Vendor Onboarding Without the Paper Chase: 4 Steps That Keep It Moving

It is Monday morning, and the site team needs a new supplier by Friday. Someone emails a registration form as a PDF. By Wednesday three replies are in: one is missing a certificate, one has the wrong company number, and nobody is sure who is meant to check what. 

If that sounds familiar, your vendor onboarding probably runs on email threads and attachments. Here are four steps that keep vendor onboarding on one trail. For each one: what it looks like, why it costs you, and how WeManage Procurement handles it, step by step.

1. Start vendor onboarding with one invitation link

What it looks like. Every new vendor gets a slightly different email, a different form and a different list of documents to send back. 

Why it costs you. Details arrive in different shapes, so the first week goes to chasing and retyping instead of deciding whether the vendor is a fit. 

How WeManage handles it: 

1. On your Home page, copy the Vendor Registration Invitation Link and send it to the vendor. 
2. A vendor who is new to WeManage signs up through the link, activates the account from the email and completes the Company Profile. 
3. A vendor who already has a WeManage account logs in and links its account to your company. It then completes and submits its Company Profile for you to review (see point 3). 
4. To find an existing vendor yourself, open Vendor Profile and the Vendor Directory tab. It lists vendors that are registered or approved with at least one buyer and are not yet linked to your company. Filter by category, then click Send Invitation Link. 

Only vendors linked to your company can be invited to quotations and tenders, so this step comes first. 

2. Let vendors fill in their own profile and documents 

What it looks like. Company details are copied from emailed PDFs into a spreadsheet, and certificates sit in whichever inbox received them. 

Why it costs you. Typing errors creep in, documents go missing, and every gap means another email. 

How WeManage handles it: 

1. The vendor logs in and opens the Company Profile. It has six tabs: Background, Corporate Structure, Financial Information, Resources, Track Records and References, and Document Upload. 
2. In Background, the vendor picks its categories and sub-categories from the list you have set up. 
3. The vendor can upload supporting documents. The company registration type the vendor selects decides which document types apply. 
4. When the profile is complete, the vendor clicks Submit. Its status with you becomes Registered, the vendor receives a confirmation email, and you are notified to review the profile. 

3. Review and approve every vendor on one record 

What it looks like. A profile is forwarded to two colleagues for comment. One replies by chat, one by email, and the final yes is spoken. 

Why it costs you. Nobody can show later who checked a vendor, or why it was accepted. 

How WeManage handles it: 

1. Open Vendor and click the vendor’s Registration No. to see its profile. Only vendors with the status Registered can be validated. 
2. Read through the tabs. Corporate Structure also shows other associated vendors that share the same shareholders or directors, with their registration and blacklisted status. 
3. Where pre-qualification is switched on (it is off by default, under Application Setting), the evaluation lead and committee members are notified by email. Each fills in a score sheet, and the system calculates the average score. 
4. If something is missing, choose Rework. The vendor receives an email asking it to update the profile and resubmit. 
5. The vendor profile approver then chooses Approve or Reject. Approved vendors get the status Approved. A rejected vendor cannot take part in tenders or quotations and cannot be re-invited, so choose Rework if you may want the vendor later. 

4. Keep a fast route for urgent purchases 

What it looks like. An urgent purchase cannot wait for full registration, so the vendor is handled outside the system, in a spreadsheet or on a phone call. 

Why it costs you. The purchase has no clean vendor record behind it, and someone has to reconcile it afterwards. 

How WeManage handles it: 

1. An authorized user, such as a Procurement Officer, opens Vendor and clicks + Add New Interim Vendor. 
2. Fill in the registration type, registration number, address and main contact. In Status, choose Draft if the vendor still needs pre-qualification, or Approved if it does not. 
3. The system checks the registration number and the email address for duplicates. 
4. Note the username you set for the vendor. You can share it later if you want the vendor to complete the full registration. 
5. You can raise Purchase Orders, Invoices and Contracts with an interim vendor. The vendor cannot access the system until it completes registration, and it cannot be invited to a tender before then. 

What if a vendor’s details change later? 

Once a profile is Registered or Approved, most fields are locked. To change them, the vendor clicks Request Profile Update and gives a reason. Where approval is switched on, the profile approver receives an email to approve or reject the request, and the vendor is told the outcome. Where approval is not required, all Procurement Officers get a notification email and the vendor can update the profile straight away. 

What’s next in the industry 

Industry commentary on AI in e-procurement highlights emerging capabilities such as faster supplier onboarding and risk screening. While these capabilities reflect broader market developments, they are not currently part of the functionality described in this article for WeManage Procurement. 

Quick self-check: how many of these sound like your team? 

• Each new vendor receives a different email and a different list of documents to return. 
• Company details are retyped from attachments into a spreadsheet. 
• Nobody can say quickly who approved a vendor, or why. 
• Urgent purchases go to vendors that have no record in your system. 
• A vendor’s change of address or contact reaches you by phone or email, with no record. 

Two or more? Putting the invitation, the profile, the review and the approval on one trail gives you a vendor list you can trust. 

See vendor onboarding handled in one place 

WeManage Procurement takes a vendor from invitation link to approval on one record. Want to see it? Talk to the V-Work team through wemanage.cloud and we will walk you through vendor onboarding, from invitation to approval.