GlossaryKind of term: Manufacturing termSupplier portal
What is a supplier portal?
A supplier portal is a customer's purchasing environment in which you download requests and submit your quote in the fields the portal prescribes.
A supplier portal is a web environment run by a purchasing organisation, in which suppliers collect and answer requests. You log in, download the request with its drawings and models, and enter your quote in the portal's fields: unit price per quantity, lead time, validity and sometimes a cost breakdown. Depending on the portal, orders, order confirmations, delivery dates, certificates and non-conformance reports may run through it as well. Fields, accepted file formats and deadlines differ from one portal to the next.
How does a supplier portal work in practice?
A request on a portal often has a closing time, and a bid submitted after it usually no longer counts. If the portal asks for a split into material, machining, finishing and one-off costs, your estimate needs those items separately, and they have to add up to the price you enter. Retyping figures from your estimate takes time and invites errors, so check price, quantities and units once the fields are filled in. Some portals also exchange data electronically with the supplier's own system; whether that is possible depends on the portal and on your software.
What is a supplier portal often confused with?
A supplier portal is not an instant quote: there a platform calculates a price for the buyer, whereas in a portal you submit your own. Nor is it an integration: the portal is the customer's system, in which you usually work by hand, while an integration passes data between systems without retyping.
How does a price from Blake get into a supplier portal?
In Blake, material, machining, finishing, setup and programming are separate lines, per part and per quantity break. Each quote version is available as a PDF and as a CSV or JSON export, from which you copy the price and breakdown into the portal. More on estimating.
Frequently asked questions
How do I fill in a cost breakdown on a supplier portal?
Take the items from an estimate that is already built line by line: material, machining, finishing and one-off costs such as setup and programming. Then check that the items add up to the price per quantity you enter.
Why does a portal ask for a cost breakdown?
The buyer wants to compare suppliers item by item, and to see which item moved on a repeat order or a price change. A breakdown that does not add up to the price usually brings questions before the order is placed.
Can I still submit a quote after the closing time?
Usually not through the portal itself. Whether a late quote is still considered is up to the buyer and the customer's purchasing rules. If you need more time, ask for an extension before the deadline passes.