Over the years DynamicPoint has experienced many different use cases for its Microsoft 365-based SharePoint vendor portal application. The portal applications are as diverse as the customers that leverage the product. At the core of every vendor portal is the need for centralized document management, and supplier self-service with communication and collaboration. While these needs define the foundation, we see many specific use cases based on namely two factors. First, the type of company that is providing the portal, and second, the vendor that is using the portal. These two influences must come together to provide functionality and content that provides information vendors need to serve their customers while saving the company money by providing the data on demand while not consuming internal resources to do so.
The Vendor Portal List
While putting together the list of vendor portal use cases is never-ending, we did our best to summarize the most common ones. And here it is:
| Application | Description |
| Vendor Data Management | View / Edit vendor contact information, including addresses, phone, personnel, tax exemption status |
| Order Management | View / Edit purchase orders, confirm receipt, print orders, update delivery status |
| Financial Management | View / Print invoices, monitor payment status, update ACH / payment details, submission of new AP invoices |
| Third Party Logistic (3PL) or Fulfillment Collaboration | View inventory levels to determine fulfillment needs, visibility to inventory in transit, insight to advanced ship notifications and goods receipts |
| Contract Manufacturer Collaboration | View work / production orders, WIP, bill of materials and percent complete analysis |
| Service Provider Collaboration | View service cases, call summary, appointments, equipment location, resource assignment, job status |
| Onboarding Automation | Workflow to manage vendor invitation, completion of NDAs, W-9s, vendor certification forms, risk evaluation |
| Vendor Performance | Periodic review of vendor performance, on-time delivery, reliability assessment, associated KPIs |
| Vendor Certification and Compliance | Periodic review of certification requirements, licenses, compliance, legal status |
| Contract / Document Management | Storage and maintenance of vendor contracts and documents, expiration and renewal, electronic signature capture |
| RFP Management | Repository to review open RFP, submit questions and responses, gather requirements, manage timelines, issue and open item tracking |
| Reporting and Analytics | Share dashboards and KPIs with vendors, generate reports |
| Vendor Collaboration | Satisfaction surveys, knowledge bases, blogs, wikis, forums, Q&A, case management |
And while it is convenient to list a summarized chart with a short description, each of the portal applications above is its own topic in its own right, which includes many detailed requirements and supporting functionality within them.
Expansibility of a Portal
One of the major benefits of building a vendor portal using Microsoft 365 SharePoint is that it is forever extensible. The list of use cases we define today will likely grow as the need for vendor collaboration changes. We have seen this recently with the desire to include vendor environmental performance and carbon footprint assessments within their onboarding process. So, while the applications of this technology may change over time, the foundation provided by Microsoft 365 stays consistent.
Conclusion
A SharePoint based extranet can provide an extensible foundation for a vendor portal that serves many industries and use cases. If you’d like to learn more, visit our portal product page here.
