What Are We Trying to Accomplish?
The message action allows buyers and suppliers to have a conversation about a particular PO line. This can take the back and forth messages out of email and off the phone while keeping the conversation in one easy to view place.
PO Lines with a new message will be added to the Messages Tab. From there, the message can be reviewed and you can reply or mark it as read to move that PO Line off the Message Tab. When adding a message to a PO Line you may opt to add an email notification on the message. Email notifications will only be sent if you select that option when adding a new message.
Pro Tip: Keep your Messages Tab nice and clean by using the Mark Read action within the message window. This will allow you to easily see which PO Lines have new messages for you. Once a message has been marked as read it will no longer show in the messages tab, but can still be accessed in the Purchase Orders and Tasks sections at the PO line level.
Where Can I See It?
Pro Tip: To see this in Action with our step by step walk through click here.
The messaging action is available on all order lines regardless of their status. Buyers and suppliers can send messages (formerly known as Notify Buyer or Notify Vendor) from any tab on the PO Dashboard and from the Tasks section (specific to Suppliers).
From the PO Dashboard:
- Select the order line or multiple lines and from the Action Menu select Message
From the action window click Messages to access existing messages or in order to complete any of the actions below.
From the Tasks Section (Suppliers only):
Click on any of the tabs in the first column, and then choose messages in order to see existing messages or in order to complete any of the actions below.
How Do I Do It?
The functionality is the same whether you are in the PO Dashboard or Tasks. Within the Messages Window you have several features and options that we will discuss. Messages are available on the following Actions and on all tabs:
- Buyer Actions: Accept/Propose Change
- Supplier Actions: Update, Acknowledge, Reject/Cancel
- Tabs: Split Proposals, Updates, Messages, Awaiting Response, Pending, All Open, Late, Radar, Hot, Planned, Shipped, Completed
See Existing Messages
You can navigate between PO Lines by clicking the PO Summary on the left side. The conversation will show in the main panel:
You can easily review existing messages and conversation history. A green check mark will indicate if the message has been marked read or a response provided.
When reviewing messages, to move them off the Message Tab you can respond to the message or simply click on Mark All Lines Read (to mark all selected order lines as Read) / Mark Read (to mark an individual order line as Read) at the bottom of the message window. A green check mark will be added to the PO Summary on the left side of the window.
Add a New Message
You can add a new message to one PO Line or you can select Send message to all selected PO lines. This checkbox will add the message to all the selected lines.
Click the Green box with the arrow icon to send the messages. Order lines with new messages will be displayed on the Message Tab.
Send Your Message and Also Send the Message as an Email
Mark the Send email box to send an email notification letting the receiver know they have a new message to review.
Using the Bulk Messaging Functionality
To save time you can click multiple lines and either add a different message to each line or add the same message to each line selected. This is done toggling the Send message to all selected PO lines on and off as shown in the short video below:
Keep Learning
- Getting Started with PO Workflow for Suppliers - Understanding and Using Tasks
- Buyers Understand How to Accept or Propose Changes to Suppliers