The supplier registration form completed by a potential supplier does not contain all the information that a purchaser needs to know about a seller at the inception of the business relationship. Following the approval of a supplier registration request (or manual creation of a potential supplier), it is useful to initiate a process to get further knowledge about the potential supplier that can be used to make an informed decision about whether or not to promote the potential supplier to a full-fledged supplier.

For more information on the supplier registration process using SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management, consult the article titled “Fast-Track Supplier Registration and Onboarding with SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management.” SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management (SLC) 1.0 provides a framework that supports score-based assessment of the qualification question response, which helps to align the actual score obtained with a defined target or minimum score. This benchmarking concept offers a numeric and quantitative approach to empirical decision making about the viability of a potential supplier.

I discuss this subject matter under the following subtopics using specific business examples for maintaining:

• Number ranges
• Customer parameter settings
• Maximum size definition for attachments
• Purchasing category
• Qualification question library
• Qualification questionnaire
• Qualification template

I then explain how to:

• Initiate the qualification process
• Respond to the qualification questionnaire
• Review the qualification request response
• Promote the potential supplier to supplier

The capability of Supplier Lifecycle Management is delivered via business functions and must be activated in order to harness the functionality. The supplier qualification business functions are activated via transaction SWF5 as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management business functions activation

Architecturally, the SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management system consists of the buy side and the sell side. The buy side normally resides behind a firewall. The sell side normally resides outside the firewall. Communication between the sell side and the buy side is via a Remote Function Call (RFC) connection. It facilitates (in a qualification business scenario) the:

• Transfer of supplier qualification request data to the sell side
• Transfer of supplier qualification response data to the buy side

The business functions that are of special interest for supplier qualification business scenario are detailed below:

Sell Side: MC_SUPPL_QUA_OFW_1 (SLC, Supplier  [Sell Side] [Reversible]) and SMC_SUPPL_SMNT_OFW_1 (SLC, Supplier Data Maintenance [Sell Side] [Reversible]). The activation of SMC_SUPPL_SMNT_OFW_1 is a prerequisite for the activation of all sell side business functions.

Buy Side: SMC_SUPPL_QUA_BFW_1 (SLC, Supplier Qualification [Buy Side] [Reversible]) and SMC_SUPPL_DATA_MGT_1 (SLC, Supplier Portfolio Management [Reversible]). The activation of SMC_SUPPL_DATA_MGT_1 business function is a prerequisite for the activation of all buy-side business functions.

Maintain Number Ranges

Number ranges are designed to support unique document numbering in the system and as such, SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management is not an exception. Number ranges can be maintained via transaction code SNRO or directly in the application-specific number range maintenance environment.

In the SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management system (buy side), you need to maintain number ranges for objects such as questions, sections, question and section groups, qualification questionnaires, qualification templates, qualification requests, and qualification responses. In like manner, you need to maintain number ranges for some objects in SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management (sell side) such as business partners and business partner relationships. You need to access the corresponding paths in customizing to maintain number ranges for different objects in the buy side and sell side. Number ranges are designed to support unique document numbering in the system.

The procedure below guides you through the process of maintaining a number range for different objects in the system. For example, if you want to maintain a number range for questions, follow menu path SPRO > SAP Reference Guide > SAP Customizing Implementation Guide > SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management > Basic Settings for SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management (Buy Side) > Supplier Qualification (Buy Side) > Question Library > Define Number Range for Questions (Figure 2).

Figure 2

Maintenance of the number range for questions in the question library

Choose the change Intervals button boxed in Figure 2 to go to Figure 3.

Figure 3

The initial screen for maintenance of the number range interval

Choose the + Interval button and in the screen that displays, enter values for the number range interval as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4

Definition of the number range interval

Click the Insert Interval button to go to Figure 5.

Figure 5

Maintenance of number range intervals

Click the save icon, and you go to Figure 6.

Figure 6

System information for transport number range intervals

Figure 6 System information for transport number range intervals

Choose the green checkmark icon to go to Figure 7.

Figure 7

Status message for successful definition of number range

Maintain Customer Parameter Settings

A number of customer parameter settings influence the behavior of the supplier qualification process. Customer parameter settings can be maintained by following menu path SPRO > SAP Customizing Implementation Guide > SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management > Sell Side > Supplier Qualification > Maintain Cust. Settings for Suppl. Data Maintenance and Qual (Figure 8).

