Not Yet Qualified

• Ongoing

• Failed

• Successful

For every organizational scope, you can maintain a separate mapping between Qualification Status and Supplier Status.

Configuration

Follow these steps to set up the Qualification Status → Supplier Status mapping:

1. Navigate to Supplier Management → Qualification → Status Mapping.

2. Click New

3. Enter a Title for the mapping (mandatory)

4. Select the Organizational Scope (mandatory)

5. Create one to one mapping

   1. Select one Qualification Status from dropdown

   2. Select one Supplier Status from dropdown

   3. Click + to add the mapping row

6. Add further mapping if needed

Approval workflow

When a supplier’s Qualification Status changes, the system automatically updates the Supplier Status according to the mapping you have defined.

If an approval workflow is configured for Supplier Status changes:

• The workflow is automatically triggered.

• The designated approver reviews and decides whether to accept or reject the status change resulting from the qualification update.

This ensures that all automated updates follow the same approval rules as manual supplier status changes, providing consistent authorization, traceability, and auditability.

Access Rights

Access rights have been consolidated to simplify administration.

• 556: Access to Qualification Management Menu

• 563: View Qualification Processes (Organizational Unit Scope)

• 3563: Edit Qualification Processes (Organizational Unit Scope)

• 564: View Qualification Processes (Organizational Scope)

• 3564: Edit Qualification Processes (Organizational Scope)

 Deprecated access rights are migrated automatically with the new setup.

Where Can I Find My Previous Configuration of Rulebook, Template, and Standalone Requests?

No historical data and configuration has been removed.

The redesign is done considering that existing configuration in ‘Rulebook’ and ‘Template’ will still create new Qualification Requests and all existing and ongoing Qualification Requests will continue to function.

1. Rulebook & Template Settings

All former Rulebook and Template configurations have been migrated into the new Qualification Processes structure.

The configuration logic is now migrated as part of a new Auto-Triggered Qualification Process, which is highlighted in the list of Qualification Process.

The configuration of this migrated process can be viewed by clicking on the Action: View Process in the process detail view.

You can find the migrated process in Qualification Management → Qualification Processes

2. Previous Standalone Qualification Requests

All standalone qualification requests (part of ’Qualification Requests' tile) can be found in

• Detail view of the new migrated auto-triggered process

• All Requests tab