Work objects and supplier release

Work objects are used to process all master data operations and their release in the vendor master record.

In addition to the actual vendor data that is entered when vendor master records are created and updated, work objects also contain supplementary metadata that describes the data operation in more detail. This includes information on the creation of the work object, the origin of the work object, its scope (organization or organizational unit), and so on.

If a release is required for processing the data contained in a work object due to a vendor release workflow, these work objects are only processed after final release and the data contained is written to the vendor master record.

Origin of work objects

Work objects are generated from different sources depending on whether the work involved creating a new vendor or updating an existing vendor.

Sources of work objects when creating new suppliers

Supplier import via Excel
Vendor import via SAP IDoc
Supplier import via Onventis proprietary XML
Registration link
Supplier network search
Manual creation via supplier management
Attachment via invitation from an invitation to tender
Attachment via invitation from an invitation to tender via supplier network search
Annex on invitation from a self-disclosure
Attachment via invitation from an auction
Annex on data exchange
Link supplier

Sources of work objects when updating existing suppliers

Updating by the supplier via the Supplier Portal
Supplier import via Excel
Import of bank details via Excel
Import of contact persons via Excel
Import of addresses via Excel
Vendor import via SAP IDoc
Supplier import via Onventis proprietary XML
Manual update via supplier management
Update via data exchange

Release of work objects via supplier release workflows

With the introduction of work objects, the creation and updating of suppliers is not written directly and unchecked to the master data object of the supplier, but instead is first processed using the work objects.

During vendor release, these work objects, which contain information on all data to be created or changed, are released or rejected. This is done before the data is actually transferred to the vendor’s master data object. If a work object is rejected, the master data of the vendor remains unchanged.

If a supplier release workflow is set up and the organizational setting Suppliers must be released is activated, work objects are processed according to the configured release workflows:

For workobjects for the creation of new suppliers, release workflows of the type supplier release (creation) are used according to the defined registration type.
For work objects for updating existing vendors, release workflows of the type Vendor release (update) are used according to the defined scope (organization or organizational unit).

Queues within work objects

If several changes have been made to a vendor in succession, an independent work object is created for each change.

Work objects are entered in queues and processed sequentially, whereby the oldest work object in a queue is always processed first. Independent queues exist for each area of application (organization or one or more organizational units).

When a new vendor is created, release workflows for organizational unit-specific specifications are not started until the basic creation of the vendor has been released at organizational level.

In addition, a supplier is also only granted access to the system when the release for the supplier’s creation has been issued and the corresponding work object has been processed. This also applies to the automatic sending of access data to the supplier by e-mail, provided this is activated in the registration settings.

Overview and history of work objects

Work object list

Work objects for a vendor can be called up and displayed centrally in the vendor master record. The work object list can be opened in the vendor master record in the toolbar by clicking the Work object list button.

The overview table lists all the work objects that have already been processed and all those that are still outstanding for the relevant vendor master record, with the most recent work object at the top. At first glance, the table shows important information from the metadata of the work objects, such as their scope, status or origin.

Work object details

From the central work object list, you can call up the detail page for each work object, which displays the contents listed below.

General information

Supplier
Vendor assigned to the workobject

Creation date
Time at which the work object was created

Scope
Organization or organizational unit belonging to the work object

Origin
Source from which the workobject was created (e.g. import or manual adjustment)

Initiated by (role)
Role that triggered the creation of the work object (purchaser or vendor)

User
User who triggered the creation of the work object

Art
Type of work object (creation or update of a vendor)

Status
Processing status of the work object

Status date
Time at which the aforementioned status was achieved

Processing log

The processing log lists exceptions that may have occurred during processing.

Notes

Comments entered during approval or rejection of work items by approvers.

Supplier release workflow

The workflow determined for the release of the work object, including the individual release steps and their processing status.

Modified attributes

An overview of all attributes that have been changed by the attribute, including the old and the new value

Release of vendor master data

Supplier approval workflows are configured independently for the creation of new suppliers on the one hand and for updating existing suppliers on the other. The release status determined by the release workflow does not reflect the usability of the vendor in other business processes, but only whether the creation of the vendor or update of the data was released or rejected. Whether a supplier may be used for certain functionalities within the Onventis Buyer solution depends on the supplier status assigned to the supplier.

The organizational setting General > Settings > “Suppliers must be released” controls whether configured supplier release workflows (for creation and updating) are always applied and must be activated so that subsequent release processes in the system take effect and the required steps are calculated.