Figure 8

Typical customizing setting for supplier qualification

The following parameter settings can be maintained with appropriate values in this customizing activity:

• CHG_DOCOBJ_ACC: Define the email text about accepted changes to supplier master data.
• CHG_DOCOBJ_ACC_SUBJ: Define the subject for an email about acceptance of supplier data changes
• CHG_DOCOBJ_BUY: Define the email text about changes to supplier master data on the buy side.
• CHG_DOCOBJ_BUY_SUBJ: Define the subject for an email about changes made to the supplier by the purchaser.
• CHG_DOCOBJ_ERPMD: Define the email text about changes to supplier master data in the SAP ERP back-end system.
• CHG_DOCOBJ_ERPMD_SUBJ: Define the subject of the email about changes to supplier master data in the SAP ERP back-end system.
• CHG_DOCOBJ_REJ: Define the email text about rejected changes to supplier master data.
• CHG_DOCOBJ_REJ_CNT_SUBJ: Define the subject for an email about rejection of contact data changes.
• CHG_DOCOBJ_REJ_SUP_SUBJ: Define the subject for an email about rejection of supplier data changes.
• EMAIL_BODY_TEXT_QUAL_RESEND: Define the email text requesting further clarification of supplier qualification.
• EMAIL_BODY_TEXT_QUALIFICATION: Define the email text for an invitation to supplier qualification.
• EMAIL_SUBJ_TEXT_QUAL_RESEND: Define the email subject for clarification of supplier qualification.
• EMAIL_SUBJ_TEXT_QUALIFICATION: Define the email subject for an invitation to supplier qualification.
• EMAIL_URL_TEXT_QUALIFICATION: Define the introductory text for a URL in the invitation to qualification.
• EMPLOYEE_PICTURE: Activate/deactivate uploading pictures of supplier employees on the sell side. The possible options are TRUE or  FALSE. MENU_FOLDER_STATUS: Define whether the menu for Supplier Data Maintenance is open or collapsed. The possible values are O (Open) or C (Closed).
• PORTAL_ACTIVE: Ascertain whether a portal environment is used. Enter the value X if a portal is used, or leave it blank and the system assumes SAP NetWeaver Business Client (NWBC) is used.
• PRIVACY_STMNT_INTERNAL: Define the data privacy statement text during the creation of users.
• PRIVACY_STMNT_INTERNAL_CB: Define the data privacy statement for employee admins creating users.
• PRIVACY_STMNT_INTERNAL_USED: Define the activation of the text and check box for the terms and conditions in qualification.
• PRIVACY_STMNT_QUALIFICATION: Define the data privacy statement text for terms and conditions.
• PRIVACY_STMNT_QUALIFICATION_CB: Define the data privacy statement text in the final step of the qualification response.
• QUAL_ALIAS: Define the external alias to replace the service name in the qualification URL.
• SLC_ON_SUS: Define whether users can navigate from the supplier self-services user interface to SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management pages. If this is the deployment option, specify the value X.
• URL_QUAL_RESP_PRT_L1: Define the portal log on the URL to the response screen of supplier qualification.
• URL_QUAL_RESP_PRT_L2: Define the portal log on the URL to the response screen of supplier qualification when the number of characters is greater than 255 CHAR.
• URL_QUALIFICATION: Define the URL for supplier qualification response. The definition of a value for this parameter is mandatory if you access the application via portal but optional if you access it via SAP NWBC. This is because there is no fallback for generating the corresponding URL if the portal is used. If you have configured an external alias, provide the name in this parameter.

For all the text-centric parameters, you can decide not to use the standard text, maintain a custom version, and consequently define the value in the supplier qualification customer parameter settings. To maintain the custom text, follow the procedure below: Call transaction SE61. In the screen that displays, select General text in the Document Class field. Select the appropriate language and in the Document Name field enter a value (for example, /SRMSMC/PARTNER_CHG_ACCEPTED) as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9

The initial screen for document maintenance

Click the copy icon. In the copy document dialog box that displays, enter a value in the Name field (To section) as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10

Definition of the new document name

Click the copy icon and Figure 11 displays with a screen for the package assignment.

Figure 11

Package assignment to document maintenance

Click the save icon. In the screen that displays, enter the new document name as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12

Definition of the new document name for maintenance

Click the Change button to go to Figure 13.

Figure 13

The initial screen for document text maintenance

Edit the text of the document class as desired. Figure 14 shows an example of the edited text.

Figure 14

Edited text of the document

Choose the save activate icon. Figure 15 displays with a status message.

