1.1 Vendor/Client Gateway Overview

Vendor/Client Gateway Overview   

Vendor/Client Gateway: Overview & Things to Consider

The Vendor/Client Gateway is an optional add-on module to your Contract Insight application.  It is not part of the core application.

The Vendor/Client Gateway enables authenticated Vendor/Clients (external parties) the ability to submit new contract requests, renew contract requests, view existing contracts that are assigned to the Vendor/Client, and upload/view documents and notes to a contract record via the Internet. 

Below are the steps that should be taken to setup/configure your organization's Vendor/Client Gateway as well as things to consider.

1. Things to Consider to Configure the Application Configuration Settings for the Gateway

Access:

• Should Vendors/Clients signed in to the Gateway be allowed to submit Contract Requests?
• If allowed to submit Contract Requests, then who, from your organization, should be alerted about newly submitted Contract Requests from the Gateway?
• Should Vendors/Clients be allowed to sign-up on the Vendor/Client Gateway, or should they contact an individual at your organization to sign-up?
• Should Vendors/Clients be allowed to view and add files/attachments on the Vendor/Client Gateway?
• Should Vendors/Client be allowed to view a list of Interested Parties/Respondents for Solicitations posted on the Gateway?

Content:

• What is your organization's standard Confidentiality Message that should be displayed on all pages of the Gateway?
• What should be the default/intro page content?
• What should be the default/intro page title?
• What should be the content included in the Header of the Gateway?
• What should be the Help page content if a Vendor/Client should have questions or need to contact your organization?
• What should be the Help page title?
• If a Vendor/Client is allowed to signup through the Gateway, what content would you like displayed for the bottom of the New Account Confirmation page?
• If a Vendor/Client is allowed to signup through the Gateway, what content would you like displayed for the top of the New Account Confirmation page?
• What should the Welcome Page content include?
• What should the Welcome Page title be?

Emails:

• What should be the email body text for new account email notifications sent to Vendors/Clients?
• What should be the email title for new account email notifications sent to Vendors/Clients?
• What should be the email body end content for password reset email notifications sent to Vendors/Clients?
• What should be the email title for password reset email notifications sent to Vendors/Clients?

Additional Things to Consider:

• How large should the search grids page size be (by default)?
• What email address should receive help emails sent from the Vendor/Client Gateway?
• What email address should receive email alerts when Vendors/Clients signup through the Gateway?

2.  Fields That Display on the Vendor/Client Gateway for the Following Screens

• Contracts & Committals Screen
• Company Contacts & Users Screen
• Contract & Committal Request Screen
• Solicitations & Procurements Screen

3.  Managing Vendors/Clients on the Gateway

• Vendors/Clients Logging In
• Vendor/Client Forgotten Passwords

4.  Managing Content Displayed on the Gateway for:

• Contracts & Committals (Files/Attachments, Notes)
• Contract & Committal Requests (Files/Attachments, Notes)
• Solicitations & Procurements (Files/Attachments, Notes)

Once the above items have been discussed and planned, it is then time to implement these into your Contract Insight Core Application in order to configure the Vendor/Client Gateway.  Please view the additional sections and pages in the Module: Vendor/Client Gateway Manual of the Documentation Wiki.