Supplier approval (creation) → Registration in Onventis Buyer; initial, central creation of the supplier via the respective registration types (input channels)
Vendor release (update) → Master data updates at the level of the central vendor master record or at the level of organizational unit-specific specifications

Vendor release (creation)

Vendor release workflows for releasing the creation of vendors are executed depending on the registration type used to create a vendor in the system.

The registration category used to create a vendor in the system is only checked when a new vendor is created.

When updating an existing supplier, the registration type has no relevance. For this purpose, the source of the vendor update can be selected as a criterion for each step.

Release of the supplier creation

If the supplier creation is released, the supplier is created in the supplier management, receives a supplier organization and is available for further use in Onventis.

Rejection of supplier creation

If the vendor creation is rejected, the corresponding vendor data is deleted again. No vendor organization is created and the vendor is generally not available for use in Onventis.

Grouping registration types

For a simplified system configuration, in the area of the basic data of a supplier release (creation) workflow, these can now be grouped according to registration types and thus release strategies can be mapped in which the release workflows for the creation of suppliers are the same for certain registration types.

Alternatively, a Vendor Approval workflow can be created for All Enrollment Types so that the review criteria configured in the workflow are reviewed regardless of the enrollment type.

Approval step

In the Approval step area, you can define who is to receive the approval request.

You have the following configuration options in the approval step:

Step: You can use the drop-down menu to specify the order in which the approval steps are checked. The approval steps should be structured in the same order as a vendor release runs through the approval logic. steps can also be carried out in parallel. For this, the “Parallel” option must be activated.Example of a sequential sequence:
Step 1: Status of the supplier
Step 2: Material group electronics
etc.
Type: Two types of approval steps are available from the drop-down menu:
- Release: If the approval step is defined as type release, the supplier must be released manually & actively.
- Information: If the approval step is defined as type Information, the approver is informed by e-mail about the newly created supplier.
Approver (User): By using this option and selecting the user, you can define which user has to approve the supplier.
Approver (user group): By using this option and selecting the user groups, a user group can be set as approver.
With this option, all users in the user group are informed by e-mail. As soon as one of the users from the user group edits the supplier release, the remaining users can no longer edit it.
- Approver selection: If the approver selection is activated, the user can specifically select the desired approver of the user group via drop-down menu.
  Thus, the approval can be addressed to a specific group member.
Responsible user: The responsible user stored in the supplier is the approver of the step.
Responsible user group: The responsible user group defined in the vendor is the approver of the step. With this option, all users in the user group are informed by e-mail. As soon as one of the users from the user group edits the supplier release, the remaining users can no longer edit it.
Substitute (User) – after X minutes / hours / days: Possibility to select a user from the dropdown menu who will get the supplier release forwarded for approval after the selected time period (in minutes/hours/days).
Forwarding takes place automatically if the first user does not process the supplier release.
The selection of days takes into account the workday configuration of your organization.
Representative (user group): – after X minutes / hours / days: Possibility to select a user group from the dropdown menu, which will receive the supplier release after the selected period (in minutes/hours/days), for approval.
Forwarding takes place automatically if the first user does not process the supplier release.
The selection of days takes into account the workday configuration of your organization.
Substitute from the user administration: – after X minutes / hours / days: here, the substitute of the user who is stored in the user administration with the approver is always determined automatically. The permit is forwarded to the representative for approval after the selected time period (in minutes/hours/days).

If a release request is forwarded to another approver and the new approver has a permanent substitute who is valid for approvals, the substitute automatically receives a release request by e-mail after the time defined in the workflow step.

Example 1:
For the material group “Office supplies”, the approver is a user from the user group “Purchasing”, for example, Max Mustermann.
Max Mustermann has entered Heike Mustermann as a substitute for his vacation period.
The supplier approval must be carried out by Heike Mustermann in the selected period.

It is always advisable to set up a substitute, since an approver may be absent due to vacation or illness and the vendor release is waiting for approval in his or her release list and is not processed.

Release criteria

In future, the following check criteria will be available for the release of newly created suppliers, which can be linked collectively via the chaining setting – via AND (all configured criteria must be fulfilled for the step to take effect) or OR (one of the configured criteria must be fulfilled for the step to take effect) linking:

Data validation

Duplicate Suspects

Explicit criteria

Intercompany supplier
Standard supplier
Checked for compliance
Status (multiple selection)
Vendor categories (multiple selection)
Material groups approved (multiple selection)
Material groups rejected (multiple selection)
Organizational unit (multiple selection)*

* These are organizational units that can be optionally selected by a supplier as part of the supplier’s self-registration or that have been explicitly maintained by the customer for release processes. These organizational units explicitly have nothing to do with the actual extended organizational units.