Figure 15

Message confirmation of document saved and active status

Maintain Maximum Size Definition for Attachments

This customization activity allows you define the maximum size allowed for attachments for different objects such as images or PDF files. As part of the qualification response process, the purchaser can request you to provide certificates or contract documents. The system allows you to upload the requested content as attachments to the corresponding questions. It is essential to define a threshold for these attachments to avoid issues associated with uploading large-sized documents.

Figure 16 shows a typical size specification for different web objects. You can access this customizing activity by following menu path SPRO > SAP Customizing Implementation Guide > SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management > Sell Side > Supplier Qualification >Define Maximum Size for Attachments.

Figure 16

Typical attachment size definition for a web object

Maintain Purchasing Category

Purchasing categories can be used to classify purchases made in your company into groups such as IT hardware, software, and automobile. Purchasing categories are beneficial in SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management as a structuring framework for questionnaires, qualification profiles, and suppliers. They can subsequently be used as filtering attributes when maintaining elements such as questionnaires and questionnaire templates. To create a purchasing category, use transaction code NWBC and follow menu path Supplier Lifecycle Management > Purchasing Categories. In the screen that appears (Figure 17), click the Create button.

Figure 17

The initial screen for the maintenance of purchasing category

In the screen that displays, enter values for mandatory fields, such as Name and Purchaser Responsible, and then click the Save button (Figure 18). A status message appears at the top of the screen.

Figure 18

Confirmation of saved purchasing category

Maintain the Qualification Question Library

The question library allows you to create groups, sections, and questions to be used in the qualification process. Groups are designed to help with filtering when defining selection criteria. A section is used as a placeholder for headings to group questions in the qualification questionnaire. As a prerequisite to maintaining questions, you need to define the original language in customizing via menu path SPRO > SAP Reference IMG > SAP Customizing Implementation Guide > SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management > Buy Side > Supplier Qualification > Basic Settings for Supplier Qualification > Create Question Library for Supplier Qualification (Figure 19).

Figure 19

Definition of original language for the qualification question library

In Figure 19, click the execute icon or press F8. Questions and sections can only be created in the language you defined here. You cannot change the original language of the question library.

For the purpose of my business example, I will create fictitious master data to simulate the qualification process. To maintain the question library (groups, section, and questions) for supplier qualification, use transaction NWBC and follow menu path Supplier Lifecycle Management > Supplier Qualification > Services > Manage Question Library for Qualification. This path takes you to the screen shown in Figure 20.

Figure 20

The initial screen for supplier qualification question library maintenance

In Figure 20, click the Groups tab and then click the New button. 

Enter a value for the new group (e.g., Software Implementation) and then click the save icon. A status message appears at the top of the next screen (Figure 21).

Figure 21

Confirmation of the creation of a new group

Choose the Sections tab. In the screen that displays, click the New button in the Section Details area, enter the section name (for example, Turnover), group, and section title and make sure the Inactive check box is not checked. Click the Save button and Figure 22 displays. 

Figure 22

Confirmation for the creation of the section

For the purpose of my business example, I will follow the same process to create the Performance Bond and Certificate sections and assign them to the Software Implementation group as shown in Figure 23.

Figure 23

Newly created sections in the question library

Click the Questions tab. In the screen that displays, click the New button. The possible question types for a qualification question display as a drop-down as shown in Figure 24.

Figure 24

Question types for qualification questions

Qualification questions support different question types including Yes/No, single answer, multiple answers, free text, and certificate. The question type that you choose determines the additional attributes that you can maintain. For example, if you choose a single answer type questions, you can define your answer options and assign corresponding scores. On the other hand, if you choose the Yes/No answer type question, you have the options – Yes, No, or Not Applicable to choose from when responding to the question during the qualification exercise.

Furthermore, scoring cannot be applied to multiple answers and free text question types. For the purpose of my business example and to demonstrate the different attributes of the different question types, I will create three questions of different types. First, I create a Single Answer type question, so I will choose Single Answer in Figure 24. In the screen that displays (with Questions Details and Answers tabs to the right), enter values for the question name, group, and question text fields as shown in the Question Details tab (Figure 25).

Figure 25

Question details definition for a qualification question

Click the Answers tab and in the screen that displays, enter values for the different answer options and corresponding score as shown in Figure 26.

Figure 26

Answer options definition for a qualification question

Click the Sections tab. In the screen that displays, select the section you want associated with the question and click the Save button. Figure 27 displays with a status message confirming the saving of the question in the qualification question library.

