PIM Supplier Information

A Supplier provides goods or services to a buyer. The supplier can access PIM after receiving an invitation from the buyer to complete a questionnaire.
– Standard User: Can view their organization forms, download feedback reports, download blank forms, complete & submit forms assigned to them by an Application Administrator, and view form scores.
– Application Administrator: Can accept/ deny form sharing requests, assign forms to Supplier users, view their organization forms, download feedback reports, download blank forms, manage Supplier user roles, deactivate/ activate their Supplier PIM users, and submit requests to opt – out of form sharing. To learn more about Supplier Administrator features and functions, click here.

Supplier Dashboard

Below learn how to navigate the Supplier portal using the various tabs and widgets.

Top Header Menu

This section provides additional information about each option displayed in the top header menu. Additionally, you can select the Partner Information Manager (PIM) application name to redirect back to this dashboard, regardless of where you are in the solution. You can also select the Exostar logo to open exostar.com.

My Org

This drop-down provides the following options:

Organization: This tab provides your organization’s general overview information.

Users: This tab provides a comprehensive list of all users within your organization with PIM access. If you are a Supplier Application Administrator, this tab also provides user management options.

Partners: This tab provides a comprehensive list of all connected Partners (Buyers). Select the Partner Name to view additional details.

Forms: This tab provides a comprehensive list of all forms Buyers requested you complete, as well as that form’s status. If the form is shared, you can select the form name to redirect to the Form Details page.

Reports

This icon navigates directly to the Reports homepage, listing all reports you have access to. Please see the Reports page for additional information.

Resources

This icon opens the PIM Form Resources page, which provides resources per PIM form, including blank forms, completion instructions and resources, as well as scoring information.

Help

This icon provides the following drop down options: PIM Online Help and PIM FAQs. Both open their respective my.exostar.com pages, providing additional information on process instructions and frequently asked questions.

Alerts

This icon represents the number of alerts for your review. Click the icon to display a drop-down of alerts. Select View All to redirect to the Alerts page, containing alerts for the last 30 days, Dismiss All, or Dismiss one alert at a time. There is also a legend explaining the different alert types.

To further manage your alerts:

1. Select Settings via the Me drop-down.
2. Navigate to the Alerts section. Modify the alert selections as desired, by choosing Yes or No.
3. Click Save Changes.

Me Drop-Down

This drop down menu provides an overview of account options, and is broken up into the following sections:

Buyer View or Supplier View: Select to toggle between the Supplier and Buyer views, if you have both business needs.
Account Information: This section provides your organization name and ID, as well as your role. Select My Profile to update your account information.
Settings: Select this option to update Date/Time Format, Application View (Supplier or Buyer), as well as Alert and Email settings.
Logout: Selecting this logs you out of the PIM Application.

Form Request Widget

This widget displays a list of forms Buyers requested you complete. An Application Administrator can accept or deny the request directly from this widget. Once you either share or decline to share, the form no longer displays in the widget, and instead shows in the Forms Summary widget. To accept or decline a sharing request:
1. Click the Share or Decline button.
2. In the Confirm pop-up window, click Accept (if sharing). Click Deny (if declining to share).

Forms Summary Widget

This widget provides a list of accepted form sharing requests, as well as the following:
– Hyperlinked form name that redirects to the Form Details page
– Shared status
– Percentage complete
– Clickable number of Partners with whom you have shared that particular form

To further manage the information in the Forms Summary widget:

1. Select the Assign To icon next to the desired form to manage form assignments.
2. Select the Edit icon next to the desired form to open the form in edit mode.
3. Select the Source Org icon to view the form hierarchy in a dialogue box.

Recent Activities Widget

This widget provides a 30-day timeline of all activities with a Buying Partner. Activities include:

Status of your organization’s response to an invitation
Status of your organization’s response to a questionnaire
Status of acceptance or opting out of a questionnaire
Indication a form is successfully submitted

Form Grouping

Form Grouping is used to share a completed form your organization filled out with your compatriot business units. Below is an example and step-by-step instructions how to share your group form.

