This decision tree is part of the supplier onboarding exceptions guide. It answers one question for supplier management advisors: who can say yes to a conversation about onboarding exception history?
Who holds which piece of an onboarding file
Onboarding is unusually cross-functional. Each owner can describe their part and none of them can commit the whole.
| Role | Piece they hold | What they can tell you | Can they authorize? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portal administrator, internal or a consultant | Portal configuration, retention, exports | Which records the portal keeps and for how long | No: access is not authority |
| Compliance or GRC lead | Screening records and dispositions | Which tool is used, how hits are cleared | No; flags compliance limits |
| Tax or AP manager | W-9s, TIN check results, bank verification notes | How tax identity is checked and recorded | No; flags tax-record limits |
| Supplier operations head | Requests, duplicate checks, document requests, acceptance notes | How exceptions are worked and how many a year | Convenes; rarely alone |
| CEO, or the owner-CEO | The company's records as an asset | Whether a licensing discussion is in the company's interest | Yes, the signatory |
| General counsel or outside counsel | Supplier terms, privacy, regulatory duties | What scope is possible | Advises; the CEO decides |
A procurement consultant or portal implementer may hold administrator rights. That is a technical permission, not authority over compliance records or over the decision to license.
The yes path: four questions in order
Work down the tree. The introduction goes to the first person who answers yes to question 3.
- Does this person run one system? If yes, they describe it: the portal administrator, the screening tool owner, the AP tax lead. Ask who owns onboarding exceptions end to end.
- Does this person own the exception process? If yes, this is usually the supplier operations head. Ask them to convene and to bring in the CEO.
- Can this person commit company records to an agreement? If yes, this is the introduction: the CEO, or the owner-CEO in an owner-run company.
- Does anyone else need to consent? A parent group, a board or a private equity sponsor may. Note it; SourceX will ask.
The common mistake is stopping at question 2. The supplier operations head understands the records best and is rarely the person who can say yes.
Branches that need legal or supplier sign-off
Some parts of an onboarding file raise questions the partner should flag and leave alone.
| Branch | Why it needs review | Who decides | Likely handling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screening hits and dispositions | Watchlist results are sensitive, and each company sets its own thresholds, as OFAC notes users must | Compliance lead with counsel | Often summarized or excluded |
| W-9s and TIN check results | Tax identity data gathered by a payer that files information returns | Tax or AP manager with counsel | Usually excluded; the fact a check ran may remain |
| Names and emails of supplier contacts | Under the GDPR, information relating to an identifiable person, including by name or identification number, is personal data | Privacy lead and counsel | Pseudonymized or removed |
| Supplier-submitted documents | Submitted under portal terms or confidentiality clauses | Counsel against those terms | Restricted where terms require |
| Bank details and verification notes | Fraud-sensitive financial data | CFO | Excluded |
None of these branches rules a company out. They shape what can be in scope, which is one reason SourceX runs a rights review; see why data rights matter.
Two companies, two paths (Illustrative)
Two fictional companies show how the same tree produces different introductions.
| Question | 320-person owner-led building products maker | 1,100-person sponsor-backed food distributor |
|---|---|---|
| Who describes the records? | Purchasing manager, who also runs supplier setup | Supplier operations head and the portal administrator |
| Who convenes? | Purchasing manager | Supplier operations head |
| Who signs? | The owner, who is also the CEO | The CEO |
| Who else consents? | Nobody beyond the owner | The private equity sponsor |
| Main side branch | Screening done by an outside provider under its own contract | Supplier-submitted food safety certificates under portal terms |
The owner-led path has one convener and one signer. The sponsor-backed path adds a consent step and a contract review, which changes timing, not eligibility. In both, the system map lets the convener describe the records without anyone opening a supplier file.
Situations that look similar but are not
- Introducing a supplier you buy from. That is a different relationship with its own conflict questions; see referring a supplier your company buys from.
- Connecting a supplier with a buyer for a fee. That is a commercial introduction, covered in finder fees for introducing a supplier to a buyer.
- Onboarding training material. Supplier onboarding guides and training decks are a separate record type; assessing original onboarding materials covers them.
What stays unknown until SourceX's rights review
Once the CEO agrees to talk, these questions remain open: which record classes and years the company can license after compliance, tax and privacy checks; whether supplier-submitted documents are in scope; how supplier identities would be de-identified; whether any buyer wants onboarding exception histories; and whether an offer follows.
The introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions; the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application, and one partner is credited per company. The onboarding referral brief template has a line for the signer and the convener. More sectors are on the industries hub.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
Once the supplier operations head has agreed to bring in the CEO and flagged the screening and tax branches, register as a partner, confirm the company on who qualifies and read the program terms before you make the introduction.