Figure 27

Status message confirming that data was saved successfully

Next, I will create a question of type Yes/No by choosing Yes/No (Figure 24).

In the screen that displays, enter values for the question name, group, and question text in the Question Details tab (Figure 28). Accept the default radio button check for the Score field. This option means that a 100 score value is assigned if the “Yes” is preferred (Score=100) radio button is chosen when responding to the qualification question, whereas a 0 score value is assigned if  the “No” is preferred (Score=100) radio button is chosen. Ensure that the Inactive check box is not selected to make the question definition productive.

Choose the Sections tab and select an appropriate section. Click the Save button. The status message in Figure 29 displays.

Figure 29

Confirmation for the creation of question in the question library

Next, I will create the question type certificate by choosing the certificate option in Figure 24. In the screen that displays, enter values for the question name, group and question text as shown in Figure 30.

Figure 30

Question attribute definition for certificate answer type

Click the Sections tab and select the appropriate section. Click the Save button. The status message in Figure 31 displays.

Figure 31

Confirmation for successfully saving certificate question type in the question library

Maintain the Qualification Questionnaire

Questionnaire functionality in SAP Lifecycle Management allows you to group a number of reusable questions and consequently assign the group to a template that can be used for qualification purposes. To create a qualification questionnaire, access the SAP NetWeaver Business Client (NWBC) portal and follow menu path Supplier Lifecycle Management > Services > Create Qualification Questionnaire. In the screen that displays (Figure 32), enter values for the Questionnaire Name and other desired fields (such as the Assigned Purchasing Categories) in the Basic Data tab.

Figure 32

The Basic Data tab attribute definition for qualification questionnaire

Click the Questions tab. In the screen that displays, enter values for the overall target score and overall minimum score as shown in Figure 33.

Figure 33

The initial screen for qualification questionnaire maintenance

Score definition allows you to convert responses to questions into numeric representations that you can use as the basis for empirical analysis and comparison for different suppliers. Scores must be defined as whole numbers between 0 and 100. Furthermore, the score assigned to the different answer options must be unique. Choose the Add Section button. In the screen that displays, use the group name you created earlier to filter the available section as shown in Figure 34.

Figure 34

Definition of selection criteria for section filtering

With the section you want to add highlighted, click the OK button. Figure 35 displays.

Figure 35

Addition of the section to the qualification questionnaire

Click the Add Question button. In the screen that displays, use the group you created earlier to filter on the available questions as shown in Figure 36.

Figure 36

Selection criteria for questions selection

With the question you want to add to the section in the questionnaire selected, click the OK button to go to Figure 37.

Figure 37

Addition of a question to a section in the qualification questionnaire

Maintain the Target Score, Minimum Score Accepted, and Weighting columns as shown in Figure 38.

Figure 38

Maintenance of scores and weights for section and questions

The definition of weight allows you to assign significance to questions or sections in comparison to other questions and sections. For example, you might choose to assign a weight of 3 to compliance-related questions or sections and retain the default weight of 1 for financial-related questions or sections. The implication therefore is that the compliance-related question or section will have triple the weight of the score when compared with the financial-related question or section. The value defined for weighting must be a whole number greater than or equal to 0.

Repeat the steps above to add a new section and question and maintain the Target Score, Minimum Score Accepted, and Weighting column appropriately as shown in Figure 39.

Figure 39

Addition of sections and corresponding questions to the qualification questionnaire

Click the Save button. Figure 40 displays with a status message.

Figure 40

Status message confirming the creation of the qualification questionnaire

To be able to use the questionnaire productively, you need to release it by clicking the Release button. Figure 41 displays with a status message. Observe that the Release button is grayed out and the Set to Obsolete button is activated.

Figure 41

Status message confirming the release of the qualification questionnaire

Follow the same procedure to create a new qualification questionnaire (for example, Partnership Certificate) and you should have a screen similar to Figure 42.

Figure 42

Released qualification questionnaire

Maintain a Qualification Template

Qualification templates are designed to be reusable when setting up a qualification for a potential supplier. A qualification template represents a repository for grouping one or more qualification questionnaires with specific attributes such as weight and scores. To create a qualification template, follow access transaction NWBC and follow menu path Supplier Lifecycle Management >Supplier Qualification > Qualification Templates (Figure 43).

Figure 43

The initial screen for the creation of the qualification template

Click the Create button. In the screen that displays, enter values for Qualification Template Name and other attributes such as Days until Response Deadline, Purchasing Category assignment, and Purchaser Responsible as shown in Figure 44.