Business Issue

Company XYZ is composed of several subsidiary companies and/or business units (BU), each one of which is a Supplier to one or several Exostar Buyer organizations. Each of the subsidiaries is being asked to complete forms from one or more Buyer organizations. This results in requesting many of the subsidiaries to complete the same form. The security policies and infrastructure of the subsidiaries of Supplier XYZ are managed and controlled by a single shared service, an organizational unit located within one of the registered XYZ companies/subsidiaries. That unit can answer the form on behalf of many of the XYZ subsidiaries. This unit would like to answer the form once for all subsidiaries covered by its security program.

Solution

Exostar has the capability to create a Form Group of companies/businesses where one of the businesses can represent the group when completing forms. The XYZ business needs to nominate one of the business units as the source to represent the group. That business completes the form on behalf of the group (Destinations), and the results are provided to Buyers XYZ subsidiaries chose to share the results. In this way, the form is under the control of a single subsidiary or business unit within the group, but shared by any of the others with whatever Buyers they wish.

Destination organizations can share the group form with individual Buyers just like any other normal assigned form with two major exceptions:
– The form is locked and only the Source Organization can edit. All further edits are reflected in the destination form in real-time.
– When a form is submitted, the scoring of the shared form applies to the one associated with Destination Organization as well.

Group Setup

Company XYZ needs to do the following to setup the group within Exostar:
1. Create a support case via the Support page and describe the case as Create a Form Group in PIM.
2. Provide the Form Grouping Submission Form that identifies:
a. The source business unit by its Exostar ID, DUNS ID, full address, and email address of the responsible person who will handle the security form.
b. The destinations or business units within the group by Exostar ID, DUNS ID, and address for each.
c. Which form is to be shared with the Destinations.
3. Exostar contacts each destination business unit to confirm they will be added to the new group.
4. Exostar creates the group within the organization data and the form from the source will be available for the destinations.

View Partner Information

The Partners tab, located on the Organization Profile page, provides a list of all Buyers associated with your organization and the date you connected with them. The Partner Profile provides additional information about the individual Buyer organization, including the Buyer’s organization address, shared forms, as well as your organization’s score for forms shared with the specific Buyer. The profile also provides a map, indicating where the Buyer is located.

To Access and Navigate a Partner Profile:

1. Click a Buyer hyperlinked Organization Name anywhere in the application.
2. Click the Back to Partners link to redirect to the Partners tab of your My Organization Profile page.
3. Select the drop-down arrow via the Forms shared with section to display forms shared with the particular Buyer.
4. Click the hyperlinked form name to redirect to the Form Details page.
NOTE: Scores are calculated only after a questionnaire is completed and submitted.

Form Reports

To Access and Download Forms, and Reports:

1. Click your hyperlinked organization name in the My Organization widget and navigate to the Forms tab, or click a hyperlinked form name anywhere in the PIM application.
2. On the Form Details page, click the Edit, View Form Input, or Click to Edit buttons to obtain additional information on how your organization answered a specific question.
NOTE: The Form Details page provides information on how your organization responded to a questionnaire and how your organization scored, as well as Pending forms waiting on completion.
3. Select the Reports drop down to download a Blank Form or to obtain a report on how your organization responded by selecting Feedback Report. You can also export to an Excel file.
4. Click the Assign User button to assign a user to this particular form.

Form Renewal

In order to renew a form, the form must be expired, however, as long as you are assigned to the form, you can update the form at any time, post or prior to expiry date. Forms must be renewed on a regular, annual basis.

IMPORTANT:
1. Your form is not updated or renewed unless you click the Submit Response button at the end of the form.
2. If you want to update just one form section, click the Edit link next to the desired section from the Form Details page. Navigate to the end of the form and click the Submit Response button.
3. Even if changes to the form are not required, you must click on the Submit Response button to send the form to the Buyer and confirm no changes are needed.

To renew your form:

1. Click the Edit icon next to the desired form in the Form Summary widget, to redirect to the form in edit-mode.
2. Click through each section of the form to make necessary changes.
3. Use the Next arrow buttons to navigate through to the end of the form. You are required to resubmit the form by clicking on the Submit Response button.

Updated on March 14, 2024

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