Vendor release (update)

Release workflow for supplier updates

The new release workflows for updating a vendor master record are configured in the Configuration area > Workflows > Vendor Release (Update).

Release workflows for changes to the vendor master record can be created and individually configured for the validity level organization or organizational unit.

If you select the validity area Organizational unit, you can select all or several organizational units that are to share the configuration of the workflow. This means that the total number of workflows can be kept low and the maintenance of the workflows can be simplified.

Approval step

In the Approval step area, you can define who is to receive the approval request.

You have the following configuration options in the approval step:

Step: You can use the drop-down menu to specify the order in which the approval steps are checked. The approval steps should be structured in the same order as a vendor release runs through the approval logic. steps can also be carried out in parallel. For this, the “Parallel” option must be activated.Example of a sequential sequence:
Step 1: Status of the supplier
Step 2: Material group electronics
etc.
Type: Two types of approval steps are available from the drop-down menu:
- Release: If the approval step is defined as type release, the supplier must be released manually & actively.
- Information: If the approval step is defined as type Information, the approver is informed by e-mail about the newly created supplier.
Approver (User): By using this option and selecting the user, you can define which user has to approve the supplier.
Approver (user group): By using this option and selecting the user groups, a user group can be set as approver.
With this option, all users in the user group are informed by e-mail. As soon as one of the users from the user group edits the supplier release, the remaining users can no longer edit it.
- Approver selection: If the approver selection is activated, the user can specifically select the desired approver of the user group via drop-down menu.
  Thus, the approval can be addressed to a specific group member.
Responsible user: The responsible user stored in the supplier is the approver of the step.
Responsible user group: The responsible user group defined in the vendor is the approver of the step. With this option, all users in the user group are informed by e-mail. As soon as one of the users from the user group edits the supplier release, the remaining users can no longer edit it.
Substitute (User) – after X minutes / hours / days: Possibility to select a user from the dropdown menu who will get the supplier release forwarded for approval after the selected time period (in minutes/hours/days).
Forwarding takes place automatically if the first user does not process the supplier release.
The selection of days takes into account the workday configuration of your organization.
Representative (user group): – after X minutes / hours / days: Possibility to select a user group from the dropdown menu, which will receive the supplier release after the selected period (in minutes/hours/days), for approval.
Forwarding takes place automatically if the first user does not process the supplier release.
The selection of days takes into account the workday configuration of your organization.
Substitute from the user administration: – after X minutes / hours / days: here, the substitute of the user who is stored in the user administration with the approver is always determined automatically. The permit is forwarded to the representative for approval after the selected time period (in minutes/hours/days).

Release criteria for the validity area “Organization

The following check criteria are available for releasing updates to existing suppliers in the area of validity, which can be linked collectively via the concatenation setting – by AND (all configured criteria must be fulfilled for the step to take effect) or OR (one of the configured criteria must be fulfilled for the step to take effect) linking:

Update sources

Source of supplier update, “All” or “Selected sources”:

Updating by the supplier
Update via BcJob
Updating via data exchange
Manual update via supplier management

Data validation

Duplicate Suspects
D-U-N-S Validation negative (only for customers with Bisnode small package)
VAT no. Validation negative (only possible for updates from the Supplier Portal)

Data update

Supplier numbers
Supplier
Company address
P.O. Box address
Communication
Classification
Tax identification numbers
Other
Bank details
Conditions
Settings
Order transmission
SAP Assignment

Directories

Address updates
Updating bank details
Contact person updates

Explicit criteria

Access blocked for suppliers
Intercompany supplier
Standard supplier
Checked for compliance
Status (multiple selection)
Vendor categories (multiple selection)
Material groups approved (multiple selection)
Material groups rejected (multiple selection)

Release criteria for the validity area “Organizational unit

The following check criteria are available for releasing updates to existing suppliers in the area of validity, which can be linked collectively via the concatenation setting – by AND (all configured criteria must be fulfilled for the step to take effect) or OR (one of the configured criteria must be fulfilled for the step to take effect) linking:

Update sources

Source of supplier update, “All” or “Selected sources”:

Updating by the supplier
Update via BcJob
Updating via data exchange
Manual update via supplier management

Data validation

VAT no. Validation negative (only possible for updates from the Supplier Portal)

Data update

Supplier numbers
Communication
Classification
Conditions
Settings
Order transmission

Directories

Address assignment changed
Bank details assignment changed
Contact person assignment changed

Explicit criteria

Status (multiple selection)
Vendor categories (multiple selection)
Material groups approved (multiple selection)
Material groups rejected (multiple selection)

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