Figure 44

Basic data attribute definition for the qualification template

Click the Questionnaires tab. In the screen that displays, enter values for the Overall Target Score and Overall Minimum Score and set it up to use scores as shown in Figure 45.

Figure 45

Scoring attribute definition for the qualification template

Click the Add Questionnaire button. In the initial screen (not shown), use the purchasing category assignment to filter and add the qualification questionnaires to be associated with the questionnaire. Click the OK button.

In the qualification template (Figure 46), maintain the Weighting, Target Score, and Minimum Score Accepted columns. The scoring and weighting concept explained previously also applies to questionnaire templates, so I do not explain it here again.

Figure 46

Weighing and questionnaire scores definition

Click the Communication with Suppliers tab. In the screen that displays, enter values for E-Mail Invitation and Questionnaire Introduction as shown in Figure 47.

Figure 47

Email invitation and questionnaire introduction definition

Click the Save button. Figure 48 displays with a status message and the page title reads In Preparation.

Figure 48

Status message confirming the creation of qualification template

Click the Release button to make the qualification template productive. Observe that the Release button grays out and Set to Obsolete button becomes active. The page title reads Released as shown in Figure 49.

Figure 49

Released qualification template

Initiate the Qualification Process

Now that the appropriate customizing activities have been performed and the respective master data is defined, the next activity is to start the qualification exercise. Follow the procedure below to initiate the qualification process for a potential supplier. Access transaction NWBC and follow menu path Supplier Lifecycle Management > Supplier Portfolio. In the screen that displays, choose (All) against the Potential Supplier item in the Active Queries area. Highlight the potential supplier for whom you want to create a qualification as shown in Figure 50.

Figure 50

Highlighted potential supplier to be qualified

Click the Start Qualification button. The system offers you the capability to initiate the qualification process via two options: Template-Based and Flexible as shown in Figure 51. The flexible option allows you to initiate the qualification process without using a template. In that case, questionnaires are created directly in the qualification request.

Figure 51

Options for starting a qualification for a potential supplier

Click the Template-Based option. In the screen that displays, define filtering for the available templates (for example, using purchase category) and click the Search button as shown in Figure 52.

Figure 52

Definition of selection criteria for the qualification template

With the qualification template highlighted, click the Continue button. The Qualification Request screen appears. Note that the attributes of the qualification template are autopopulated in the qualification request. For example, in the Basic Data section of the Qualification Request screen, the Qualification Deadline was autocalculated using the 14 days defined in the template (Figure 53). The Suppliers section of the Qualification Request screen is also updated with the details of the chosen potential supplier (Figure 54).

Figure 53

Basic Data and Suppliers detail section of the qualification request

Figure 54

Questionnaire section of the qualification request

It is possible to maintain the attributes of the request even though it was created based on a template. For my example, I update the Qualification Deadline field as shown in Figure 55.

Figure 55

Maintenance of the qualification deadline

You can click the Preview button to see how the qualification will display.

It is possible to submit a qualification request manually or automatically. I focus on the former approach. Automatic qualification allows the sending of a qualification automatically following the approval of a supplier registration request. You can activate it in customizing by following menu path SPRO > SAP Customizing Implementation Guide > SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management > Buy Side > Supplier Qualification > Automated Supplier Qualification > Activate Automated Sending of Supplier Qualification (Figure 56).

Figure 56

Activate automated sending of supplier qualification

If the information that is requested from suppliers in the registration request is not enough for your business requirements, additional information can be collected. You do this by implementing an automated qualification process that is initiated after the supplier registration request has been approved. To do this you need to use a Business Add-In (BAdI). You maintain the Business Add-In (BAdI) via menu path SPRO > SAP Customizing Implementation Guide > SAP Supplier Lifecycle Management > Buy Side > Supplier Qualification > Business Add-Ins (BAdIs) > Implement Automated Supplier Qualification.

Click the Submit Qualification Request  button in Figure 55 to start the qualification process manually. A dialog box displays confirming the action to submit the qualification as shown in Figure 57.

Figure 57

Confirmation dialog box for qualification request

Click the OK button. The status message confirming the submission of the qualification request displays as shown in Figure 58.

Figure 58

Status message confirming the creation of the qualification request

Respond to the Qualification Questionnaire

The potential supplier will receive a message in his inbox. For the purpose of my business example, I access the message sent to the potential supplier via transaction code SOST (Figure 59).

Figure 59

Message sent to the potential supplier

Highlight the message You Have Received a Qualification Request and click the display icon. The message opens with the text I defined in the email invitation section of the questionnaire and the text of the document maintained in the customer parameter settings customizing activity. It also provides the link to access the questionnaire as shown in Figure 60.

Figure 60

Log-on link for completing the qualification questionnaire

Launch the URL in the e-mail and provide the appropriate log-on details. Figure 61 displays with the introductory page of the questionnaire.

Figure 61

Introductory page of the qualification request with “New” response status

Click the Next button. In the screen that displays, provide answers to the questions as shown in Figure 62.

Figure 62

Answer definition to qualification Financials questionnaire questions

Click the Next button. In the screen that displays, provide an answer to the question. Additionally maintain the validity period and attach the certificate as requested with description as shown in Figure 63. These attributes are specific to the Certificate question type. Observe that the response status changes to In Process.

Figure 63

Answer definition for certificate question

Click the Next button. In the screen that displays (Figure 64), confirm the data privacy statement by checking the box in the Data Privacy Statement section and clicking the Submit button. Figure 64 displays with a dialog box.

Figure 64

Dialog box confirming submission of qualification response

Click the Yes button. Figure 65 displays with the response status changed to Submitted and the submission date updated accordingly.

Figure 65

Qualification with submitted response status

Click the Close button. The system then displays the following message: Thank you. The document was closed.

Review the Qualification Request Response

Following the submission of the answered qualification request, the responsible buyer in the purchasing organization receives a workflow item to review and make a decision based on the qualification response. To review the qualification response, follow menu path Transaction NWBC > Supplier Lifecycle Management > Inbox (Figure 66).

Figure 66

Workflow item in approver’s inbox

Choose the workflow item on which you want to act. Figure 67 displays with the details of the score of the qualification response aggregated at the questionnaire level and with the response status – Pending Decision.

Figure 67

The initial screen for the approval of the qualification request

The possible color symbols based on the score obtained are red (score is below minimum score); yellow (score is equal to minimum score or higher), and green (score is equal to target score or higher). Click the Decision button to collapse the approval note area as shown in Figure 68.

Figure 68

Collapse of the Decision area of the qualification

Click the Next button. Figure 69 displays with the answer and score of the questions aggregated at the question and section levels.

Figure 69

Review of the questionnaire answer and score

Basically, you can see that the question score and section score are aggregated at the section level and questionnaire level respectively. Click the Next button. Figure 70 displays with the answer and score of the questions aggregated at the question and section levels.

Figure 70

Review of the questionnaire answer and score

The Decision section in Figure 71 offers three options – Approve, Reject, or Request Clarification. Expand the Decision section and enter an approval note. After you click the Approve button, a dialog box displays. Click the Yes button.

Figure 71

Dialog box for the confirmation of approval of the qualification response

The next screen appears with the approval decision confirmation dialog box and the response status changes to Approved (Figure 72).

Figure 72

Confirmation dialog box for qualification response approval decision

Click the OK button.

Promote the Potential Supplier to Supplier

Following the approval of the qualification request, you can promote the potential supplier to a full-fledged supplier by following the procedure below. Access transaction NWBC and follow menu path Supplier Lifecycle Management > Supplier Portfolio (Figure 73).

Figure 73

Supplier portfolio worklist

Click the All link against the Potential Suppliers option. Figure 74 displays the list of the potential suppliers.

Figure 74

The initial screen for the maintenance of potential suppliers

Click the potential supplier you want to maintain (151 in this case) and navigate to the Qualifications tab for further review as shown in Figure 75.

Figure 75

Qualification response scores, status, and details

Click the Promote to Supplier button. Figure 76 displays with a confirmation message that the supplier promotion workflow has started.

Figure 76

Status message confirmation for supplier promotion workflow

Access the work inbox of the approver by accessing transaction code NWBC and following menu path Supplier Lifecycle Management > Inbox (Figure 77) to approve the supplier promotion workflow item. Highlight the workflow item you want to make a decision about as shown in Figure 78.

Figure 77

Workflow item in the inbox of the approver

Figure 78

Highlighted workflow item in the approver’s inbox

Click the Approve button. Figure 79 displays a status message confirming the approval decision.

Figure 79

Status message confirming the approval decision for supplier promotion

Observe that the potential supplier has been moved to the Suppliers section as shown in Figure 80.